Matthew 4:1-11 (The Message)
Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: “Since you are God’s Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread.” Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.”
For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, “Since you are God’s Son, jump.” The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: “He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone.” Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: “Don’t you dare test the Lord your God.”
For the third test, the Devil took him to the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth’s kingdoms, how glorious they all were. Then he said, “They’re yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they’re yours.” Jesus’ refusal was curt: “Beat it, Satan!” He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.”
The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus’ needs.
This is one of those stories that is entirely familiar to those of us who have been around churches for quite a while. Even for those who haven’t necessarily been in church it is probably vaguely familiar – something we’ve heard. And it seems pretty straight forward. The story begins immediately after Jesus’ baptism by John. The first thing Jesus did after that amazing experience was to go off by himself for a few days to pray and, I suspect, figure out what just happened to him.
After fasting and praying for 40 days Jesus comes face to face with The Deceiver, who attempts to distract him and turn him aside from the path before him, by offering him three temptations. First, he offers food – after 40 days out there Jesus was bound to be hungry – but, No, Jesus rejects Satan’s fake food.
Second, he offers magical powers to wow the crowds – but, No, Jesus doesn’t need that either.
Thirdly, Satan offers Jesus the whole world if he’ll only do this one tiny, little thing and worship Satan. The answer, of course, is No, again. This is Jesus, after all. We didn’t really expect him to give in.
So, that’s that story – OK, let’s move on to the next one … or maybe not. Maybe let’s take some time and look at the idea of temptation and what this story tells us about ourselves, because, the truth is that we read scripture not to hear about God or Jesus or Moses or whomever as much as we read to maybe learn a little about ourselves.
Whoever it is who gathers the quotes posted on the UCC Lectionary site each week – the ones I’ve taken to including on your handouts – that person is one of my favorite people because quite often it will be one of those quotes that breaks open the readings for me. After years and years of a three-year cycle, scripture itself can begin to be pretty repetitive, and some words from another source very often bring it all back into focus for us.
That’s the case for me this week. Especially this one from Jonathan Martin:
After fasting and praying for 40 days Jesus comes face to face with The Deceiver, who attempts to distract him and turn him aside from the path before him, by offering him three temptations. First, he offers food – after 40 days out there Jesus was bound to be hungry – but, No, Jesus rejects Satan’s fake food.
Second, he offers magical powers to wow the crowds – but, No, Jesus doesn’t need that either.
Thirdly, Satan offers Jesus the whole world if he’ll only do this one tiny, little thing and worship Satan. The answer, of course, is No, again. This is Jesus, after all. We didn’t really expect him to give in.
So, that’s that story – OK, let’s move on to the next one … or maybe not. Maybe let’s take some time and look at the idea of temptation and what this story tells us about ourselves, because, the truth is that we read scripture not to hear about God or Jesus or Moses or whomever as much as we read to maybe learn a little about ourselves.
Whoever it is who gathers the quotes posted on the UCC Lectionary site each week – the ones I’ve taken to including on your handouts – that person is one of my favorite people because quite often it will be one of those quotes that breaks open the readings for me. After years and years of a three-year cycle, scripture itself can begin to be pretty repetitive, and some words from another source very often bring it all back into focus for us.
That’s the case for me this week. Especially this one from Jonathan Martin:
"But that's one way we can identify the devil's voice: It always plays to our fears. It is the voice that tells us we must do something to prove who we are, to prove that we're worthy, to prove that we are who God has already declared us to be. When we know we are loved by God, we don't have to prove anything to anyone. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves more beloved than we are."
Jesus, rising up out of the waters of the Jordan, heard a voice calling him “Beloved,” and here, already in this story, another voice is trying to tell him that can’t be true – he can’t be enough – there must be something he needs to DO to make himself worthy.
And how many of us, hearing such words, would be able to resist them and continue to believe that God’s love is enough for all of us and that there is nothing we need do or be to “earn” that love? How many of us have so deeply internalized the message that we can never be good enough, never really be loved by God, that we already believe the Tempter’s words, even without 40 days in the various wildernesses in which we live our lives?
Jesus believed the voice of God and the words that were said to him. Were there actual words spoken in an actual voice or were the words found in Jesus’ own heart and mind? Does it really matter? Jesus heard them and believed them down to the core of his being. He believed them … and because he believed them, he was able to recognize the lie behind all the Tempter’s words and reject them. He didn’t need to test God to see if he would truly feed him and protect him and give him everything his heart desired. He was already fed and protected and all that his heart desired was to serve God. And he served God best by rejecting the Deceiver’s lies and accepting that he was, indeed, God’s own beloved.
As are we.
Can we reject the voices – those voices that so consistently play to our fears -- the fears that tell us we’ll never be good enough? Can we accept God’s love for us even when – especially when we don’t understand at all just how God can possibly love us when we don’t even love ourselves?
Can we perhaps entertain the idea that we are wrong – that we’ve been wrong all along – and that maybe, just maybe, God – that unknowable, un-nameable, un-containable force of love and life and goodness – maybe God knows what God is doing?
Can we perhaps allow that to be enough for us?
And how many of us, hearing such words, would be able to resist them and continue to believe that God’s love is enough for all of us and that there is nothing we need do or be to “earn” that love? How many of us have so deeply internalized the message that we can never be good enough, never really be loved by God, that we already believe the Tempter’s words, even without 40 days in the various wildernesses in which we live our lives?
Jesus believed the voice of God and the words that were said to him. Were there actual words spoken in an actual voice or were the words found in Jesus’ own heart and mind? Does it really matter? Jesus heard them and believed them down to the core of his being. He believed them … and because he believed them, he was able to recognize the lie behind all the Tempter’s words and reject them. He didn’t need to test God to see if he would truly feed him and protect him and give him everything his heart desired. He was already fed and protected and all that his heart desired was to serve God. And he served God best by rejecting the Deceiver’s lies and accepting that he was, indeed, God’s own beloved.
As are we.
Can we reject the voices – those voices that so consistently play to our fears -- the fears that tell us we’ll never be good enough? Can we accept God’s love for us even when – especially when we don’t understand at all just how God can possibly love us when we don’t even love ourselves?
Can we perhaps entertain the idea that we are wrong – that we’ve been wrong all along – and that maybe, just maybe, God – that unknowable, un-nameable, un-containable force of love and life and goodness – maybe God knows what God is doing?
Can we perhaps allow that to be enough for us?
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