Luke 4:1-13 * February 25, 2007 * Lent 1/125^th Anniversary Service * Pastor Jon Cox

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, ² where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.

⁵ The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷ So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”

⁸ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”

⁹ The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written:

”‘He will command his angels concerning you

to guard you carefully;

¹¹ they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a

stone.”

¹² Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

¹³ When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Greeting to you from your brothers and sisters in Christ at St. Peters Lutheran Church in Fond du Lac where I have been called to serve. Thank you, also for the invitation to participate in this Anniversary of St. John’s – Tosa.

Anniversaries in general, and church anniversaries in particular are especially valuable times to celebrate. During this time, we reflect and consider how God’s grace has brought generations of blessings. God willing, the congregation I serve will celebrate it’s own 150^th anniversary next year. Because there are so many perspectives from which God’s goodness can be viewed: His goodness in the church, in the school, in outreach, in nurture, in people, and in programs, it is especially important to note that Jesus Christ is the source of all blessings to us. Without God’s Son, our Savior, there would be no grace and no cause for celebration no matter what your perspective. It is because of this truth, that we can gather this Sunday, remember the 125 years of God’s Grace for St. John’s and also turn to the appointed gospel lesson for this First Sunday in Lent as an appropriate basis for worship. For in this text, we find Jesus Christ. At this time of reflection, we consider the Timeless Lessons from our Tempted Lord.

We will see, as we study Luke’s account of the temptation of Jesus, that timeless lessons are expressed for us; lessons that connect Jesus, Lent, and this anniversary. To better help us remember these timeless lessons, we will describe them by means of three familiar Christian hymn/song titles. Let’s take to heart the lesson “Jesus Loves Me, this I Know”, the lesson “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, and the lesson “God’s Word is Our Great Heritage.”

In verses one and two the text says, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, ² where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.”

What evidence of love this is! That Jesus Christ, fresh from his baptism at the Jordan River, would follow the lead of the Spirit and allow himself to be put under the agonizing stress of forty days and nights without food is such a mark of love. Where so many of us won’t go even hours without snacking, Jesus willingly endured the strain of fasting for over a month. While certainly a miraculous accomplishment, it also would have been achieved at a high human cost.

However, we must marvel even more at the love of Christ that drove him to a face-to-face confrontation with Satan. Satan wanted nothing more than to bring sin out of Jesus. Just one sin, just one slip of the tongue or laps of the mind or attitude and Satan would have accomplished the breakdown of God’s plan of salvation. How did Jesus endure?

As an answer to that question, we take to heart our first timeless lesson… “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong.” Jesus was strong as the very Son of God. Jesus was strong in the Spirit’s strength, something that Luke especially emphasizes here. Jesus was strong in his love for the sinners of this world. This lesson: Jesus loves me this I know, is more than a song, it is an expression of the eternal gospel, a timeless truth.

From childhood, whether a childhood as individuals or as a congregation, the Lord has been providing that timeless gospel message of Jesus’ love as a seed to souls. Planting it in each person by baptism and the work of the Word, God has caused that seed of the gospel to grow. A tender shoot rose up in this community when St. John’s was in it’s infancy 125 years ago, but God’s grace was at work. Today, we associate the song “Jesus Loves Me This I Know” with the message of that saving grace taught to us at our very earliest time in life.

So even now, in the record of or tempted Lord, God is causing that love to come to us, our faith to grow stronger and stronger, this congregation to rise more and more as a mighty church.

It is certainly true that at a time of church anniversary, we can take stock of what God’s grace has done and marvel at the mighty congregation that has arisen here in what was once only tiny Wauwatosa.

But we are not mighty.

As we look at each of the three temptations listed in our text, we realize that Christ is the mighty one. He is the fortress of faith and strength, withstanding the onslaught of the Tempters attacks.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Where we so easily forget about trusting the Lord for daily bread and chase after more than we need, interested in the instant gratification that our insatiable and discontented appetites crave, Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷ So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”

Where we “bow down” the gods of materialism, gaining and gaining more and more stuff, when at the very same time so easily fail to be rich toward God, we sin. Where we are called to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness rather than the kingdoms and glories of this temporary tainted life, you and I can find daily evidence that we don’t manage our possessions as God wants, but as we want.

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” Our tempted Lord made it clear that he would never put anything or anyone in front of God in his heart and life. In this response, he kept the first commandment perfectly. He did not sin.

