“You are my Son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
“My Son." The name is still ringing in Jesus' ears as he is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. It is the name that keeps him going as the heat beats down on him. It is the name that he feeds on like a moist, juicy steak as he struggles to go yet another day without food. And, it is the name that he repeats to himself as a mantra while someone walks from the dust of the wilderness and starts to speak.
“They say that you are the Son of God. Am I in the right place? Did I find the right person?”
Jesus stares up through the beating sun at the tester.
“If you are the Son of God then you will have no problem doing as God did for the Israelites as they wandered starving in the desert; turn this stone into manna. Turn this stone into bread.”
He is the son of God. Why not get a little bread? God certainly cannot be against eating? Yet, the Holy Spirit has not led him to bread. God has not given him bread. He is God’s son. Jesus decides to wait for God to act.
“One does not live by bread alone.” Jesus replies.
The tester’s face twitches for a second, and then his calm smile returns. Then in an instant, they are standing high above earth, looking down on the world in the same way that God looks down on the world.
The tester addresses Jesus, "Look at all of this. You are the Son of God. You are the Messiah. This is all yours. Being in charge of this is your responsibility…no, it is your duty. You would not love the world if you neglected it. Therefore, I will turn over to you the authority over this place right now; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."
He is the Son of God. He is to love the world. He is to serve the world. The Son of God should care. Of course, the devil was claiming more than he should. The devil does not own the kingdoms. They are not his. However, Jesus is the Son of God. Why not start taking on his responsibilities now? it seems like a virtuous thing to do but one lingering question remains, if takes the reigns now who is in control? Is Jesus taking control? Is the devil taking control? God has not told him anything yet except that he is God’s Son. Jesus decides to trust God and to trust God’s timing. It is possible to jump the gun, even when doing something good. Jesus decides to wait for God.
Jesus answered him, "It is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' "
The devil takes a deep breath, his face flushes with frustration, and in an instant they are standing, looking over all of Jerusalem, standing on the top of the temple. As they look down, they can see the priests right below offering their sacrifices. The smells of the meat rises past their noses. Beyond they can see the people in the temple who desire more than anything to be near God.
“You have not shown yourself to be the Son of God in any way. You are just like those people down there, a pathetic, normal human who stumbles around life and wishes for something better. You are not the Son of God. It is obvious. "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, "God will command God’s angels concerning you…the Messiah…, to protect you,' and "On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone,' " the tester said pointing down at the stone altar. “Only the Son of God would trust God enough to put his life into God’s hands. Do you trust God, O Son of God?”
The question is similar to the ones we get posed to us today. “You are a Christian? Are not Christians supposed to do this? Are not Christians supposed to believe that, or vote in this way, or care about this cause, or not spend any time around this sort of person? Are you not a Christian?” It is not spoken out loud, but the insinuation is clear, “prove it to me by following my criteria for who a Christian is. If you do not prove it to me, then you will not be considered a Christian.” Or, “prove it to me or I will leave your church for a better…more Christian one.”
“So Jesus, prove that you trust God. Prove that you are the Son of God,” the tester says.
But, Jesus knows that he is the Son of God. He heard the voice over the waters of the Jordan. He heard God speak to him. He is God’s Son, the beloved, with whom God is well pleased. He has to prove nothing to anyone. He only needs to be who God called him to be: God’s Son.
Jesus answered him, "It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’" And, with that, the tester was gone.
At your baptism, you heard some words spoken to you also. You are not Betty or Sam or Charles or any of the names that people call you. You are much more than your name. You are a child of God. You are a brother or sister of Christ. And, with you God is well pleased. Your name shapes who you are. Your name directs what you do and do not do. Your name tells you who you follow, and in whose words you trust. Your name is “Child of God.” Child of God; what a glorious and beautiful name.
All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and is used by permission. All rights reserved.
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