Will You be Faithful to God?
02/10/08
Lent 1
Matthew 4:1-11
Dear friends in Christ,
Will you be faithful to God? Will you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Will you be obedient to the first commandment, “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other god’s before me? Those seem to be the core questions facing Jesus as he squared off with Satan in the wilderness. Not surprisingly, those are the questions we also face as we daily walk by faith.
I read this lesson primarily as a test of Jesus and his readiness to take on the ministry for which he was sent and called. Right before this lesson, Jesus is baptized. Baptism is always seen as the beginning point for what is to follow. Right after his Baptism, comes this test. Is Jesus ready? Does he have what it takes? Will he be faithful to God?
Now that may sound odd, the son of God being tested for his readiness. But keep in mind, he is also, the son of man. He is human with all the physical needs and emotional needs and spiritual needs that we all have. It’s this human side that’s being tested. Will he be able to stand up to the intense pressure that will be brought upon him, or will he crack, give in, and ultimately fail? That’s what’s at stake here.
We know this was a test of Jesus, and not just some random temptations he faced, because of the way the lesson begins. It says, “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” God’s spirit took him there. This was purposeful or as Rick Warren might say, “Purpose Driven.”
God testing one’s readiness was a pattern seen elsewhere in scripture. In fact, we see it in the first lesson from Genesis 2. God commands Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God allows the tempter, the serpent, to give the test. In that case, they failed, the consequence being sin and death entered the world. God tested the people of Israel in the wilderness on several occasions. For example, when God gave the people manna from heaven, they were to collect only enough for one day, and no more. They were not to hoard this gift. The reason for the test was to examine the people to see if they would trust God and follow his commandments
Tests are not bad things. They’re a way to measure if you are ready. A driving examiner giving road tests to new drivers is not trying to flunk the students. He or she is seeing if they are ready to be on the road alone. Examiners are looking out for the good of the students, as well as for the other drivers that share the road. In much the same way God the Father tests Jesus the son. God wants Jesus to pass the test, to show he is ready for the challenge to come.
And so God allows Satan to do his thing, to go after Jesus, to give the test. Notice I said that God allowed it. God is far greater and more powerful than the devil. Satan may have thought he was in control and the one in charge, but the spirit led Jesus to the wilderness, the spirit was with Jesus in the wilderness, and the spirit allowed Satan to test Jesus. Satan’s method is temptation. That’s the tool he uses. Unlike God, who tests us for success, Satan tempts us for failure. God wants us to become stronger in faith, Satan wants us to grow weaker. That’s the difference between a test and a tempt. One is for good, the other for bad. In this lesson we see both the test of God and the temptation of Satan. The question is, to whom will Jesus listen?
The first temptation thrown at Jesus can be summarized by the words, “Satisfy yourself, satisfy yourself.” Jesus, led by the spirit, had gone alone in the wilderness, fasting for forty days. In other words he took no food for 40 days, only water, as a way to focus spiritually on God alone. This is where we get the tradition of the 40 days of Lent as well as the spiritual discipline of fasting for a time, something that some people still do.
At this very vulnerable time, Satan approaches Jesus. “Turn these stones to bread,” he says. As a human being, Jesus desperately wanted bread. He was hungry. Bread is a good thing. As God’s son, he surely could turn stones into bread. But the deeper, underlying temptation, was for Jesus to use what he had to satisfy himself. It was to use what God provided for his own needs and wants. It was to replace God with what he needed and wanted for himself. Satisfy yourself, was Satan’s temptation. But, of course, Jesus had the spiritual strength to stand strong. He knew that there was more to life than simply satisfying yourself. And so he quotes back to Satan these words from Deuteronomy, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Satan’s word was not of God, and Jesus knew it. He resisted the temptation for bread and to satisfy only himself.
We live in the richest country in the world. Sometime this summer, every individual over 18 in this congregation, as well as each child under 18, is going to receive a $600 check from the government as part of an economic stimulus package. With that one check, which 3 weeks ago you were not expecting and is for all practical purposes a gift, you will exceed the per capita annual income for a person in Tanzania, which is about $500. This holds true for many parts of the world. Because we have so much, there is a strong temptation to satisfy ourselves. It is to use our resources for whatever we want, for us. I’ve earned it. No one can tell me not to have the biggest and best and most up to date of whatever it is.
Now I would never tell you how to personally manage your resources. We all make financial decisions based on what we like and don’t like, what we want and don’t want. There are things you may value, that I don’t, and vice versa. But none of us should ever allow what we have to become more important than God. None of us should make satisfying ourselves our life goal. All of us should be giving back to God through our offerings, knowing that what we give benefits many others. The best way to guard against possessions possessing us, is to give back, which regularly reminds us that God is first, not satisfying ourselves.
Satan was not ready to give up, so he took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple. “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down; 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 the stone.” This temptation can be summed up in the words, “trust yourself, trust yourself.” Now Satan makes it appear as if Jesus, in throwing himself off the temple, would be showing the ultimate trust in God. “You trust God, don’t you? Throw yourself down. Prove your trust. God says the angels will catch you!”
