Tempted and Tried

Luke 4: 1-13, 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

March 22, 1998

by Dave Wilkinson

As I listened to the singing of the congregation this morning I was reminded once again of how much I enjoy Christian music -- most Christian music that is. I say, "most Christian music" because there is one song which I find particularly objectionable. It’s an old gospel favorite called "Farther Along." Now that made my views known we’ll probably hear it from the praise group next week. They keep threatening me with "Kum By Yah -- my other non-favorite."

Listen to the words of the first verse:

"Tempted and tried we’re oft' made to wonder,

Why it should be thus all the day long,

while there are others, living among us,

Never molested, though in the wrong."

There is a particularly whiny, self-righteous air to those words which really rubs me the wrong way! It's almost the kind of song you'd expect to hear the Pharisees of the gospels sing. And yet this song does grow out of an important fact. As Christians, we are tempted and we are tried. What the song fails to mention is, "So was Jesus." And we can learn to overcome temptation the same way He did.

Hebrews 4:15 points out that Jesus was tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.

This is nowhere better illustrated than in the passage from Luke which we just read. Before we look into it further let's take a brief look at the background.

In his baptism by John in the Jordan River, Jesus had identified Himself with sinners. Though Jesus was without sin, He participated in the ritual washing away of sin and entrance into the community of God out of perfect obedience to His Father. John the Baptist said to Jesus, "I need to be baptized by You -- not you by me." But Jesus told Him to allow it out of obedience to God.

There at the Jordan River, Jesus saw the Holy Spirit descending upon Himself as a dove and He heard the voice of the Father saying, "You are my beloved Son; In You I am well pleased." And then --.Mark says immediately --.Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. It was time for Jesus to determine exactly what kind of Messiah He was going to be.

Was he going to be the conquering military leader? That's what many of His people were looking for. Was he going to be a one-man welfare state --.providing food for the hungry people~ It was a quick way to popularity. Was he going to be the Lamb of God who was to be slain for the sins of the world? That way led to the agony of the executioners cross. What kind of Messiah was Jesus going to be?

And during this time in the wilderness, Satan spoke to Jesus and gave Him three temptations.

The first temptation was the temptation of material security. Satan said; "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus had the opportunity to provide bread -- bread for Himself to ease His hunger and also to set the tone for His future ministry. He could become the great social worker providing food for all the people and rise to power in that way.

You may remember that after the feeding of the five thousand the people took Jesus in order to proclaim Him king. The temptation and the opportunity were still there. But Jesus told them that it was not to give physical bread that He had come and the crowds deserted Him.

The second temptation was the temptation of power. Satan took Jesus up and showed Him all of the kingdoms of the world and said; "These can all be yours if You will worship me." Jesus had the opportunity to completely dominate the political and social systems of His day and ours. But he rejected that opportunity as well.

The interesting thing about these first two temptations is that they were not temptations to do bad things. They were temptations to do things that had within them a great potential for good. It would not have been a bad thing for Jesus to have become a "social worker." With His wisdom and His love, he could have revolutionized human society and reversed many of the effects of the curse . though not its cause. It also would not have been a bad thing for Jesus to become an earthly world ruler. Those who have attempted world conquest in history have been uniformly self seeking but Jesus was truly a person for others. As the political ruler of the world He could have abolished injustice and hatred and war -- but not their causes.

This was the temptation faced by Jesus. He could have lived and have done much to alleviate problems. That would have been good and our history books would be full of His deeds. But His purpose was to strike at the very cause of hunger, hatred and war. That was the excellent thing but for that He would have to die -- the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

The third temptation that came to Jesus was the most subtle. It was the temptation of establishing his own identity without the shadow of doubt or confusion. Satan constantly says to Jesus; "If you are the Son of God do this or do this other thing." Let's establish who you are once and for all and clear all the confusion out of the air. Throw yourself off the pinnacle of the temple and if God really values you, He'll save you.

Hebrews 4:15 points out that Jesus was tempted in all things just as we are yet without sin.

Does this mean that Jesus, when He was student at Nazareth High School, was tempted to cut classes and walk in the fields or to buy friendship by supplying His friends with the answers on a math test? Does it mean that Jesus, when he ran his carpenters shop in Nazareth, was tempted to cheapen His product to cut expenses?

