Reflection on Luke 4:1-13

 

Luke 4:1-13

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”

 5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,

 ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ”

 9 Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

 ‘He will command his angels concerning you,

to protect you,’

11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Reflection

The end of this story has ominous words.  After Jesus passes the tests and the temptations of the devil, the story says that “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13).  Evil is never done.  It is always there.  Even when you do well, it is crouching nearby, ready to strike.  God tries to teach this to Cain after he fails to provide an acceptable offering.  God says, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7).  He does not master it.  Evil strikes and unfortunately it is his brother who suffers from Cain’s weakness to temptation.

Evil is never done.  It is always waiting.  Temptations to sin will always arise.

So, I have to say that it is no surprise that after over a year of healthy eating, consuming virtually no sugar except during certain celebrations (which was the plan), and consuming almost no cholesterol even though I love steak, and chicken, and shrimp, just a couple of days ago my resolve busted into delicious little pieces.  It started with the bag of Chips Ahoy cookies, lurking in the pantry near the box of garbage bags, ready to spring into a cup of milk before dramatically and deliciously jumping into my mouth.  And, that would not have been too bad if it had not been for the fatty, juicy, savory roast beef creeping up on me from the refrigerator behind.  Once that filled my stomach, it all just went downhill from there.  I found myself floundering in all of the temptations that can be found in the kitchen, and it made me feel very, very happy. 

That is the problem with temptations.  They do have a wonderful, sweet and savory pay off. 

As I said before, it was no surprise that I failed so miserably after over a year of doing great.  Having experienced the vastness of human nature over the course of my pastoral career, I simply shrugged and said to myself, “Of course, you failed.  Evil is never done.  It is always waiting.  Temptations to sin will always arise.”

What is surprising is that Jesus, after 40 days of eating nothing, Jesus does not cave when tempted to use his power to turn a stone into bread.  I tell you, if that had been me, that stone would have been a huge, Reese Peanut Butter Egg in seconds.  But, the Bible says, “The devil said to [Jesus], ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’  Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone’” (Luke 4:3-4).  Jesus does not cave into the temptation.  Jesus does not fail the test.  When Jesus is out in the wilderness, he does not complain, demanding food like the Israelites before him (Exodus 16).  Jesus trusts that God will provide the food. 

Our failure is no surprise.  Jesus’ complete trust is truly surprising.

A couple of months ago, a pastor was caught in the act of arranging an inappropriate relationship with a minor.  The pastor actually drove the minor across state lines.  Charges were brought against the pastor, and all who knew the pastor were astounded.  Some people felt hurt.  Those who worked close with the pastor felt betrayed.  And, though I felt deep compassion for the victim and for the pastor’s family who were all floundering from his sin, I simply said to myself, “Of course the pastor did this.”

I had no inside knowledge about this pastor’s sins, nor did I predict it.  But, after over 20 years of ministry, having experienced the terrible moral failures of pastors (who are just people with funny little, white plastic things attached to their necks), I was not surprised.

The problem with temptation is that it deludes you into thinking that what you are doing is right.  It deludes you into thinking about yourself, and you forget that other people are valuable; created to be images of God.  That child is a person of value.  The people we try to influence are people created and love by God.  The temptation to influence people to satisfy our own desires is enticing, and can easily go unnoticed by the one who has been struck by its bite.  Of course, the Pastor used power inappropriately.  Evil is never done.  It is always waiting.  Temptations to sin will always arise.

What is surprising is that Jesus, who is sent on a mission by God to influence the world, does not use that mandate to force his own desires.  Evil does not infiltrate Jesus’ mission.  The Bible says that the devil, when showing him all the kingdoms of the world says to Jesus, “’To you I will give all this authority and their glory, 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.’  Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (Luke 4:6-8).  Jesus does not cave into the temptation.  Jesus does not fail the test.  He does not look down from the heights as King David did when he glanced down and saw a beautiful woman, and try to claim anyone for his own selfish purposes (2 Samuel 11).  Jesus trusts that God will provide the wisdom and direction for his life. 

Our failure is no surprise.  Jesus’ complete trust is truly surprising.

It was no surprise when the girl shouted to the sky, “Prove to me that you are listening to me!  My life is falling apart, and I need to know that you are there!  Send a shooting star to prove that you exist!  Prove to me that you care!”  It was no surprise that she was shouting to the sky.  We all have, haven’t we?  And, it was no surprise that when she searched the sky for that streak of light she saw nothing.

God does not respond to our tests.  God does not jump when we say jump, God does have to listen to anything that we say and does not need to be swayed by any of our words.  The temptation to put God to the test is strong, but doing so almost always results in deep disappointment.  Yet, we still do it.  Evil is never done.  It is always waiting.  Temptations to sin will always arise.

What is surprising is that Jesus is able to push away the strong temptation to force God the Father’s hand.  Jesus could.  Out of everyone in the world, the Son is the one who actually could try to sway that hand of God the Father.  But, Jesus refuses.  The Bible quotes the devil’s temptation: “’If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’  Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Luke 4:9-12).  Jesus does not cave into the temptation.  Jesus does not fail the test. 

Jesus continually trusts God the Father in a way that we cannot.  Of course, we can trust, sometimes.  We too can withstand temptation, for a period of time anyway.  For me, it was a little over a year that I resisted the sugar and the cholesterol.  Even though I faltered in the end, I still say that a year of resisting is pretty good, if I do say so myself.  And, I do.  But, such an admission reveals the truth: evil is never done.  It is always waiting.  Temptations to sin will always arise.  It waits for an opportune time.  And, we will fail.

But there is one who does not fail, even when temptation is lurking and waiting for the right time.  He is the one who was not sidetracked as he headed to the cross.  He is the one who did not save himself when voices urged and tempted him to do so from below his cross.  He is the one who followed through on loving to the end.  That is why we trust Jesus Christ, Our Lord.  He is the one who surprises; the one who cannot be tempted or swayed to abandon his mission; the one who does not fail to love each and every one of us.  Temptation has no hold over him, therefore, temptation cannot claim us forever either, because where he goes, so do we.

Yes, temptation may be lurking, but Jesus can be found deeply alive in our hearts, and minds, and hands.  Return to the Lord.  Trust in the Lord.  His love is not swayed.  And, his love endures forever.