Crossing the wilderness

Matthew 3.16-4.11

Reading (NIV) Mt 3.16-4.11

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written:

‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

[3] 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “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.’”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written:

‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

[4] 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written:

‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Reading Malagasy : [5] to [8]

When it comes to the wilderness...

Two weeks ago, we celebrated three baptisms as a church. Baptism marks the beginning of the Christian life. And sometimes, as believers we think: I’m saved, I belong to Christ, the Spirit of God dwells in me… Now, my life will be glorious, and I will live a great life with Christ. And, yes, life with Christ is the best life we can live! But this great life doesn't always turn out the way you'd imagine…

In the Gospels, the baptism of Jesus is what marks the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. At the baptism, Jesus is officially introduced by God. Heaven is open, the Spirit is descending on Jesus and the Father declares: "This is my Son, whom I love!”. Wow! This is grandiose!

After such an introduction, we would expect Jesus to begin a great and successful ministry… preaching, healing the sick, and manifesting the glory of God right away. But that is not what happens. The text tells us that “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil”. Well, spending 40 days in the wilderness, without anything to eat or drink…. It's not really anyone's definition of a great life or a great ministry.

Why the Spirit of God leads Jesus into the wilderness?

On one side, wilderness is the place of trial or temptation. It is a dry place, where life is not easy. Remember the Israelites exodus from Egypt in the Old Testament. They’ve just experienced the glorious liberation from slavery. With mighty signs and wonders. And they even received articles of silver and gold from the Egyptians… And what happens next? God leads them to the desert. The books of Exodus and Numbers tell us how, during this period, the people of Israel will be tested by hunger and thirst, and how, so often, they will refuse to trust the God who had delivered them, who had saved them.

But at the same time, it is in the desert of Sinai that they will have this glorious encounter with God and receive the law. Moses will spend 40 days and 40 nights without eating or drinking, while the Lord gives him the Law.

In the same way, after experiencing the glory of God in his baptism, Jesus is led into the desert for 40 days without eating or drinking. To seek the presence of God. But also to be tested and tempted.

In the same way, many Christians experience periods of desert in their Christian life. Hopefully, it does not generally come as quickly as Jesus after his baptism. But, wilderness is a common experience in a Christian life. Difficult, trying times, when hunger, thirst, illness, assail us. Times when everything pushes us to say: where is our God? Why did he save us if it is to bring us to the desert?

There is nothing unusual about these wilderness times: even Jesus went through the desert. But we have a choice to make: we can choose to make the wilderness our tomb, like the Israelites who refused to trust the Lord... Or we can choose to make the desert a time to grow closer to God: a time when we can refocus on what is essential, not our finances, our health, our family... but God and him alone. This is the example of Jesus Christ who made his time in the wilderness a time of glory for God!

Tempted by the devil or tested by God?

When we go through a difficult period, there is a question we sometimes ask ourselves: Am I being attacked by the devil? Or is it God who is testing me?

On this matter, it is interesting to note the way the role of the Holy Spirit and the devil are presented in the story of Jesus temptation. The episode is introduced by this surprising statement: “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

Two verses earlier, we just learned that the Spirit descended on Jesus. Yet, strangely enough, the first thing the Spirit of God does next is to lead Jesus to be tempted by the devil! This is surprising, isn't it? Would the Spirit of God collaborate with the devil?

The biblical text, however, is quite clear. It is not God or his Spirit who will tempt Jesus, it is the devil. God will never tempt us to sin! It is the devil who wants that, not God!

Yet, in temptation or trial, God is not absent: he is sovereign. He doesn't say to himself, “Oh, boy, the devil has done it again. What will I do now? I didn’t plan that…” No. It's all under God’s control: it’s his Spirit that drives Jesus into the wilderness to be tested. It is part of God’s plan to test our faith sometimes.

Okay, you may say, but why does God allow trials and temptations? Would God be a sadistic God who would enjoy seeing us suffer?

No, on the contrary! If God allows temptation or trial, it is because he wants to use it to strengthen us and make us grow. The epistle of James even encourages us to rejoice in trials: “2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1.2-4). If God allows trials, it is because through them he wants to make us strong, and to make us men and women who lack nothing!

In other words, God turns Satan’s work against him! Satan wants to lead us away from God through temptation: but God uses him to make us stronger and more solid in faith!

In trial or temptation, we have a choice to make: we can focus on the devil’s work, on the evil he does to us, on the temptation he offers us. Or we can turn our eyes to God and try to see the work he wants to do in us! We can choose to watch the devil destroying us, or watch our heavenly Father building us up!

How to stand firm in temptation or trial?

The choice to trust God is not always easy to make. Standing firm in the face of trial is easier said than done. Who has never succumbed to temptation? Who has never doubted?

So, how can we stand firm in temptation or trial. One element comes up in the text we’ve read: the importance of working on our relationship with God.

Remember what I was saying earlier: wilderness is not only the place of trial, it is also the place where God reveals himself in a special way. Jesus is led in the wilderness to be tempted by the desert. What does he do? Does he complain? Does he say: great, I have 40 days free to relax, chill and watch TV? Jesus spends 40 days and 40 nights fasting, as if to show that his life depends on only one thing, his relationship with God. In the desert, we learn to live not on bread alone, but on the Word of God. The desert is the silent place where we can listen more than ever. A place apart, far from the noise of the city.

