Reflection on Matthew 4:1-11

Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSVue)

1 Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,

 ‘One does not live by bread alone,

  but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

  5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

 ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

  and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

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

7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

  8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

 ‘Worship the Lord your God,

  and serve only him.’ ”

11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Reflection

I could not help but think about the goat.  As a small kid in Sunday School, the teacher taught us about the goat found in Leviticus 16, called the scapegoat, who would have the sins of all God’s people thrust upon its head, and then the poor, innocent thing would be led into the wilderness to be set free to fend for itself.  Of course, my Sunday School teacher went on to talk about how good it was for the people to have their sins taken away from them, but I heard very little about that because my mind was still stuck on that poor little goat alone in the wilderness. 

What would happen to it?  Did it miss its family?  Did it want its mom? 

The teacher mentioned that Azazel was out there and would hunt down the goat, devour it, and the sins would be gone for good.  Modern Biblical scholars do not know exactly what “Azazel” refers to in Leviticus 16:26, but my teacher described Azazel as a fearsome creature like Satan, with horns and wings, who preys on anyone who is lost in the wilderness.  The biblical scholars of Jesus’ time agreed.

Who wrote these Sunday School materials back in the day anyway?  Who thought that this would be a great story for little kids?  I was terrified.  And my heat ached for the poor goat.  The goat did not do anything wrong.  Why did the goat need to suffer because of people’s sin and stupidity?  I imagined a dark creature coming from around the rocks in the darkness of the moonlight, saliva dripping from its mouth, approaching the poor little goat to eat it alive.

If only evil was that easy to spot, then maybe you would have a chance to turn and run or seek a place to hide.  But the reality of the situation is that as Azazel approached, he probably was a handsome creature with kind eyes who reached out to pet the goat, pull it close as it trembled in the wilderness, and gained its trust.  He probably promised to give the world to the goat since he was the one who rescued it.  Of course, those who released it into the wilderness could not be trusted. 

That is the way evil truly works.  Evil gives promises.  Evil initially gives the appearance of caring.  Evil pulls up in a white van, offers a huge smile, and holds out a piece of candy that will make the world wonderful for the child, if only for a few minutes.  Evil always wears a mask of goodness and builds trust before it snatches us and pulls us down into the pit.

That is how it was for Jesus in any case.  As our goat, bearing all our sinfulness and failures, Jesus too “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil” (Matthew 4:1).  He too was left to wander in the wilderness, alone without food for “forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished” (Matthew 4:2).

Have you ever noticed that when you find yourself alone and maybe depressed and struggling, the first temptation to creep up on you is always food?  A whole bucket of chocolate chip ice cream is sitting right there in the freezer, staring at you.  “Poor, lonely bucket.  I won’t leave you alone like everyone else left me!”  After an hour the bucket of ice cream and you have become one as you watch movies together on the couch.

That temptation was no different for Jesus.  The Bible says that “The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread’” (Matthew 4:3).  The tempter, the devil, you know, that helpful guy out in the wilderness who was there to “help” the goat is there to “help” Jesus as well.

But where so many have listened to that handsome and kind guy out in the wilderness, enticing us to eat the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups just gloriously sitting right there out in the wilderness, or in Jesus’ case some stones that he could make into some warm, freshly baked bread, Jesus did not fall for the temptation.  Adam and Eve fell for it.  They listened to temptation and ate the fruit that they were not to eat.  The Israelites fell for it.  Some of the Israelites gathered extra manna out in the wilderness to save up for later, though they were told not to.  And I hate to admit that I have fallen for it again and again, seeking to store up treasures in my freezer and fridge that show more a preparation for Armageddon and less a trust in God’s provision.  All of us are tempted to take matters into our own hands and secure what we need and desire. 

But Jesus did not.  Instead of listening to the enticing words of the tempter and instead of listening to the audible, grumbling needs of his stomach, Jesus said, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). 

When I am a goat, stranded out in the wilderness, I tend to assume that God has forgotten me and left me to fend for myself.  But Jesus trusts that God can breathe out a word that will transform his wilderness experience from something unfortunate to something more than fortunate.  After-all, God’s breath, God’s words, did blow away the chaos waters at the beginning of time, allowing space for God to create everything we see in this world; you, me, the fish, the majestic mountains, the faithful friend, and those who invented chocolate and peanut butter.  If God could create beauty out of chaos, God can do it again.  ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). 

