| The First Sunday in Lent , 2001
Matthew 4:1-11 The Temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness
Sam and his master Frodo had already escaped once from Shelob. But it was so dark that he hadn't seen the jumbo spider that time. He and Frodo had only heard her gurgling and bubbling, smelled her sickly odor, felt her lurking malice, and seen her two clusters of eyes. They also encountered the iron-like webbing she had spun throughout the Mountains of Shadow to catch food. Just when they thought they had eluded her, she surprised them as they ran past her den. J. R. R. Tolkien tells what Sam saw:
"A little way ahead and to his left he saw suddenly, issuing from a black hole of shadow under the cliff, the most loathly shape that he had ever beheld, horrible beyond the horror of an evil dream. Most like a spider she was, but huger than the great hunting beasts, and more terrible than they because of the evil purpose in her remorseless eyes. Those same eyes that he had thought daunted and defeated, there they were lit with a fell light again, clustering in her out-thrust head. Great horns she had, and behind her short stalk-like neck was her huge swollen body, a vast bloated bag, swaying and sagging between her legs; its great bulk was black, blotched with livid marks, but the belly underneath was pale and luminous and gave forth a stench. Her legs were bent, with great knobbed joints high above her back, and hair that stuck out like steel spines, and at each leg's end there was a claw."
Shelob was one of the fiends Sam and Frodo had to evade on their way to the fortress of Mordor. She was a giant spider of incredible age who lived in the mountains behind Mordor. Nothing interested Shelob except her own lust for the blood and life of her victims. The evil ruler Sauron hated her, but tolerated her because she devoured any enemy who approached Mordor from the rear flank. Such was Shelob the terrible creature in The Lord of the Rings.
For forty days and nights Jesus fasted in the desert. Was He there alone? No, He was not entirely by Himself. St. Mark says, He "was with the wild beasts" (Mark 1:13). We can only speculate about the identity of these creatures. Were they cougars and coyotes, snakes and scorpions such as inhabit the desert? Or were they demonic, supernatural beings such as the abominable Shelob? We do not know. Surely their presence was Satan's way of tormenting the Lord's fasting and prayer.
The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is what we want to examine today. That harrowing forty day stay among wild beasts and the devil was an integral part of our Lord's active obedience on our behalf, an obedience that is imputed to God's people.
Matthew 4:1 says that "Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness." He was led into the desert. Could it be possible that this leading into the wilderness recalls the scapegoat of the Day of Atonement? Perhaps there is an allusion. Leviticus chapter 16 describes what takes place on that most holy feast.
Verses 7-10 refer to two goats: both were brought to the door of the tabernacle. Lots were cast to determine how they would be sacrificed. One of the goats was slaughtered on the alter as a sin offering; the second was sent into the desert. The second goat was not abandoned in the wild to amuse itself, rather to be killed by beasts, or to die of hunger and thirst. Therefore both goats were sacrificial animals, both pictured substitutionary atonement.
When the young goat was led away into the desert never to be seen again, it signified to the Old Covenant believers that their sins had been carried off far away never to return. By God's mercy those sins would no longer burden their consciences. The reality to which the ceremony pointed was the work of Christ in our redemption. For that reason the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world was after His baptism in the Jordan River led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil, to be harassed by beasts, and to suffer hunger and thirst.
Toward the end of Jesus' long fast, His flesh surely had consumed and contracted; His soul had suffered exhaustion, his spirit had wilted from the scorching heat by day and the wild beasts by night. The forty day fast was the prelude to the first temptation.
Matthew 4:2-3: And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."
The serpent had a wily snare prepared for our Lord. Satan teased the Savior saying, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." In other words, "use your Godhead to help yourself. Convert these rocks into bread, and eat. You need nourishment. If you starve here in the wilderness, what will become of Your life, and those You came to redeem? If you are going to save the world, at least you better save Yourself first!"
