Luke 4:1-13. Temptations of life 21/2/10
(1) Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, {2} where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. {3} The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." {4} Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" {5} The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. {6} And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. {7} So if you worship me, it will all be yours." {8} Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" {9} The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. {10} For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; {11} they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" {12} Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" {13} When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Today we are confronted with the account of the temptations that Jesus underwent as he begins his ministry. Here in this message we find One in whom we can have hope; despite the fact that underlying Jesus temptations is a very sad tale of our human existence. If there was any pride in our human ability before we read this account, then surely there shouldn’t be after hearing it. However, at same time it does highlight the one hope we have in life: the one and only sure hope that we can have.
But here I wonder how many want to really hear and know this whole point that God wants us gain from this. Most of us I am sure want our pride left in tact; and we merely want to hear that which will make us feel good and allow us to go on living the way we want: then whenever things don’t work out too well we want to be able to complain to, and blame God and others for our troubles. Not too many at all, I am sure, want to face this reality: the truth of our situation. And as a result, we are denying ourselves of the one source of hope and peace that is extended to us.
Yet again, though, we need to take this message seriously, so that we can truly know him who gives this peace, contentment and eternal happiness. So let us again have a look at this text that we have before us this morning.
Here we have Jesus at the very beginning of his ministry here on earth, and the Spirit sends him out into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by the devil. In other words to undergo a short course to see if he can stand up against the temptations that you and I face in our daily lives: To see if he is capable of carry out the ministry that has been set before him, and to see if he can be of any help to us. Where we have failed again and again, Jesus came to show that he is the answer for us. We see this unfold us we move on.
Well, the first real test comes after he has been out there for some time and has had nothing to eat. So by our standards he would have been extremely hungry. Remember he was fully human as we are. Now it is here that the devil seeks to get him. After all, he can get to us much easier than that: We only need to go without food for a day and we start doing strange things. We grumble if we don’t get the food that we want, far less if we have to go without. On top of that, we place so much store on having enough put away for a rainy day, and all of our effort is made in order to gain and have more than ample. And often we do it to the detriment of nearly everything else in life: the church and other things come second – a poor second. Here we lie and cheat – twist and turn things to justify ourselves.
If we are honest with ourselves we would have to say that we all fall into this category to a greater or lesser degree - every one of us. The physical aspect of life is too often the be all and end all for us; and we will do almost anything – give into any temptation - in order to satisfy what we think we need or are told we need. The devil can get to us here almost every time.
So here, the devil says to Jesus in his severe hunger, ‘merely “turn this stone into a loaf of bread.” ‘After all if you are going to be able to do God’s work here on earth you need to keep up your strength. What good are you going to be to anyone if you starve to death? Anyway, it is no big deal. It is only a loaf of bread; and no one else will know.
But Jesus knows very well from Scripture, that we are “not to live on bread alone’. We need much more for life than that; and to give up all the rest for the sake of a loaf of bread would be disastrous. To give into the devil on one little point is to give in totally.
So the devil then takes him and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and all peoples, and then tells Jesus that he can have all power and authority over them, he only needs to do one little thing – bow down to Satan. No big deal – one little act, but he then can have all power over all the people.
Boy, would we be in there like a shot! Too often, we only need a hint of power over someone and we will do anything to get it – so what if we have to bend a little here and there. After all, if we can have a little power and authority over others, well of course we will use it for their good. And imagine if we could have power over the whole world, surely, we could bring about peace and harmony; and look, we could even make them all Christians.
However, history has shown time and again, that a little power corrupts in small ways – great power greatly. Anyway, as much as we often think that we have the answers, we, in no way, know what is truly good and right for everyone.
Now we all again to a greater or lesser degree fall to this temptation if the opportunity arises to have power over others; even if it means giving way to what we know is not quite right.
Jesus however, again knows what God has to say to us in this regard, and so says to the devil; “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” The Almighty God himself is the One who is all important; and to hold anyone or anything else up against him, even in a small way, is just not on. There again is what is important – there is what is needed.
So the next time the devil takes Jesus to the temple at Jerusalem, where the people are coming and going to church. Here he seeks to tempt Jesus to jump from the highest point so that God can save him miraculously, and then all people will then look up to Jesus and he will really get the crowds in.
