First Sunday in Lent, 2002
Matthew 4:1-11

The encounter with Lucifer is the climax of Dante's Inferno . Virgil has been leading Dante progressively downward on their pilgrimage through Hell's many strata. They have taken in one terrifying sight after another, but the vision of Satan tops them all. Dante learns that the devil is a huge, shaggy monster at earth's center. He has three heads and six wings. The middle face is red and chews the soul of Judas Iscariot. The other two faces are yellow and black. Satan stands locked forever in clear ice up to his waist. The wind produced from the continuous motion of his bat wings keep the infernal ice frozen. All six eyes weep; all three mouths drool a bloody froth. The air is a cold dark fog. Dante has trouble describing what he sees. He writes:

"How chilled and nerveless, Reader, I felt then; do not ask me ­ I cannot write about it ­ there are no words to tell you how I felt. I did not die ­ I was not living either! Try to imagine, if you can imagine, me there, deprived of life and death at once. The king of the vast kingdom of all grief stuck out with half his chest above the ice If once he was as fair as now he's foul and dared to raise his brows against his Maker, it is fitting that all grief should spring from him."

This Medieval episode of Dante may whet your appetite to participate in the class beginning this Wednesday evening. Dr. Brugaletta will be teaching Dante's Inferno , and I encourage you to attend these Lenten sessions. Moreover, Dante's vision parallels what Jesus had to deal with during his forty days fasting in the wilderness. It was there that Satan came upon him and tempted him. The example of our Lord can strengthen us in our own battles against sin, and the victory he gained can instill bright hope.

Our Gospel text from St. Matthew reports that the Spirit "led" Jesus into the wilderness to meet Satan. St. Mark renders it slightly differently. He announces that Jesus was "driven" into the wilderness to meet Satan. One says he was "led," the other says he was "driven." How did it happen? Did Jesus run to encounter the devil, or was he prodded there? Having no desire to confront Lucifer, it seems that he was forced there, pulled by the Spirit's crook. He cringed at the prospect.

[The following works were consulted for this homily: Dante's Divine Comedy , Mark Musa translation; three excellent books on the temptation by Graham Scroggie, Bishop A.C.A. Hall, and W. J. Foxell; Scripture Twisting by James Sire; The Shape of Sola Scriptura by Keith Mathison; Millard Erikson's Christian Theology ; commentaries by J.C. Ryle, Craig Keener, and Barclay.]

I. Let us return to our Gospel text. (Matthew 4:2-3) [Read it.] Verse two says that when Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights, the devil came to tempt him. It sounds like Satan afflicted the Lord only on day forty. Once again St. Mark's account sheds a different light. Mark declares: "And [Jesus] was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts." Here the phrasing implies that the devil's temptation of Jesus lasted the full forty days and nights.

Facing such a ferocious enemy, did Jesus resort to his divine nature? No. The text brings out that he met the trial in his humanity. Verse one says that "Jesus" was led up into the wilderness. Verse two tells us that he was hungry. Of the many titles for the Lord, "Jesus" is the one most closely linked with his humanity. That was his name as a baby, a boy, and a carpenter in Nazareth. The hunger speaks as well to his humanity. Divinity does not crave food.

The first temptation is an attempt by Satan to get Jesus to use his divinity. The weak and exhausted body of Jesus is presented with: "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." "Son of God" is a title stressing the Lord's deity. Satan is asking Jesus to use his power of Godhead to alleviate his hunger. What would be wrong with that? Isn't the alleviation of hunger a legitimate action? Not under these circumstances. The dilemma is this: By divinely turning the stones into bread, Jesus would have renounced his humanity. The magic trick would have broken the bond that binds him to us. It would have set a wall of separation between his humanity and ours.