As I read Hebrews 4:15, I believe that Jesus was tempted to these kinds of things -- and much more. And yet He never succumbed. He was without sin of any kind.

And there is something we can learn from this. Jesus didn't suddenly emerge from a moral vacuum at age 30 to be faced by the major temptations of wealth, power, and personal identity. He built up for the temptations in the wilderness by facing and overcoming smaller temptations during His years of preparation. He got into the habit of resisting evil. He did this by staying close to His Father.

The "Untapped Resource for Tapped-Out Christians: we are looking at this week in our Fifty Day Spiritual Adventure is "Prayer with Fasting."

Of all of the themes we have looked at, this one is probably the one most of us consider to be the farthest from our reality. When we had our small group leader’s meeting and this topic was mentioned, there were some expressions of surprise that it would be included.

Fasting has not been a prominent feature of my own discipleship walk. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:27, "I buffet my body and made it my slave." But for years I have I have lived the opposite -- "I buffet my body and let it have it’s own way." To me it is almost a humorous observation that Luke makes that "Jesus was led about by the Spirit for forty days while not having anything to eat -- and after those forty days were completed, Jesus became, hungry." Forty days? Try forty minutes.

What I am saying is that I am very much a fellow learner with you in this area.

To many of us, fasting may seem like a practice limited to"the spiritual giants." You may assume that only "really spiritual people" fast, and that it is neither expected of nor practiced by everyday followers of Jesus. Yet everyday followers need the benefits that come from fasting -- benefits I have begun to discern for myself.

So, before you conclude that this is an extraordinary exercise for extraordinary people, think about how you would answer these questions:

What do you do to feed your soul?

Are you satisfied that you have fed it adequately?

The testimony of Scripture and of God's people across the centuries is that fasting feeds the soul. Jesus did not teach that fasting is optional for His disciples. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:16-18) Jesus did not say "if you fast." He said, "When you fast -- when you fast do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show people they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to people that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" It is not "if you fast" but "when you fast."

The early church was able to cooperate with and respond to God the Holy Spirit because fasting and prayer made them sensitive to His prompting. Acts 13 tells us: "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off."

Fasting could be called the "italics" of the spiritual life. It adds emphasis to other disciplines such as prayer, or repentance, or discerning God's purpose for us. It brings a sense of focus by getting our minds off of ourselves and on to God. The importance of fasting is primarily in its impact on us. The Bible does not teach that fasting is a kind of spiritual hunger strike that compels God to do what we want. Fasting does not change God's hearing so much as it changes our praying.

One thing fasting does is to teach us about the appetites that control us.

In anticipation of preaching on this theme, I have gone through two twenty-four hour food fasts and am now engaged in a non-food fast during this season of Lent. My limited experience in fasting has begun to made me aware of a number of other forces that control my daily life, in addition to food.

First there is the clock. When I began fasting, I noticed that I tended to base my activities on the time of day, and especially the amount of time before a coffee break or a meal. It was quite a revelation! But in fasting, I noticed that the thoughts about food became triggers to thoughts about God. When I thought about food -- when I heard the sound of the toaster oven in the morning -- when I smelled a good smell coming from a bakery -- when my stomach tried to tell me what to do -- it all became a reminder to pray.

Second, fasting has made me much more aware of my desire for instant gratification. I see how much I allow impulse to control me. I'll stop what I'm doing to get a cup of coffee, some fruit, or some other snack whenever I want it. This carries over into daily activities and relationships that have nothing to do with food. A general impatience can easily control our days, fueled by the basic desire to have what we want when we want it.

Ben Patterson, Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in Michigan writes about what he learned from a lengthy fast. He writes, "I first learned what a slave I can be to food. Am I sad? I eat. Am I happy? Eat. Tired? Eat. Angry, depressed, bored? Eat, eat, eat. Do we have a social occasion? We must eat.

"I was surprised, then exhilarated at how free I was during the fast. What began as a command quickly became a permission. The permission? Not to have to live on the level of my appetites. "Do not work for food that spoils," said Jesus, "but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you (John 6:27).

Fasting has also made me aware of how much I am controlled by hurry. One place that this comes out is in driving. Not all fasts are food fasts. So during this Lenten season, in addition to food fasts, I am trying a fast from hurry. I am making it a conscious point to not seek to be first in line at the intersection -- to not change lanes in order to not be behind another car at the light -- to not do a mental evaluation of which of two cars in front of me is the more likely to accelerate quickly -- the BMW or the Ford Falcon? And I find that a conscious decision to be content waiting is a reminder to pray - and to give thanks for those other people on the road. When I get really strong here I’ll try this new fast in the truck lane on L.A. Avenue about 5 p.m.

