St. Luke 4:1-12
Dearly beloved,
The Lenten journey began on Ash Wednesday and now we find ourselves in
the First Sunday of Lent. We find in the gospel the beginnings of Jesus
ministry. It is a profound account, which carries with it much material for
teaching. St. Luke's gospel is framed in such a way that we see the
priority placed on this gospel account. Luke records for the church
information leading up to and including the birth of Jesus. We learn of His
entry into the Temple as a baby and then as a young boy.
St. Luke shifts his focus quickly, when he begins to record the account
of John the Baptist. Suddenly, the gospel shifts and gives us the true
focal point and the reason for the writing of the gospel in the first
place. Luke chapter 4 discusses the temptation of Jesus. Matthew added
something, though. St. Matthew added the Baptism of Jesus just before the
temptation of Jesus in the desert. Luke only alludes to it in verse 1 by
saying "Jesus full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led
by the Spirit into the desert..." The baptism of Jesus marked the beginning
of the road of Jesus' ministry to the cross.
It is therefore significant that just after Jesus was baptized, He went
into the desert for forty days to be tempted by the devil. What is at work
here? It is very interesting. This gospel is meant to teach you something
about the Christian faith and about Who Jesus is for you. Luke tells us
that Jesus ate nothing for those forty days in the desert. It is difficult
for us to really understand how hungry Jesus must have been. The real
teaching from this gospel is hidden in the details, just as the difference
between damnation and salvation is hidden in the details.
Luke is careful to mention that when those forty days were ended Jesus
was hungry. It is then that Satan came to Jesus. Satan didn't come at the
beginning or in the middle. Satan came to Jesus at the end of the forty
days, when Jesus was the hungriest. Then comes the three-fold temptation.
Satan says, "If you are the Son of God command these stones to become
bread." Jesus responds with a word of Scripture from the Old Testament.
Satan tempts with the thing Jesus may desire the most at that point in
time. Jesus withstands the first temptation. This is the fleshly
temptation. Satan realizes this won't work with Jesus, so he moves on.
Next, Satan says, "To you I will give all this authority and their
glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If
you will worship me, it will all be yours." Again, Jesus responds with a
word of Scripture from the Old Testament. This temptation dealt with Jesus
and His kingship. Satan was trying to tempt Jesus into sitting on an
earthly throne as well as a heavenly one. The third temptation comes on the
pinnacle of the temple roof.
This one is the sneakiest because Satan tries to get Jesus to throw
Himself down from the temple rooftop. But Satan adds to this temptation a
word of Scripture. Satan quotes Psalm 91. Jesus gives the final rebuttal
with Old Testament Scripture. This third temptation dealt with the reason
Jesus came, to die for the people. Then we are told that Satan departed
from Jesus until an opportune time. There is so much in this gospel for
you.
I always remind the catechumens to ask three questions when searching
the gospels–"Who is Jesus? What is He doing/saying? Why is Jesus
doing/saying it? What are God's saints on earth to learn from this? Well,
the first thing we already covered. Satan comes at you when you are the
most vulnerable–when you're not on guard. Satan will attack you when you
are the weakest. His aim is to get you to fall. But from there we see even
more. On the third temptation, Satan uses Scripture against Jesus.
This is critical. Satan quoted Psalm 91 but he twisted the meaning ever
so slightly. Satan is acknowledging that Psalm 91 is about Jesus by the way
he quotes it, but the verses quoted are a reference to Christ's defeat over
Satan and the grave, not jumping off the Temple. Satan takes the Scripture
out of context. You have to watch for this. What Satan did was he erased
the cross and the resurrection from the meaning of Psalm 91 and put his own
spin on it.
This happens all the time in our society. Some well intentioned people,
other not so well intentioned, will interpret the scriptures in a way that
does not glorify the cross or empty tomb. You can then be led to yourselves
or your own works. Christ can be emptied from the Scriptures and a
completely different meaning take shape. But there is more. The gospel
also ends with the statement that Satan departed from Jesus until an
opportune time. What you see with Jesus is true of each of us. Satan will
work on you. Each person has a particular sinful urge and weakness that
continues to surface. Satan works on that. He will come to you and get you
to stumble. He will get you to fall. And even when he departs from you,
Satan will return at an opportune time to work on you again. If Satan did
it to Jesus, then he will do it to you and me.
What does this mean for us? It means we must be vigilant. You cannot
let your guard down. Becoming lazy in your devotion to the Lord is on par
with not having on your protective armor. As long as we are on this earth,
the joy that we share in our salvation must be tempered with repentance.
The armor of God that protects from Satan's temptations is His word and
blessed sacrament. We must be diligent to come and kneel before the Lord's
altar with repentance on our lips and the body and blood of Jesus on our
lips.
But what is Jesus doing and why? We see in this temptation in the desert
the first of Jesus' many victories over Satan. It is significant that Jesus
is baptized in the Jordan River and then driven into the desert to be
tempted. It is significant that the first thing that happens is the
encounter between Jesus and Satan. We see in this gospel a sign of things
to come. Jesus, weak and hungry, withstands the temptations of Satan and
wins the victory. This patterns Luke's gospel. We go on to see healings,
miracles, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, and the casting out of
demons. These are more encounters between Jesus and Satan. Jesus is and
shall be victorious.
All of these things in the gospel are meant to lead us to Golgotha where
we behold the cross with God bleeding and dying on it. Therein lies the
pinnacle victory. This victory is for the life of the world, even your
victory. Though this victory was secured some 2000 years ago, Jesus enters
your world continually today. This is what people don't understand about
Christianity. Most people think that the cross event that happened all
those centuries ago may have secured a victory for them, yet they do not
understand how it impacts their lives today.
Jesus enters your world today. The salvation from Golgotha impacts your
life today. Jesus comes to you in the sacrament. He comes and anoints you
with His love in the Holy Word. His presence is real in these things.
Jesus enters your very body and life in Holy Baptism. His death and
resurrection occurred in history in a given time but that doesn't prevent
Jesus from attending to you truly. This is why we gather around the altar
and the pulpit.
Jesus stoops down from heaven in order to enter your world and your
life. Psalm 23 is true when it says that "my cup runneth over." Jesus
fills up the lives of His saints with such love that He doesn't leave you
alone. Jesus is in your lives and is in your world, and He holds the
resurrection banner. As it waves in the air, Jesus forgives you of your
sins, but also beckons you to come closer and rest in the gifts that impart
even more blessings along with the promise of salvation. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
www.trinitylowell.org
