Saint Luke's Lutheran Church

Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River. The voice of God speaks to him from heaven and says, "You are my Son, whom I love." The Spirit of God descends on him in the form of a dove and immediately leads Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Since we all face temptations every day, it would seem that we should easily relate to this story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. But that is not always so. Maybe it is because Satan does not come to us so clearly or directly as he did to Jesus. Maybe it is because Satan does not transport us from place to place to ply us with grandiose temptations. Or maybe it is because we are not really tempted by the kinds of temptations that Jesus faced. Who of us has ever been tempted to turn stones into bread? Who of us would ever seriously think we could have all the power and glory of the world? Who of us would be tempted to throw himself off a 160 foot precipice?

In fact, when we look at the way in which Satan tempted Jesus, Satan comes off rather lame. We would expect him to come up with something a little more challenging for Jesus. Couldn't he have been a little more clever, a little more subtle, a little more devious?

But when we take a closer look at the Temptation story, we see that this really is Satan at his best. For Satan does not take his temptations off the rack. He tailor makes them for each individual person - finding the things that are most appealing to each one and zeroing in on their most vulnerable spots. And that is what Satan has done with Jesus. He knows that this Jesus would not be as tempted by the things that tempt the rest of us. So Jesus did not ward off these temptations because they were so weak or because he was so impervious to sin. No, these temptations put Jesus to a most severe test, and they really got to Jesus. This is all very clear in Matthew's account when, with deep emotion, Jesus finally shouts to the Devil, "Get away from me, Satan."

So what was really going on here? The devil's goal in tempting us is not just to get us to do something wrong. If that were all Satan was after, he could retire - we do a pretty good job of that all on our own. No, what Satan really wants is to draw us away from God. And the most effective way that he does that is to cast doubt upon our identity as children of God and to distract us from our mission and purpose. This is exactly how Satan goes after Jesus as well. Satan begins by raising a question about who Jesus is: "If you are the son of God, turn this stone into bread." The temptation here is not really to satisfy his hunger - there would be nothing wrong in using his power to feed himself anymore than it is wrong for us to use our abilities to put food on our own tables. But by the way the temptation is posed, it questions the voice of God that Jesus heard at the Jordan River - the voice that said, "You are my Son." In a most subtle way, forty days after it happened, the devil says, "Are you sure you heard that right? Are you sure that it was the voice of God, and not just a figment of your imagination? Check it out. Turn these stones into bread - after all, you're hungry anyway." Jesus replies with a quote from Deuteronomy: "One does not live by bread alone" - a verse that goes on to say, "But by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

The second temptation has to do with Jesus' mission. Knowing that Jesus had come to establish the kingdom of God, to bring the reign of God into the world, Satan showed him all the kingdoms of the world and offered them to Jesus. Here he was not offering him material wealth or political power - he was offering him an alternative to the cross. In other words, Satan was saying to Jesus, "I know that you have come here to take my kingdom away from me. I'll make you a deal. If you fall down and worship me, just this once, I'll hand it all over to you. No cross. No suffering and death. Just a little bend of the knee and it will all be done." But Jesus sees through the lie and responds with another quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God and serve only him."

Twice Jesus resisted Satan's temptations with a word of God, a quotation from Scripture. So Satan decides to use Jesus' defense against him. In a kind of a spiritual draw play, Satan quotes Scripture to Jesus - a verse from the psalms which talks about how God will protect us from all harm. He uses this verse to suggest that Jesus should find out whether God's word is trustworthy or not. Satan wants him to put this promise to the test by throwing himself off the pinnacle of the Temple. But Jesus goes back to Deuteronomy once again, to the verse which says, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

Here we see that the best defense against the temptations of the Evil One is the word of God. When we know the truth, we are less susceptible to subtle lies. When we truly trust what God has said, we will not so easily fall for what Satan says.

This week I read a short story by John Sumwalt, which he calls "The Devil and Willow Bluff." It is the story of a little church in a little town where the people were very much aware of the devil's power and presence. It went back to the day that the devil himself came to church. He walked right in and strolled down the aisle as if he had been coming every week. He was well dressed, in a blue suit, a white shirt, a red tie, and shiny black shoes. It wasn't clear how everyone knew who he was, but they did.

When it came time for the sermon, the devil got up from his seat and headed toward the pulpit. The pastor started to object, but the devil said, "Give me just two minutes, and I'll be on my way."

Looking out warmly over the congregation, the devil smiled sweetly, and with a smooth and sonorous voice he said: "My dear friends, I simply want to offer you a proposition which I think you will agree is in the best interests of your church and community. I will guarantee that all of your young people will be safe from drugs, alcohol, tragic accidents, suicide, premarital pregnancy, abortion, fornication, adultery, and divorce - all the things you worry about and preach against - if you will allow me one small consideration."

He paused to let his words sink in and their interest to be peak. Then with the timing of a master salesman, he went on. "All I ask is that you allow me to cook the pancakes at your annual pancake supper - not every year, but just once every ten years or so."

Now Willow Bluff Church was known for two things - preaching against the devil and their annual pancake suppers. People came from miles around to eat those pancakes. Some said they were the best in the world.

Well, it didn't seem like much to ask for that kind of guarantee. Every one there was concerned about the young people. What harm could it possible do to have the devil cook the pancakes every decade or so. It was tempting. Very tempting. But no one knew what to say or what to do. It seemed like the deal was too good to turn down, but then maybe it was too good to be true as well. While they were thinking about all of this, Billy Heider got out of his pew and marched right up to the devil. Now Billy had a reputation for being rather ornery. His mother brought him to church and Sunday school every week, but Billy would sometimes bring his squirt gun along. Well, Billy marched right up to the devil, looked him square in the eye and said, "We don't need to make any deals with you. Jesus died on the cross for us, and that's all the guarantee we need!" At this, the devil turned pale. Then Billy pulled out his squirt gun and shot Satan right in the face. Then the devil turned red with anger and stomped right down the aisle and out the front door of the church. Everyone saw him leave the church, but no one saw him leave town. They say that the devil is just watching and waiting for a more opportune time.

Like Jesus, Billy Heider stood firmly on the word of the Lord. When we know the truth and hold it firmly, the devil is always thwarted -- always. And the truth is that Jesus did not only resist every temptation, but Jesus also died for our sins. Through his death and resurrection, we have become children of God and heirs to God's kingdom. As children of God, it is now our purpose to worship and glorify God in everything that we do and to serve God by loving others and helping those who are in need.

No, we will resist every temptation. But we don't need to, because God forgives us our sins. Nevertheless, we strive all the more to do what is good and right and acceptable to our God. We do that because God loves us, and because we love God. Amen.