sunday Feb 21st, thoughts going in

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
4:1-13pp -- Mt 4:1-11; Mk 1:12,13
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'People do not live on bread alone.' " 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours." 8 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.' " 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " 12 Jesus answered, "It is said: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' " 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

For Lent, and at the suggestion of Sundays & Seasons, I’m locking myself in to a neat sounding sermon series entitled “Roads of Life.” In this series, each Sunday of Lent will explore a different “road.” The first Sunday of Lent explores the “Road of Truth.”

Having said that, there is still an opportunity to break the text down in preparation for the coming Sunday:

Vs1: Note that Jesus was led “by the Spirit into the wilderness.” It is a TRUTH that sometimes our own “wilderness experiences” happen PRECISELY because God led us out there in the first place. Granted, maybe we bumbled/stumbled our way out there accidentally because we walked away from God, but more than likely if we did that, we’re not in the ‘wilderness,’ we’re [metaphorically speaking] in Herod’s palace taking part in some drunken orgy. The point is this….when God leads us out into the wilderness, our response should not be “God, what on earth were you thinking?” We need to remember that God’s MISSION (think mission in military terms) is to redeem the world. This is accomplished by sending the troops out on dangerous missions—sometimes in the wilderness.
Vs2: This is more of a ‘feeling’ than anything concrete, but the flow of the text gives us the impression that the wilderness is a common abode of the Devil. Like….Jesus goes there, & Satan was there waiting for him—he doesn’t just “appear.” At the very least, Satan is ‘comfortable’ in the wilderness.
Vss 3-4: Jesus is fasting—evidently in the total sense, going completely without food. In some ways he’s stacking the deck against himself, becoming physically weaker. However, the battle he’s fighting—though it includes physical matter—is a spiritual one. When he responds to Satan’s suggestion “people do not live by bread alone,” he is saying that there is A LIFE that he is tapping into that does not require bread to support. This is the spiritual life. Note a truth: Satan appears to be simply offering a helpful suggestion: “hey man, you look hungry; you’ve got the power, turn this rock into bread.” HOWEVER, a simple suggestion offered at the wrong time can VERY WELL equal temptation…in which, succumbing to it, would equal SIN. Of course as every commentator points out, Jesus counters Satan with THE WORD.
Vss 5-8: The text is vague as to whether this happens literally, or if this is some kind of vision or altered state of consciousness for Jesus. Some question whether or not the Devil is being TOTALLY truthful when he says that the world’s authority & splendor belongs to him & he can give it to anyone he wants. John 12:31 is mustered in support, when it says now the “prince/ruler of this world is cast out.” BUT in John’s gospel the “world” in this context refers not to the physical reality around us, but rather to the sphere of unbelief/rejection of Jesus. In contrast, Romans 13 teaches that human governments belong to God—even tho they are often used against him by sinful rulers. So, this “offer” on Satan’s part may or may not have been legit. Regardless, Jesus doesn’t get hung up on THAT detail, he goes for the salient detail of WORSHIP….and who alone is worthy of worship.
Vss 9-12—is it just coincidence that after mentioning “worship” the devil leads Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple (evidently this was a real bodily experience)?

I think one of the neat things about this week’s concentration being on the “road of truth” is that both Satan and Jesus use The Scriptures. The Scriptures are “quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword,” but they’re not magic. In diabolical hands they can be twisted to say almost anything.
This is challenging because we all want and need not only access to the book of truth, but to its right interpretation.

cheers,

TM