Genesis 3.1-6; Matthew 3.13-4.11
We are working through Matthew’s Gospel this term…
Last week we had the wise men, the flight into Egypt and the return to Nazareth
In today’s passage we have jumped a period of almost 30 years, to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry as an adult of 30
Although we’ve jumped almost 30 years, we’ve only left out 12 vv – about John the Baptist
Today – the Baptism of Jesus and his Temptation
Isn’t it encouraging that straight after the spiritual high of his baptism Jesus goes straight into a tough period of 40 day’s intense testing and temptation?
Or am I the only one who gets back from Spring Harvest or some other spiritual high, only to find the next day that everything goes wrong, I get out of bed the wrong side, I kick the cat (actually we haven’t got a cat…), I have a row. And then the little voice kicks in, ‘Huh, call yourself a Christian and the day hasn’t even started before you’ve messed up completely…’
It really shouldn’t take us by surprise…the devil has been working like that ever since the beginning, and we need to understand his tactics and be prepared…
Look back to our first reading – Genesis 3
‘Did God really say…?’ – sows doubt, and subtly twists what God actually said ‘any tree in the garden’
‘You will not certainly die’ – flatly contradicts what God has said, impugning wrong motives – ‘he wants to keep you in the dark’
‘When she saw that the fruit was good and pleasing…’ – fills our minds with unhelpful thoughts. We can’t stop tempting thoughts coming into our mind – that is not sinful any more than it was for Jesus… It is what we choose to do next that is the key. Do we dismiss the thought from our mind and repeat a verse of Scripture as Jesus did, or do we let the thought roll around in our mind and dwell on it? If you see a stunningly beautiful person coming towards you, you might not be able to stop certain thoughts coming into your mind – but what you do next is the key… Martin Luther once said about temptation, you can’t stop the birds flying over your head, but you can stop them nesting in your hair.
‘She also gave some to her husband’ – beware of those people who know they are doing wrong and want to involve you in it as a way of offloading some of the guilt and blame!
Let’s turn to our Matthew reading
Matthew 4 – page 915
We often call this passage ‘the temptation of Jesus’, but notice the heading ‘Jesus is tested in the wilderness’. And notice the wording of verse 1 – ‘Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (or tested – see footnote) by the devil’. The phrase ‘led by the Spirit’ here is a very strong one – driven out by the Spirit. God doesn’t tempt us to do evil, but times of testing are sometimes from God, because God is keen to see what our faith is made of, and to develop our spiritual muscle.
Have you ever wondered why in the Lord’s Prayer we pray, ‘Lead us not into temptation’? As if somehow God might be waiting to pull us off the track? The same Greek word can be translated tempting or testing, and English usage has changed since the 16th century when the Lord’s Prayer was translated into English. That’s why when the modern Roman Catholic language services were introduced the Lord’s prayer was translated ‘Save us from the time of trial’ which is a more accurate translation. It can also be translated ‘Let us not succumb to temptation’…
At certain times we are particularly vulnerable to temptation. Notice how it is just as Jesus is about to start his public ministry that he has to face down these temptations.
Notice the specific form of the temptations put in Jesus’ way. These 3 issues are not random temptations, but each is a specific attempt to undermining the whole purpose of Jesus’ life and ministry, by suggesting an easier way than the costly way of the cross.
- To turn stones into bread, when the Jews were expecting Messiah to repeat the miracle of manna in the desert
- To throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple, when the rabbis were expecting the messiah to stand on the roof of the holy place and proclaim to the poor that the time of their redemption was drawing near
- To gain the splendours of the nations by worshipping the devil, rather than setting the nations free from the devil’s power by the way of the cross
In one sense they are temptations that we all face
- To be selfish, using God’s power for our own comfort rather than the needs of others
- To opt for the sensational, to draw attention to ourselves rather than to God
- To compromise, to act as if a just end can ever justify an unjust or immoral means
And notice how Jesus defends himself on each occasion – by appealing to Scripture. Even though he is the Son of God, he deliberately takes himself back on each occasion to what the Bible says.
How well do we know our Bibles? There is a real encouragement here to learn Bible verses off by heart, so that we have God’s word at our fingertips when we are under pressure. And what about Terry Waite – for the first year or so in captivity he had no Bible, and the only Scriptures he had to sustain him in that terrifying ordeal were the ones he had learnt by heart…
Notice how the devil waited until Jesus was at his weakest point before going for the jugular – after 40 days – vv2-3
Is fasting such a good idea, if it makes us physically weak and vulnerable to temptation? I don’t really like fasting, and I am always glad on an excuse not to, but I do know from my own limited experience that fasting does toughen us up and make us much stronger by making us face up to temptation rather than running away from it. I will be looking at the subject of fasting in more detail in one of our Lent evening sermons…
Whenever we are about to try to do something really important for God, that is just when the devil will try to trip us up and stop us
We need to be prepared for this as a church as well as individually. God has given us a clear vision for the next five years, he is calling us to play a really significant role in this community and beyond, and we must expect the opposition to try a few spoiling tactics.
But when something goes wrong how can you tell if it is the devil at work or not?
The key thing here in my experience is not to project onto the devil the responsibility for our own mistakes. Usually the devil works through our own personal sins and weaknesses, so if something goes wrong it is still our fault - we cannot simply absolve ourselves and blame the devil.
How can we defend ourselves against temptation and against spiritual attack?
Very simple really:
- Keep in touch with God – guard our times with God in church and in private. Knowing our Bible is the best way for us to know what is on God’s heart and what pleases him – as Jesus demonstrates each time in the wilderness – ‘It is written..’
- Keep in touch with each other – take time to nourish relationships with those closest to us and with our church family. Jesus called his disciples to be a community – he called them to be with him, before he called them to go out and preach. Just as within marriage honesty, transparency and accountability and forgiveness are essential, so it is within our church family. It is when we get isolated that we get vulnerable. Being part of a cell group with people where we can be truly honest, forgiven and loved just as we are can be so valuable. Simple acts of grace – treating people as they don’t deserve – can go a long way.
- Keep in touch with yourself - Don’t get stressed or burnt out – that is so often when we say or do something that we later regret.
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