Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word. Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing we may believe and in believing we may obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.
I love this gospel account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Overall, it’s the quintessential conflict between good and evil, but for many other reasons, the story’s plot is an appealing formula to everyone who has ever
– been forced to fight a fearsome foe
– cheered for the underdog against an overpowering opponent
– been caught in a contest with a completely compelling contender.
Ironically, this is a plot that God seems to like to use a lot. Think of the O.T. stories you know; do any come to mind that fit this formula of the least likely candidate standing up to an overwhelming force?
Moses vs. Pharaoh David vs. Goliath Queen Esther vs. Haman
In all these stories about people with the odds stacked against them, we’re blessed to witness an amazing accomplishment by a person of faith—when everything points to a slam-dunk victory for the dark side of the force.
The same is true here in this encounter between Jesus and the devil. It’s no Thriller in Manila, no Rumble in the Jungle, no Superbowl between evenly matched opponents. No, the devil attacks when Jesus is at his weakest:
– no food (he’s been fasting for days)
– no companionship (he’s all alone in the wilderness)
– and no super powers (he is truly human)
This is not a fair fight—in fact, it promises to be a bloodbath
when the King of Kindness is confronted by the King of Cruelty;
when the Lord of Life meets the Lord of Lies;
when the Prince of Peace is assailed by the Prince of Pain.
Turn to the Gospel lesson and look at the three enticements used by the devil to tempt Jesus. What’s the first one? Turn a rock into a loaf of bread. Certainly, that would take more faith (or magic!) than you or I could ever hope for…but in the grand scheme of things, stones-into-loaves really doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. What is the real issue here?
The devil wants Jesus to focus first on himself—and he has some good reasons to do that very thing. How could he hope to care for others if he’s not strong and healthy enough for the task ahead? But Jesus responds with a quote from the Bible (Deut. 8:3) One does not live by bread alone…(Now, Luke doesn’t record it, but the second half of that quote concludes with these words: but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord).
So then the devil changes tactics and offers to make Jesus the emperor of the world and to enjoy all the earthly glory such a lofty position would command. But again, Jesus turns to scripture. In reply, he quotes Deuteronomy 6:13: Worship the Lord your God and serve only him. The power as ruler of the world is, of course, obviously enticing. But what is the devil really after here? To corrupt Jesus’ heart.
Finally, Jesus is taken up to the highest point of the Temple in Jerusalem and told to jump off—with scripture quotes that assure us of God’s commitment to take care of us. But again, Jesus refuses for he knows what the devil is really after. Anyone want to take a guess? The devil is tempting Jesus to abandon a life of faith and demand a life of proof.
Faith is active; proof is passive.
Faith requires trust; proof requires nothing.
Faith implies a relationship; proof is just the cold, hard facts.
Faith is all about love; proof is only about being right.
In this sense, Jesus’ temptations are the very same temptations that you and I face everyday. Certainly, the setting is different, and we won’t ever have a conversation with the devil—the rest of the world is doing such a great job embracing temptation that the devil’s probably on vacation.
But the core issues that Jesus wrestled with are the very same for us:
Are we focused first and foremost on ourselves?
Does God have to compete to be the treasure of our hearts?
And can we dare to live our lives by trusting God’s Word?
We know how Jesus responds to these temptations—he turns to God’s Word every time! But that’s not a quick fix for us; the Lord does not use the Bible like a magic-spell book, and neither can we. We can’t deflect a temptation to be selfish with a specific verse from Deuteronomy. Nor are there verses that will miraculously make us immune to alcohol abuse or infidelity or lying about our taxes. That’s not how it works.
What does work—for Jesus and for us—is found in his response to the devil’s first test. Remember what he says? One does not live by bread alone, (and the second half of the verse is implied), but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. For us, that means the best defense against temptation is a healthy offense (or a steady diet) of God’s Word.
We cannot be reactive to temptation and expect to remain true. We were built to be proactive, to fill our hearts and souls and minds with God’s Word. Then, when we find ourselves tempted, we have the emotional and spiritual strength to protect ourselves and our loved ones from evil.
The best way to ruin our appetite for temptations from the devil, the world, and our sinful selves (Luther’s Small Catechism) is to plan and follow a healthy menu of God’s living Word. By praying and singing, through worship and fellowship, and by doing good deeds of love, we feed ourselves and each other with every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
There is a great story attributed to aNative American elder that highlights both this struggle and its solution.
One day while teaching his grandchildren about life, this Cherokee man said to them, "A fight is going on inside all people. It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf is evil—made of fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego.
The other wolf is good—made of joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith."
They thought about it for a minute, and then one child asked, "Which wolf will win, Grandfather?"
The Elder simply replied, "The one you feed."
Amen.
Pastor Scott Fuller