/Then Jesus was led up into the desert by the Spirit to be tried by the
devil. And having fasted 40 days & 40 nights afterward He was hungry.
And having come, the tempter said to Him, "If You are Son of God, speak
in order that these stoned become bread." But He, answering said, "It
has been written, `Not on bread alone will man live, but on every saying
coming forth through God's mouth.'" Then the devil takes Him along into
the holy city and stands Him on the highest point of the temple and says
to Him, "If You are Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written
that, "to His angels He will give orders concerning You", and "Upon
hands they will bear You up, that You not strike against as stone Your
foot." Jesus said to him, "Again it has been written, `You will not test
the Lord, your God.'" Again, the devil takes Him along into a very high
mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;
and he says to Him, "These all I will give to You, if, falling down, You
will worship me." Then Jesus says to Him, "Begone, Satan! for it has
been written, `The Lord your God you will worship, and to Him only will
you serve.'" Then the devil leaves Him, and look, angels came forward
and ministered to Him./
Back in college, even before the What Would Jesus Do fad, I had a
pre-sem classmate who wanted to be just like Jesus. Since Jesus went to
the desert to be tempted, this young man began to pray publicly that God
would lead him into temptation too! How foolish, since Jesus teaches His
disciples to pray that God would lead us away from temptations. WWJD is
often a foolish enterprise, especially when we try to do what is only
given to Jesus to accomplish. We can't defeat temptation. Jesus could,
and He did!
Like Jesus, we are tempted to doubt God's providence. Will He provide
for us in these trying economic times? Will God let me lose my job and
join the unemployment ranks? Will the Lord let our mortgage lapse into
foreclosure? We could end up like Jesus, homeless & hungry, living out
in the wilderness with nothing to eat or drink for 40 long days. Will
God come through for us to supply a means to get by?
Though we may think God won't always provide for us, Jesus had no such
doubts. Although he was very hungry & thirsty too in the desert
wilderness, He did not let the devil's temptations to doubt His heavenly
Father have the victory. Jesus defeated Satan's temptations to doubt the
Lord's providence, subsisting on God's Word alone, and on its promises.
For Jesus knew this would not be the final battle with the devil, but
that He had been baptized to the +, where He would bury & raise us
sinners to new life!
Like Jesus, we are tempted to lose our trust in the Lord. Should we test
God by giving up on that relationship He has given us, to pursue one
that seems better? Is it worth taking foolish risks, hoping that God may
just bail you out in the end? We test His patience, time and again,
placing ourselves in precarious positions just like Jesus teetering atop
the pinacle of the Temple, ready to fall.
Though we often fall in our efforts, Jesus did not test God's mercy by
falling at the devil's command. He saw Satan's faulty interpretation of
scripture as the devil tried to manipulate God's word for his own ends.
Jesus would not tempt His heavenly Father to see if this was a word of
prophecy or not. Instead, He stopped Satan in his tracks, rebuking him
for even suggestion that He put God to the test. He knew the angels
would minister to Him afterward, so that Jesus could continue on His
journey to the cross.
Like Jesus, we are tempted with respect to our loyalty to God. We
foolishly think that we can be part-time Christians, worshiping on
Sunday, but our conduct is much like unbelievers at other times. We
cheapen the grace of God by confessing that we are God's Own, yet acting
like we belong only to ourselves. We seem to worship mammon, the stuff
of weath & riches Satan showed to Jesus from the mountain top.
Though our worship & prayers falter all the time, Jesus feared only His
heavenly Father. Our Savior knew that the true worship of God is never
in what we get to do or acquire, but in what God alone does for our
salvation. True worship seeks Jesus as the only Savior, by faith. It is
worship in Spirit & Truth, as the Holy Spirit leads us by faith to the
Truth–Christ Jesus. Your Savior doesn't disappoint, but delivers your
salvation, not cheaply, but at the price of His body & blood, given &
shed for you for your forgiveness.
They say you can put lipstick on a pig, but that doesn't make it
kissable. Likewise, the black devil may appear as an angel of light, or
even as the majestic prince of this word as He tempts you. But don't be
deceived. And those times when you do give-in to temptation, look no
further for your redemption than He Who defeated that
snake-in-the-grass-deceiver, not once, not twice, but thrice. For Jesus
was not only victorious over Satan on this day, but ultimately triumphed
for you by crushing his head at the +. Amen.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
[email protected]
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