Moments later, Jesus is tempted again by the devil.  The devil places Jesus on the very peak of the temple; the temple in Jerusalem, the place where heaven and earth touch; the temple where God resides from time to time.  The devil tells Jesus to jump off the temple.  After-all God will not let anything happen to him.  The devil tempts Jesus using scripture as if he is the faithful one, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone’” (Matthew 4:6). 

What is there to fear?  They are at the temple.  God the Father should be right there, just on the other side of the holy curtain.  Surely, God will send angels to catch him. 

The devil is proposing a test, not of Jesus, but of God the Father.  Will God truly provide for Jesus?  Will God truly care?  Is God even there?

I have tested God.  I have set up challenges by which God can prove that God is there and that God cares.  “Send me a shooting star if you are listening, God.”  I have stared at the stars, waiting for the shooting star to come, only to see none.  I have been enticed to test God, and I think that most of you have as well. 

Here is the thing.  God is going to do what is right and good; not what I want God to do.  God does not throw a pitch if a little boy wants a meteorite to fall from the sky.  God will certainly refuse to be tested when we are the ones being put to the test.

Faith means trusting that God will provide, and trusting is done without proof.  Otherwise, it is not trusting, is it?  Jesus trusts God the Father.  Jesus does not fail even when I do fail each time I am cast out into the wilderness to fend for myself.  He is the goat who is not destroyed when bearing the sins of the people.  Jesus said to [the tempter], “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matthew 4:7).

Now, I just want to stop here and point out something that may be a little obvious, but the meaning, not so much.  Have you noticed that each time that Jesus was tempted that Jesus went to scripture to find a footing.  He used scripture to be his wisdom and guide.  And that makes me want to ask, “Where is your Bible?”  How handy is it?  Do you take it with you when you are cast out into the wilderness to fend for yourself?  God’s word is powerful.  God’s word caused mountains to rise from the sea and formed people out of mere dust.  God’s word can move your mountains too.

Speaking of mountains, as if he were taking Jesus into the Garden of Eden itself, where God looks down on all the earth, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain, “and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me’” (Matthew 4:8).

And we are tempted in this way again and again.  We say things like, “If I would only win the lottery, I would do this great thing and help all these people.”  We say things like, “If I were emperor, I would use some common sense, and everything would be good again.”

A friend and I were talking that way once.  He talked about how many things in the world would be solved if only he were put in charge.  At that very moment his cell phone rang.  It was his two children.  Angry voices were spewing from the speaker of the phone.  They were at home stuck alone with each other, and they were fighting.  My friend gave them some stern warnings over the phone and they promptly hung up.  I could not help but point out that his children do not even listen to him, why would the world listen if he were emperor?

These are all fantasies.  Thinking that people need to think like me is just plain foolish.  Insisting that everyone follows my lead is just plain silly when you really stop and think about it.  Do I follow anyone else’s lead?  Furthermore, I am not God.  I can barely keep my own life in order; how can I possibly assume that I need to be in charge of other people’s lives?

Jesus knew better.  “Away with you, Satan!” Jesus yells, “for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (Matthew 4:10).

Maybe, if there were fewer people who needed to be in charge, and more people who just want to serve God, the world would be a better, less chaotic place.  “‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (Matthew 4:10). 

And as much as I would like to carry my Bible with me and always remember to push away temptation by worshiping only the Lord and serving only him, I know the truth.  When people have placed their sinful junk on me and pushed me out into the wilderness, I am probably going to be a very weak person by that point and I will fall for temptation again and again, no matter how well intentioned I am.

And because of that, it is a good thing that the one who truly carries the sin of the world on his head is out there in the wilderness with me.  When the tempter comes, I can just look over and follow Jesus.  I can trust that he knows what he is doing.  I can trust that he can overcome the temptations and lead in the right direction.  I can look to him to deliver me from the power of sin, death, and the devil.   

After all, in the end, the devil flees from him.  It says it right there in Matthew 4:11: “Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.”  I think I will trust and follow the only goat who cannot be devoured, Jesus Christ our Lord.