But the Lord repelled this temptation. He said, "I will not use my divinity to appease my appetite. God will provide; I will wait for Him, and trust in Him."
Why was it important that Christ resist this temptation? What would have happened had He given in to Satan's trap? First of all, His humanity would have been compromised. He would have made Himself an outsider to the human race, and therefore His atoning death on the Cross would have been worthless to save us. If He was not one of us, He could not have offered a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice on our behalf. His blood-shedding would not have redeemed us.
Furthermore, if every time our Lord was in discomfort He turned to His deity to ease His pain, or alleviate His suffering, He could not sympathize with our sufferings. The writer to the Hebrews could not have declared that we have a Great High Priest who was in every way, in every point tempted as we are, and thus, is able to sympathize with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). If Jesus had used His divinity to rescue Himself from every hurt and grief, our sufferings would overcome us. We would have no example to follow. Jesus would be too remote from our experience. But the Son of God, though fully God, was fully human in His incarnation. His suffering was real, His obedience was genuine, and hence as our heavenly Intercessor Jesus truly understands our struggles.
The second temptation was very different. Let us read verses five through seven of Mathew four.
Matthew 4:5-7: Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: "He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, "In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone."' Jesus said to him, "It is written again, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God."'
Most biblical scholars believe that the pinnacle of the temple mentioned here refers probably to the eastern tower which looked out over the Kedron Valley. This would have been a dizzying 450 foot precipice from which no one could jump and survive. (Bungie cords had not yet been invented.) The temptation was this: Let the lowly carpenter from Nazareth fling Himself from that height in front of a crowd of people, and let those people see winged angels swoop down and catch Him at the last moment and give Him a spectacularly cushioned landing in their very midst. What a feat! He would immediately convince a lot of people that He was the true Messiah. He would have excitement and fame. In an instant, He would have a following. But Jesus responded to Satan, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."
The Lord would not establish His kingdom with flamboyant shows and titillating entertainment. Unlike today's fame seekers and attention grabbers, Jesus would work humbly and stay out of the limelight. Besides the emptiness of worldly fame, think of the spot to where Satan had brought Jesus. Unless you have some good scaffolding, a 450 foot pinnacle is not the safest place to be. Which brings up the fact that too many Christians go to the very brink of sin. They put themselves at risk. They think in their hearts, "I am safe, no one will find out, I will not fall." So they flirt with the devil: they surf a few x-rated web sites; when out of town in a hotel they order a pornographic movie, they visit a gay bar, or date an unsaved person. They go again and again to places full of temptation, and keep company with people who will beckon them to do things they shouldn't. And they say, "God will preserve me: I am not going to sin: I know better; no harm will happen to me." Every Christian who is in the habit of going to the brink needs to hear the answer of Jesus when He said, "It is written, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" We know our weaknesses. We had better. We should therefore stay away from those places and people that encourage us to sin. Do not think you can constantly come one step from Hell and walk away unscathed. Christ said, "you shall not tempt the Lord your God."
Foiled twice, the devil tries one last time. He addresses himself to egotistical ambition. Let us read about it in verses 8-10:
Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."'
From a high mountain, "the devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory." This is the earth which Christ came to redeem. Satan offers to give Jesus the entire planet, on one condition. Let Him only recognize Satan's sovereignty over it for a moment; let Jesus merely do homage to the enemy who gives it: and everything, the entire kingdom would be His. No more pain and weariness; no more toil and conflict; no more submission or obedience to God the Father. No Gethsemane, no Calvary, no descent into Hell; all the unpleasant stuff would be passed over by one concession: one bending of the knee, one simple bow to Satan. The Lord responded, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve'" (v. 10).
Christ's response is a reaffirmation of the first two commandment. "I am the Lord thy God; Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them." Satan's third temptation hits at the very purpose of life. Our purpose is to worship the Triune God and Him alone. Man is best characterized as Homo adorens -- worshipping man. We have been created to worship. If we do not bow down and worship the one true God we will worship somebody or something else. Worship is inescapable. It is simply a matter of whom we will worship. The most self-deluded people in the world are those who claim they worship nobody or nothing.