As we ponder this battle between Jesus and the devil, we should never forget that it was fought on our level. On this basis, the writer to the Hebrews could write: "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus overcame the most deceptive and alluring temptations that Satan could offer: power, fame, lust, riches, pride, ease, and more. The Lord resisted each and every one of them in a frail, exhausted, hunger-ridden, terrified human frame. He could have succumbed; he could have fallen into sin, but he didn't. What a wonderful fact that Jesus overcame every temptation in his humanity! Why is it so consequential? It means that we also may overcome any test or temptation that Satan puts in our path. Jesus in the flesh depended upon God his Father, and the power of the Holy Spirit. He had the same tools we have at our disposal, no more, no less. Which means that there is no gluttony too hard to resist, no fear too great to face, no sexual lust too strong to flee, no habit too hard to break, no lie too tempting to tell, no obscenity too enticing to utter.

When I was younger a popular television commercial advertised a certain brand of potato chip. The ad began with a challenge: "I bet you can't eat just one." Next, it shows several people attempting to do just that. Each person takes a potato chip, and eats it. You then see them trying to resist reaching for another one. Their faces screw up in contortions of pain and desire. Finally they give in, grab the bag and start devouring entire handfuls. The outcome is inevitable: "Nobody can eat just one." It was an amusing commercial, but completely false in the Christian scheme of things.

Jesus responded to Satan: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Our Savior resisted turning the rocks into bread. He repulsed all the temptations of the devil, and he is our example. Besides, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to empower us; we have the love of the Father to keep us, we have the fellowship of God's people to encourage us, and the strength of the sacrament to sanctify us. Therefore, a Christian can eat just one potato chip and stop. He can resist that temptation and any other thrown his way. No sin, no temptation is inescapable. We have all the spiritual tools we need to beat them back.

II. How about the second temptation? We read it in Matthew 4:5-7. [Read it.]

Years ago I worked at a Catholic high school in Texas. The administration planned a big fund-raiser in the football stadium, and the Monsignor proposed a way to drum up interest. He would ride in a big balloon until it hovered in the middle of the stadium. Then, in front of the watching multitudes, he would jump out with a bungie cord. The priest thought this would help raise the money the high school needed. Fortunately the bishop refused him permission. It was too risky and foolish.

Satan knew that Jesus had come to earth to set up His Church and win the nations to the Gospel. This temptation would strike at the method for doing that. How would Jesus lead people to accept him? Would the Church use entertainment and razzle-dazzle to extend the Kingdom of God? Satan was offering Jesus a theatrical short cut. By hurling himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and having the angels cushion his fall at the last moment Jesus would win immediate acceptance. The feat would astound the crowd. By a showy and sensational display of power Jesus would quickly attain his goals of Gospel conquest. Wouldn't he?

No, Satan's plan is riddled with difficulties. First of all, a dramatic plunge from a dizzying height would have titillated; then confused the crowd. How would they understand the purpose, or know what a sky-dive was supposed to mean? For most people, it would have been a flash in the pan at best.

What's more, a flash of glory would have contradicted the true mission of Christ. What path did Jesus choose? Did he pick the road of fame and self-exaltation? No, he walked to Calvary on the via dolorosa. He chose the humble path of service to others. He opted for a life of faithful toil and suffering for the glory of God, and the sake of others.

Notice also how the devil used the Bible. He quoted Scripture. He cited Psalm 91 to incite Jesus to throw himself off the top. It is true that Psalm 91 promises peace and a certain degree of protection to those in difficult circumstances. Doesn't that apply to sky diving without a parachute? No, there is no unconditional promise of safety to the madman who takes a foolish risk. There is no assurance of a life-saving angelic miracle to the one who jumps off a tower. Satan took the passage out of context and then misapplied it. And isn't this precisely the modus operandi of the cults?