But this was not trusting God. It was quite the opposite. If you do what Satan says, you’re putting God to the test. You don’t say you trust God, and then turn around and test God. Either you fully trust God, or you don’t. There’s no testing of God. When you do what Satan tempts here, you actually show your lack of trust and that the only one you trust is yourself. Again, Jesus was spiritually strong. He quotes back to Satan, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Satan wanted Jesus to test God’s trustworthiness. The temptation was to see if God really loved and cared for him. If God did, he’d show it by having the angels catch Jesus while falling. Are you ever tempted to test God’s love? Have you ever thought, “God, if only you’ll show me a sign, I’ll believe and obey!” or “God, if you’ll just heal me from this cancer, I promise I’ll live a good life for you.” But God doesn’t want us to test or negotiate or make bargains. That shows we’re still holding on to ourselves. God wants us to trust him alone. We are to live fully trusting God, not placing our trust in ourselves or other things.
The final temptation is on a high mountain. Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. “They’re all yours,” he says, “All you have to do is worship me.” This temptation can be summed up with the words, “Glorify yourself, glorify yourself.” Jesus had before him all the kingdoms of the world with all their glory and splendor. If he wanted, he could have cried out like Jack’s famous words to Rose in the movie “Titanic,” “I am the king of the world!” It was all right there for him, right at his finger tips. All the glory he could ever have wanted, was his.
But at what cost? He would have to deny God the Father and worship an imposter, Satan. For a third time Jesus mustered the spiritual strength to fend off Satan. “Away with you, Satan!” he cries out, “For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ And with that, Satan was defeated. Jesus passed the test. And almost like a prize fighter seated in the corner of the ring, the angels came and cared for him after this epic battle.
Like the temptation to satisfy yourself, the temptation to glorify yourself is everywhere around us. Who doesn’t want to be at the top of the class or be seen as the most beautiful or in some way be put up on the pedestal of glory? Who wouldn’t love to cry out, “I am the king of the world?” But like the previous two temptations, what you’re really doing is replacing God, the true Lord and King of all, with yourself. And when that happens, we are no longer being faithful to God.
Satisfy yourself. Trust yourself. Glorify yourself. Those were the three temptations thrown at Jesus by Satan in the wilderness. What do they each have in common? They seek to replace God with ourselves. They want to turn something other than God, into God. But Jesus saw through the deception, resisted the devil, and remained spiritually strong.
Will you be faithful to God? Will you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Will you be obedient to the first commandment, “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other god’s before me? When tempted by Satan on these core questions, Jesus was able to answer, “yes!” With the Spirit’s help, may we also be able to answer the same. Amen
Matthew 4:1-11
Dear friends in Christ,
Will you be faithful to God? Will you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Will you be obedient to the first commandment, “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other god’s before me? Those seem to be the core questions facing Jesus as he squared off with Satan in the wilderness. Not surprisingly, those are the questions we also face as we daily walk by faith.
I read this lesson primarily as a test of Jesus and his readiness to take on the ministry for which he was sent and called. Right before this lesson, Jesus is baptized. Baptism is always seen as the beginning point for what is to follow. Right after his Baptism, comes this test. Is Jesus ready? Does he have what it takes? Will he be faithful to God?
Now that may sound odd, the son of God being tested for his readiness. But keep in mind, he is also, the son of man. He is human with all the physical needs and emotional needs and spiritual needs that we all have. It’s this human side that’s being tested. Will he be able to stand up to the intense pressure that will be brought upon him, or will he crack, give in, and ultimately fail? That’s what’s at stake here.
We know this was a test of Jesus, and not just some random temptations he faced, because of the way the lesson begins. It says, “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” God’s spirit took him there. This was purposeful or as Rick Warren might say, “Purpose Driven.”
God testing one’s readiness was a pattern seen elsewhere in scripture. In fact, we see it in the first lesson from Genesis 2. God commands Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God allows the tempter, the serpent, to give the test. In that case, they failed, the consequence being sin and death entered the world. God tested the people of Israel in the wilderness on several occasions. For example, when God gave the people manna from heaven, they were to collect only enough for one day, and no more. They were not to hoard this gift. The reason for the test was to examine the people to see if they would trust God and follow his commandments
Tests are not bad things. They’re a way to measure if you are ready. A driving examiner giving road tests to new drivers is not trying to flunk the students. He or she is seeing if they are ready to be on the road alone. Examiners are looking out for the good of the students, as well as for the other drivers that share the road. In much the same way God the Father tests Jesus the son. God wants Jesus to pass the test, to show he is ready for the challenge to come.
And so God allows Satan to do his thing, to go after Jesus, to give the test. Notice I said that God allowed it. God is far greater and more powerful than the devil. Satan may have thought he was in control and the one in charge, but the spirit led Jesus to the wilderness, the spirit was with Jesus in the wilderness, and the spirit allowed Satan to test Jesus. Satan’s method is temptation. That’s the tool he uses. Unlike God, who tests us for success, Satan tempts us for failure. God wants us to become stronger in faith, Satan wants us to grow weaker. That’s the difference between a test and a tempt. One is for good, the other for bad. In this lesson we see both the test of God and the temptation of Satan. The question is, to whom will Jesus listen?
