“The Real Test”


Matthew 4:1-11
February 10, 2008 (1st in Lent)

St. Paul United Methodist Church

Rev. John A. Fleming

 

 

            You might say that besides being Boy Scout Sunday today could also be called Temptation Sunday.  Both of our scripture lessons for today point to the concept.  The first lesson speaks of the temptation of Adam and Eve by the snake in the Garden of Eden.  The second lesson speaks of the temptation of Jesus.

 

The season of Lent always begins with Jesus sitting in the wilderness, where Jesus is tempted by the devil while his hair is still wet from the baptismal waters.  No sooner had Jesus come up from the chilly Jordan waters than the Spirit that landed on him led him out of the waters and to the wilderness for the sole purpose of being tempted by the devil.  Besides his hair still being wet from being baptized by his cousin, John, the words of God are still ringing in his ears.  You will remember the words, I hope.  When Jesus came up from the water, God said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

 

The question is what that really means.  What will it mean for Jesus to be God’s Son?  How will the Son of God behave?  What will Jesus say?  What will Jesus do?  What will Jesus stand for?  What will Jesus not stand for?  Because he is the Son of God, will Jesus have special powers, or will he be just like everyone else in that regard?

 

I said this a few weeks ago.  The ordination of Jesus happened when he was baptized in the Jordan, but at this point, his ministry had not begun.  No disciples had been called.  No teachings had been given.  No miracles had been performed.  There were some things that needed to be settled first.  There were some tests that needed to be passed.  So the Spirit led Jesus out to the wilderness for the sole purpose of being tempted and tested by the devil.

 

Some have speculated when the testing began.  Some writers I highly respect say that the testing and the tempting came immediately, from day one, and lasted until day forty.  I don’t think that was the case.  The lesson does not really say that.  I am going out on a limb this morning to say that I believe the tempting happened near the end of the forty days and not at the beginning of them.  I think the devil knew better than to begin the testing when Jesus was fresh and when he was still full of food.  Please remember that Matthew tells us that Jesus fasted for forty days and was famished at the end of them.  Please recall that the devil’s first test had to do with turning stones into something to eat!

 

So I think the devil laid low for a little while.  I think he watched Jesus for a few days I think he noticed what he did and how often he prayed.  I think he noticed how tired he was getting and how hungry he was getting.  I think the devil made his move the closer the days got to number forty.

 

Now before we get to the tests themselves, I’m wondering what you know about a  wilderness?  I’ve never been to a wilderness myself, but I’m told that a wilderness can take the confidence out of you.  I am told that the wilderness is so big and so quiet and so empty, that you cannot help but to notice how small you are.  I am also told that the wilderness is a lonely place and a place where you would long to talk to anyone, perhaps even the devil.

 

So I wonder.  Have you ever been as hungry as Jesus was?  I am curious.  Have you ever felt the devil nipping at your heels the way Jesus felt the devil nipping at his heels?  The more I think about it, the more I think that I have been to the wilderness.  Because the wilderness, you see, isn’t always about parched ground and shifting sand and the hot sun and the sharp rocks.  And the wilderness is not all that far away.

 

You can find the wilderness among the tombstones in the cemetery.  You can find the wilderness in a hospital room.  You can experience the wilderness in a late night phone call.  Grief will also lead you into a wilderness.  Divorce and depression and debt will lead you there, too.

 

A preacher I know tells that a friend called him.  His friend thought he was cancer free, but a test showed just the opposite.  He was beginning treatments again.  Wilderness.  This same preacher tells that he ran into a man at lunch who once talked with him about his marital struggles.  The preacher asked him how things were going.  He answered, “They’re going.”  Wilderness.  This same preacher tells that he opened an email from a friend who is spending her summer at her mother’s house.  There are three of them there.  She, her mother, and the folks from hospice care are patiently waiting for death.  Wilderness.

 

So you may have been in the wilderness in the past.  The truth is, you may be in one right now and not even realize it.  Let me ask you this.  Do you know what the real temptation is when you are in the wilderness?  The real temptation is believing you are anyone’s child but God’s child.  And the real temptation is believing you can get help from anyone but the Almighty!

 

Let’s look at Jesus’ temptations.  You will remember there are three of them.  We rehearse this story every year and so I won’t dwell on the specifics, but you will remember that first the devil tempted Jesus to become a miracle worker.  For sure Jesus performed some miracles in his ministry.  He turned water into wine.  He healed the sick.  He even raised the dead, but when the miracles got in the way of the message, Jesus moved on.  The first temptation of Jesus was to be only about the miracles.

 

The second temptation was for God to provide special protection.  Jesus was tempted with these words, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; for it is written ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

 

And then, finally, the devil tempted Jesus to take control of the all the kingdoms of the world.  The devil claimed he had special power for that and he promised to give that to Jesus.  All Jesus had to do was to bow down and to worship him.

 

I want you to see this.  Throughout these temptations, the devil is subtly suggesting that Jesus deserved better than what God was giving him.  He taunted Jesus, “Why should you be hungry?”  He wondered, “What should you even stub your toe?”  He asked, “Why shouldn’t rulers fall down to you instead of the other way around?”

 

The devil creates doubt.  By the way the devil is very good at that!  For two of these three tests, he begins, “If you are the Son of God.”

 

Friends, let me tell you that this is a story where everyone finds out what being the Son of God really means.  As one preacher put this, “This is the story where Jesus proves who he is not be grabbing power, but by turning it down.”  Jesus will not do a miracle here.  He will not ask for special protection here and Jesus will not claim victory over Caesar here.  As much as it surprises everyone (perhaps even Jesus himself), Jesus remains human and assumes all the risks that life has to offer.

 

Jesus here is someone who can listen to every good reason for trying to be greater than God, but in the end knows that there is no better person to be than God’s son.

 

I want to tell you this.  I want you to go home with this.  This temptation story says something and teaches us something about who Jesus is and who He will be, but the story also says a little something to us about who we are.  There are plenty of times when we are tempted to believe that we deserve bigger and better things than we have, just because we are followers of Jesus.  The devilish voice inside says, “If you’re a child of God, shouldn’t things be going a little smoother for you?”  The little red devil sitting on your shoulder whispers in your ear, “If you’re really a Christian, shouldn’t you be happier and healthier and richer and safer than everyone else?”

 

I hope you will know what to say to the devil.  I hope you will be bold enough to say, “Get thee behind me Satan!  I’d rather be hungry and in danger than to hang out with the likes of you!”  The little letter that we’ve come to call the book of James has passage in the fourth chapter, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

 

You see, friends the real temptation and the real test is to turn to anyone else but God.  If you tell the devil to get lost, then I bet a couple of things will happen for you.  First, I hope the angels will come to you as they did to Jesus and minister to you.  I also hope that when you resist the temptation to follow anyone else, you will hear God’s voice clearly.  “You are my child, with you I am well pleased.”  Let us pray.

 

(Special thanks to the writings of Barbara Brown Taylor and Max Lucado for help with this sermon.  My hope is that all who read these words will rise above the real temptation.  The real temptation is to turn to anyone but God).