Here again, don’t we fall for this one time and time again. We look for God to provide us with something special so that we can look great. We go out on a limb and put ourselves in danger, so that we can achieve something or other, usually so that we might be looked up to. Then as we do, we hope to God that he will take care of us; and if he doesn’t, then again we grizzle, complain and get angry; it is all his fault that it didn’t work out. And there are many other ways that we fall for this temptation. As we do, we try to justify our thinking, with the thought that it will all enable me to be a better person and to perhaps be able to help or have a good influence over others.
Jesus however knowing his Bible, simply states, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” He again simply places himself in submission to God and what he has to say; instead of listening to the devils lies and deceptions: instead of succumbing to his own desires and wishes. As he simply placed himself under God’s Word the devil was unable to lead him into temptation.
Now where does this leave us? Certainly when we look to ourselves, we see that we are obviously pretty foolish, stupid, gullible, and I could go on. We fall a long way short of what God expects of us. None of us can hold our heads up – none of us. When we look to ourselves and our ability to do what is right, we are in big trouble. We don’t come within coo-wee of measuring up. There is no hope. We deserve nothing but Hell.
But again, that is the point of this reading. Yes to show the temptations that we so easily fall into and our failure to even come close to how God expects us to live and be. But far more importantly, to show us One who has – the only one who has. So we now can have hope in the midst of our hopelessness. But hope not in ourselves – not in our abilities and achievements.
No, our hope is in this One who was tempted in every way as we are, but was without sin. Where we fall, he did not succumb: Even when he faced his final and greatest temptation from Satan in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, he did not let his Father down – or us. There he faced God’s punishment for all the sin in the world, even though he himself had done nothing wrong: He even there, did not succumb to the easy way out; but gave himself for us – so that we might be forgiven our sin; our failures; and assured of eternal life in heaven. So now we really do have hope – we do have what we really need and that which is important. But it is not in and from ourselves – but it is in and from the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
So let us this Lenten season put our selfish pride to death; recognising our weakness and failure to stand up to the many temptations that come our way: Acknowledging our inability to be the people that God would have us be. Then as a result, allow God’s Spirit to lead us to total reliance on Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that he brings: So placing our complete confidence and trust in him: For he is our only hope – our only source of peace, happiness and eternal life. So again to the Lord Jesus Christ alone be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.
Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish
(1) Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, {2} where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. {3} The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." {4} Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" {5} The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. {6} And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. {7} So if you worship me, it will all be yours." {8} Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" {9} The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. {10} For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; {11} they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" {12} Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" {13} When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Today we are confronted with the account of the temptations that Jesus underwent as he begins his ministry. Here in this message we find One in whom we can have hope; despite the fact that underlying Jesus temptations is a very sad tale of our human existence. If there was any pride in our human ability before we read this account, then surely there shouldn’t be after hearing it. However, at same time it does highlight the one hope we have in life: the one and only sure hope that we can have.
But here I wonder how many want to really hear and know this whole point that God wants us gain from this. Most of us I am sure want our pride left in tact; and we merely want to hear that which will make us feel good and allow us to go on living the way we want: then whenever things don’t work out too well we want to be able to complain to, and blame God and others for our troubles. Not too many at all, I am sure, want to face this reality: the truth of our situation. And as a result, we are denying ourselves of the one source of hope and peace that is extended to us.
Yet again, though, we need to take this message seriously, so that we can truly know him who gives this peace, contentment and eternal happiness. So let us again have a look at this text that we have before us this morning.
Here we have Jesus at the very beginning of his ministry here on earth, and the Spirit sends him out into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by the devil. In other words to undergo a short course to see if he can stand up against the temptations that you and I face in our daily lives: To see if he is capable of carry out the ministry that has been set before him, and to see if he can be of any help to us. Where we have failed again and again, Jesus came to show that he is the answer for us. We see this unfold us we move on.
Well, the first real test comes after he has been out there for some time and has had nothing to eat. So by our standards he would have been extremely hungry. Remember he was fully human as we are. Now it is here that the devil seeks to get him. After all, he can get to us much easier than that: We only need to go without food for a day and we start doing strange things. We grumble if we don’t get the food that we want, far less if we have to go without. On top of that, we place so much store on having enough put away for a rainy day, and all of our effort is made in order to gain and have more than ample. And often we do it to the detriment of nearly everything else in life: the church and other things come second – a poor second. Here we lie and cheat – twist and turn things to justify ourselves.