The first temptation thrown at Jesus can be summarized by the words, “Satisfy yourself, satisfy yourself.” Jesus, led by the spirit, had gone alone in the wilderness, fasting for forty days. In other words he took no food for 40 days, only water, as a way to focus spiritually on God alone. This is where we get the tradition of the 40 days of Lent as well as the spiritual discipline of fasting for a time, something that some people still do.
At this very vulnerable time, Satan approaches Jesus. “Turn these stones to bread,” he says. As a human being, Jesus desperately wanted bread. He was hungry. Bread is a good thing. As God’s son, he surely could turn stones into bread. But the deeper, underlying temptation, was for Jesus to use what he had to satisfy himself. It was to use what God provided for his own needs and wants. It was to replace God with what he needed and wanted for himself. Satisfy yourself, was Satan’s temptation. But, of course, Jesus had the spiritual strength to stand strong. He knew that there was more to life than simply satisfying yourself. And so he quotes back to Satan these words from Deuteronomy, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Satan’s word was not of God, and Jesus knew it. He resisted the temptation for bread and to satisfy only himself.
We live in the richest country in the world. Sometime this summer, every individual over 18 in this congregation, as well as each child under 18, is going to receive a $600 check from the government as part of an economic stimulus package. With that one check, which 3 weeks ago you were not expecting and is for all practical purposes a gift, you will exceed the per capita annual income for a person in Tanzania, which is about $500. This holds true for many parts of the world. Because we have so much, there is a strong temptation to satisfy ourselves. It is to use our resources for whatever we want, for us. I’ve earned it. No one can tell me not to have the biggest and best and most up to date of whatever it is.
Now I would never tell you how to personally manage your resources. We all make financial decisions based on what we like and don’t like, what we want and don’t want. There are things you may value, that I don’t, and vice versa. But none of us should ever allow what we have to become more important than God. None of us should make satisfying ourselves our life goal. All of us should be giving back to God through our offerings, knowing that what we give benefits many others. The best way to guard against possessions possessing us, is to give back, which regularly reminds us that God is first, not satisfying ourselves.
Satan was not ready to give up, so he took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple. “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down; 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 the stone.” This temptation can be summed up in the words, “trust yourself, trust yourself.” Now Satan makes it appear as if Jesus, in throwing himself off the temple, would be showing the ultimate trust in God. “You trust God, don’t you? Throw yourself down. Prove your trust. God says the angels will catch you!”
But this was not trusting God. It was quite the opposite. If you do what Satan says, you’re putting God to the test. You don’t say you trust God, and then turn around and test God. Either you fully trust God, or you don’t. There’s no testing of God. When you do what Satan tempts here, you actually show your lack of trust and that the only one you trust is yourself. Again, Jesus was spiritually strong. He quotes back to Satan, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Satan wanted Jesus to test God’s trustworthiness. The temptation was to see if God really loved and cared for him. If God did, he’d show it by having the angels catch Jesus while falling. Are you ever tempted to test God’s love? Have you ever thought, “God, if only you’ll show me a sign, I’ll believe and obey!” or “God, if you’ll just heal me from this cancer, I promise I’ll live a good life for you.” But God doesn’t want us to test or negotiate or make bargains. That shows we’re still holding on to ourselves. God wants us to trust him alone. We are to live fully trusting God, not placing our trust in ourselves or other things.
The final temptation is on a high mountain. Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. “They’re all yours,” he says, “All you have to do is worship me.” This temptation can be summed up with the words, “Glorify yourself, glorify yourself.” Jesus had before him all the kingdoms of the world with all their glory and splendor. If he wanted, he could have cried out like Jack’s famous words to Rose in the movie “Titanic,” “I am the king of the world!” It was all right there for him, right at his finger tips. All the glory he could ever have wanted, was his.
But at what cost? He would have to deny God the Father and worship an imposter, Satan. For a third time Jesus mustered the spiritual strength to fend off Satan. “Away with you, Satan!” he cries out, “For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ And with that, Satan was defeated. Jesus passed the test. And almost like a prize fighter seated in the corner of the ring, the angels came and cared for him after this epic battle.
Like the temptation to satisfy yourself, the temptation to glorify yourself is everywhere around us. Who doesn’t want to be at the top of the class or be seen as the most beautiful or in some way be put up on the pedestal of glory? Who wouldn’t love to cry out, “I am the king of the world?” But like the previous two temptations, what you’re really doing is replacing God, the true Lord and King of all, with yourself. And when that happens, we are no longer being faithful to God.
Satisfy yourself. Trust yourself. Glorify yourself. Those were the three temptations thrown at Jesus by Satan in the wilderness. What do they each have in common? They seek to replace God with ourselves. They want to turn something other than God, into God. But Jesus saw through the deception, resisted the devil, and remained spiritually strong.
Will you be faithful to God? Will you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Will you be obedient to the first commandment, “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other god’s before me? When tempted by Satan on these core questions, Jesus was able to answer, “yes!” With the Spirit’s help, may we also be able to answer the same. Amen