The Temptation of Jesus 1 Lent C Luke 4:1-13

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13 ESV)

Pray: Love caused Your incarnation; Love brought you down to me. Your thirst for my salvation Procured my liberty. Oh, love beyond all telling, That led you to embrace In love, all love excelling, Our lost and fallen race. (O Lord, How shall I Meet You? LSB 334)

Dear Pilgrims journeying to the Paschal Feast:

There is no one here today who hasn’t been tempted.  I know that I have.  Many times. And will continue to be, until I take my last breath.  We all have.  That’s why Jesus taught His disciples to pray in the sixth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “and lead us not into temptation.”

There is nothing wrong in being tempted.  It is not because of a character flaw, or a sign of weakness.  The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man” (1 Corinthians 10:13) –meaning that every one is tempted.

Regardless of what temptations may have come your way, it makes you no greater a sinner because you have been tempted.  And I find that to be a real comfort when the devil –who sometimes out of frustration because he was unable to get me to give in to a particular temptation –comes back at me from still another angle, making me feel bad for having been tempted in the first place.  I’m sure you know what I mean.

No, even the holy Son of God, Jesus Christ, was tempted as we hear in our Gospel Lesson thjis morning –and he was without sin.  The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says that Jesus was, “…in every respect…tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Yet it also makes you no better a person if you have never suffered a particular temptation. For Paul also cautions, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)

Adam and Eve, the first human beings and created in the image of God, truly knew God the way he wishes to be known and were perfectly happy in Him.  They were at first, holy and righteous, doing God’s will.

They sinned when they gave in to temptation.  Made it there own.  Took pleasure in it. Just as we sang in our opening confessional hymn,

All mankind fell in Adam’s fall, One common sin infects us all;
From sire to son the bane descends, And over all the curse impends.

Through humankind corruption creeps And them in dreadful bondage keeps;
In guilt they draw the infant breath And reap its fruits of woe and death.

From hearts depraved, to evil prone, Flow thoughts and deeds of sin alone;
God’s image lost, the darkened soul Seeks not nor finds it heavenly goal. (Lutheran Service Book 562)

But with the Second Adam there’s a difference: Jesus never gave in to temptation. When the devil came to Jesus in the wilderness, it was to Adam’s replacement and our substitute that he confronted the Savior.

Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation to eat the food that was forbidden of them by God.  Jesus, on the other hand, has nothing to do with it and remains content with the food from above.

When the devil twists the Word of God and its clear meaning, saying, “did God really say you must not eat of any tree?”  Adam and Eve begin to wonder and doubt the clear Word of God that was spoken to them.  Jesus, unlike our first parents, remains on solid ground, founded upon the Scripture, and neither falls to the temptation, nor tempts the Father.

When the devil promises Adam and Eve that they can be like gods and have dominion over what was not given to them, they easily give in.  Jesus, however, knows that the devils rule is a sham-rule and that he only has destruction and separation from God and eternal death to give.

But there is Good News. As we also sang in our hymn,

But Christ, the second Adam, came To bear our sin and woe and shame,
To be our life, our light, our way, Our only hope, our only stay.

As by one man all mankind fell And, born is sin, was doomed to hell,
So by one Man, who took our place, We all received the gift of grace.

We thank you, Christ; new life is ours, New light, new hope, new strength, new powers:
This grace our every way attend Until we reach our journey’s end. (Lutheran Service Book 562)

 When Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…who mourn…are meek,” and so forth (Matthew 5:3-5), he means the Christian who is sad about the things that come to him in life like temptation, and sees himslef as poor against the spirit, and unable to do anything on his own against the devil. This person God will help.

That’s why it also says in 1 Corinthians 10,

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the          temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.  (1 Corinthians 10:13)

But how can we fight off temptation?  Are there things we can do to keep ourselves from being tempted?  Yes! there are.  For one thing, we can learn from Jesus.  He used God’s Word.  In the regular hearing of God’s Word we benefit from its presence in our lives.  Here we gain the weapons and skills necessary to wield against temptation.

Those who don’t go to eagerly are like athletes who don’t excercise.  They’re really not athletes, and on the day of the contest their weaknesses become obvious.

But going to church won’t prevent temptations from coming.  That’s almost like thinking there is a way to keep birds from flying over our heads.  We can’t.  But we know that chances are much grater of being pooped on by a bird in an aviary at the zoo than in our living room at home.  It’s the same with temptation.

The devil is clever.  He watches you closely and will custom make temptations for you.  Walking up to the lottery counter, or into the bar, or clicking on to the porn web site –or whatever else helps things along.  When Jesus said to the disciple Peter after he –Peter- tempted the Lord to forsake the way of the cross, saying “Get behind me Satan!”  He didn’t mean – “Get behind me and to push.” He meant get away!

Ask yourself, “Is my cable T.V. a swage channel to smut?” “Does the alcohol I abuse get into my shopping cart by anybody else’s hands?”  “Who controls my tongue?” …I could go on. Instead,

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to   you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  (James 4:7-8)

As we begin Lent we can not fool ourselves into thinking that we are simply entering a special season or that doing certain things –such as fasting –will justify us before God.  That would be wrong.  But with today’s Gospel we see what Luther meant in his great Reformation hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God” when he has us sing,

With might of ours can naught be done, Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the valiant One, Whom God himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this? Jesus Christ it is, Of sabaoth Lord,
And there’s none other God; He holds the field forever.

And although we may resist the devil.  We can be certain that just as the devil determined to come back to Jesus at an opportune time, he will also be back at us.  For Jesus that time was in the Garden of Gethsemane.  There our Lord suffered such great temptation that the blood began to flow as sweat.  Soon after, Jesus would also bleed and die for us on the cross. 

But He did not waiver.  He stayed the curse for us.  He defeated the devil so completely that our redemption is certain.  And now Jesus helps us.  He prays for us before the throne of the Father.  He washes and feeds us with the Sacraments.  He arms us with His Word.  All the time remaining at our side.  Upon the plain.  With His good gifts. And the Holy Spirit. 

No wonder St. Paul is bold to ask in Romans chapter 8, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  And the answer, of course, is no one. No other human being. And certainly no devil can separate us from the love God has for us in Christ Jesus. Amen.