Matthew 4:1-11 * February 13, 2005 * Lent
1 * Senior Assistant Johann Caauwe
I have never been a
soldier. I have never been trained to carry out missions or engage the enemy. I
have never even fired a weapon. Some of my fellow citizens, even some of my own
family are at this very moment in the midst of war--fighting and struggling day
in and day out. I am not a soldier but I am engaged in a daily battle that
means life or death.
We have just entered
the season of Lent, which reminds us that we are all at war. It reminds us that
the Devil battles against us every day. It reminds us that Satan will not be
satisfied until we pay the ultimate price and it reminds us that the battle is
hard and long.
But on this first
Sunday in Lent we consider something very important--something that we need to
remember throughout Lent and throughout our lives. The war is over. In the
words of the hymn we just sang (CW 200),
Our Victory Is
Won!
I. Jesus fights the same
old battle
II. Jesus’ victory wins the war.
Maybe it seems just a
little bit silly for Satan to tempt Jesus. After all, listen to the words Matthew
records right before our text--at the baptism of Jesus. “And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I
am well pleased’”(Mt 3:17). Why would the devil go after someone whom God
loves and who loves God perfectly? But isn’t that exactly what we heard about
in the first lesson? Adam and Eve were perfect, perfectly pleasing to God.
Satan isn’t just
interested in making the bad people of the world worse. He isn’t simply trying
to make this world a more wicked, sinful place. He doesn’t just want some
people to be his own. He wants everyone. He wants everyone who lives in perfect
harmony with God. He wants everyone who loves God. He wants everyone with whom
God is pleased. He wants you. By faith you are pleasing to God--and Satan will
do everything in his power to change that. That means that the temptation you
face and the temptation Jesus faced is the same old temptation--a temptation
meant to pull you away from the God that loves you.
Not only does Satan
attack the same kind of people for the same reason, he uses the same tactics.
Just listen to what Satan does: “Then
Jesus was led out into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting
forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said,
‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread" (4:1-3)
It sounds innocent
enough. Jesus certainly did have the power to turn stone to bread, so what
would be the harm in making use of that power? You remember that Jesus had set
aside his power and glory. He set aside his crowns and riches and honor to be
humbled. Now he sat as a human being who hadn’t eaten for a long time and was
hungry. But, you see, he trusted God. He trusted that God would provide
whatever he needed. And along comes Satan and says, ahh, you don’t need trust.
You have power.
“Then
the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of
the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God, he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it
is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you
up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a
stone’”(5-6).
It’s as if Satan says,
you want to trust God? Then let me see how much you trust God. Jump down. Give
God a little test and see if he holds up your trust. First he says you don’t
need trust and then he challenges that same trust.
“Again,
the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of
the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will
bow down and worship me’” (8-9).
What the devil can’t
do by tricks he does by flat-out lying. With false premises and empty promises
the devil offers the world and only has death and hell to give.
Same old, same old.
What we see here is exactly the same kind of temptation we heard about in the
garden of Eden. Satan comes and says, “Are you sure you can trust God? Did God
really say don’t eat from that tree? Well, that may have been what God said,
but what does that really mean?”
Friends, I suspect
that you know exactly what these attacks are like because you fight them every
day. Satan hasn’t changed. And he comes after you for the same reason and with
the same lies that he’s been using for centuries. He still asks “Did God really
say?” He still convinces us that it’s better to worry about tomorrow that to
trust in God for all our days. He still leads us to compare ourselves to others
rather than the perfection he demands.
And I don’t know about
you, but I find it a little embarrassing to fall into the same traps, over and
over again. It’s embarrassing and shameful. Again and again, Satan comes to us
with the same old temptations, temptations to sin in our thoughts, or our
words, or our actions. And it seems that the only thing that changes over time
is that maybe he doesn’t have to work as hard anymore.
Lent reminds us that
the fight is fierce and the warfare is long. But here in our text we see that
our victory is won because Jesus fought the same old battle.
Of course Jesus didn’t
fight the same old battle because he had to. Just look again at the temptations.
