Resisting Temptation: Lesson from Jesus

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16     Romans 10:8b-13      Luke 4:1-13

In my efforts to understand the Lutheran point of view, I often turn to Lutheran preachers for guidance and inspiration.  Today it is Pastor James Laurence from North Carolina. Thank you Pastor James.

I have a certain premise that may or may not be yours.  I believe that there is hell, here on earth.  I believe that there is an evil force alive and well in the world.  You can name it what you want.  Jesus calls it the devil.

The devil is very smart, and targets what he thinks will derail Jesus from his mission.  He waits until he is weakened from hunger, alone and away from his supporters.  Sly and cunning, the devil tests and tempts Jesus using God’s very scripture to do this.  The devil is desperate, knowing that he is challenging a powerful adversary.   His goal is to stop Jesus from doing God’s work.

This passage, also in Mark and Matthew, is instructive for us. We are being taught lessons from Jesus.  He is teaching us how to confront, deal, and cope when we are being lured by evil in our lives.  Our temptations are different.  We are only humans, not the Son of God.  Yet, Jesus’ response to temptation can apply to us, if we think about it.

Not surprisingly the devil goes after a very basic human need in this first temptation. .  Certainly one of our temptations is food.  It’s after 40 days that the devil says

“If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

That must have been quite a temptation for Jesus. The devil is trying to get Jesus to use his divine power for selfish reasons – for his own hungry self, not for the poor, not for God.  This would be a victory because a selfish action by Jesus could be considered a sin.  Oh-oh.

When we live for ourselves and not for God, we too have wandered away from our faith, not giving up things for God or other people. What can we do about this.  When in doubt, do what Jesus does.

He answers with Scripture. He quotes Deuteronomy (Deut. 8:3) to the devil: “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”  And the devil would know the next part of that verse: “But by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

This is about us.  Hopefully our lives are about much more than eating and drinking and working and sleeping. They are about the relationship with God that Jesus came to restore.

How about the second temptation? The devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and said to him:

“To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”

Why might this have been tempting to Jesus? The temptation isn’t just to worship the devil, of course. It’s to take a shortcut to his goal – to agree to worship the devil so that he could be given control of the world. And wouldn’t the world be a better place if Jesus were in control?! Even if he had to make a deal with the devil, the world would be better off if Jesus were in charge. Or would it?  We know that Jesus is in charge, but he rules by love not force. Because WE make imperfect choices, it is an imperfect world.

So, what does this have to do with us?  We certainly can’t take control of the world, but aren’t we tempted to take control of our little corner of the world?

We pretend that we are in control but we’re really not.  Don’t you know this?  The hard way.   We think we can fix our church, family, friends, school or workplace.  So simple.  Not.  Once we stop trusting in God to work through us and for us, we start sinking.  We can’t see the whole picture

Jesus who would never worship the devil, nor cared about glory, quoted Deuteronomy (6:13) again:

“Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”

It is a matter of trust, isn’t it? Even for Jesus. Of trusting God with our small and big things.  We can talk to God about it, because in prayer there is power. The power of God and his son, Jesus Christ.  Our job our is to worship, serve, trust, and love, leaving the rest to God.

And now temptation number three. The devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple; and this time, the devil tried using Scripture on Jesus. The devil knows his Bible! Evil uses whatever serves its’ purpose. So he quoted Psalm 91 to Jesus:

“Throw yourself down from there, for it is written, ‘‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Can you see this?  If Jesus had done this, think of the optics.  The angels soaring up, like today’s superman, saving Jesus. This would make a bigger splash, get more attention than a netful of fish.   Everyone would have believed in him right away. The Pharisees, scribes, tax collectors, fishermen. Everyone would have known, right away, that this man truly is the Son of God. Wouldn’t that be great?  If people believed immediately?

Oh Jesus.  Couldn’t you do something like that right now?  This is pretty tempting.

We don’t have this temptation in our lives, do we? Not literally, of course. But aren’t there times when we are tempted to let the ends justify the means? Aren’t there times when we can see a shortcut to accomplishing something good, and it seems like it might be worth it in the end, even if it’s not the best way to accomplish it?  Kinda like cheating? Or Let’s make a deal?  Mother Teresa famously put it: “God has not called me to be successful, but to be faithful."

Jesus didn’t start his ministry with a splashy miracle because he knew that it was not God’s will, he chose being faithful over being immediately successful. He invites us to do the same. Patience. Jesus says in Luke 21, KJV,  "In your patience possess ye your souls" (Luke 21:19) In the new revised version we use it says, " 19 By your endurance you will gain your souls

We will always be tempted to live for ourselves, to take control and to focus on success rather than faithfulness. Through prayer and Scripture, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can live for others, trust God and be faithful.

We struggle with this, don’t we? This is what’s good to know. Jesus overcame the devil – he won the battle – for us, and for our world. In the wilderness, and on the cross. We don’t have to fear the devil anymore.  Which means that no matter what is happening in our lives, no matter the temptations and trials and tests we might be going through, we can turn to Jesus.  He will be there for us. He is our strength.  He is our rock and redeemer. He will lead us, he will forgive us, all along the way. Thanks be to God. Amen