Showdown in the Dessert

        I had the only set of binoculars in the group so I could make up stuff.  We stood on the site of Old Testament Jericho looking up at an ancient monastery perched on a cliff.  (show picture).  This monastery was supposedly built on the site of the temptation of Jesus.  The cliff is called the Mount of Temptations.

       I announced, “There are men up on the roof – five of them.  It looks like they’re dancing.”  Everyone focused on trying to see what I saw. “They are black.   It’s…The Temptations.” (show clip)

       Some tourists will believe anything.  Some pastors will make stuff up – but only in fun.  Up here I’ll always tell you the truth.

       We don’t know if the Mount of Temptations is where the events described in Matthew 4 took place.  We are simply told that it was in the wilderness – the large arid area between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. 

       Three weeks ago we looked at the baptism of Jesus.  In his baptism Jesus identified Himself with sinners. Though He was without sin, Jesus participated in the ritual washing away of sin and entrance into the community of God.  John the Baptist said to Jesus, "I need to be baptized by you, not you by me,"   But Jesus told Him to allow it in order to do the right thing. 

       The right thing for Jesus was to count Himself as one of us.  As Dale Bruner notes: “The first thing Jesus does for the human race is go down with it into the deep waters of repentance and baptism. Jesus' whole life will be like this. It is well known that Jesus ends his ministry on a cross between thieves; it deserves to be as well known that He begins his ministry in a river among sinners.”

       There at the Jordan River, Jesus saw the Holy Spirit descend as a dove and heard the voice of the Father saying, "You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased."

       “You are my beloved Son," is from Psalm 2: 7. Every Jew accepted that Psalm as a description of the Messiah, the mighty King of God who was to come. "With whom I am well pleased” is from Isaiah 42:1, which is a description of the Suffering Servant.

       These paired quotations give Jesus two certainties.  First, He is the chosen One of God.  Second, the way in front of Him is the way of the Cross. In that moment Jesus knows He is chosen to be King.  He also knows that His throne must be a Cross. In that moment there is set before Jesus His task and His Father’s will on how He fulfills it.

       Now, immediately after this experience at baptism, Jesus enters a time of testing.  The chapter begins by saying, 'Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the Devil."

       So which is it?  Testing or temptation?

       The Greek word peirazein can mean both.  The word can include a tempting to do evil, but it often means more of a "testing to prove the good quality of something" -- just as a test pilot for a new plane pushes the limits on a plane to see what it can do.  A friend from Washington State told me that he actually saw a Boeing test pilot barrel roll a completely empty 747 over the test field in Everett.  Of course he might have been telling a story like I did at the Mt. of Temptations – some pastors are known to do that – but when I’m flying it comforts me to believe that the 747 s built strong enough to do that.  The goal of the pilot isn’t to crash the plane but to perfect it. 

      From the point of view of the Devil it was temptation.  The goal is destruction.  When Jesus stepped into the Jordan He made Himself the target of the evil one   If Jesus falters there is no hope for us. There is no savior. So the evil one will spare no effort to destroy what God intends to do in Jesus Christ.

        That is Satan’s goal.  But from the point of view of God it is a time of testing.  For God, the road to the person Jesus must become must pass through this wilderness.  Satan thinks he’s created this encounter for his own purpose.  But God is actually creating it for His purpose.  He leads Jesus to the wilderness because He knows that Satan will certainly show up.

        The initiative in the event is all with God.  The first verse says, 'Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted."  It is time for Jesus to determine exactly what kind of Messiah He is going to be.  Will He rely on the first part of the message spoken by the heavenly voice at His baptism – “You are my Son, whom I love” -- to such a degree that He avoids the way marked out for Him by the second part -- the way of suffering and the cross.

       Matthew makes a comment that is almost humorous for those of us who feel faint if we miss breakfast.  He writes that Jesus was led about by the Spirit for forty days while not having anything to eat. After those forty days were completed, Jesus became, hungry. During that time Satan spoke to Him and gave him three temptations.

