Temptation of Jesus

False sense of security

At the turn of the most recent century, the world economy, for the most part, was doing well. It’s been reported that some people took a very optimistic view of the future - in fact some going as far to suggest that in the established economies, we wouldn’t see any collapses like we did at various times in the twentieth century. That’s because we had learnt from our mistakes. They argued that the policies makers were more astute. Any downturns in the market would be short lived and so we had a good future to look forward to.

But then, I’m sure you don’t need me to remind you towards the end of 2008 some of the big players in the finance market went under including Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs.

These were companies that it was assumed were too big to fail. And because of these assumption, people became blind to what was about to happen, until it was all too late.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just these companies that collapsed, markets all over the world went crazy. And the bottom line was that many people lost their jobs.

Now people who actually understand all of this (and I don’t fall in that category), have looked back and can see the main factors that led to these big collapses. Something about sub-prime mortgages.

Now I don’t actually understand it all very well, but what is very clear is that many people were lulled into a false sense of security.

Apparently there were a few experts before the big collapses that were sounding the warning bells, but most people just went on thinking that everything would just work out nicely.

False security as Christians

Well, unfortunately, something similar can happen with us as Christians.

At times we feel on top of the world. Perhaps you’ve had worship music that leaves you feeling great. Or you’ve been praying and you’ve felt what feels like a bolt of energy go through you. Maybe it was a conference or some powerful message you’ve heard. Or maybe you’ve just had the peace of God wrap around you like a blanket.

When we feel the presence of God like this, it can feel like nothing will go wrong. Sure we can be aware of our sinfulness. We can be aware that things like pride and anger can flare up. But when the peace of God wraps around you, you know you’re forgiven. You know that everything is going to be Ok.

But here’s the thing. Though those experiences are amazing, in the normal Christian journey, we also have these lows. Times when we don’t feel God’s presence. Times when we just have this heavy feeling on us - we might not even be able to explain that heavy feeling, it’s just there.

Personally, I try each morning to spend about half an hour with God, which I usually do first thing in the morning. Now some mornings when I do, I feel this deep connection with God. On those mornings, it is the greatest joy to just be sitting with God. But you know what? That does not happen every morning.

Some mornings I just feel like I’m going through the motions. I pray. But that feeling I have on other days doesn’t seem to come. Now we could analyse why this is the case. Maybe there is other things going on in my life. But while these factors likely do play a part, I suggest there is also a sense in which these cycles are normal.

Now it is in these low points that I want to think about this morning. You see, it is in our low points that we begin to feel vulnerable.

Now I just spoke about a low point being not feeling joy during a quiet time with God. But of course, as we all know, things get a lot lower then that. There are times when its not just that we don’t feel God is turning up, but that we might even feel God has rejected us.

The type of rejection that left the Psalmist in cry “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”

And so the question I want to explore today is how do we get through these dark times? What is it that we can cling to? How do we guard ourselves against these times?

Because don’t be deceived. The tough days will come.

We don’t want to be like those thinking the economy won’t come down - because in thinking like that, you won’t be prepared for the day it does come.

You see, we are in a modern age where we think we’re pretty clever. Unlike any other time in history, the Word of God - that is, the Bible, is more accessible than ever. It has been translated into every major language, and even a large number of other lesser known languages.

Today, even if you don’t own a physical bible, you can download it on to your phone… all for free!

Temptation of Jesus

And not only do we have the bibles, we have plenty of resources available to help us understand it.

Well, what I’m going to do is explore the passage I read earlier which we call the temptation of Jesus.

And with our bible in hand, we can look back over church history and shake our heads at how bad things got. The crusades. The inquisitions. The corruption of the church. Just to name a few.

Now whenever we do this, we need to be careful. You see, the experience of Jesus was unique to him. We can learn a lot about who Jesus is. And so we have to be careful not to think our experience can be directly related to that of Jesus.

