Lent 1A
March 13, 2011
I saw a picture this week that really does a great job
explaining our fallen human nature.
It was a picture of two boys.
Both boys stripped completely naked on a hot summer day. There was a sign in front of the pond:
“NO SWIMMING!” Nevertheless one of
the boys had already made the dangerous jump into the forbidded water. What comes next is even more
telling. The boy that had jumped
in looks at the other boy who is still somewhat timid as if he were saying,
“See, nothing happened to me, stop worrying about that sign! Just jump in already! IT FEELS GOOD!
Temptation, this is what the boy still on the bank of the
waters, for now, experienced. And
this is part of what it means to live as a human being. Human beings are tempted, some more
than others.
In our Genesis passage this morning, we heard the story of
our first ancestors, how they were given everything in the garden as food to
eat, to enjoy in the presence of God with thanksgiving in their hearts. But then again, there was that pond
with the “NO SWIMMING” sign.
It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God had specifically told them, “Now,
that tree, don’t eat of it, because if you do, you will surely die!”
Genesis 2:15-17, 3.1-7
But then what happens?
Do you remember? Someone
else shows up on the scene—the serpent.
The text mentions that this wild animal was more crafty than any other animal that the Lord had made. And he says this for a reason. I am going to read this dialogue
between the man/woman and the serpent, and I want you to listen to just how
crafty he really is. READ 1-7.
You notice that the first thing the serpent says to the
woman is the truth? It is not some
lie, it does not immediately even look to be deadly. He simply says, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any
tree in the garden?” From the
beginning, temptation has been “dressed in angels clothing” if you will. The serpent does not come right out and
say to the woman, “Listen, I want you to take a great fall, and be banished
from this beautiful garden, so go a head and take a bite of that fruit so you
can understand good and evil and be done with it—become as much like God as you
can!” If he would have put it this
way, I am sure the woman would not have listened. But this is not the way the text records it. Rather, it is dressed up nicely, a
crafty form of speech in order to get the woman to rationalize disobedience to
God.
But the woman’s initial response is true as well. She says, “You shall not eat of the
fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it
or you shall die.” But the crafty
serpent continues…temptation ever happen this way to you?...He says, “You will
not die! For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you
will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
What!? It will
make us like God?! Okay, lets have
a look. Maybe they didn’t really
mean for us not to swim in this pond, maybe the sign is there for looks. Okay, serpent lets see this tree. And behold the man and woman looked and
saw that the tree was (1) good for food, (2) a delight to the eyes, and (3) it
was to be desired to make on wise.
Therefore the man and the woman ate…the boys jumped into the pond.
This is the human dilemma. Our first parents started a trend that human beings have not
been able to, and have proven impossible to get out of. We all understand this story of
temptation and sin all too well.
It characterizes who we are…we are those people that want so bad to do
good, but then some clever one comes along and helps us to rationalize
disobedience to God and BAM! We end up in the forbidden pond, taking a
swim.
This fall from innocence in the garden and the continuing
narrative of Genesis 1-11 paints the picture of God’s beautiful humanity being
beat with the ugly stick. What God made beautiful had began to live for
themselves rather than God, making themselves to be ugly. Sin is ugly. Therefore, all of us are in need of being made beautiful by
God. We have no hope on our
own. We have not the resources for
getting out of this mess that began with our stubborn ancestors back in the
garden of Eden. What do we
do?
Well, God knowing our pain, seeing our ugliness, desiring to
make us beautiful once again, called a small nation. Yeah, that’s right those people called Israel. He delivered them from captivity in
Egypt at the Red Sea, made covenant with them, and brought them out into the
wilderness. It was here that
Israel was tested…would she be the people God would have her be? Would she make it through the
wilderness trusting in God rather than grumbling and complaining against God,
wanting things her way rather than God’s way? You already know the answer. You remember Israel in the wilderness. She was thirsty so she complained to
Moses and even declared that she would like to be back in Egypt, where at least
she had something to eat and drink, and its like God was saying, “Okay, okay,
you cannot be patient and trust in me, then I will give you something
immediately.” But even when God
met the need, what happened? She
so easily develops amnesia. Israel
forgets and murmurs and complains yet again! But what does God do?
He provides again and again.
Without going any further, it is safe to say that Israel did not exactly
live out her vocation in the wilderness (not only in wilderness, but also in
the promised land…which is why she ends up exiled). And you remember Israel’s vocation right? She was to be the avenue through which
God would bring salvation—beauty—to his beautiful gone ugly creation. So now what?