       The first temptation is the temptation of material security. Satan said; "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."  Will Jesus become the great social worker for Himself and others?  Jesus has the opportunity to provide bread for Himself to ease His own hunger and also to set the tone for His future ministry.  He can become the bread messiah -- providing food for all the people and rise to power in that way.

       You remember that after the feeding of the five thousand the people took Jesus in order to proclaim Him king.  They know a meal ticket when they see one.  The temptation and the opportunity are still there. But Jesus tells them that He hasn’t come to give physical bread and the crowds desert Him.     

      In the second temptation Satan says. “Throw yourself down and let God catch you.” The scene is the high southeast corner of the temple platform that overlooked the great depth of the Kidron Valley.  This was a temptation to Jesus to be "showy," to do miraculous works to draw attention and get His ministry off to a big start by putting on a show.  

       The third temptation is the temptation of power.  Satan takes Jesus up and shows Him all of the kingdoms of the world and says; "These can all be yours if you will worship me."  This third temptation may have been the most appealing of the three to Jesus.  This isn’t because of the anticipation of ruling the earth.  That’s already part of God's plan. It’s because Satan’s offer will allow Jesus to rule the earth without going through the sacrifice of the cross -- a kingdom and all its glory, minus the suffering.  Jesus had the opportunity to completely dominate the political and social systems of His day. But he rejects that opportunity as well.

        The interesting thing about the first and third temptations is that they are temptations to do things that have 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 a world ruler in the human mold. Those who have attempted world conquest in history have been uniformly self seeking but Jesus was truly a man for others. As the ruler of the world He could have forbidden injustice and hate and war.  That would have been good and our history books would have been full of His deeds.  But His purpose was to strike at the very causes of hunger, hatred and war.   For that He will have to die – the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 

       There is an issue that underlies all the temptations. That is the issue of Jesus’ own identity and self- awareness.   Remember that Jesus became flesh to live a genuinely human like.  He didn’t have a blueprint any more than we do. 

       Satan constantly said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God do this thing or that thing.  Let’s establish who you are once and for all and clear all the confusion out of the air.  “If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself off the pinnacle of the temple and if God really values You He’ll save You.”  Satan says, “If you are the Son of God, turn the rocks into bread."   It’s terrible that you should be so hungry if you really are who you think you are. With these “if statements” Satan is saying, “You think you know who you are and what you are called to do.  But you’d better not launch our before you remove all doubt.   "Prove who you are to yourself with the power that is already yours,"         

       This is the kind-of temptation that many of us know a lot about -- the temptation that comes to us when we are unsure of who we are.  It is when we are tempted to prove that we are really, a man or a woman.  It’s the temptation to prove that we are really a liberated person or that we are not under the domination of our parents or under the domination of our children. “If you really are a man and not a mouse, do this.”

       Jesus is being tempted to establish his own self-awareness beyond a shadow of doubt – by misusing the power that is His.  Instead He turns the offer down on the ground that only God should be worshipped.” Jesus finally culminates that choice in the Garden of Gethsemane as He prays, “If possible. Let this cup pass me by, but not My will but Your will be done.” 

       This is going to be a very rare six point sermon because there are six major lessons we can learn about temptation from the story of the temptation of Jesus. Hebrews 4:15 points out that Jesus was tempted in all things just as we are yet without sin.  And we can learn to handle temptation from what Jesus experienced and shared with us. 

       The first thing we can learn is that Satan can't push you off the pinnacle of the temple.  He can only suggest that you jump.  Satan can't make us do anything -- but he can sure make suggestions.

       Remember, as Paul pointed out in 1 Cor. 10:13, that we are never tempted beyond our power to resist but with every temptation God provides a way of escape.  We cannot in good conscience ever say that a temptation is jut too strong.  Temptations are certain to come knocking on our doors but it is our own fault if we invite them in to stay for dinner.

       Second, it is not enough to resist temptation and then let down our guard figuring "once resisted, always resisted."  The last verse of the text in Luke’s account 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 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. 