As we shake our heads we ask - how could they get it so wrong. We on the other hand would never get things so wrong. Sure, we’re not so foolish to think we’ll get it completely right. After all, we know about all the little sins that will trip us up. But we’ll never reach the levels of corruption or become so power driven like the church before us.

On the other hand, there is a lot we can learn from the experience Jesus has here.

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Unfortunately, it is this type of thinking that gives us a false sense of security, which ultimately means we let our guard down.

So, what I’m going to do is first explore the passage in the original context, before then coming back to thinking about our situation of how we can guard ourselves against those tough times we go through.

When our guard is down, we often don’t even see the dangers that lie around us.

Baptism of Jesus

Now I’m going to suggest that one of the things that is very good at getting our guard down is actually the spiritual highs that we can get.

Well, this temptation of Jesus actually follows an amazing high point in the ministry of Jesus. It begins with Jesus’ baptism.

I’m sure that many of you here have experienced these spiritual highs.

This baptism is essentially the beginning of the ministry of Jesus.

John the Baptist had been preaching and offering a baptism of repentance as a means of preparing people for the Christ.

As he preaches - Jesus approaches. Which not surprisingly caught John somewhat off guard, with John recognising that he needed to be baptised by Jesus, not Jesus baptised by John.

But this was to be a special time, and so John does baptise Jesus.

And we’re told that as the baptism occurred, heaven was opened, and the Spirit of God descending on him like a dove. A voice from heaven then says “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased”.

This was his annointing. It was the moment that was to commence the most powerful couple of years. Jesus knew that he was going to completely change the world.

Into the Wilderness

But then comes the sharp contrast.

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Now we have here one of those beautiful Trinity moments which can do your head in if you think about it too much. The Father is annointing. The Spirit is leading. The Son is following. But we know they’re all One.

But what is clear is that what is happening here is all meant to be happening. It’s not some weird coincidence. And when the devil gets a mention, while he is very real and very dangerous, he actually falls within the plan of the God - three-in-one.

Well, after being led into the wilderness, he then fasts for forty days and forty nights. And we’re told at the end of verse 2 that he was hungry.

When I read that I think, wow! that’s got to be a bit of an understatement!

Being without physical nourishment really lowers you. I’m sure you’re all aware of how being hungry can also have an effect on your mental state. Your tolerance is lowered. You become angry easily. It’s hard to think straight.

Jesus may have been fully God, but he was also fully human. And in his humanity, he needed food. His body had all the same internal organs that ours have so he would have been feeling it.

It’s easy to forget Jesus’ human-ness. We rightfully praise him as God, but he is also human and all that goes with it.

First Temptation

So with this in mind, we then come to verse 3 were the tempter comes to him.

We’ll see him come three times, and the first two times he starts with the same few words “If you are the Son of God...”

Now the devil is very clever in his words. Right from the days of Adam and Eve he is the master of placing doubt in peoples mind. And those opening words are designed to place doubt - “If...”

The cleverness of the strategy is that the devil know too well that Jesus is the Son of God and that what he says next would not be hard.

You see, he tells him that if he is the Son of God, he should tell the stones to become bread.

God producing bread is nothing new. He provided for the entire nation of Israel while the wandered in the desert. And we know that later, Jesus is able to feed the multitude on two separate occasions with bread.

Not only that, but the devil is suggesting something that in his state of hunger would have been very appealing. You can imagine many of the rocks even looking like loaves of bread.

What’s the big deal - just do it!

But Jesus doesn’t. He does not need affirmation from the devil.

He knows something bigger. And so he quotes from Deuteronomy. “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”.

Second temptation

But it doesn’t end there.

The devil takes Jesus to the highest point of the temple. Possibly this is the temple in Jerusalem, but the designation in the Greek is a little vague.

Again he starts in the same way by placing that element of doubt… “If you are the Son of God...”

But then he suggests something which seems to me a little left-field… “throw yourself down”.