You might want to try a different kind of fast along with a food fast during this Fifty Day Adventure. Just look at where you are most controlled. It might be a fast from being on-line, or a fast from television, or a fast from alcohol in all forms, or a fast from smoking where nicotine cravings became a prompting to prayer.

Fourth, fasting has made me more aware of the abundant choices I enjoy in life. Within reasonable limits, I can do or have just about anything anytime I want. I don't mean that I can just pick up and fly my family to Europe! But most of us have relative freedom to make basic choices without intense constraints. Fasting is a new window on this freedom. When we choose to deny ourselves, even temporarily in our limited fast, we see how much we take for granted. For myself I became aware of the fact that I knew that I could eat whenever I chose -- and that I would eat at the end of a twenty-four hour period -- and I was reminded to pray for the thousands for whom hunger is not a choice.

We have explored a number of dynamics of fasting, both biblical and experiential. But fasting's primary purpose is to detach us from the magnetic pull of our appetites in order for us to better align our lives with God.

Food has many connotations beyond mere nutrition. We use food for comfort. After a long meeting, I may head straight to the consolation of the refrigerator. Food can be an expression of pride. We insist on name brands and prime cuts and great restaurants. Food is a reward--as we give ourselves a special treat for a job well done. Food is also a distraction. We can see our children open the refrigerator for the second or third time in the last half hour, as if something new were going to appear there. And when we begin to see the many messages of food, we see that paying attention to the spiritual dynamics being expressed by our physical appetite can give us insight into our souls.

Ben Patterson writes about has fast: "My mind was marvelously focused on the fact that gluttony is about more than mere volume of food. It can express itself also as an inordinate interest in the experience of food, making taste buds promiscuous and stomachs ravenous for novelty and variety. I eat out often, and some menus describe the exotic, even spiritual experiences I will have if I order this item or that. I've seen chocolate desserts described as "Pure Sin."

Patterson continues, "The fast brought to my mind: that food is ultimately not about food, but about God. The meaning of hunger -- indeed, of all desire--is to point us to God, our only true provider. We shouldn't be too quick to make hunger go away, for it can teach us much about our frailty, need, and emptiness apart from God. A full stomach can be cause for deep gratitude, or as it has so often been for me, cause for spiritual dullness and torpor A little hunger never hurt anyone, but its absence will."

Fasting breaks our appetites, the drivenness of the flesh, which controls so much of our motivation. In 1 Corinthians 6:12-13, Paul puts our freedom to do things in the context of our freedom from having to do them. "'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful for me,' but I will not be enslaved by anything." When you fast, I would suggest you memorize these verses as a reminder that you are not merely giving up food when you fast. You are taking control over your life.

As we fast, God does amazing things. Fasting empties our hands. We release the many things which distract us from giving full attention to the Lord. And when we do that, God can works.

In the passage from Luke on the temptation of Jesus, we see how Satan comes to tempt Jesus when Jesus has been fasting. Satan is always self-indulgent. He is all appetite, He would never dream of fasting. So from his point of view he assumes that Jesus will be the weakest after a lengthy fast. But Jesus was actually at His strongest. The time of fasting has made Him very aware of His connection to the Father. When Satan attacks Jesus at the end of the forty days, he was just being stupid. He was attacking Jesus when Jesus was at His strongest.

The last verse of the scripture for this morning reads: "And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him -- until an opportune time "

Satan had thrown at Jesus the best temptations he had to offer and Jesus had resisted them. Satan departed willing to concede the battle. But he wasn't going to concede the war. Satan knew that there would perhaps be other, genuine moments of weakness when He might succeed -- after Jesus had been rejected by the people, during the garden agony on the night of his arrest, during a period of popular acclaim and success. He was going to be ready to tempt again if the occasion presented itself.

After the 40 days were finished, Jesus returned from the wilderness to the crowded streets and lonely roads of Israel where he was faced by more and other temptations. But he returned from the wilderness to public life with a firm understanding of who He was and what He was about that sustained Him to the cross. Prayer with fasting helped bring Him there.