Tell Out My Soul

Mt 4:1-11

Today I’d like to talk to you about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. This all happened shortly after Jesus had just been baptised by John in the Jordan and we’re told that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. And then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be “tempted by the devil.” This seems like a strange agenda for the Holy Spirit to have, but it’s not what it seems. Looking at it realistically, God would not bring an agent of evil, like the “devil” into the world to tempt people to do the wrong thing and to damn them. That’s not what a loving God would do.

But, here is the devil. Now who or what the devil is, the whole notion of the devil or satan, has changed and evolved over the course of centuries, and it’s a whole subject in itself. But if we look at the book of Job, written about 400 BC, we hear about the satan. Satan isn’t his name, the Hebrew word satan means a person that is “an adversary” to someone else. He is not an agent of evil, but more of a messenger, sent by God to test Job. And the same thing is happening to Jesus in this reading. Even though it’s called the temptation of Christ, he’s actually being tested. When a person is tempted, they are being enticed into doing something that’s wrong. On the other hand, to test someone is to give that person the opportunity to choose what is right. There’s a big difference here.
Think about a multiple choice exam. You’re given a question and you have alternatives, a b c or d, and if you’ve done your study and you’re prepared for the test, then you’ll pick the right option. So the difference between tempt and test is that to tempt someone is to hope for failure; to test someone is to hope for success. So the Spirit led Jesus out into the wilderness to be tested and not to be lured into doing the wrong thing.

It’s logical to ask the question, why did this have to happen at all? Jesus was without sin. The thing is for Jesus’ ministry to be effective, he needed to be subject to every human experience, from birth to death. He experienced hunger, pain, grief and anger. All the things that we go through. A saviour who cannot endure our everyday challenges cannot save us. Paul writes, “For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.”

Jesus was tested not as the son of god, but as a man, Jesus of Nazareth. A human being just like all of us. The thing that stands out the most about this situation is that it wasn’t a simple test. It wasn’t about picking the difference between good and evil. Most of the time it’s pretty easy, even for imperfect humans like us, to tell the difference between what’s good and what’s bad and most of the time it’s easy to do the right thing. But sometimes the line between what you should and shouldn’t do becomes blurry. That’s what Jesus had to face in the wilderness, that blurry line. And to make things harder, he was physically and mentally vulnerable. He was hungry, isolated and possibly quite frightened. Jesus was fully human, he would’ve felt all those things, just like we would if we found ourselves in the same situation. The gospel states that he was “famished” … that’s not ordinary hunger. Most people in that situation would have been ready to do almost anything for a loaf of bread.

But anyway, here comes the satan, and he gives Jesus three different options, he’s a master at the blurry line between good and evil. And if we look at the three tests, it becomes apparent how tricky they were, because… and this is the important bit… the options that the devil presents aren’t evil.

In the first test the devil says to him, If you are really the son of God, turn the stones into bread. But let’s look at this option, turning stones into bread would not just relieve Jesus’ hunger but it could be a way to feed everybody, no one would go hungry, the poor, the starving. Jesus, the essence of compassion, would have considered this too… but his ministry was not about solving the problem of hunger, it was about spreading the good news of God’s salvation. Jesus refuses and answers, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Then the devil takes him to the top of the pinnacle of the temple and challenges Jesus to throw himself off the top, knowing that the angels would bear him up and save him. This would have been a very public show in front of everyone, in the middle of the holy city. How impressive this demonstration of Jesus’ power would have been to all the people watching down below. This would have kick started his ministry, and he would have saved people by the truckload if they’d seen a show like this. He wouldn’t have had to die on the cross and be raised again. He would have converted everyone on the spot. And Jesus would have realised this, but he responds, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Simply put, God has it all planned out already and it’s God’s will that must be done, so Jesus says “no” to this proposition.

In the final test, the devil pulls out the big guns and gives Jesus the toughest option to turn down. The devil offers Jesus dominion over all the kingdoms, as far as the eye can see, total earthly power and control. Here is an opportunity for God’s people, so long under the control of foreign powers, through Jesus, to regain their lands and sovereignty. The political advantages would have been enormous for the Hebrew people, it would have meant an end to the persecution and suffering. They would have had total freedom. But the catch is… for this to happen, Jesus would have to fall down and worship the devil. This was a test of Jesus’ loyalty to God the Father, and of course Jesus answers that you should worship the Lord and serve only him.

As children of God, this reading highlights the fundamental question: are we serving God or are we so concerned with worldly affairs that we fail to see God in the picture? It’s easy enough to do. We too are led out by the spirit, on a daily basis, and we’re tested. Jesus is our salvation, he became human and went through what we all go through and he showed us the way when he was tested in the wilderness. He knew exactly which boxes to tick when the devil gave him the choices.

The three tests that Jesus faced were the hardest ones because they targeted Jesus’ compassion. All three options involved benefit to his people, a limitless supply of food, a way to further Jesus’ ministry and save many, self-government for his people. They were not evil things, they were good things. They’re the hardest things to say no to. So where does one draw the line? Often, we too are presented with something that looks good on paper, but we have to ask ourselves the question, where is it coming from? Is this idea, this advantage what God wants for us? The devil often wears a friendly face.

When Jesus refused the devil’s options, all three reasons he gave focused on God. Firstly, the word of God is food for our souls, secondly, God’s will is paramount, and thirdly, we are to be loyal to the one true God. So in this reading we’re given the key to how to pass the test. The right choices depend on the nature of our relationship to God.
Each time we make the wrong choice, we chip away at our connection with God. When faced with the sometimes blurry line between good and bad, we have to ask ourselves, is this decision what God wants me to do? Am I serving God, or other interests? Does this choice erode my relationship with God?

It’s impossible to know the mind of God, it’s too vast, too complex… but it is possible to know the heart of God, and we can do this because we know Jesus, his son. What would Jesus do? This question has become an acronym, WWJD. We hear this quite a lot these days, and it’s almost a cliche. But it’s so true. Fundamentally, if we follow this guideline, we really can’t go wrong. Jesus himself said “follow me” and, asking ourselves what would Jesus do? is a good way to do just that. During his temptation in the wilderness Jesus gave us a masterclass in making the right choices.

We are children of God and we get tested all the way along life’s journey. And we need to keep in mind that God wants us to succeed, not fail. There’s no external agency or devil or demon luring us into situations for the sole purpose of making us fall. No one is trying to drag us away from God’s grace. This is not what it’s all about. We’re here to learn, grow and evolve, moving ever closer to God each time we make the right decisions. We don’t hear about it in this reading, but I can bet my eye teeth that Jesus was praying. He often took himself away to a mountain or the desert to pray and I’m sure he was in a deep state of prayer when the devil arrived. Prayer is essential when we are faced with critical decisions.

Talking to God makes things clear in our minds and opens our hearts to what is right and good. The spirit is with us, barracking for us to do well, just as he was with Jesus in the wilderness, so that when the inevitable test comes, and we have the multiple choices in front of us, we’ll know exactly which boxes to tick and which ones to avoid.
At the end of the reading we’re given this beautiful sentence: the devil left Jesus and suddenly, angels came and waited on him. Like Jesus we will endure difficult times, we will feel weak and vulnerable, under pressure to decide and make critical choices. But when testing times are over, and we’ve done our best, God is right there to comfort us and refresh our spirit. God never leaves our side.

Amen