Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent (The Temptation of our Lord)
Immediately (A Beeline to the Cross) Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ! Two times in today’s Gospel, St. Mark spells out the word “immediately” (Greek: euthus). First, Mark says at Jesus’ Baptism, “IMMEDIATELY He [Jesus] saw the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.” Then Mark uses the same word again to describe what happened next: “The Spirit IMMEDIATELY drove Him [Jesus] into the wilderness.” Dear Christian friends, If we were reading any other New Testament Gospel—Matthew or Luke or John—this word “immediately” might get passed over or dismissed as inconsequential. It is dangerous to regard ANY word in God’s Scriptures as inconsequential! Even so, Matthew and Luke and John all seem to use this word “immediately” in what you might call a common or ordinary way. At least, these three writers do not seem obsessed with the word. If you read Mark’s entire book, you will see that Mark seems bent on writing the word “immediately” as many times as possible. Here is a comparison for you: Matthew uses the word “immediately” seven (7) times in his book; John a mere three (3) times; Luke only once. Unlike these others, Mark carefully writes the word “immediately” forty-two (42) times in his book—and Mark has the shortest Gospel of them all! Many theologians and Bible scholars bypass this detail. They shrug and say that Mark simply has a favorite word. I do not think we should be so quick to turn the page. These things were written down for our instruction (Romans 15:4, 1 Corinthians 10:11). Every reading of every verse in God’s Bible should be like tasting a new meal at suppertime: it would be good to chew for a minute before we spit anything out. As you heard, Mark uses the word “immediately” twice in today’s Gospel, both when the Spirit descended upon Jesus and then when the same Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness. In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when He came up out of the water, IMMEDIATELY He saw the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove… The Spirit IMMEDIATELY drove Him out into the wilderness. The rest of Mark’s forty-two “immediatelys” follow onward from here. Mark’s “immediatelys” lead you through his Gospel like signposts would lead you down a trail. Follow the trail to the end, you will see that Mark uses “immediately” for the last and final time in chapter 15, where Jesus finally gets handed over to Pontius Pilate, in order to be crucified. Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, IMMEDIATELY held a consultation, and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate (Mark 15:1, NASB). Here is what we should do: We should think of Mark’s first use of the word “immediately”—there at Jesus’ Baptism—we should think of that first use as being like a fencepost or the pole of a clothesline. Then we should think of Mark’s last “immediately”—when Jesus was handed over for crucifixion and death—we should think of that last “immediately” as the next fencepost or the opposite clothesline pole. All of Mark’s other uses of “immediately” hang in between. All his other “immediatelys” are like the fencing or the clothesline that runs between the two poles. Stated another way, Mark uses this word “immediately” as a way of drawing a straight line for you between Jesus’ Baptism and His crucifixion for your sins. By his extraordinary use of the word “immediately” in his Gospel, Mark is creating a sensation of speed and focus and urgency for you. From the moment Jesus is baptized for your sins, He is totally focused on His crucifixion for your sins. To be sure, many things happen to Jesus in the time between His Baptism and His crucifixion. Nonetheless, Mark uses “immediately” to stretch a taut and straight line between Jesus’ Baptism and His cross. “Immediately” keeps Jesus moving forward. “Immediately” shows us Jesus pressing onward and onward with single-minded devotion. With Mark’s “immediatelys,” Jesus makes a beeline toward His cross, His death, and His resurrection for your eternal life. Nothing can deter Him. Nothing can deter Jesus from helping you, not even His own temptations. Mark’s first use of this word “immediately”—Mark’s first fencepost, so to speak—is at Jesus’ Baptism. Mark’s second use of the word is at Jesus’ temptation: “The Spirit immediately drove Him [Jesus] into the wilderness.” Here at His temptation, Jesus has headed down the wire, so to speak. Here Jesus has begun His beeline to the cross. While Jesus endures His own temptations, He keeps focused on that final “immediately” of the cross, where He shall give you your greatest defense against YOUR temptations. “The Spirit immediately drove Him [Jesus] into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.” At first glance, it does not look as though Mark has chosen to tell us much about our Lord’s temptation in particular. Matthew and Luke are the Gospel writers who give you many details about Jesus using Bible passage after Bible passage in order to defend Himself against the devil. Mark chose to cut away all the details, replacing them with this word “immediately.” “The Spirit immediately drove Him [Jesus] into the wilderness. And He was… being tempted by Satan.” Mark’s word “immediately” here at Jesus’ temptation does two good things for you: · First, “immediately” draws a close connection for you between Jesus’ Baptism and His temptation. According to Mark’s Gospel, what was the power that defended Jesus in His temptations? It was the power of Jesus’ Baptism. Boom, boom: one right after the other; “immediately… immediately.” By comparison, Matthew and Luke want you to know that God’s Scriptures will defend you against temptation. That is why they both took the time to tell you how Jesus spoke many Bible verses against the devil’s taunts. Mark does not do that. Mark wants you to know that God’s gift of Baptism possesses the same divine power for you that God’s Scriptures do. Your Baptism will give you strong defense against your temptations, just as certainly the Scriptures do. · Secondly, Mark’s repeated use of the word “immediately” paints you a picture of Jesus being focused beyond His temptations and in a hurry to get there. Stated another way, Jesus hits His temptations like a freight train. It is almost as if Jesus’ attitude is, “Let’s get this over with, Satan! I have better things to do with My time!” Wouldn’t that be a good way for you and me, likewise to confront our temptations? We generally treat our favorite temptations like window shopping: we do not necessarily want to buy, so to speak, but we are happy to hang around long enough to change our minds. Hardly a bird of temptation can fly overhead, that we do not invite to nest in our hair. Jesus keeps moving, for us and for our salvation: When He came up out of the water, IMMEDIATELY He saw the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove… The Spirit IMMEDIATELY drove Him out into the wilderness. After that, Mark gives us a long succession of “immediatelys,” until Jesus finally arrives where you and I need Him to be: Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, IMMEDIATELY held a consultation, and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate (Mark 15:1, NASB). At that point, all the immediacy ends in Mark’s Gospel. When Jesus finally lands in Pilate’s hands, the sense of urgency ceases. Jesus’ death and resurrection are the fulfillment of all things hoped for. The cross is why Jesus was baptized. The cross is why Jesus was hurried. The cross is why Jesus was tempted. The cross is the sole focus of our Lord’s attention, from beginning to end. Jesus’ cross is a good place for us to keep our attention, too. By constantly using this word “immediately,” Mark shows us that everything in Jesus’ life ends up boiling down to His death and resurrection. The same is true for us: everything in our lives boils down also to Jesus’ death and resurrection, and our baptismal inclusion in it. The peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
