Sunday March 13, 2010 Matthew 4:1-11

Greetings, Ash Wednesday is here and spring can’t be far behind even though we still have snow in the forecast. The home and garden show at least gives us a glimpse of coming warm weather and this weekend is daylight savings time so we will have light into the evenings again. We need to keep in mind some Old Testament background for our text this Sunday. The Hebrew’s were enslaved in Egypt. Moses is sent by God to lead them out of their bondage and to a land God has promised them. This is what we call the Exodus or the second book of the Bible. In Exodus 4:22 God instructs Moses to tell Pharaoh “Israel is my firstborn son.” God and Pharaoh then engage in a back and forth of plagues and words that culminates in the killing of Egypt’s firstborn sons, the Pharaoh allowing the Israelites to leave and then pursuing them to the Red (reed?) Sea. God parts the waters and the people cross on dry ground. The Egyptian army is destroyed and the people are led to Mount Sinai where they are given the Torah. Because of their later refusal to believe they can gain control of the land of Canaan they are banished to wander in the wilderness for forty years. During those wilderness wanderings they are tempted and fail. Now come forward to Matthew. Jesus has come from the Galilee to be baptized by John. All that John is doing and proclaiming indicates that a new exodus is about to begin. Jesus is baptized in the Jordan, his water crossing, as Israel had done in Exodus. God declares Jesus to be his Son, just as God had declared Israel to be his son in Exodus.

V1-2 Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. Just as Israel had wandered in the wilderness for forty years so will Jesus be in the wilderness for forty days and nights. After he has fasted the tempter came and starts to dialogue with him.

V3-4 The first thing said by the tempter is “if you are the Son of God” to introduce doubt into the mind of Jesus. Remember God has just declared that Jesus is his son. So, if you are the Son of God turn these stones to bread. Jesus, we know is very hungry, who wouldn’t want to eat. But Jesus instead quotes Deut. 8:3. He will not use his power to benefit himself or supply his own needs but will trust God to provide them. Remember in the Exodus the people complained about the manna they were given. God had wanted Israel to rely on him alone and they failed by hungering for food not God.

V5-7 Jesus is then taken to the pinnacle of the Temple and again the tempter tries to introduce doubt. Again “if you are the Son of God” is said with the thought of Jesus showing off a miracle. He is to toss himself off the pinnacle and angels will catch him. Jesus again replies with a quote from Deut. 6:16. He will not test his father by a public display of power. It is interesting to note that here the tempter quotes scripture (Ps. 91:11-12) himself but slightly twists it for his own purposes. Just because someone can quote scripture doesn’t mean they are using it for its intended purpose. Sometimes they are quoting to promote their own purposes, using the scripture for the illusion of authority. This is an excellent reason for each of us to study the bible and know for ourselves what it says and means.

V8-10 A third time Jesus is tempted by being taken to a high mountain and told if he will worship the tempter all of what he sees will be given him. The irony is that it is already Jesus’. Jesus, however, remains quiet on this and again uses scripture to reply using Deut. 6:13. Jesus will serve God only. During the wilderness wanderings the people had made a golden calf and worshiped it. Jesus knows that even though he is to be the ruler of the world he will first have to suffer. He will take the path laid out by his father and not the quick way to power offered by the tempter. Another interesting insight is that Jesus doesn’t refute the tempter that the world isn’t his to give, it is God’s. An idea that I take away from this is why encourage a dialogue with someone you know isn’t right? To dialogue just encourages them to keep contradicting you. Silence is sometimes the best argument. A quote that I like is from St. Francis of Assisi. “Preach the gospel where ever you go and if need be use words.” Our actions speak louder than words.

V11 The devil left him and the angels waited on him. Is the tempter finished? No, he will reappear throughout the gospels again and again waiting with doubts and insecurities. He appears in Gethsemane when Jesus is trying to discern if the path really includes the cross. He appears in our lives when we wonder if we are on God’s chosen path for us.

Jesus has been successful where Israel failed. He has relied on God instead of himself. Jesus is the new Israel, the new son of God. He will go forth and become what Israel couldn’t or wouldn’t. He will be a light to the nations. He will build the new Israel around himself. He will show the people what God is like. He will teach the people about God, their father, as they are his son. Their faith and belief in Jesus will be the basis of the new Israel. The only shows of power will be used to point to God. This begs the question, how do we handle things that tempt us? Do we give in to elevate our self worth or do we hold fast to God’s promises? Usually the temptation begins with doubt just as it did with Jesus. Do we really think this? Do we really believe that? Are you sure you are correct? What if you are wrong? Doubt cracks open the door. When doubt begins to creep in temptation isn’t far behind. We begin to think “well I could be mistaken” and we begin to look for ways to save face. No one wants to cling to a bad conviction and look like a fool. Our example to follow is Jesus. He was tempted just as we are and he survived. We will never face the same temptations as he did but we can be successful when faced with our temptations.