First Sunday in Lent

Richard Davenport March 6, 2022 - First Sunday in Lent Luke 4:1-13 We have arrived at the season of Lent. While all of Jesus's life has been one that looks ahead to the cross and his sacrificial death, now we are on the final approach. As Jesus says periodically in his ministry, "the day is coming and is now here." Whereas before the cross was always something out there on the horizon, now its shadow looms overhead. The disciples may not know where Jesus is headed, but he does. He always has. Here though, we find Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. Before he has disciples, before he's spent time teaching in the synagogues or healing people, he goes out into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. This scene resonates with some people, but not with others. Some look at the whole thing as an act, putting on a show. "Jesus can't actually be tempted," they say. "He's God! Of course he isn't going to give in to Satan. That makes it all a big joke." True. He is God. But we cannot discount his humanity. It's who Jesus is. Jesus is the same perfection of humanity that Adam and Eve were. They gave in to sin despite their sinlessness and brought brokenness and death into the world. Even if we don't take Jesus's divinity into account, his humanity can see the devastation sin brings into the world. In his humanity, the only thing that makes him different from us is that he isn't already bent that way. He has the ability to say "No!" to sin, and he does. No amount of supposed power and glory Satan thinks he can offer is worth what would come from sin. He also knows that only a perfect sacrifice will pay the price and he values you and loves you too much to let you slip away because he gave in to Satan. This scene is intended to be a comfort, to reassure us that Jesus does triumph, both in his divinity and his humanity. He shows us that, through him, sin and Satan can be put away. Satan doesn't have any power unless Jesus gives it to him. Satan has nothing on his own, for everything that exists comes from God. Still, it makes you wonder why Jesus bothers to go through with all of this. It's not like he needs to put up with Satan's nonsense. It doesn't gain him anything. Other than having fasted for quite a while, Jesus is no better off before he goes off into the wilderness than he is after. But, of course, nothing Jesus does is about what he gets out of it, at least not as we typically think about those sorts of things. Jesus doesn't go through this temptation for his own benefit, but for ours. His goal is and always has been, to gain us. Seeing him here, even in his comparative weakness, still putting Satan in his place should give us confidence as we pray to him for help in time of temptation or affliction. Jesus overcomes Satan on our behalf. He did so then, he can do so now. Satan has no power over Jesus, no matter how weak Jesus seems to be. Pulling our view back a little bit to see the bigger picture, the broader perspective, we find some interesting details. As Luke informs us in the previous chapter, just before going off into the wilderness, Jesus met John at the Jordan to be baptized. His baptism in the Jordan is what inaugurates his ministry. His baptism is where he formally takes on the title "Christ" meaning "Anointed One," as the water of the Jordan is poured over his head. That's where it all begins. That makes this period in the wilderness his first act as God's Anointed. Obviously most of us don't remember when we were baptized. But, as you grew up, what sort of expectations did you have for your life as a Christian? Obviously we all have some problems we have to deal with. No one really said life would be a complete cake walk. We have the occasional struggles and obstacles. Still, life shouldn't really be that bad. Trusting in God gives you the world's greatest coach in your corner guiding you on all the best moves to make. You've got the world's biggest umbrella to keep you dry in the midst of life's gloomy rainstorms. You've got the world's biggest linebacker clearing the way so you can run the ball all the way to the endzone. God's got it all under control and you're just along for the ride. Just enjoy yourself and take in the sights along the way. There will be occasional bumps in the road, but, again, God's got it all under control. You're on a one-way street straight to the top of the world where you will enjoy all of the finer things life has to offer. Now, you might not take your thoughts quite that far very often, but there's still the expectation that, with God, things are going to be easier. They may even be fun and exciting. If there are problems in life, they're probably just ones where you weren't really following along the way you were supposed to. God comes along, picks you up and gets you back on track. That should be about the worst of it. The really bad stuff is out there where the heathens are. They don't want God to protect them and give them the good life, so that's where things get way out of hand. But