This is where the Gospel comes in this morning. Jesus, dripping wet from his baptism,
is led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, to be tempted by the devil. But why? Could it be that God sent his son into the world to live out
the vocation that Israel could not?
Could it be that Jesus is being tempted in the same way that we are in
order that he may overcome temptation and not only temptation, but also sin,
FOR US!?
Before we look at this text, I must warn you not to make the mistake that so many do when they read this text: to see the devil as some modern Halloween image that comes to Jesus in person with the horns, the tail, the pitchfork—the complete satanic package. Rather we should understand Jesus being tempted in the same way we are. He is in the wilderness, he has needs, and the forces of evil tempt him to do what he should not do, being that He is who he is. This is what temptation is for Jesus, what it was for Israel, and what it is for God’s Holy Church: being tempted to be other than what God wants us to be.
With that in mind, that the devil comes to Jesus in the same
way he comes to the rest of us, lets look at the first temptation. READ
1-4.
Notice the very important two letter word, “if.” Here, Jesus’ identity is being
tested. In the passage that
precedes this one, we remember Jesus was baptized, and after his baptism the
voice of the Father identified Jesus as God’s beloved Son, in whom the Father
is well pleased. Now, Jesus’ identity is being put to the test. In other words,
Jesus’ vocation as God’s only Son is being put to the test. These series of temptations are not
simply Jesus not breaking the rules, doing what is naughty. They go much deeper. The temptations he is facing are
detriments. They are attempting to
get him to do what Israel did—develop amnesia, forget who he is, why he is
walking toward Jerusalem. They are
trying to get him to be other than what God has already called him—God’s Son.
Therefore, as with Israel in the wilderness, the first
temptation is that Jesus would prove that he is God’s Son by turning a stone
into bread. After all, Jesus is
famished. Remember what we said
concerning the Genesis passage, that temptation is always dressed up
nicely? So, Jesus, what’s the
problem? Aren’t you hungry? Aren’t you the Son of God? Then prove it. Turn that rock into bread. That’s not the worst thing in the
world, right? Wrong! The devil is attempting to beguile
Jesus into making the nature of his work too small—satisfying hunger—and the
recipients of his work too few—only one, himself. But Jesus, as the Son of God, Jesus is called to a sweeping
ministyr, encompassing the whole of humanity; but the tempter places before
Jesus another idea—make your mission narrow—concerned only with yourself. Israel did. Don’t meet all the needs, only the one you feel most
urgently now. Don’t pour out your life for all people; serve yourself
first.” The devil says. But Jesus mission is to be as vast as
the heavens and as deep as the ocean. So Jesus, fulfilling his vocation as the Son of God responds,
“humans should live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from
the mouth of God.” Jesus is
saying, “The faithful don’t live by one word, one need, one issure, one
passion, one conviction, and they don’t live exclusively for themselves. They live, as Jesus reminded the
tempter, by “Every word that comes fro the mouth of God.)
The church faces this same type of temptation whenever we
get side tracked from our mission—from fulfilling our vocation. We get distracted with something that
is not in and of itself necessarily bad, but that is deadly, because it narrows
our vocation and detours from our primary purpose. In other words, some may say, “I’m bored; give me some
excitements in worship.” Or
others, “I need more money for myself, so I won’t give it to the church as I
should.” Etc. the selfish desires go on and on which
continue to detract from our primary mission and vocation. Couldn’t God do far
more with His money that you are managing that you can on your own? You see we forget about this when we
get sidetracked from our mission and this is the kind of tmeptatino we are
dealing with in this text. It is
these times int eh church we need to respond as did Jesus to temptation: Listen
to every word that God says! Don’t
get caught up in the idea that worship should be exciting for you, but that you
should pour yourself out for God.
Or that you have a job and make money for you, but htat you have a job
and make money so that you might more fully fulfill your vocation as a child of
God in a fallen world. God can do
far more with it if you will trust him with what is already his….this list
could continue and continue.
In the second temptation, the devil remains, like the serpent
of Genesis, very clever. He takes
Jesus, in his imagination, to Jerusalem, the Holy City. READ. Its almost like the devil is saying here, “So, when I ask
you to turn that stone into bread, you quote scripture at me, aye. Well, I can do that with the best of
them! And then the devil quotes
Scripture! He says, Here is a word
from the mouth of God for you Jesus.
