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Being Tested With the Christ (a series of 3 Lenten sermons)

The First Temptation: Distorted Priorities

The Second Temptation: Impatience

The Third Temptation: Ignoring Reality

 Date:      Any time during Lent

 Text: Luke 4:1-13

 Theme: We are tested, as was the Christ.

Subjects: temptation, priorities, reality, delusion, evil, impatience

The First Temptation: Distorted Priorities

Until he was thirty, Jesus lived an ordinary, unremarkable existence as a carpenter, the son of a carpenter, in a provincial backwater.  His neighbors apparently knew nothing of the signs and wonders that had attended his birth. They had not been told of the angel's startling conversations with Mary and Joseph, of the manager at Bethlehem, of the shepherds and the heavenly chorus, or of the stargazers who came in search of the newborn king of the Jews. Since the death of the tyrant Herod, the family of Mary and Joseph had lived quietly among the residents of Nazareth. If the Nazarenes were aware of Jesus at all, they knew him for the furniture, tools, and farm implements that he made and repaired. If they honored him at all, it was for the houses and barns that he constructed and embellished.

And then one day he was gone. His neighbors probably thought that he had become bored with small town existence and was headed for the big city, Jerusalem. A few of them might have imagined the truth, that he had gone to see his strange cousin, John the Baptizer.  The Nazarenes had heard of John, a notorious "religious fanatic," who haunted the wilderness, preaching to crowds from Jerusalem who sought him out that men should turn away from their unrighteous deeds before the anointed one, the Messiah or Christ, appeared on the scene astride a white horse, sword in hand, to mete out the judgment of God.

Suddenly, perhaps while receiving John's rite of cleansing, Jesus realized that he was the Christ. For forty days and nights, he hid in the lonely, empty solitude of the desert and struggled to sort out who he was, to whom he belonged, to whom he was responsible, and to what ministry he had been called. Ignoring thirst and hunger, the scorching heat of the day, the bone-chilling cold of the night, the wind storms and apparitions, he attended only to those terrible conflicting inner voices that contended for possession of his soul. He agonized over what lay ahead as intensely and fervently as his forefather Jacob had wrestled with the angel of God.

During those forty days in the wilderness, Jesus must have thought much about the forty-year odyssey of his ancestors in the desert of Sinai. He recalled how God had sent Moses the deliverer, how He brought the fugitive slaves out of Egypt through the miracle of the Red Sea, how he gave them the Law and bound them to him as his people and himself to them as their God. Jesus remembered the frailty of those freed slaves -- their anxieties, their impatience, their lack of faith, and their constant rebellion against their calling and destiny as the chosen people of God.

And when his own emotions-excitement, loneliness, and confusion -- engulfed him, and the desert-born hallucinations became more real than the weariness of his emaciated and dehydrated body, Jesus anchored his being and sanity in the Word of God.  He must have recited to himself every syllable of Scripture he could remember. His mind fastened on the Book we know as Deuteronomy, the final sermon of Moses to the wilderness nation. Perhaps Jesus started with the Shema, the words most precious to a devout Jew: "Shema Yisrael, Adonai Elohainu, Adonai Echod" ("Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord") (Deut. 6:4). And then he would have recited the words that follow the Shema: "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." And a few verses later: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test . . . " (6:16). A few minutes later, his memory would bring him to the words: "And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna . . . ; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord" (8:3-4).  As Jesus he stared out into the desert, it would have been so appropriate to think of Moses and the children of Israel, and to recall the final words of Moses contained in the fifth scroll of the Law.

And as the words of the Law, Writings, and Prophets ran through his mind, he realized, with an assurance that could never be shaken who, he was, to whom he belonged, and to what he had been called. Then the tempter came!

And the tempter said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." Jesus knew that he was the Son of God. He did not need to prove it to himself. He was also hungry. But he realized that his powers like those of Moses before him were not cheap tricks to satisfy his physical needs or his ego.  Yielding to just such a temptation had cost Moses entrance into the Promised Land.

Jesus was being tempted to put himself and his needs first and his calling second. He dismissed this temptation with a reference to the heavenly manna that had fed the Israelites in the desert. What he was saying to the tempter was, "I will put God first, responding with the fullness of my being to who I am, to whom I am responsible, to my calling. That is all that I can do."

This awareness would echo throughout his ministry. When those who followed him were more concerned with food, shelter, and clothing than about the kingdom of God, the teaching of Jesus was clear: Don't worry about such things. Seek first God's kingdom and righteousness and let God take care of the rest (Mt. 6:33; Lk. 12:31).

Man's first concern should be the God who calls him to partnership in the ongoing redemptive struggle.  "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."  And where may we today hear the word that proceeds from the mouth of God to our ears?