I'm not one of them. I'm here with God where I'm safe from all of that. As St. Paul says in Romans: "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." There's also the well-known saying from Jesus, "With God all things are possible." You're part of God's people. God will protect you from all of the terrible things in life. That's even one of the promises God makes to the Israelites as they move out from Mt. Sinai. Deuteronomy 28 lists all of the things that will be theirs, "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways." All that and much more. Peace, prosperity, and long life for everyone who trusts God and follows him. That's exactly what the Israelites got after they had finally taken possession of the land. Peace and prosperity were the features of daily life in Israel up through the days of King Solomon. After him, things went downhill because the kings stopped following God and all of those blessings were withdrawn. Still, it proves God can and does protect his people and give them peace. Yet, so often our lives are anything but peaceful. Our lives often look a lot more like Job's than Solomon's. It doesn't seem like that's how it should be. We shouldn't have to face that kind of hardship. But, we do. Sometimes it even feels like we're being sent right into the middle of it, just like Jesus is in the Gospel reading. After all, that's the whole point of what Jesus is doing here. He goes out into the wilderness knowing Satan will take the opportunity to strike. Satan knows he'll be weak, hungry, and tired, as prone to giving in to temptation as he can be. it is at times like this, seeing Jesus in the wilderness, that the entire story we build up for ourselves about what life as a Christian will be like, what we want it to be like, breaks down. We have a hard time admitting to ourselves that sometimes we bring the disasters on ourselves. We don't like admitting that frailty in ourselves, but it is there for everyone to see. But this, this is different. Jesus isn't under attack because he did anything wrong. Instead, he's under attack because he specifically went out to a place where he would be attacked. What makes that uncomfortable is that, if Jesus does that himself, then chances are he's going to expect us to do the same. In fact, he says precisely that to his disciples, "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Jesus is no stranger to how this world works and what we can expect from it. His promise to care for us never wavers, but it also isn't aimed at keeping us in this broken world or separating us from it. Our comfort-seeking ways would be glad to have God wall off all of the pain and sadness of this world and keep it from us. But Jesus isn't going to do that. Even on our own, we'd still be living in our broken sinfulness. That isn't the answer. Jesus himself lived in peace, free from the pain of this world, but he knew we were still stuck in this world, stuck in a world full of our self-inflicted pain, a world that tries to feed our desire for power, wealth, comfort, and everything else, the world Satan offered him. Jesus enters into this pain-filled world anyway, specifically to rescue you from it. He comes here, knowing he'll suffer the worst the world can give, but he does so without ever shying away from it. His death brings us the salvation from our sins that we need so badly, and the forgiveness we need for our sinful desire to close off the world and leave us alone. He comes into this world of pain and death to give it to you. Looking at where Jesus is in this passage, and what comes before it, we understand now why we find this passage at the beginning of Lent. Jesus was baptized to become the Anointed One, he was baptized to begin his ministry, but he was also baptized to bind us to his life in our own baptism. As we come to the font, his life becomes ours. Everything he accomplished in his earthly life becomes ours as we come to the font. His death is ours, but so is his life. Jesus is baptized in Luke 3 and then goes into the wilderness in Luke 4. He shows us what the baptized life looks like. It is a life that is not easy. It is not sunshine and joy all the time. It is a life that is under attack by everything that hates who God is and what he represents. It is a life that is under attack by everything that seeks to be its own god. Yet, this baptized life also shows the power God has over all things. Jesus defeats Satan, not with weapons but with words. God's Word, his promises, are stronger than anything Satan has in his arsenal. Part of our baptized life is to be sent out to bring those promises to others, to make disciples the same way we were made, through teaching and baptizing. We will be under attack as we go, just as Jesus was. But, his promises will continue to hold true for us as well. Satan cannot win the day. Our lives are already bound to Christ's. We will die someday, but we will rise again. Christ has already brought our salvation and life. He fought hard to bring it to us and nothing in the world can take that away.