Matthew 6:1-4
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 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.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread
alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
“Take care of yourself; you
deserve it!” Those are words of compassion. We say them to each other, and we
appreciate it when someone says them to us. But sometimes, they are words of
temptation rather than of compassion. Caring for ourselves and for those we
love is a very good thing. In fact, it is evidence that we are created in God’s
loving image! But that love, just like everything else that we do, can be
corrupted by worry or by greed. When we encourage someone to use the special
powers that they have for their own benefit, then “You deserve to take care of
yourself” can be a powerful temptation indeed!
What harm would it have done
if Jesus had used his divine powers to change stones into bread to satisfy his
own hunger? Maybe nothing. And then again, it might have set him on a very
slippery slope! What if, three years later, he had hung on the cross and
listened to the thief who challenged him, “If you are the Messiah, save
yourself and us”? There’s the Tempter again, whispering, “Take care of
yourself; you deserve it!” What would have happened if he had used his powers
to come down off the cross? Where would that have left the world that was
depending on him to save it?
We don’t have to be Jesus to
give in to this temptation, either. Good people who embezzle funds from
government agencies to take care of their families are great examples of giving
in to this temptation. “I deserve this” they say, “and my family deserves this!
The government has plenty of money! Why shouldn’t I have some of it? We need it
more than they do!” But giving in to temptations like this, even little ones,
whittle away at our character bit by bit and leave us all the more vulnerable
to the Tempter’s power. It is said that the actions that define us are those
that we do when no one else is watching. When we use our powers only for our
own benefit, we move away, little by little, from reflecting the image of God.
The story is told of an
impoverished worker who bought a raffle ticket from his company. The winner of
the raffle would receive a brand-new car. His wealthy supervisor asked him to
buy an additional ticket for him. The worker put each ticket into its own
envelope, labeling one for himself and one for his supervisor. When the winning
ticket was drawn, it was the ticket that he had tagged for his supervisor.
“Change the envelopes!” his family begged. “He doesn’t need that new car, but
we sure do! He’ll never know!” “No,” replied the worker, “but I will.”
Matthew 4:5-7
Then the devil took Jesus 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.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the
Lord your God to the test.’”
“The Bible says…” How often
have we heard that? How often have we said it? I preach about it on Sunday
morning; we discuss it at Bible study; we run into it on Facebook; and
political candidates even quote it sometimes. But just quoting scripture
doesn’t always lead to a good result! In The
Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare says, “The devil can cite Scripture
for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a goodly apple
rotten at the heart. O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!”
How often have we heard
someone quote scripture to justify his own prejudices? How often have we done
it ourselves? Slave owners in 19th century America quoted scripture
to justify their owning the lives of other human beings. Abusive husbands quote
scripture to justify their abuse of their wives. People all around us quote the
Bible to justify their hatred of Jews, of Muslims, and of gays – just about
anybody that they see as a threat to their own power or social position. And
let’s not forget that the religious leaders of his day used the words of
scripture to condemn Jesus to death.
“The Bible says…” Beware,
lest we use its words for our own misguided purposes and become the Tempter
instead of reflecting the light of God!
Matthew 4:8-10
Finally, 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.” Jesus said to him,
“Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve
him only.’”
“Just worship me,” says the
Tempter, “and I’ll give you everything that you want!” How obvious, we think.
Who would fall for that line? The unfortunate answer is that most of us fall
for it – and more frequently than we think we do. This temptation is to use the
end to justify the means; and that’s a temptation as old as creation itself.
What did the serpent say to Eve in the Garden of Eden? “You won’t die if you
eat that fruit. You’ll become wise! Surely that’s a good thing!” We all know
how that turned out. Wisdom is a good thing; but the wisdom that our
first parents attained wasn’t at all what they expected it to be.
Whenever we yearn for lofty
goals and decide that we can use whatever means we have to attain them, then we
are worshiping the Tempter instead of God. A high school student who cheats on
an exam so that she can get a scholarship to a good school is listening to the
Tempter. A job applicant who gets a better job with higher pay by lying on his
job resumé is listening, too. Now, both these folks may have very worthy
goals. The high school student wants to go to college and study green energy,
but doesn’t have the funds to go on her own; and the job applicant needs a
bigger paycheck to support his family. Do the ends justify the means? We know
what the Tempter would say; and we know what Jesus would say, too. The only
answer to the temptation that the end justifies the means is, “Go away, Satan.
I’m going to worship only God.”
Matthew 4:11
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
The Tempter still walks
among us, incognito; and we need the God’s help to discern who he is. The
Tempter, after all, doesn’t show up wearing a red body suit with a long forked
tail and horns and carrying a pitchfork. He is much more likely to be wearing a
stylish suit and carrying a briefcase; and he will be compassionate,
knowledgeable, and reasonable. He might even come in the guise of a religious
person, someone who is sincere, understanding, and pious. And the angels of
light who are ready to minister to us look the very same way! How in the world
can we tell them apart? We can’t do it by ourselves; we need God’s help. Only
by staying near to Jesus can we discern the difference between the angels and
the Tempter.
But here is the good news:
even if we fall prey to the wiles of the Tempter (and we do, all the time), and
even if we become the Tempter ourselves (and, sadly, we do sometimes), Jesus
has our back. He was tempted; and he knows how hard it is to resist what the
Tempter offers us. All we can do is to do our best and rely on the grace of
Christ. But – thanks be to God – that’s all that we need to do!
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