First Sunday in Lent
February 10, 2008
Text: Matthew 4:1-11
Traditionally, on this First Sunday in Lent, the church reflects on the account of the Temptation of Jesus. Being the year of Matthew, we hear the story from his fourth chapter.
The story of the temptation of Jesus begins with the Baptism of Jesus. Coming out of the water, a voice from heaven is heard, saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Then the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. To be the Son of God means to enter the drama of our human existence, to be tempted by the lies of the devil.
When Jesus goes into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, he comes to where we are. At the heart of the temptations of Jesus is the act of pushing God aside because we perceive him as secondary, if not actually superfluous and annoying. We have fooled ourselves into thinking that we have far more urgent matters than God that fill our lives. Constructing a world from our perceptions, without reference to God, building on our own foundations, refusing to acknowledge the reality of anything beyond the political and material, is the temptation that threatens us in many varied forms. Yielding to temptation, we have set God aside as an illusion.
God is the issue in Jesus’ temptation and in our lives. Is He real, reality itself, or isn’t He? Is He good, or do we have to invent the good ourselves? The God question is the fundamental question. What must the Savior of the world do or not to? The demand for proof that God is real and good is what the temptations of Jesus are about.
The first temptation starts out with Jesus’ hunger, but it becomes a challenge to prove the reality of God. The tempter says, “Make good your claim that you are the Son of God by changing these stones into bread.” Our way of tempting God would be saying, “God, if you exist, then show yourself by providing bread and universal prosperity.” But Jesus says, “One does not live by bread alone.” Our true Good, is not our prosperity or other things we consider important, but God alone.
The second temptation is about power and who fulfills promises. The devil shows off his knowledge of the Bible by quoting Psalm 91. He tempts Jesus to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple, saying that according to the Bible, God will send his angels to protect you. Whom can we trust? Can we trust God more than anything else? Jesus says we do not need to put God to the test. If you follow the will of God, you know that in spite of all the terrible things that can happen to you, God will forever be your final refuge. Our true Good, is not the promises of others, but God’s promises alone.
The third temptation is about the future. Who will usher in the better world? The tempter says, “Make good your claim that you are the Son of God by ruling all the nations of the world and thus usher in your golden age.” Jesus’ reply to Satan becomes his reply to us. No kingdom of this world is the Kingdom of God. Earthly kingdoms remain earthly human kingdoms. Our true Good, is not the future promised by earthly rulers, but the future God alone promises.
The temptations of Jesus can be summed up into one great question: What did Jesus actually bring, if not universal prosperity, world peace, and a better world? What has he brought?
The answer is very simple: Jesus has brought God. Jesus has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon Him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God, and with God, we know the truth about our origin and destiny, they are faith, hope, and love. It is only because of our hardness of heart that we think this is too little. Yes indeed, God’s power works quietly in this world, but it is the true and lasting power. Again and again, God’s cause seems to be in its death throes. Yet over and over again, it proves to be the thing that truly endures and saves. The earthly kingdoms that Satan was able to put before the Lord at that time have all passed away. Their glory has proven to be a mere passing. However, the glory of Christ, the humble, self-sacrificing glory of his love, has not passed away; nor will it ever do so.
Jesus has emerged victorious from his battle with Satan. To the tempter’s lies of power and prosperity, and his lie of a future that offers all things to all people, Jesus responds with the fact that God is God, that God is man’s true Good. To the invitation to worship power, the Lord answers with a message from Deuteronomy, the same book that the devil himself had cited: “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” (Deut. 6:13) The fundamental commandment of Israel is also the fundamental commandment for Christians: God alone is to be worshiped. Matthew concludes the narrative of the temptations with the statement that “angels came and ministered to him.” (Mat. 4:11) Psalm 91:11 now comes to fulfillment: the angels serve Jesus, who has proven himself to be the Son of God. Jesus has brought God to us – our ultimate Good.