Lent 1 – Temptation in the Wilderness

Luke 4: 1-13

Rev Andy Braunston

Our first piece of music in the clip we just heard sets the scene for us. The Rolling Stones caused a lot of controversy with their song Sympathy for the Devil in the late 1960s when it was released. The song is sung from the point of view of Satan and shows he was present at some of the most evil parts of our history, including in the snippet we heard today during the temptation and later crucifixion of Jesus. This song echoes nicely the reflection that John read, rather chillingly too well, again from the perspective of the Devil. Our second song focuses more acutely on our theme for today – Temptation.

This passage about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is very familiar to us, but we don’t often reflect on it or on our own battles with temptation.

Jesus is tempted in three ways, each more insidious than the last. First we know he had been fasting by himself in the wilderness. After the high point of his baptism by John in the Jordan and that searing moment of union with God when he heard God’s voice “This is my son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased” he went into the wilderness to fast and prepare himself for ministry. We don’t fast much these days – we may give things up in Lent, but the idea of a total fast is a spiritual discipline that is not common amongst Christians. Jesus’ temptations seem to start at the end of his period of fasting. He would have been hungry, weak, emotionally and physically at his lowest ebb – of course this is when he was, and we are, at the most vulnerable point.

We are not often tempted when we are strongest. We are tempted when we are feeling weak, lonely, and vulnerable. At these times it is easiest to give in to what we know is wrong.

The first temptation was to Jesus’ most immediate bodily need – hunger. After all it wasn’t a sin to eat, what harm could be done? No where does the Bible command us to fast for such a long time and what could have possibly been wrong with accepting the Devil’s answer to turn those hard rocks into lovely bread? Yet our resistance to temptation only matters when it hurts. I haven’t given up much for Lent this year as I am already on a diet – and chocolate isn’t in the Slimming World menu with anything like the quantity that one would wish! Similarly I don’t drink much so a nice glass of red wine is easy to resist. But cheese…..nice hard mature cheddar, or cashew nuts or fruit cake – those things would be more difficult to resist. Jesus’ showed his depth of character and his mastery over his bodily needs by resisting the seemingly harmless temptation of food.

We are often tempted to meet our bodily needs and desires. Often it more our desires than our needs that we are tempted to satisfy. Our culture of materialism tells us that we must have the latest gadget, the must have item, the most fashionable clothes. We could do well to follow the example of Jesus and learn to master these desires.

The next temptation was more dangerous as it appealed to Jesus’ sense of power and authority. Here he was, God made flesh, the one through whom the world was made, living an obscure life in an obscure part of the world, starving and living not far from poverty. Yet he made the world, why did not the world bow and worship him? Satan’s offer was only right – it was restoring things to how they should be, Jesus should be in charge, people should acknowledge him, the world would be run so much better if they bowed and worshipped him. Yet there was a catch, in order to get this he first had to bow the knee to Satan, the creator worshipping the created. The real order of things would be reversed. Jesus quoted Scripture reminding the creature of his disobedience in failing to worship and obey God.

Often we are tempted to do the right thing in the wrong way, to say that the end justifies the means, that it doesn’t matter what method we do to get something done so long as the thing is done. Yet the roots of our actions, our motivations, have profound effects on the things we do. If the foundations of our actions are flawed, then what we build will be in vain.

The final temptation is the most dangerous. We all need to be loved and valued; I doubt Jesus felt either in the state he must have been in after such a prolonged period of fasting and being alone. He has beaten Satan back through quoting the Bible, now Satan quotes it at Jesus reminding him of the Psalm where God promises to give His angels to watch over and protect Jesus. Throw yourself off the Temple – the centre of the world for Jewish people then – and wait for the angels to come and rescue you.

Of course we are tempted to put God to the test. We do things blindly trusting that God will make it all “ok”. But Jesus turns the Scripture quoting Satan on his head reminding him that we are not to put God to the test. God is not a slot machine where we say a prayer, pull the handle and hope for the best. Our relationship with God is based on trust – on faith – not on a childish idea that God will do whatever we ask – if it were that simple we’d win the lottery every week!

Jesus resisted temptation, not because of his divine nature, but because of his human nature. He had learnt the Bible, and had learnt how to apply it to his daily life. He had learnt to see below the surface and see how things really are. These are lessons we too could learn to emulate as we journey both through Lent and life.