Luke 4: 1-13
In January of 1999 I spent a few days in
** Luke 4:1 **
It was the Holy Spirit who led Jesus into this place
of vulnerability. This was a purposeful act at the beginning of his ministry to
bring him to a place where he would be challenged to the very core of his
being. He would not be able to hide from the temptations that would come his
way. He would be forced to confront the powers of evil head on. He would have
to make the ultimate decision of “yes” or “no” to the purposes of God. He would
have to decide whether to trust himself to
the care and protection of God or turn away from God’s purposes. He would be
faced with the choice of the way of the cross or ways that seem so comfortable
and easy and rewarding but are ultimately meaningless. Jesus would be
challenged to face the devil, and defeat him at the most personal and intimate
levels of his life.
Two sporting superstars in recent months, John Terry
and Tiger Woods, have discovered very painfully that you cannot say that as
long as you get it right on the public stage, then what you do in private does
not matter very much. We are all of a piece. We cannot divide private from
public or inner from outward in our lives. Fullness of life, life as it is
meant to be lived, life with integrity and freedom and purpose, is a life in
which every area is tested.
So how does Jesus deal with these temptations, and
what can we learn from him to help us when we too are severely tempted or
tested?
Well, one thing that Jesus doesn’t do is enter into an
argument with the devil. He would lose because temptations are always cleverly
constructed and entirely logical, with enough truth in them to make them appear
plausible. What Jesus does is to recognise the motive under the scheming and
address this instead. And he reaches into the secure promises of God and holds
firmly onto these.
The first temptation
** Luke 4:3 **
What a great temptation this is for a hungry man! I am
sure we all know what it is like to be hungry. We’ve been out all day, active
and busy. We have worked up a good appetite. “I’m starving!” we say (without
really thinking what we’re saying). “I could eat anything!”
Viv and I were out on the motorway a few days ago late
at night and suddenly realised how hungry we were. So we stopped at a services.
The only outlet serving food at that time of night was Burger King. “We’re
starving! We could eat anything!” we said. And anything is exactly what we did
eat. We had two double cheese and bacon burgers. And we have been paying for it
ever since! You are lucky I’m here this morning!
Actually this temptation for Jesus was a very subtle
one. It recognises and yet challenges his role and authority (“If you are the son of God”). And it has
this implication: “Look after yourself. Fill yourself with the things you
desire, for you have the power to do it.”
This is just such a subtle temptation for us as well.
To start with, there is truth in it. There is nothing wrong with looking after
ourselves. There is nothing wrong with treating ourselves. There is nothing
wrong with having things that we will enjoy and appreciate. In fact, there are
some Christians to whom I want to say, “Lighten up! Treat yourself! Love
yourself as God loves you!”
The danger
in this temptation is to do with spending so much of our lives filling
ourselves with one thing and another and another that we forget that it is God
who gives us life. We will never ultimately find life in anything else. No
hobby, no holiday, no house, no car, no meal, no treat, no luxury, no person
can ever give us the life that God gives us. They are ok in themselves, but
never ever rely on them for life. They will not provide it.
Notice how Jesus responds:
** Luke 4:4 **
Jesus is quoting the scriptures, Deuteronomy 8:3.
“People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth
of the Lord.” That is where life is found: in God and his living word to us.
The second temptation
** Luke 4:5-7 **
Jesus was offered the whole world. But was it the
devil’s to give?
In the desert Jesus is pondering over his mission. He
has an urgent longing for the coming of the kingdom and he is considering how
he should go about his task of inaugurating that kingdom. Here the devil tries
to distort this longing into a need for a quick and immediate answer which the
devil offers to provide. And Jesus would receive immediate status, power and
glory on the way. All Jesus has to do is compromise a little. All he has to do
is worship the devil. All he has to do is to accept the fallen life as normal.
All he has to do is take the easy path, rather than the hard path of humble
service.
It is so easy to be tempted to give up the struggle
against evil in God’s world and just go with whatever is going to lead to an
easy and comfortable life for us. It is so easy to say, “Is it worth it? I
can’t be bothered. From now on I’m only going to look out for number one.”
Yet what would happen if we said that? What would
happen if we said, “I’m not going to give to Christian Aid or MRDF or Tearfund any
more. I’m not going to make any more sacrifices. I’m not going to work for this
charity or that good cause or help those people in need any more, because it
doesn’t make any difference. Nothing ever changes. My priority will be me.”
What would happen if we slide into that cynical compromise with the ways of the
world?
Sometimes we are asked to walk the hard path of
sacrifice.
** Luke 4:8 **
Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 6:13. Let the worship of
God be central. Let the will of God have priority. Do not give in to the subtle
temptation that says, “Look after number one. Do not bother about anyone else.”
The third temptation
** Luke 4:9-11 **
The devil is getting desperate now! He is using the
holiest of places, the temple, and the holiest of things, the Scriptures, to
lead Jesus astray. The passage used is Psalm 91, the psalm we read earlier.
Jesus is longing to see people recognise that God is
at work among them. And the devil is offering an easy answer to this longing.
Don’t go down the expensive and time-consuming route of love, instead do a few
quick miracles and everyone will come flocking.
Jesus sees this lie for what it is. In response he
again quotes the scriptures:
** Luke 4:12 **
This is Deuteronomy 6:16. We must not deny God’s
sovereignty. We must not put God to the test. We have to live our lives
trusting in God.
Psalm 91 is actually all about trusting God and his
good purposes for us. It is not about testing God and seeing how far we can
push him. Jesus simply stuck to the truth and refused to believe the lie.
The truth for all of us is that God loves each one of
us unconditionally. We do not have to demand that he prove it to us and the
world. We can simply live knowing it.
Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1970’s,
writes about a friend of his, Stephen Neil. He obtained a brilliant degree,
carried off endless university prizes, and was awarded a fellowship at
Stephen Neil simply trusted in God and took the road
of obedience. He did not seek or need the headlines, because he dwelt secure in
God’s love.
So in the face of trouble, trial, testing and
temptation, however they may come, may we trust to the God who loves us; resist
the temptation to doubt him; and be sustained by the truth of his word.