Luke 4:1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’4Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.”’
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”’
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you”, and
“On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’
Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
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A few years ago, I decided to get a bit ambitious at Lent; I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to give up chocolate, sweets, crisps and tea and coffee all at the same time!’ As you can imagine, it didn’t go well! By the end of the first week, I was back on the caffeine, the second week the chocolate, and by the third week I think I had gone back to eating as usual. I don’t think I even made it half-way through lent!
So, my motivation levels didn’t last very long did it. It’s not surprising really as I was trying to give up so much all at once. My wife said that I would never manage it and she was right.
When we decide to do new things though, it’s true to say that our motivation is high isn’t it. We are full of energy, a ‘get up and go’ and ‘I’m going to do this!’ mentality (aptly proven by how many people decide to join the gym at New Year). But it’s also true not just for the good habits we want to take up, but for the bad habits as well. For the things we struggle with; there’s lots of motivation. And then it wanes. Time goes on and, “The Spirit is willing” we say, ‘but the flesh is weak.’ Before you know it, a few weeks have passed and you’re back where you started, nothing has changed and probably feeling all the worse for it.
The same is true in politics, when a new government comes into power, they’re full of energy and vim and bring in policies and do all sorts of things that people voted them in to do. But then, it gets tired, then it wanes, then it’s ‘meet the new boss, same as the old boss,’ as from The Who song, ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’ (credit for this insight to bishop Robert Barron).
In our gospel passage today, Jesus is at the very start of his ministry to proclaim the good news. Just before this passage in the previous chapter, Jesus is baptised by John in the river Jordan. This was the moment when the heavens opened and the Spirit came on him like a dove and God said, ‘you are my son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased.’ This is a ‘mountain top moment’ if you like, as I spoke about last week when I spoke about the transfiguration. He has just begun his ministry, he is on a high, feeling affirmed by his Father in heaven and no doubt ready to go out there and preach the Good News to those who would listen and bring people to repentance. And as it says at the beginning our passage, he was ‘full of the Holy Spirit.’
So, where does God send him? To Nazareth, to Galilee, to Jerusalem a thriving metropolis? No, he doesn’t send him there. Instead, he sends him to the desert, no food, no water, for forty days with only himself to rely on and his father.
Seems a bit harsh doesn’t it, what’s going on here?
God has a habit of doing this.
That word forty in the bible is code, It basically means ‘a very long time’. We first see it in the Bible after the salvation of Israel from the Egyptians in the exodus. They spent forty years wandering in the wilderness. It was a testing time for the Israelites, and indeed it was a time of testing to see what would happen when temptations came. And far too often they were found wanting. They turned away from God. In the book of Deuteronomy 8:2 it says this, ‘Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.’ They were tested to see if they would go the whole hog, whether or not they would look back and say, ‘no, things were better before, they were better when we were oppressed in Egypt.’ Things were better when they weren’t free.’
God tests his people, and he tests Jesus, the devil comes to him, three times in this passage. We don’t know if this was some kind of physical manifestation, or if this passage is an outworking of wrestling in his own mind, and in a sense it doesn’t matter. He is tempted
He is tempted to go the easy route. Turn stones to bread, sate your hunger. God’s letting you suffer here, don’t put up with that, feed yourself, give yourself what you need.
Bow down before your worse impulses, use your power for your own gain and not for the glory of your heavenly Father. Use your power and make the nations bow down to you, go to them as a conqueror and not a saviour.
God’s putting you to the test? You put him to the test! Find out if he will really come through for you, throw yourself off the temple.
And each time, each time, Jesus doesn’t turn back, he doesn’t. Man does not live by bread alone, do not put the Lord your God to the test, Worship the lord your God [not yourself] and serve only him.
He stays faithful to his commission that God gave him, faithful to his baptism, you know when Jesus was baptised, that baptism meant that he identified with us, his fellow human beings, so completely though he was also God, that he came humbly to serve, despite his divine power, he came humbly to die, despite his divine power he remembers who he is. The Son of God, God’s son and the Father is well pleased with him.
Jesus is the opposite of ancient Israel, who so often fail to stay the course when trials and tribulations came, they fell short. But at the time of testing, when he was tired, when he was hungry, when he was thirsty he stayed the course. He was still full of the Spirit, and he didn’t balk or falter in the face of the devil’s temptations.
And we can do that too. The call of the Christian, the call of the person who follows Christ as I said last week is somebody who gazes on him, who is inspired by him and who is empowered by him follows his example. Who when temptation comes says ‘get thee behind me Satan’ as Jesus says elsewhere in the gospel. That is the call, when the tough times come, to be better than we think we are. To be good, and righteous and loving and generous, everything that Jesus was at our time, for our time, and in our place. And we can do that; we can do that with this help.
So, my invitation this lent is to follow Jesus’ example. Stay the course, and look to Him for the strength to get you through.
Amen
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