Why don’t you try that word out?
Jump off the temple and see if God’s word is trustworthy.
Jesus has no reason to jump though. This would be more a sign of distrust
than trust. Trying out the
promises of God to “see if they really work” is a sign not of sure faith, but
of fundamental doubt! Putting God
to the test dramatically reverses our relationship to God; we are in charge,
and God is treated as our servant.
Besides these issues, again, this would detract from Jesus
vocation. Remember, he has you and
me in mind! Isn’t that great? Everything he is doing in this
wilderness if for us and for our salvation! What a great God we serve!
So, Jesus responds again to the tempter, again remembering
Scripture (God’s covenant with Israel), fulfilling his vocation, “Don’t put the
Lord your God to the test!”
And finally we have the third and last of the
temptations. READ. Here Jesus is tempted to do two things:
False worship, as Israel did….and tremendously abbreviate His story—rule the
kingdoms of the earth now, without walking the long journey that lies before
Him. And not only Jesus, but God’s
church would so much like this abbreviated version, because it means no
Lent. No time in the church for
self reflection and growth. No
time for repentance of sin and sincere penitence of heart. No we want the upbeat songs, happy
songs, all year round. But without
death there is no resurrection! Without penitence there is no true joy! Without
repentance, we are stuck in our sins!
And the same with Jesus. This is not how he rules the nations—By bowing down to the
evil one. Rather, he rules the
nations by defeating the evil one for us on the cross. And it would be so easy to accept the
temptation, if one is not perfectly attuned to God. Talk about rationalizing sin and disobedience to God as in
Genesis. But Jesus is
steadfast. He will not abbreviate
the story because he loves us too much!
He will not cut out the suffering and the painful parts and get right on
to the victory! He will not just
bow down and worship the devil! Rather, for us and for our salvation, he will
resist the devil and walk that painful, agonizing road to Golgotha, to be hung
on a tree for all to see. All this
for us! Because we could not do it
on our own, he did it for us!
And for us, the church, we are called to do the same. To the temptation to live life without
the season of Lent, which reminds us of our stiff-necked character, of our
helplessness without God, the fact that from the dust we were made and to it we
will return, and our need to repent, we are taught by Jesus to say to the
devil, “Away with you Satan! For it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and
serve only Him.”!
Then the text says that the devil left Jesus and angels
waited upon Him. Here, Jesus
demonstrates to us how to fulfill our vocation. He did so by LIVING HIS STORY. EVERYTIME A CLEVER TEMPTAITON CAME ATTEMPTING TO DETRACT HIM
FROM HIS VOCATION, HE REMEMBERED HIS STORY AND ACTED. AFTER A WHILE THE DEVIL DEPARTED.
AND LET ME REMIND YOU.
IF YOU ARE TRULY LIVING OUT YOUR VOCATION AS A CHILD OF GOD, YOU WILL BE TEMPTED! TEMPTATION COMES ESPECIALLY TO THOSE OF
US WHO ARE PERFORMING OUR VOCATION BECAUSE IT IS THOSE OF US THAT THE FORCES OF
EVIL WANT SO BAD TO STOP BECAUSE IT IS THOSE POWERS THAT WE ARE CRUSHING BY
BRINGING THE VICTORY OF GOD TO FRUITION IN THE WORLD! SO DON’T DENY THAT YOU HAVE TEMPTATION THIS MORNING, BUT BE WARNED
AND ENCOURAGED BY YOUR SAVIOR FOR THE JOURNEY AHEAD. HE HAS FULFILLED WHAT ISRAEL AND THE REST OF US COULD NOT
FULFILL. HE HAS BEEN TEMTPED IN
EVERY WAY THAT WE HAVE, YET WITHOUT SIN.
THEREFORE , HE HAS PROVIDED THE WAY FOR US THAT WE MAY LIVE OUT OUR
VOCATION IN HIM.
ROMANS 5:19 REMINDS US OF THIS GREAT TRUTH: “FOR JUST AS BY
THE ONE MAN’S DISOBEDIENCE THE MANY WERE MADE SINNERS, SO BY THE ONE MAN’S
OBEDIENCE THE MANY WILL BE MADE RIGHTEOUS.
This morning we are
standing on the edge of the bank.
The pond is cool, but the sun is hot. It looks refreshing, it invites a fun time on a hot summer
day. But the sign forbids it. Will
will jump, or we will turn away and continue on the journey to where God would
have us to God. Amen.