Take for instance, the Maharishi Yogi. He wrote a book that contained the following: "Christ said, 'Be still and know that I am God.' Be still and know that you are God and when you know that you are God you will begin to live Godhood, and living Godhood there is no reason to suffer." According to the Maharishi, Christ was a pantheist who taught pantheism; Jesus proclaimed that every person is ultimately divine. Is that what Jesus propagated? No, in reality, Christ never quoted this verse. Then the context is ignored. How does the entire verse read? "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Clearly, it is God Almighty who is speaking these words. The only being who merits the worship and exaltation of the whole earth is the Lord of Hosts, the Creator and Sustainer of everything, the One who deserves might, majesty and adoration from every man, woman and child. To set oneself up as God, to pretend even for a moment it might be so, is to commit a blasphemous sin. (Sire, p. 53)

Scripture must be interpreted in context. Moreover, as Anglicans we say that the Bible ought to be interpreted in and by the Church within the context of the creeds and councils. God's Word is the ultimate authority, and the great tradition of the undivided Church serves as an essential secondary boundary of interpretation. Satan loves it when heretics and cult leaders neglect these hermeneutical principles.

III. Let us move to the third temptation. Reading Matthew 4:8-11. [Read it.]

Satan escorts Jesus to a mountain top and presents him with a panorama of all the kingdoms of the world, and then tries to bribe him. If Jesus will bow down and worship him, Satan will hand him all the nations. Did Satan even have the right to make such an offer? Does he exercise such blanket authority on earth? Is the entire world his possession to give and take as he pleases? Many Christians think that the devil rules the earth, and there is some evidence for it. Jesus himself called the devil Beelzebub, the prince of demons. The Bible names him the deceiver, the great dragon, the father of lies, and a murderer (Matt. 12:22; Rev. 12:3, 9; John 8:44). He is also called "the god of this world," "the prince of the power of the air," and in defeating the First Adam he obtained great sway over the world. Therefore, in a certain sense, Satan is a mighty being. He delegates that power to demons that roam over the earth hindering the gospel and opposing Christians. The demons are effective. As we gaze upon the regions of the world, we are overwhelmed at the sheer mass of evil. It seems that there is some diabolical intelligence controlling creation.

We feel like Frodo in Lord of the Rings . Sauron dominates Middle Earth; ringwraiths, orcs, and goblins hunt down every good creature, the earth becomes steadily mutilated, and the advance of wickedness seems unstoppable. J. R. R. Tolkien, as a Christian, understood the scope and depth of the curse. And Christians generally share his perspective. Yet, for all of his power; Satan is limited.

There is a hope and optimism in Christianity. The Old Testament prophets knew that the Messiah would change things, and Christ was the Messiah. Jesus told his disciples: "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). How did Jesus do that? Why should we be of good cheer? Christ is redeeming the world. The story of redemption begins in Eden. The First Adam was tempted in the garden and fell. He gave Satan worldwide dominion and turned the earth into a wilderness. The Second Adam was tempted in the wilderness and conquered. He bound Satan, died to save his people, and turns the desert into a garden. The Second Adam fixes everything the First Adam ruined. This is how the Early Church understood the temptation of Jesus. Christ's fasting and temptation actually reversed the curse.

Quite correctly the litany has us pray: "By thy Fasting and Temptation, Good Lord, deliver us." In fact, by his fasting and temptation Jesus has delivered the world; his fasting and temptation are key components of the redemptive complex. That complex of events that God used to redeem the world includes Christ's temptation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Thus, what Jesus accomplished is pivotal to history. The Church can expect to see a new Heaven and a new Earth. We know that evil will eventually be destroyed. Therefore, pessimism is impossible for the Christian. No matter how much evil we see around us, no matter how often it plagues us, the Christian knows that evil cannot be the end of creation, it is not eternal, and it will not triumph at the finish. That is the hope of every believer, a hope that we begin to experience even now.

What do the temptations of Jesus demonstrate? Refusing to turn the stones into bread means that there is no trial or temptation too strong for you to resist. Jesus faced them all in his humanity. Spurning the enticement to jump off the temple tells you that humble service in the kingdom of God is superior to the flashy stuff. Last, the failure of the devil to receive a bow from Jesus assures you that God alone deserves your worship. Jesus has conquered Satan, delivered the world from evil, and given you an indestructible hope. Come now to the Eucharist and thank him for his manifold blessings.

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