       There is a lesson here for us -- the necessity of giving a final and decisive "No" to temptations, closing the door, and getting on with life. In other words, when we flee from temptation, we shouldn't leave a forwarding address...just in case we change our mind – “I won’t have the affair now but I’ll keep the phone number.” As Paul states in Roman 13, we are to make no provision for the flesh. We are not to leave open the option of sin.

       A third lesson is about our places of vulnerability. The temptations Jesus faces could only come to a person who had very special powers and who knew that He had them. The temptations which came to Jesus could only have come to one who knew the amazing things he could do.

       We are tempted through our gifts - our places of strength.   I was never tempted to become a bully in Junior High because I was too small.  The person who is gifted with charm will be tempted to use that charm “to get away with anything." The person who is gifted with the power of words will be tempted to use his command of words to produce glib excuses to justify his own conduct. It is the fact of temptation that it is just where we are strongest that we must be forever on the watch.

       The fourth thing we can learn from the temptation of Jesus is that the voice of temptation can quote scripture to support its point but that we can discern between the voice of Satan and the voice of God through Scripture.  God does not change and He will not tell us to do something which is contrary to His word.

        There are missionaries from groups like the Mormons who go from door to door and ask people to pray to God that He will show them the truth of their witness. I can hardly think of anything more pointless than to pray to God asking Him if He's changed His nature or His word. God does 'not change.  He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Any answer you get from such a prayer is not going to be from God.

        This is why knowing the scriptures --knowing who God has revealed Himself to be and what He has commanded us to do...is very important. The word of God is a light for our path to keep us from stumbling.    As the Psalmist said, "Your word, 0 Lord, I have hid in my heart that I might not sin against you."

       Jesus has no trouble answering Satan from scripture. He does it by quoting a verse from Deuteronomy: "It is written, 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'" 

       Satan replies, "Well, I see you are a student of the Bible, since you've memorized that verse from Deuteronomy. But, of course, I am a Bible student myself, and not long ago, when I was reading Psalms, I came across Psalm 91:11-12, which says, 'He will command his angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' Do you believe that? I believe it. In fact, I believe it so much that I am going to make this suggestion. Let's go up to the highest point of the temple, and then you can jump off. God will save you, and the people who see the miracle will realize that you are the Messiah and follow you immediately. It will make a great impression and will get your ministry off to a rip-roaring start."

       Jesus answers this suggestion by another quotation from Deuteronomy. "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”   He meant, "Satan, you want me to test the Father, but you have to understand that the Father is not the one who is to be tested. I am the one being tested and that means my responsibility is not to challenge my Father but to trust Him."   It is appropriate to trust God but it’s not appropriate to "force" God into supernatural demonstrations of his faithfulness.

       The fifth thing we can learn is that temptation itself is not a sin nor is it something to be ashamed of.  Jesus was tempted yet He was without sin. If  Jesus had not shared about the events of His temptation in the wilderness with His disciples we would never have know about them because there was no one out there in the wilderness but Jesus, Satan, and the angels who came to minister to Him. Our record of the temptation must have come from Jesus Himself.  

       Jesus tells us His own spiritual autobiography for a reason.  Jesus tells us that He can help others who are tempted because He himself was tempted. He draws the veil from his own struggles to help us in our struggle.  In the words of Hebrews, knowing Jesus struggle gives us the confidence to approach the throne of grace that we may find mercy and grace to help in time of need.   He knows what it means for us to be us. 

       Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days being tempted by Satan.  After the 40 days were finished, Jesus returns from the wilderness to the crowded streets and lonely roads of Israel where He is faced by more and other temptations. But He returns from the wilderness testing to public ministry with a firm understanding of who He is and what He is about that sustains Him to the cross.   

       We can face the temptations that come to us in the same way.  We can give into them and be shaped and molded toward evil.  Or we can resist them by the power of God and so be molded and conformed to the image of Christ who also was tempted as we are – yet without sin – and who can help us in our temptation and sympathize with our weakness because He’s been here too.