Jesus would never have been hungry had he not humbled himself to be born as a
human. Jesus could have jumped from the temple safely without the help of
angels. All the kingdoms of the world and their splendor that the devil
offered--Jesus created all of it.
But because Jesus
humbled himself and became one of us, he fought the same old battle. Because of
the Father’s love and the willingness of the Son, Jesus came into our world to
live life just like you and to fight this battle over and over again.
So Jesus knows. Jesus
knows what it’s like to face the devil head on day after day. He’s been there.
The reason this gives us comfort today is not just because Jesus was tempted,
but because he won. Our victory is won, because Jesus’ victory wins the war.
Have you ever watched
a movie with a some kind of fight or battle scene where it almost seems like
the main character is invincible? Bullets are whizzing past and fists are
flying, but nothing hits him. On the other hand every shot the hero takes finds
its target. That’s almost like what we see here.
Every word Jesus uses
blocks the devil and puts him in his place. Jesus says, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word
that comes from the mouth of God’” (4). He says, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (7).
He says, “Away from me Satan! For it is
written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (10).
Jesus defeats every
temptation. Almost effortlessly Jesus exposes every hidden trick, every deception
and completely places his trust in his Father. Perfect trust. Perfect love.
Perfect obedience.
Oh, yes, Jesus fights
the same old battle, but this battle turns out much differently. This battle
doesn’t turn out like yours or mine—in sin, in shame, in embarrassment. This
battle ends in peace, in triumph, in victory.
And though we did not
fight it, though we did not win, the victory is ours. It’s ours. We heard in
the 2nd lesson: “Consequently, just as
the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of
one act of righteousness was justification that brings life to all men. For
just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so
also through the obedience of the one man the many were made righteous” (Ro
5:18-19).
God looks at us and
sees Jesus’ trust, not our doubt. He sees Jesus’ honor, not our shame. He sees
Jesus’ victory, not our defeat. Because Jesus fought the same old battles and
won, our victory is won.
That changes things,
doesn’t it? Because of Jesus’ obedience there in the wilderness, and in the
hills of Galilee, and on the streets of Jerusalem and on a hill called Golgotha--because
of Jesus’ obedience, I have been declared innocent, righteous, perfect. Doesn’t
that change the way I look at each temptation that now comes my way? It changes
things because now I don’t need to rely on my own strength to fight it. I don’t
need to rely on my own wisdom and will-power to resist the schemes of the
devil. No, I rely on the one who defeated Satan in the wilderness. I rely on
the one who loved me so much that he willingly fought the battle for me—and
won.
I rely on Jesus. I
rely on Jesus for my will, my strength, my guidance—and my weapon. Jesus made
it very clear what his weapon was. “It is written.” “It is written.” “It is written.”
Jesus’ powerful weapon was the mighty Word of God.
Well, what else would
we expect? To fight against temptations to not trust God, doesn’t it just make
sense to use the Word of God that reminds us again and again that it is God who
sustains us day by day (not bread), it reminds us that God has never failed his
people in the past so there’s no need to put him to the test, it reminds us
that God has done such great and wondrous
things for us that we have no reason to worship and serve anyone but him
alone?
My friends, the Word
of God is as powerful on your lips as it was on the lips of Jesus because it is
Jesus’ Word. It is Jesus’ word that we read on the pages of the Bible. It is
Jesus’ word that we dig deeply into in Bible Class. It is Jesus’ word that we
hear, read, and sing in this place week after week. It is Jesus’ Word that is
really the key to the miracles of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And it is
Jesus’ word that is our powerful weapon—our only weapon—against the old evil
foe.
So pick up that
weapon. Use it. Read it. Learn it. And then let temptation come. Let sorrow
come. Let poverty come. Let persecution come. Let illness come. Let death come.
Let all these things come after us, attack us, and in the midst of the battle
we will confidently sing:
The Word they still
shall let remain,
Nor any thanks have
for it;
He’s by our side upon
the plain
With his good gifts
and Spirit.
And do what they
will—Hate, steal hurt, or kill—
Though all may be
gone, Our victory is won;
The kingdom’s ours
forever. (CW 200, st. 4) Amen.