Identity Theft

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhEU3EF4jvMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhEU3EF4jvM

Rafiki led Simba to the water to see a reflection of who he. Rafiki stirred the water and Simba looked like Mufasa. Then Mufasa spoke to him from the sky and told him to remember who he was.

Skar his evil uncle had stolen away his identity.

There are two ways to think about what is happening when anyone is tempted.

1st is to imagine temptation as enticement toward something bad and wrong.

This is probably the more common view of the two.

But there is another way of thinking about it

Temptation can also be seen as encouragement away from something good and right.

Lent has begun and it starts with the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.

This gives us opportunity to see this temptation not just as a temptation towards something, but a temptation away from something

Before we get to the passage itself, I want to point out something interesting that is in Luke’s Gospel that is significant for the context of our passage.

All 3 synoptic Gospels (Matt, Mark, Luke) tell us that Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness followed His baptism at the Jordan river.

Matt & Mark move directly from the baptism of Jesus to the temptation in the wilderness.

But Luke interrupts this narrative.

Immediately after the voice of God came down from the cloud announcing Jesus as the beloved Son, Luke breaks and gives Jesus’ genealogy which goes all the way back to the beginning.

Jesus is not only the son of Joseph, and the son of David, and the Son of Abraham… He is also the “son of Adam, the Son of God.”

Luke 3:38 CSB son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.

Luke wants to be crystal clear about Jesus’ identity before he tells us about Jesus’ temptation.

And this matters!

This matters for how we read & hear Jesus’ temptation.

Instead of our focus being heavily centered on what Jesus is tempted toward

Let’s consider what Jesus is tempted away from by Satan.

His Identity

The devil says twice to Jesus in verses 3 & 9: “If you are the Son of God...”

The message is clear from Satan: “You are not really who the Father says you are.”

This is called.... identity theft.

You all are familiar with it. It may not have happened to all of you, but regardless, we know what it is.You understand the dangers and the damage that can be caused when one’s identity is stolen. That is why we work hard to protect our social insurance numbers, bank account numbers, and credit card numbers. But theirs a more important identity that you have, other than economic identity, that is constantly under the threat of theft. of being stolen away from you. It is a much more serious identity theft that affects not only your life now, but your future life as well.T: Jesus was tempted away from His identity… Satan wanted nothing more than to steal Jesus’ identity away from him.

Jesus - Tempted away from His Identity

Jesus’ identity was clear from His baptism and the genealogy. Son of God. The beloved When the Devil called Jesus’ identity into question, he was simply doing business as usual. You can hear echoes of his question for the first Adam from Genesis: “Did God really say?”Did God really say that He is enough for you?Did God really say that He is enough power for you?Did God really say that in Him safety/rest/ eternal security?Did God really say that you are His Son?Each temptation thrown at Jesus was aimed to pull His identity away. To tempt Jesus to abandon His true identity as the Son of God.Luke 4:3 CSB The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”The devil is tempting Jesus away from His identity in God and saying, “see if you were truly God’s Son, you wouldn’t be hungry… He would provide everything for you.” That is a lie that tempts us away from who we are - the lie that we never have enough and there’s more out there than what God has provided you.Luke 4:5–7 CSB So he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to him, “I will give you their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. If you, then, will worship me, all will be yours.”The devil is tempting Jesus away from God’s power and authority by saying it isn’t enough for you. Your identity is much greater - it can all be yours if you would leave who you are.Luke 4:9 CSB So he took him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here.The devil is proposing to Jesus that God is not trustworthy...He quotes Ps. 91 saying that God will surely protect you so test Him see if what He says is true… (that is twisting things to make Jesus question His safety in not only God the Father, but in His identity as well.​In each case, the devil seeks to undermine Jesus’ confidence in both God and himself. He seeks, that is, to erode Jesus’ confidence that he is enough, that he is secure, that he is worthy of God’s love. And in the face of these temptations, Jesus quotes the sacred story of Israel in order to assert that he is a part of that story and therefore reaffirm his identity as a child of God. Rooted in the Scriptures, Jesus is reminded not only that he has enough and is enough but that he is of infinite worth in the eyes of God.​Jesus lives out through faithful obedience to what God has said and written.Unlike the first Adam, who was tempted away from his identity, Jesus knew who He was and wouldn’t let anything tempt Him away from His true identity.​T: This is why I this passage is really about identity theft. And not simply the devil’s failed attempt to steal Jesus’ identity but all the attempts to rob us of ours.

Our Identity in Christ

Your true identity is in Jesus Christ God the Father makes you His daughter and son through Christ.By faith you have been grafted into Jesus’ genealogy!(insert name in the genealogy of Luke 3)Like Jesus, you continually face the threat of identity theft as the evil foe tries to create doubts about who you are and how you to live. “If you are the son of God…” “If you are the daughter of God…” “Did God really say?” Rather than casting temptation in your lives as enticement toward bad thoughts, words, and deeds, The devil and his schemes try to enticed you away from your identity in Christ. ​Think about it… we are tempted away from God and our identity constantly… from media messages that we aren’t good enough or wealthy enough, or safe enough.Consider the media barrage of advertising to which most of us are so regularly subjected: Nine times out of ten the goal of ads is to create in us a sense of lack and inadequacy, followed by the implicit promise that purchasing the advertised product will relieve our insecurity. Or consider how many of the messages from the candidates running for government offices. They seek to create in us insecurity and fear. Terrorism, immigrants, corporations, unemployment, low wages, high taxes, the wealthy, the poor – the message is clear: you should be afraid because you do not have enough and you are not enough; elect me and I’ll keep you safe.THAT IS A LOAD OF GARBAGE! — You DO HAVE ENOUGH!LET ME TELL YOU THIS: YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!Your Identity as a child of God cannot be taken away from you from anyone! The way you lose your identity in Christ is if you succumb to the temptations that you really aren’t a child of God.But you are!And you can live in that identity forever without worry!!!! You have all you need in Christ!Because Jesus’ Identity is the Son of God...And that Son of God died for you so you could be grafted into His holy family.Jesus is the Son of God for us That is who He is and that is who He makes us to be by His death on the cross and His resurrection to life eternal.