Hunger for God's Word

Intro/Scripture

Matthew 4:1–11 NIV

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “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.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Pray.

Recently I have been trying to get some things right nutritionally and eating better and exercising. I have been pretty strict for about 8-9 weeks now I think. The other day I had this craving for pizza in way I cannot even put into words.

Intro:

What do we hunger for? Lent is a season of considering our passions. What we love and where our pursuits are. Do we love the things of God more? Do we love God more than things around us? Do we have misordered desires?

Jesus begins his ministry where Israel failed

Let’s look at what is happening in the story. This is more than just some sci-fi scene for effect or a way of God flexing his muscles with Jesus and Satan. There is more at work with this interaction.

Jesus goes into the Wilderness where Israel was also made a people. He faces the same trials that they faced and he overcomes the same trials that they failed.

Exodus 16:3–4 NIV

The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.

Then in Exodus 17 they challenge God through doubt of his power

and the rest of the wilderness story of Exodus they are tempted time and time again to build their own kingdom and forget the God who has challenged them.

This is why Jesus answers the challenges of temptation specifically with scripture from Deuteronomy.

So are these temptations specific to Jesus? Is it prescriptive for all temptation that we might face?

Well the temptation is similar to Israel, but what is unique to Jesus is that he is facing down the accuser himself at the beginning of ministry. There is specificity because it is God and Satan in the wilderness and Jesus will defeat him. But there is also something shared here. This scene becomes a representation of all followers of Jesus that are seeking to be faithful to God. I like the way Thomas Long puts it:

“This story is about the kind of trials and testings that happen to people--to Israel, to Jesus, and to the church--when they are called to be God’s people and to do God’s work in the world. The testing of Jesus, the testings of Israel before him and the testing of the church today are not primarily temptations to do what we would really like to do, but know we should not; they are temptations to be someone other than who God calls us to be, to deny that we are God’s children.” -Thomas Long

So we are focusing on specifically the first temptation this morning but I wanted you to see the whole background here. All three of these are a direct attack on what it means to BE a follower of Jesus:

Self-satisfaction

Testing God out of distrust (we dont test God because we trust him, but because we don’t)

Temptation of power and authority, the easy way

Jesus is Hungry

So Jesus is out fasting and preparing for ministry. The wilderness is where the Spirit leads because God is preparing him and confirming within him who he is.

And of course the first temptation that arises after a 40 day fast is.....you guess it....food. But this temptation is not just about food and it is not just about memorizing Scripture.

What the devil is doing here is trying to take Jesus’ focus off of the work he has come to do and focus on himself. Satan is taking his eyes off of the mission to save and convincing him that he needs the saving.

1.We are addicted to self-preservation, self-indulgence

The early church had a handle on this, describing the passions that attack our soul like a disease.

Passion: “Passion is an unnatural movement of the soul.” (Maximus the Confessor) Passion is an excessive feeling, or appetite, going beyond what is reasonable.

Self-love is one of the worst: Whereby we always see ourselves through a magnifying glass, exaggerating the importance of everything having to do with self.

Self-care and airplane example

COVID masks

we justify coping mechanisms.

2. Jesus does not choose himself over you. reverse of Adam and the way of being truly human

3. Do we hunger for God’s word more than our own gain?

God’s word, mission, life

Matthew 4:4 NIV

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Comes pouring forth from the mouth of God. This is an exciting word that denotes continual pouring of the word of God.

Scripture (see Watson book). Not just memorizing it. Satan quotes scripture. But living it

“I want to argue a singular point: the Bible is a form of divine communication meant to lead us more fully into the life of God. Put in theological terms, we might say that through the Bible we receive divine revelation, the purpose of which is soteriological. In other words, the purpose of God’s Word is salvation for the world. John Wesley believed that Scripture shows us “the way to heaven—how to land safe on that happy shore. . . . Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone: only God is here. In his presence I open, I read his Book; for this end, to find the way to heaven.” Or to put it in yet another way, God speaks to us through the Bible and leads us into salvation. God loves us and wishes us to return that love. When we do, we enter more fully into the divine life. The Bible is a “book of meeting.” It draws us ever more deeply into a relationship with the God who came to us in Jesus Christ. In light of this, our first posture toward the Bible should be one of gratitude, not criticism.” -David Watson

Preach this out....

4. Jesus is tempted to not believe in his baptism

Right before this takes place, his baptism happens

Matthew 3:17 NIV

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

One of the nuances of this temptation is that Satan is trying to convince him that his suffering and hardship is a sign that he is not the son of God. Confirm it by changing these stones into bread.

Hardship is not a sign that you do not belong to him. Sometimes God’s silence is a testament of his love.

5. Wilderness and lenten fasting is not a famished place but a trustworthy one.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.....give us our daily bread.

the order is important

daily bread is not bad, it just cant rule the day.

Jesus is in the wilderness to confirm his identity. To let it take full root in him. Lent is about that journey.

Closing

Here is what I have learned about myself during this journey with food recently. This is not even about weight loss or some physical goal....I realized that I have an unhealthy relationship with food. That I actually turn to food when I am bored, stressed, busy. It is a way of coping. Through this am I causing some long term effects on my health and longevity? Yeah, but the soul implications on living a life of scarcity or covering up my anxieties have a much deeper impact.

Hunger is about reordering our loves. This is what lent is about. Truth is, very rarely do I hunger for God like I do other things.

Here is the things, God is not a hedonist. He is not begging us to hunger for him because he needs it. Thats not what this temptation is about....the temptation is for Jesus to settle for a temporary gain rather than the deep calling on his life. God wants more for you and me.