Perhaps it was after a Christian conference where you felt the Spirit moving.

But he says this because he knows that if Jesus is going to throw scripture at him, then he can use scripture as well.

Or sometimes after a quiet time with the Lord, I know I can feel this great feeling - like I’m ready to take on the world.

There’s a lesson here that we should never be fooled into thinking that the evil one does not know the ways of God. He knows them well and he knows how to use them against us.

You see the bible is full of truths, but those truths in the wrong context can be dangerous.

The devil quotes to Jesus from . Now this is a beautiful Psalm. It’s a Psalm that starts “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”. It’s about finding protection in God.

And so by quoting from this Psalm, the devil is essentially saying - if you really think you’re the Son of God, then you should know that you can’t be hurt.

Again a simple test. And again his body is feeling weak. Probably every muscle in his body is telling him to collapse. Just handing it over in such a way would be simple and Jesus would know that he wouldn’t be hurt.

But he also knows there is a bigger picture. And so Jesus quotes again from Deuteronomy… “Do not put the Lord your God to the test”.

Third temptation

But the devil is not finished yet.

In verse 8, Jesus is now taken to a very high mountain - again the Greek is vague on the designation of which mountain.

The devil then shows him an amazing view of kingdoms in all their splendour and tells him that all of this would be his, if just he would bow down and worship him.

But you know what. Though these highs are wonderful experiences and they can help to spur us on. The reality is, it’s not always like this.

Now I don’t know about you, but often when I’ve read this in the past I’ve thought - really, surely that wouldn’t be much of a temptation, after all, surely Jesus knows it already belongs to him.

And it’s not always just that I forget to pray or spend time with God. Sometimes I put time aside to pray and read the bible, and you know what? I don’t get that feeling I do at other times.

But what this is, is a short cut. Jesus would know full well that what he is going to do on this earth is going to be utter torture on his human body. Even if we forget the absolute terror of his trial and crucifixion, he is going to be tired. People will come to him wanting help when all he wants to do is sleep. He will be mocked and ridiculed. Rejected and betrayed.

Now sometimes that can be disturbing. It can almost feel that God somehow hasn’t turned up. Or if I’m feeling particularly down, it might even feel that God has rejected me.

Now remember he would be thinking forward to all of this during the temptation while he is in a state of weakness. When you’re already feeling weak, the idea of further pain seems unbearable. Knowing that there is an easy way is tempting.

And here is the trap. You see, we go from these highs to these lows. On the high, we feel unbeatable. But when we come down we can become very vulnerable.

I wonder if the idea of finding a loop hole went through his mind. You know, where you could somehow pretend to worship him, but know in your heart that your worship lies elsewhere.

And this is what I want to think about this morning. How do we guard ourselves in those vulnerable times?

Maybe you could just make a little deal, you know, a little compromise, where you still keep most of your integrity, but lose just enough so that life is a bit easier.

When all the chips are down… when it feels like everything is against you, in fact, when it even may feel that God is against you… what is that we will do to get us through?

Well Jesus has none of it. He gives him a quote - but only after giving him a serve. “Away from me, Satan!”

You see, sometimes we get into these vulnerable times without even realising. We can be like those relying on the good economy, not realising just how shaky everything was around them. And so we need to prepare ourselves. Even if you’re thinking - you know what, I’ve got a good relationship with God. I don’t need to worry. Well, we all need to be prepared, because as strong as you might feel today, that feeling of vulnerability will come.

And for his quote, again he turns to Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only”.

Attended by angels

And at that, we’re told in verse 11 that the devil left him, and the angels came and attended him. What that exactly looks like we’re not sure.

But where there was despair, there was now comfort. The desperation of the situation was gone. Life wouldn’t neccessarily be easy - in fact, it would still be hard. But there would be a sense of peace.

During the tough times

And so, after briefly exploring this intense period at start of Jesus’ ministry, I want to come back to the question I asked about our situation. How do we get through during our own tough periods.