And the first way God wants to speak to us is through the Bible. It is the sure and solid Word of God, totally true, without error, perfect to guide our lives. It is in meditating on the Word of God that we can find the strength to stand firm. Like Jesus, it is by relying on what God has said that we will be able to answer the tempter.

For Jesus knew his Bible. When the devil tempts him to sin, he responds by quoting Scripture. In the face of the Word of God, the devil can do nothing!

But Jesus doesn’t just quote Bible verses that he picked up at random. Jesus quotes Bible verses in context. When he says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” he is quoting Deuteronomy 8 verse 3. Now, if you read this verse in its entirety, you will see that it corresponds exactly to the situation of Jesus who has just spent 40 days in the desert. In Deuteronomy 8.3, Moses addresses the people of Israel who have just spent 40 years in the wilderness and this is what he says: “The Lord humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

The context fits perfectly with Jesus’ context. And if you do the same for the other two quotes from Jesus, you will see that in each case Jesus knows the verses in their context. He does not make them say what they do not say. This shows a deep knowledge of the Word of God. Not just reading a few random verses. It's about knowing your Bible by regularly reading it in its entirety.

And do you know why it is important to know your Bible as a whole? Because, the devil also knows the Bible. And he can even quote a Bible verse to tempt Jesus.

“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.” (v. 6)

Here the devil is not inventing any Scriptures: he quotes verses Psalm 91 to the letter. The devil uses a Bible verse to encourage Jesus to sin. But Jesus does not get fooled. Because his life and ministry are rooted in the Word of God. Not just in a few Bible verses. In the Word of God as a whole. And Jesus knows that Psalm 91 is not about base jumping without a parachute. Psalm 91 is a Psalm that encourages trust in God. And not an encouragement to foolishly risk one's life to find out if God really loves me. And most of all. Jesus knew that God’s word, taken as a whole, does not encourage us to put God to the test. As it is written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Knowing what the whole Bible teaches is a very important goal every Christian should have. Because, one can justify anything quoting a Bible verse out of context. You can justify slavery, adulterous, abuse, or even mass killing… using a Bible verse or taking a biblical example. But you will never be able to justify this in light of the whole of biblical teaching. And unfortunately, there are so many examples in Church history when the devil has led false teachers to use some Bible verses to teach the exact opposite of the word of God.

If we are to stand firm in trial or temptation, we must make God's Word the solid rock on which we can build solidly. It is crucial for every Christian to spend time reading the whole Bible. Not just our favorites passages. But the whole Bible. Of course, you won’t do that in 1 day. But we can use a Bible plan in order to read the whole Bible in 3 months, or 1 year or 3 years. You can even find a Bible plan on our Church Facebook page. You know, if you read the Bible for only 15 to 20 minutes a day, you will have read it all within a year.

It is also important to take the time to study Bible doctrine. What is doctrine? Doctrine is a summary statement of the teaching of Scripture on a particular topic. For example, the doctrine of trinity tells us that there is only one God who eternally exists as three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You will never find the word “trinity” or even this definition of trinity in any Bible verse. But, if you want to take into account all the Bible verses about God, you must necessarily affirm the trinity. If you come to any other conclusion, that’s because you’re not taking all the Bible teaching into account.

Bible doctrine is very important because it teaches what the Word of God says as a whole. If you don’t know where to read or to listen about good doctrine, do not hesitate to ask church leaders for some advices. There are many books or online resources that can be useful to learn about Bible doctrines, for all levels, whether you are a beginner or someone who seeks to go further in understanding the Word of God. And maybe, in a hopefully not too distant future, we can have our own training program in the Church. So, if you would be interested by some Bible training, do not hesitate to let the Church leaders know.

So, let's take the time to study the Word of God thoroughly. Let's meditate on it. Let's chew on it. Let's savor it without restraint. Let's make it our daily bread… our daily rice. Our permanent feast. Let's do it without fear. With the Word of God, there is no risk of being overweight, of diabetes or cholesterol! On the contrary, it is a food that will make us strong, solid and persevering!

Let God transform the desert into an oasis!

Finally, I would like to draw your attention to the last verse of the passage we have read. After Jesus resisted temptation three times, we are told that “the devil left him”… and that “angels came to Jesus and attended him”. Isn't this an extraordinary picture? Jesus refused to serve himself in his Father’s restaurant. He refused to take by himself, to take advantage of his divine power. And in the end, God in his grace, sends him angels to serve in his myriad-star restaurant.

Jesus leaves us with an example. During trial and temptation, he made the choice to trust his heavenly Father. He chose to feed on the Word of God. Will we make the same choice? Will we let the devil make us contemplate our difficulties, our problems, our suffering? Will we let him make us doubt the goodness of our heavenly Father? Will we let him lead us to disobey our heavenly Father? Or will we choose to look up to God? Will we choose to see what God wants to make beautiful out of our desert? Will we choose to return again and again to the Word of God? Will we let God manifest his glory in our desert? Will we let God transform our desert into an oasis?