Testing times
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Journey to the cross
Journey to the cross
starts at teh beginning of Jesus ministry
Lent about resisting temptation
we think of temptation as indulgence, but in Jesus story, temptation is more about enduring through trials.
40 days and forty nights tested in the desert
As we go through trying times, we can take inspiration from teh way the Jesus responds to the tempter
Three temptations
The bread and the stone
The bread and the stone
Jesus was hungry after 40 days fasting
traditional interpretation - resisting the temptation of physical pleasure
I can understand this - in my life I’ve struggled to hold a fast for 40 hours, let alone 40 days!
But there’s something that niggles at me in this explanation. It’s so simple, literal and rote.
You see, when we go into reading scripture assuming that we already know what it will tell us, then we harden our hearts against what God’s Spirit might want to say to us now, in this moment.
So let’s dig a little deeper.
The scripture that Jesus is quoting here comes from Deuteronomy chapter 8. If you’re anything like me, then you probably remember that the 10 commandments are in Deuteronomy somewhere, but maybe not a lot else.
Well, the commandments are in Deut 5. In Deut 6 we have Shema Deut 6:4-5 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” It’s all about loving God.
Deuteronomy 7 is about how God chose Israel and will deliver the land into their hands.
Deuteronomy 8 reminds Israel to remember where all of this came from - it came from God.
And so we come to the scripture that Jesus quotes in his time of trial:
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
In the middle of his time of trial, driven into the desert, Jesus resists the devil by saying “This is not about me, this is about God.”
Tempted to distort reality
Tempted to distort reality
Fundamentally, the tempter is trying to get Jesus to distort reality.
By turning stone into bread, not only is Jesus changing the nature of the world around him, but he is placing himself at the centre of it all.
And perhaps this is the most subtle, but most deadly temptation of them all.
When we are hard pressed, our horizons narrow.
When we’re hard pressed, it gets harder and harder to keep a healthy perspective on what’s going on within ourselves, and to jeep a healthy perspective in the world around us.
We seem to have an inbuilt tendency to turn inwards, to begin believeing that “this” what ever “this” is on any given day, is all about me.
When we turn in on ourselves like that, then everything becomes twisted and misshapen. Every molehill becomes a mountain. Every misstep becomes a perceived slight. Every action taken by someone else becomes a deliberate offence.
Our whole world is going through a time of trial at the moment. And guess what? we see this scenario playing out again and again in our world, in our nation, and even in our own lives.
In trying desperately to turn that stone into bread, we bring a landslide down upon ourselves.
anitdote: put God at the centre
Worship me and all this will be yours
Worship me and all this will be yours
The second temptation in Luke’s account is perhaps the most blatant. Worship me and all this will be yours.
We know this one, right?
I mean, this is commandmnet number 1! Deut 5:7 ““You shall have no other gods before me.”
I don’t think that many of us are going to leave here today feeling overly tempted to worship the devil in order to gain world domination.
But, again, there is a subtlety here that affects every one of us.
Tempted by the shortcut
Tempted by the shortcut
Forget putting God at the centre, put me at the center instead. For whoever the “me” might be.
Who do we trust to get us through the difficult times?
Putting God at the centre can seem like a fools game. How is that going to help me with the problem I face right now?
Far better to trust the one who is telling me they have all the answers, and they can fix all my problems straight away.
Far better to take the bit between my teeth and just go.
We see this all the time.
When we put our trust in charismatic leaders who put the blame on the obvious scapegoats.
When we put our faith in one political party, or one race, or one ideology that then steam rolls everything laid in front of it.
Even when we cling desperately to one interpretation of scripture, to one doctrine of what it is that God has in store for us.
Quietly, slowly, we usurp God’s role in the centre of our lives, and attempt to fill that place with other things.
Again, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy, this time from chapter 6 Deut 6:13 “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.”
antidote: humility
God’s angels will save you
God’s angels will save you
Seeing that Jesus is sticking doggedly to the covenant of love and faithfulness outlined in Deuteronomy, this time the devil tries to distract him by quoting scripture back, but by moving away from law to prophecy and celebration. He quotes the very Psalm we used to open our worship today.
The traditional interpretation of this temptation is pride. By throwing himself off the temple, and coming away unharmed, he will show everyone that he is the fulfilment of the one who trusts and is loved by God in Psalm 91.
I’ve always read this a little differently.
I’ve always read this as the contest between faith and proof.
In resisting this temptation, Jesus shows faith that he is the One, without putting it to the test of proof.
Moreover, Jesus is leaving us the freedom to have faith without proof.
If he goes through with it, then we too would be left in no doubt.
Woudln’t that be nice?
But at what cost?
If we rely on proof and not faith, then pretty soon we run out of hope. Because what happens when Jesus is not right there, carried on the shoulder of angels?
What happens when we are alone, and suffering, and sorely pressed?
The only proof we see is the proof of despair.
And yet, we yearn for proof. Proof that God is there for us. Proof that we are right. Proof that our enemies are wrong.
Most of social media is one big fight over proving who is right and who is wrong.
Tempted to recklessness
Tempted to recklessness
antidote: Trusting God
Resisting leads to resilience
Resisting leads to resilience
We are not in this on our own, so let’s not take things into our own hands.
Let’s not rely on powerful friends or ideas to keep us secure.
Let’s not force the issue to allay our own fears.
Let’s tur our faces towards Jesus, and allow him to guide us through this time of trial, and ahead into good times and hard times to come.
This is faith.
This is hope.
This is not the easy way, but it is the only way through taht leads to life.
This is Good News.