Thoughts going in, Sunday Feb 17th

Luke 4:1 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 the first Sunday of Lent it's, of course, very traditional to begin with Jesus in the wilderness. This is a rich passage that takes on much more meaning than is simply implied in the narrative due to the Lenten themes at work.

            Here are a few general observations: This event happens directly on the heals of Jesus' baptism. And while Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit (a positive sounding description), it was nonetheless the same Spirit who led him out into the wilderness where for forty days he was tempted by the Devil. The flow of the text indicates that temptation was ongoing throughout the forty day period, but we only get to listen in on the conversation at the end of the forty days ...where it says and at the end of them he became hungry. While it is not explicitly stated, the narrative gives every indication that this 'testing' (ekpeirazo) was the whole point of being led out into the wilderness in the first place. Several questions result from this: (a) is God the sort of God who throws his loved ones under the bus like that? (b) If 'testing' were required, why go all the way out in the middle of nowhere, surely Satan could've tested Jesus in Capernaum or Nazareth?

            In response to the first question... it doesn't always fit neatly into modern theologies, but it must be admitted that the Bible presents God as regularly 'testing' his followers. This is especially true of the Patriarchs in the Old Testament. The million dollar question that usually follows is whether or not such 'tests of faith' are likely to be thrown our way--with the followup observation usually being "I SURE HOPE NOT!" I think a helpful image for us when we think like that is to remember what life as a toddler is like. Anyone who's had kids knows that they don't usually go right from crawling to running. There's an intermediate step of cruising around in a 'walker.' It helps them get the hang of the whole walking upright thing. But parents know they can't keep their kid in a walker. S/he has to be taken out & given a chance to try it on their own. For the young child it's a faith issue. Yes the walker is being taken away. Yes this seems a bit scary & wobbly. Yes, you may even fall down and go boom,...but mom & dad are right there. It will be ok. In many ways I think tests in the Bible can be seen in a similar way.

            In the case of Jesus, of course part of what's going on is the presentation of Jesus as perfectly holy and victorious. Often times we talk about how "the devil is tempting us," when in reality it's just our old inner sinful nature that's having its way. Jesus, on the other hand, was oppressed by the Devil face-to-face and emerged victorious.

            As far as the matter of being out in the wilderness for this temptation experience, it seems to me that this is a way of setting the bar higher. Jesus is alone; completely without any other resources. He has only his relationship with the Heavenly Father... and of course The Word to see him through.

            One of the things about this narrative that has always struck me as very pertinent for believers of all ages is that Jesus did battle with Satan under the same limitations you and I face. He did not call an army of angels to his defense. He did not throw lightening bolts at Satan. He didn't even engage in lengthy rationalizations. He simply responded to every temptation with GOD'S WORD. Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.

Cheers,

TM