Lent 1 – reworked from Lent 1A, 1999

May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

SEASON: Lent 1 – reworked from Lent 1A, 1999
PROPER: A
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: February 17, 2002

TEXT: Matthew 4:1-11 - The Temptation of Christ Jesus
Jesus said, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

ISSUE: This well crafted story, based on Israel's temptations wandering in the desert reveals the obedience and the true sonship of Jesus. In him and through him, we find our hope. Each of us struggles with our various temptations, shortcomings, and our slips in life. Jesus Christ who also struggled with temptation and the desire to discern who and what his life was about remained obedient and faithful. He is our hope, and the faithful servant who shows us the way to God.
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The Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is thought to be a neatly crafted story in Matthew's Gospel. It depicts by and large a truly struggling Jesus. The account is best understood when we keep it in context in terms of when it supposedly happened, and it is also best understood in the context of Hebrew history, and the cultural aspects of the time.
It is very important to know that the Temptation of Jesus immediately follows Matthew's account of Jesus' baptism. John baptizes him. A dove comes down upon him, a spirit lights upon him, and voice from heaven is heard: "This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased." What follows is that a "spirit" leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted, or tested. He has had a great honor bestowed upon him, God's beloved Son. The testing is to determine if this is a true honor. Is he deserving of the title? Thus, spirits, the Devil, then tests Jesus.
It is important for us to appreciate that in this time the belief in spirits was a part of the culture. Spirits, both good and bad, were believed to be everywhere according to the lore of the time. They were particularly rampant in the wilderness areas. People wore amulets and often painted their doorsteps and window frames blue. Charms were worn to ward off evil and mischievous spirits. This practice was common to the period. However, note that none of the accounts of Jesus' temptation report him to be wearing blue clothing or any kind of protection. He is strictly on his own. Jesus is totally vulnerable to the spirit world.
Jesus goes into the wilderness for a period of forty days and nights. This period of time immediately associates Jesus with Moses and Elijah, highly honored leaders and prophets of Hebrew History. But what's more, and is important to appreciate is that the temptations are also very similar to Israel's wandering in the wilderness after their flight from Egyptian oppression under the leadership of Moses. Jesus is identified as the Son of God, but so had Israel been identified as God’s son. In the book of Exodus 4:22-23, Moses is instructed by God to tell Pharaoh, "Israel is my first born son". . let my son go so that he may worship me.
Jesus, Son of God, like Israel, is faced with three significant temptations:
First, The evil spirit challenges Jesus to turn stones to bread, but Jesus responds with a quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3, "One does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." When Israel had wondered in the desert the people had complained to Moses of their hunger. This hunger was seen as a testing that they must trust God. But the people were rebellious and disobedient, and cantankerous. They did not pass the test.
The Second temptation, Satan takes Jesus to the holy city (Jerusalem) and places him on the pinnacle of the temple and dares him to jump, quoting Psalm 91:11-12 "He will command his angels concerning you." and "On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone." Jesus quotes again a passage from Deut. 6:16, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you did at Massah." It refers to another time when Israel tested God, and complained and distrusted God's protection of them. Here, Jesus recognizes it is he who is being tested, and it is inappropriate for him to test God. He remains obedient and faithful.
The third temptation, when the Devil takes Jesus up on a high mountain. High Mountains are always a special place of revelation for Matthew, like the Transfiguration Story of last week. Satan offers all the kingdoms of the world for but one moment of worship and adoration. Again Jesus responds from Deuternonomy 6:13: "Have reverence for the Lord your God, worship only him, and make your promises in his name alone." Israel, wondering in the desert, had failed to be faithful and obedient. But Jesus passes the test, and is true to his Sonship.
In Matthew's account of Jesus' temptation, I believe that Matthew is making two important points to his readers. The Israelites in their humanness failed to be obedient and trusting. Adam and Eve, Genesis’ symbol of all men and women, from the beginning had failed to be obedient, and succumbed to the temptation to eat from the forbidden tree. The world needed a messianic figure, a person of great obedience and faith to be the savior and salvation for God's people. They needed one who could master the evil spirits, deny them, and influences of the world. Matthew wants his readers to know that this Jesus was tempted as they were all the sons and daughters of God. He was confronted by the same powers that they had known and knew. But Jesus was faithful and obedient to this point. He alone passed the testing and maintained the title, Son of God, in the most profound sense. He does not succumb to temptations to be a big shot, to be magical, and a triumphant militant leader. His power is in his faithful obedience to God the Father. He obeys and accepts the word and teaching of God. And the good spirits, the angels, came and ministered to him.