The word of God to us is to be found in the Bible. For the spiritual message of the prophets, chroniclers, psalmists, sages, evangelists, and apostles will speak to our hearts if we immerse ourselves in it so that it may wash over our consciousness, infuse our dreams and aspirations, inform and ennoble our character.

As Protestants, we boast that we are the people of the open Bible. Yet for many of us it remains a closed and dusty tome. It should be read, studied, meditated upon, recited aloud, discussed, and cherished. It should not be worshiped, twisted, distorted, or set above the God to whom it points. But it surely should never be ignored.

On a more personal level, each of us should listen as God speaks to us as we fully and without reservation respond to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. For in our age, God does not demand our attention with unavoidable signs and wonders but whispers to us with a still, small voice that says: ". . . as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to it to me" (Mt. 25:40).

And he speaks to you and me as individuals-calling each of us to be what he or she alone can be, to use talents and abilities to serve others, to use genius and artistic creativity "to tame the savage beast and make noble the way of man," to meet without whimpering or complaining the challenges, threats, and opportunities of ordinary existence.  For to each of us is given a unique direction, a calling, a vocation, a life that may be lived with the fullness and totality of our being.

Remember as Jesus did: You "shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

* LDS

[1300 words][13 minutes]

The Second Temptation: Impatience

Finally, the devil displayed for Jesus "all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them"; and the tempter said to Jesus, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

Obviously, the devil considers the kingdoms of the world his to give. God, it would appear, has given him a temporary sublease.  Fundamentally, they belong to God, and someday, according to the divine plan, they will revert to his Son.  As John proclaims in the eleventh chapter of Revelation (and as we echo whenever we sing Handel's "Messiah"):  "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (11:15). So if they are going to be his anyway, why shouldn't the Son of God claim them now?

The forty days of meditation on the lessons of Deuteronomy reminded him of the forty years in which the children of Israel had tried the patience of God.  Jesus realized that even the most faithful continually tempt God through impatience, lack of faith, forcing God's hand, having to do things our way.

Throughout his career, his audience "tempted" him. The word "temptation" is used in the Gospels to describe an incredible number of encounters between Jesus and the smart alecks of his time.  They tried to belittle him, to make him look foolish, and to make themselves look wise. They tried to bait him into losing his temper or saying something that would get him trouble with the authorities. They tried to get him to make some grand gesture, such as leading an armed insurrection or calling down fire from heaven against the Romans. But all of the temptations added up to one and the same thing.  Jesus was tempted to twist God's arm, to make things happen now, to do things his way rather than God's, to avoid the long, costly road that led to Calvary. And he was tempted to override our wills, to make us be obedient and righteous whether we wanted to be or not, to bring in the kingdom of God without having to put up with our confusion, uncertainty, failures, and ineptitudes.

Instead of forcing God's hand, Jesus surrendered himself to the state and fate of humankind.  He experienced every temptation (Hebrews 2:18). He served us when we should have been serving him. He was obedient unto death even the death of the cross (Phil. 2:8).

"You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve." These words remind us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; that for our individual lives to have meaning, each of us must discover for himself or herself a sense of perspective, a feeling of belonging, an awareness that the universe is tilted to reward justice, good conscience, unselfishness.

Is it true? I don't know. I can't prove it. But I can choose to live it. I can choose to let God be God.  I can remind myself daily not to set preliminary concerns before the ultimate; not to let anything less than God be God. I can demand of myself that what I consider important, vital, and central in my life really is important, vital, and central.  I can resist the temptation to have to be liked, loved, and appreciated.  I can resist the temptation to always have to be right.

We struggle with evil because we have no choice. We wrestle with our own evil inclinations and with the evil one, Satan, the tempter. We are tempted to cut corners, take shortcuts, do it now, do it our way. But God's way may be summarized in one word: "serve." "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve." How may I serve you, O king of kings? Again, the still, small voice replies: ". . . as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to it to me." And as Jesus, the disguised king, prepares to lay down his life, he gives a final example, he washes the feet of his disciples (John 13:3-18). He might as well have counseled a friend who was anxious, depressed, confused or angry.  The message would have been the same. Whenever any one of us helps a friend to respond to the challenges, threats, or opportunities of his or her life, we serve the king.  "If he you know these things," Jesus adds,"blessed are you if you do them" (John 13:18).

* LDS

[1000 words]

[10 minutes]

The Third Temptation: Ignoring Reality

Next the devil transported Jesus to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the

temple, and taunted him: "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge of you,' and 'On their hands will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

To paraphrase the devil, "If God loves you, you can't get hurt." And by implication, "If you can get hurt, God doesn't love you." It makes sense, doesn't it? And Satan can even quote scriptural justification, the ninety-first Psalm. What is interesting is the way that Satan sets the truth of "first things first" on its head. "Seek righteousness first and God will take care of the rest," is twisted into "if you believe in God, you no longer have to take any responsibility for your own life."