If we are honest with ourselves we would have to say that we all fall into this category to a greater or lesser degree - every one of us. The physical aspect of life is too often the be all and end all for us; and we will do almost anything – give into any temptation - in order to satisfy what we think we need or are told we need. The devil can get to us here almost every time.
So here, the devil says to Jesus in his severe hunger, ‘merely “turn this stone into a loaf of bread.” ‘After all if you are going to be able to do God’s work here on earth you need to keep up your strength. What good are you going to be to anyone if you starve to death? Anyway, it is no big deal. It is only a loaf of bread; and no one else will know.
But Jesus knows very well from Scripture, that we are “not to live on bread alone’. We need much more for life than that; and to give up all the rest for the sake of a loaf of bread would be disastrous. To give into the devil on one little point is to give in totally.
So the devil then takes him and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and all peoples, and then tells Jesus that he can have all power and authority over them, he only needs to do one little thing – bow down to Satan. No big deal – one little act, but he then can have all power over all the people.
Boy, would we be in there like a shot! Too often, we only need a hint of power over someone and we will do anything to get it – so what if we have to bend a little here and there. After all, if we can have a little power and authority over others, well of course we will use it for their good. And imagine if we could have power over the whole world, surely, we could bring about peace and harmony; and look, we could even make them all Christians.
However, history has shown time and again, that a little power corrupts in small ways – great power greatly. Anyway, as much as we often think that we have the answers, we, in no way, know what is truly good and right for everyone.
Now we all again to a greater or lesser degree fall to this temptation if the opportunity arises to have power over others; even if it means giving way to what we know is not quite right.
Jesus however, again knows what God has to say to us in this regard, and so says to the devil; “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” The Almighty God himself is the One who is all important; and to hold anyone or anything else up against him, even in a small way, is just not on. There again is what is important – there is what is needed.
So the next time the devil takes Jesus to the temple at Jerusalem, where the people are coming and going to church. Here he seeks to tempt Jesus to jump from the highest point so that God can save him miraculously, and then all people will then look up to Jesus and he will really get the crowds in.
Here again, don’t we fall for this one time and time again. We look for God to provide us with something special so that we can look great. We go out on a limb and put ourselves in danger, so that we can achieve something or other, usually so that we might be looked up to. Then as we do, we hope to God that he will take care of us; and if he doesn’t, then again we grizzle, complain and get angry; it is all his fault that it didn’t work out. And there are many other ways that we fall for this temptation. As we do, we try to justify our thinking, with the thought that it will all enable me to be a better person and to perhaps be able to help or have a good influence over others.
Jesus however knowing his Bible, simply states, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” He again simply places himself in submission to God and what he has to say; instead of listening to the devils lies and deceptions: instead of succumbing to his own desires and wishes. As he simply placed himself under God’s Word the devil was unable to lead him into temptation.
Now where does this leave us? Certainly when we look to ourselves, we see that we are obviously pretty foolish, stupid, gullible, and I could go on. We fall a long way short of what God expects of us. None of us can hold our heads up – none of us. When we look to ourselves and our ability to do what is right, we are in big trouble. We don’t come within coo-wee of measuring up. There is no hope. We deserve nothing but Hell.
But again, that is the point of this reading. Yes to show the temptations that we so easily fall into and our failure to even come close to how God expects us to live and be. But far more importantly, to show us One who has – the only one who has. So we now can have hope in the midst of our hopelessness. But hope not in ourselves – not in our abilities and achievements.
No, our hope is in this One who was tempted in every way as we are, but was without sin. Where we fall, he did not succumb: Even when he faced his final and greatest temptation from Satan in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, he did not let his Father down – or us. There he faced God’s punishment for all the sin in the world, even though he himself had done nothing wrong: He even there, did not succumb to the easy way out; but gave himself for us – so that we might be forgiven our sin; our failures; and assured of eternal life in heaven. So now we really do have hope – we do have what we really need and that which is important. But it is not in and from ourselves – but it is in and from the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
So let us this Lenten season put our selfish pride to death; recognising our weakness and failure to stand up to the many temptations that come our way: Acknowledging our inability to be the people that God would have us be. Then as a result, allow God’s Spirit to lead us to total reliance on Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that he brings: So placing our complete confidence and trust in him: For he is our only hope – our only source of peace, happiness and eternal life. So again to the Lord Jesus Christ alone be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.
Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish
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