A second important point is that Jesus' forty days in the wilderness, after his baptism, is a time of discernment. It is a time of reflection on the kind of life he will lead, in his case, what will be the shape of his messiahship. There are those who dare to say that it is plausible that Jesus could have become the Emperor of Rome. That thought might be presuming too much. But it is likely that Jesus could have become another militant messianic leader. The social and political situation in the time was ripe for that. Instead he leaves the wilderness prepared to take on the role of a suffering servant, as opposed to one to be served. He associates with the poor and raises them up, and gives them a profound sense of esteem, healing, and assurance that God is with them, that they are loved and adored by the creator. He conveys the presence of God in their lives. In their fallen nature he assures that God will reconcile and redeem and take them back. That spirited and spiritual anointed one will not merely last for a political seasons, or dynasty, but will last forever.
As we enter into the Lenten Season, and into this story, we might become aware of the various temptations and the failings of our own lives. Sometimes we pass, and many times we fail. Whether we believe in “evil spirits” or not, there are times when people will say, “I don’t know what got into me.” A parent says to a misbehaving child, “What in the world has gotten into you?” As the comedian Flip Wilson’s comic caricature Geraldine says, “The devil made me do it?” And we do laugh at and identify with Geraldine. The fact of the matter is that we are all tempted, and temptations in our culture are everywhere. You can call them evil spirits or not, but temptations are there, and we need to take full responsibility for our actions. We have clearly seen in recent years how political and public figures in positions of power are tempted to misuse that power, and see themselves as above the law.
In every aspect of our lives we see the temptations that come to politicians who are inclined to be come more like rulers above the law and susceptible to bribes, and serving themselves rather than the common good. Popular sports figures and entertainers, and popular youth idols in our culture have seriously disappointed the public over and over again. Even religious leaders have been disappointing through unbecoming behavior. We know in our hearts that the temptations are there to make us less than we could be. We are surrounded in our culture by greed and materialism, by sexual promiscuity and the dishonoring of the preciousness of bodily humanness. Promiscuity is rampant, and the popular culture tells us its fun. Many of the TV sitcoms, and crude talk shows, that that promote sexual promiscuity rarely if ever reveal the pain and suffering that comes from AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea, and herpes viruses. But sex in our culture is as promoted as new cars, and women as erotic furniture have often been used to help sell them, and many other things. The church’s stance and concern with human sexuality is often seen as stuffy, puritan, and out of date. When, in fact, the church is truly concerned for the health and welfare, the safety of human beings, and a moral stance that is wholesome.
Sex is hardly the one and only temptation in our culture. The Enron scandal, the All First Bank scandal, and so many others are related to greed and power. There is the temptation to keep filling ourselves full of too much. Many of us are just too fat and too wasteful. The God that calls us to health, healing, servanthood, concern for one another, and who calls us into his healing love and peace is often forgotten. The longest of all the commandments, the one given the most explanation in the Hebrew Scriptures, is the law to keep Holy the Sabbath, to stay peacefully in touch with God who is the source of all that is good, lovely, and of good report, that is strengthening and supportive to our defense against temptations of this world.
We truly need the salvation and the grace, the hand of God, which is extended to us in Christ to lift of from the mire of our lives. For Christ Jesus alone was in the mire too and was the way of hope and salvation for us. Angels, the good spirits came and ministered to him.
This is a season for our reflection and discerning what kind of life we shall I live. What are my spiritual goals? How am I going to express my faithful obedience to God though the kind of life I shall live? What kind of a new Son or Daughter of God shall I become as we make our way with Christ Jesus to Easter together? There were temptations for Adam and Eve. There were temptations for the people of Israel. There were bad times of not living up to what was expected. But God has not left us alone. He has come among us to lead and guide us. Take the hand of Christ who is our Lord and our hope, our forgiveness, and the one who helps us dance and rejoice with the angels.