Once again, Jesus focuses his attention on the wandering Israelites. No matter what God did for them, they grumbled and complained-just as we do! Instead of receiving the gifts of God with thankfulness and gratitude, they wanted more and more.  They were spoiled children demanding "If you really love me, you will give me what I want." They had lost touch with reality.

Jesus did not succumb to that temptation. He knew how the world was -- even for the Son of God. Later, he would teach his disciple to pray: "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." The Greek text of these words is ambiguous. The words can be translated: "deliver us from evil" or "deliver us from the evil one." I have often wondered which Jesus had in mind. Were we to ask the Father to deliver us from our own evil inclinations or from the devil?

The writers of the New Testament spoke of evil as a ubiquitous and persistent aspect of our personalities, our experiences, and the world in which we live. They refer to evil hearts, evil thoughts, evil consciences, evil surmising, evil reports, evil days, evil work, evil workers, evil deeds, evil men, and evil spirits. They remind us that we live in "the present evil world," that this age is corrupt, out of balance, and insane.  The world in which Jesus found himself-and which you and I know-is characterized by suffering, confusion, illness, death, and despair. God is not the ruler of the world, this present age.  If he were, there would be no suffering, no disease, no death. Evil is king.  Sin reigns in us and in our world. It spreads like some hideous disease that invades a healthy body and cannot be destroyed without killing its host.

Sin is not a minor irritation-an occasional outburst of bad manners or a brief time of turmoil that disrupts the habitual peace. War is the natural state of the human race. Discord, calamity, death are the way things are. Do you remember those words that interrupted our family gathering one Sunday forty-five years ago? Or the words of our President the following day?

Yesterday, December 7, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy the United States of American was suddenly and  deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan . . . . With confidence in our armed forces-with the unbounded determination of our people -- we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God.

In the days that followed we set aside pettiness and bickering, and united as never before to assure the defeat of our common enemies. Along the way, we endured separation, hardship, and shortages, as well as the postponement of career and family plans. And some of our neighbors and loved ones sacrificed a great deal more. For we were convinced, as President Roosevelt confidently predicted on December 9 in his "fireside chat," "We are going to win the war, and we are going to win the peace that follows."

We interrupt this regularly scheduled program to bring you a special message from God.  At every moment of every day since the birth of his son, special forces under the command of goodness have invaded the human race and begun the final conquest of evil by good. Though God's beachheads are small in our age, our nation, our community, our homes, and our individual lives, God has assured us of his ultimate victory.  And he calls upon each of us to sacrifice profit, pleasure, and convenience, and to join him in this final struggle.

"You shall not tempt the Lord your God," Jesus insisted. Tempting the Lord is living as if there is no struggle, as if there is no piper to pay, as if we do not reap what we sow, as if it makes no difference what any one of us does, as if there really is a free lunch.  "You shall not tempt the Lord your God" means "Don't leave it to God to do what you are responsible for doing. Don't be careless and claim that you are just trusting God. Don't neglect your spouse, children, parents, or community and say that God will take care of them. Don't shirk the hard work of building your own character or of providing an example of character-building for your children. Don't excuse your failure to keep your word and to honor your commitments by saying, "It's not my fault. That's just the way things are. It must be the way God intended them."

"You shall not tempt the Lord your God" means accept responsibility for your own life. Keep your word. Stop making excuses, and stop accepting them.

The rules of the game called life are very straightforward: Life is hard. Life is unfair.  There are no survivors. We all depend on one another. No one else can live my life for me.  To live as if any of these rules does not exist is like trying to fool providence. "Again it is written, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"

Despite temptation, Jesus remained focused on who he was, to whom he was responsible, and to what he had been called. The forty days in the desert provided a foundation for his ministry. And despite the rejection by the masses, the instability of his followers, the hostility of the spiritual and civil leaders of his day, he never forgot who he was.

I can hear the struggles of the forty days echoed in the Lord's Prayer, which he taught his disciples shortly after his trials in the wilderness. His memory of the hunger he felt produces the prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." The temptation to take things into his own hand and do things his way instead of his Father's inspires the teaching: "Forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. Do not put us to the test." The conflict he experienced between the demands of false gods -- wrong priorites, delusions, and impatience-and the will the true God are heard throughout the prayer, especially in the petition, "Deliver us from evil," from the evil of our own hearts and minds and from the evil over which we have no control.

In my mind's eye, I see him in the midst of crisis and turmoil returning again and again to the forty days in the wilderness. I hear him whispering to himself the scriptural lessons who gave him the backbone to resist both temptation and the evil one, the scriptural lessons which are every bit as fresh, meaningful, and significant to us today as we courageously serve and love:

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

You shall not tempt the Lord your God.

You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

* LDS

[1100 words]

[11 minutes]