Now, of course, those tough times are going to vary. Our situation will not look exactly like the situation Jesus faced - after all, it was specific to his situation.

But that being said, we will face similar challenges.

Because at the end of the day, we don’t like it when things are tough, and so if we think we can find an easy way - we are very tempted to take it.

When we lack, we want physical things. We want comfort from material things.

We value these material comforts over what God can give.

In those times where we feel close to God, we can see the foolishness of this. We can see that what God provides is all we need.

But when things are down - those material things seem a whole lot more attractive.

Temptation to compromise

Another temptation, particularly for those in who are involved in ministry, is the temptation to compromise so that we can get ahead.

We can change our message so that it is more popular. We can become involved with groups that compromises our integrity.

It’s tempting because it can help us move forward without some of the difficulty that goes with it.

Relying on God

While the nature of our temptation will vary, we can actually boil down to a simple choice. If it about us? Or is it about God?

When it’s about us, then things like our comfort will become more important. But if it’s about God, then our comfort will take a second seat to seeing God’s name being glorified.

When it’s about us, then the things about God are not important. Getting ahead is the important thing, so if we need to compromise, then it doesn’t matter.

But when it’s about God, then the things that are important to Him are important to us. We won’t compromise, even if it means persecution.

Now, as I’ve said, it is easy to make it about God when we are on those spiritual highs. And it’s a whole lot harder when the chips are down.

How we do it

So how do we become more reliant on God then on ourselves?

Well, taking the example of Jesus, we need to allow the Scriptures to be our guide. But this is where we need to be careful. You see, even the devil used the scriptures, but as I showed earlier, he used it out of context.

So, picking a verse from here and a verse from there to support whatever idea you’ve got is not going to work.

What you need to do is to see the Scriptures for what they really are - the Living Word of God. If you do that, then you won’t just read it like you do any other novel, you will study it, meditate on it, pray over it, discuss it with other fellow believers. We will see the big idea running through it and we’ll see how the whole thing fits together. And once we’ve done that, we can start to see how our lives fit within the narrative.

But this is not something we can do with a quick casual glance.

Now once we allow this living Word to dwell within us, it will start to come alive within us. And we will see that there is power in these words.

We will see what Jesus really means when he says in his first quote: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”.

He doesn’t mean that our humanly bodies don’t need food. We know that they do. What he’s getting at is that there is power in the Word.

Dwelling on the Word will help us see the big picture.

Dwelling on the Word will help us to ensure that we don’t try to use the power of God to help us get ahead, but to get God’s kingdom ahead.

As Paul reminds us in “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”.

Don’t be scared

Now what I want to suggest in all of this is that dwelling in the Word will not make us immune from these low moments. Those lows will come whether we want them to or not.

What dwelling in the Word will do, will mean that when those times come, we will be in a better position to not stray by giving into the temptations that will come.

And it means we don’t need to be scared by the lows. Sometimes we can be so desperate to experience the next high, that we don’t allow the lows to shape us.

You see, there is something interesting that I haven’t yet explored. This 40 day period was very influential in the shaping of Jesus.

And in a similar way, when we undergo the lows, it is like we undergo a refining process.

I can think of a few lows in my Christian walk. A few times when I felt rejected by other people. Those times hurt and I wondered why God allowed it.

But as I reflected back on those times, I saw that they really taught me to trust in God.

Don’t be afraid of the lows. Because as the highs are important for our faith, the lows also help us.

Conclusion

Over the weeks in the lead up to Easter, we will be looking at various people who had encounters with Jesus.

One of the things that we will see with each of these people is that they were going through some sort of crisis.

But we will see that Jesus will give them a word that will change them.

It is hard when we have to go through a crisis. But as we draw close to God we will see that he can use these tough times to help us really trust in him.

God truly is the one who can deliver us.

Let me pray...