The third time, the devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written:

”‘He will command his angels concerning you

to guard you carefully;

¹¹ they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a

stone.”

The devil attempts to make Jesus falter and fall by means of a sinister twisting and misuse of God’s holy Word. Satan takes a passage from Psalm 91 meant for comfort and reassurance and turns it around to look like a license from God to be reckless.

¹² Jesus simply answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Let us not doubt for a minute the timeless lesson coming from our tempted Lord: A Mighty Fortress is our God. This bold Lutheran hymn expresses beautifully the truth of this text. Christ Jesus is the holy one, the valiant one, the mighty fortress in whom all believers find not only protection from the devil but salvation from our own sin. As the hymn states: A mighty Fortress is our God, a trusty Shield and Weapon;He helps us free from every need That hath us now o'ertaken. The old evil Foe Now means deadly woe; Deep guile and great might Are his dread arms in fight; On Earth is not his equal. With might of ours can naught be done, Soon were our loss effected; But for us fights the Valiant One, Whom God Himself elected. Ask ye, Who is this? Jesus Christ it is. Of Sabaoth Lord, And there's none other God; He holds the field forever.”

Jesus does not face the devil in temptation in order to provide for us the mere example of how to live and defeat the devil ourselves. If this were all the lesson was worth, it would be no real use; it would not be gospel at all. However, the timeless lesson of this text is that Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of the Father, never failed to love, never failed to serve, never failed to obey. He is holy and mighty against all temptations. Tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. In him, we have more than an example, we have a fortress of forgiveness and a mighty wall of righteousness formed by God around us so that through faith in Christ we will be able to stand against the spiritual forces of evil, but also stand on the day of God’s own judgment. Jesus Christ was perfect in our place. By him, we are saved.

Whether we are mature Christians or a mature congregation of Christians, we understand all too well the dangers of temptation in this wicked world. We see the fierce fury of the devil and the attacks that our own sinful nature wages against us. In Christ and through the timeless lessons of his perfection, the nurtured and matured plant of our faith is protected from evil and evil’s seeds of doubt. Through the gospel, God causes the congregation of St. John’s to grow into a mighty and mature tree for the glory of our saving Lord.

How truly marvelous it is that God had determined so long ago to record these true events from the life of Jesus Christ. How blessed we are to be able, not only to study the details of a text, but to have the text itself, the very record, the very word of Jesus’ life and ministry. God’s Word is our great heritage! This is our third timeless lesson from our tempted Lord Jesus. The very word of God is a heritage worth remembering at this time of anniversary.

That hymn says, “God's Word is our great heritage And shall be ours forever; To spread its light from age to age Shall be our chief endeavor. Through life it guides our way, In death it is our stay. Lord, grant, while worlds endure, We keep its teachings pure. Throughout all generations.”

We realize that just as the devil left Jesus until an opportune time, so we are always susceptible to Satan’s tricks and luring lies. Through this hymn we acknowledge that it is God’s Word alone that is able to keep us strong. It is the heritage that we celebrate.

Without the gospel in general or this gospel of Jesus’ loving and mighty battle against temptation in particular, we could not know nor could we grow to be a mighty source of God’s work in this world.

But look at what the gospel has done! It has been taught and preached here at St. John’s to generations of believers. It has faithfully guided ministries and member efforts within the flock and outside the family of believers. St. John’s, by God’s grace, has grown from a tender shoot to a mature tree bearing the God pleasing fruits of word and deed in the name of Christ.

This is a timeless lesson. The lesson of how the gospel works to bring growth and spiritual fruit is timeless because, on the one hand, it extends from generation to generation, reaching people that have yet to be born. In addition, it is timeless because wherever the gospel is preached faith is served, strengthened, and caused to serve God in response. As long as the message of Jesus’ love for sinners has been available through St. John’s, God has been saving souls for eternal life. There will be an eternal gathering of believers in heaven as a result of the fruits of faith coming from the mighty tree of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Congregation.

Jesus loves me this I know. A mighty fortress is our God. God’s Word is our great heritage. These are three timeless lessons from our tempted Lord, three opportunities for us to reflect on the blessings of God’s Grace, and three fitting themes for this 125^th anniversary.

Let us stand together to sing hymn 293, “God’s Word is Our Great Heritage”, Amen.