Another point: this last temptation offers the prospect of ease. We as well are enticed by instant success and get-rich-quick schemes. Satan's temptation was a get-the-kingdom-quick scheme. God can work miracles of acceleration, He can do things quickly. From time to time He graciously brings about vast revivals. Nevertheless, in the normal course of life, we are to work hard day after day, persevering year after year, with grit and discipline. God has given us gifts and talents, and with those we move forward steadfastly in the vocations and callings in which God has placed us, always trying our hardest, doing our best, content with what we have, faithful to Christ, and obedient to His Word. We do not have the promise of comfort and ease.
When I was in high school the large evangelical church I attended was swept by one of those pyramid schemes. For every one hundred dollars you paid in, you would supposedly get $10,000 back. It was a joke. Yet, the majority of the congregation got involved. Even the pastors were pushing it. What a foolish embarrassment when the fad fell through. Those people should have known better. The lottery, pyramid schemes, and get-rich-quick gimmicks do not fit into the ambitions of a child of God. They are artificial means to gain character and prosperity. They are shortcuts that attempt to bypass the normal means of sanctification, shortcuts that lead to poverty and immaturity.
Three general statements could be made about the temptations. First, the temptation of our Lord was total. It addressed itself to each part of man's being. Christ gained a total victory. Next, the temptations of our Lord were highly refined and subtle. At first glance, turning stones into bread, or gliding safely off a pinnacle do not seem to have any evil at all attached to them. But in their context they are very wicked, it would have been disastrous if Christ had capitulated. That is the way most temptations present themselves. They appear innocuous and delightful because Satan is clever. He even quoted Scripture passages to give added credibility to his temptations. Consequently, God's children can not be overly cautious or careful. Nevertheless, Christ conquered the most subtle and spiritual forms of evil; and we have the promise of God that when beset by the severest seduction and most captivating enticements, a way of escape will always be provided (1 Cor. 10:16). Praise God, we can successfully resist every temptation!
Lastly, in the temptation of our Lord, we see that Christ is our hero. With Christ's coming Satan fell like lightening from his former power (Luke 10:18). Jesus conquered the ancient foe on his own turf. Overcoming the devil in the desert was only the first round of a complete rout.
The last chapters of The Two Towers explain what happened to Shelob. Sam saw her just as she was getting ready to carry away and eat the unconscious Frodo. At the sight, Sam became enraged. Picking up Frodo's shining sword he charged the giant spider. In his fury he severed a couple of her legs and claws, slashed off one of her clusters of eyes, and sliced her underbelly. Shelob then decided to crush once for all this brazen little hobbit by laying on him with the full weight of the great bag of her belly. Sam was directly under her. "With both hands he held the elven blade point upwards, fending off that ghastly roof; and so Shelob, with the driving force of her own cruel will, with strength greater than any warrior's hand, thrust herself upon a bitter spike. Deep, deep it pricked, as Sam was crushed slowly to the ground." The sword had penetrated her vital organs. She hissed in agony. It was all she could do to limp away and hide in her den, poison frothing and bubbling from her wounds. She would no longer be the threat she had been since time immortal.
This is an apt picture of Christ's struggle against Satan. Jesus vanquished the beast in the desert. Satan is now bound; a wounded, defeated, and stinking wretch. He is still dangerous, but the Church, the Bride of Christ, triumphs over him in the power of the Spirit. Hence, Christians are not pessimists. We are not cynics. Through our union with Christ in the Church, vast hopes and possibilities open before us. What we may become in Christ progressively overcomes the power of sin. By grace and through faith in Jesus Christ we are victors over temptation, and inheritors of God's kingdom. May we encourage one another with these truths. Return to Sermons |
