The First Sunday in Lent
March 5, 2017
Matthew 4:1-11
Destination: Calvary
Stop #1— The Battle in the Desert
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert 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 does 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. (NIV1984)
Dear fellow Lenten worshipers,
Over the course of my life there have been certain passages of Scripture which have engraved themselves into my mind and onto my heart. Usually, this is the result of something that has taken place in my life. Let me share with you two examples. There was a time in my life and there was a time in my ministry when I actually thought I was supposed to be able to tackle just about any situation that I was confronted with. As you might expect I quickly realized just how vast my shortcomings are! In the midst of all that, the passage that engraved itself into my mind and onto my heart are the simple powerful words of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” I have learned that while there are many situations that I can not handle there will never be any situation that my God can not handle.
My second example comes from a very personal and a very powerful situation that took place in my life many years ago. At that time I felt as though I was being overwhelmed by questions I simply could not answer. Suddenly I came across a passage that has now helped me on numerous occasions. It is Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” There are some things which God has reserved for Himself. There are some questions God has chosen not to answer. The things God wants us to know, the things God wants us to concentrate on, the things God wants us to teach to our children He has revealed to us and recorded for us right here in His holy Word.
Now the reason I share these two examples with you is because today is the first Sunday in the season of Lent. For me there is another passage that always comes to my mind as soon as we enter into this season of the year. It is Luke 9:51. Luke 9:51 very simply states, “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” This passage reminds us that Jesus had a goal— He had a mission that He is determined to carry out here on this earth. For that reason this passage is going to guide each of our Sunday services throughout the season of Lent. The overall theme of all our Sunday Lenten services will be: Destination: Calvary. The season of Lent is designed to remind us that like a train Jesus is resolutely making His way to the cross. Along the way He will make six very important stops. Each stop will reveal to us an important part of Jesus’ redemptive work on our behalf. Today as we board this train called Destination: Calvary let’s see how Stop #1 brings us to: The Battle in the Desert.
Our text for this morning takes us all the way back to the very beginning of the public phase of Jesus’ ministry. Our Lord had just been baptized by His cousin John in the river Jordan. Matthew tells us that immediately after His baptism, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” The battle in the desert, the battle between Satan and the Son of God, the battle between “good” and “evil” did not take place by chance. This epic battle was an integral part of the Father’s plan for our salvation. Since this battle was so important for our salvation, Jesus did not desert us in the desert. He gladly and willingly battled our greatest enemy, Satan, for us! Three of the temptations that Satan brought against Jesus in the desert are recorded for us on the pages of Holy Scripture.
The first temptation was both simple and insidious. Matthew tells us, “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he (Jesus) 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 does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’”
Notice how Satan zeroes in on what he perceives to be Jesus’ weakness and tries to use that weakness to cause Jesus to doubt— to doubt both Himself and His heavenly Father. We need to remember, my friends, that Jesus is a true human being. After fasting for forty days and forty nights Jesus was understandably hungry. His human body was enduring hunger pains the likes of which I can’t even begin to imagine. Satan therefore tries to exploit this “weakness” by using it to question Jesus’ divinity and at the same time suggest that there was no reason for Jesus to suffer like that. If Jesus really was the Son of God then He should not have to wait for the heavenly Father to provide Him with food. If Jesus really was God He could simply change some stones into bread and take care of His hunger Himself! Jesus, of course, cut this temptation down by reminding Satan— and us— “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus had never once used His divine power for His own personal benefit and He was certainly not going to start here. Just as Jesus had been trusting in His heavenly Father during His forty days and forty nights of fasting so He would continue to trust in His Father’s ability to strengthen and preserve His Son.
Satan’s second temptation then focused on that trust that Jesus had in His heavenly Father. Matthew goes on to tell us, “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.”’”
Once again this temptation does not need much explanation, does it. Since Jesus claimed to have so much trust in His heavenly Father and since Jesus was so fond of quoting Scripture, Satan takes a passage of Scripture out of context and tries to use it to get Jesus to display a false trust in His heavenly Father. Once again, Jesus cuts down this temptation by reminding Satan— and us— “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
The third temptation recorded here in our text is perhaps the most sinister of them all. Remember, my friends, that Jesus was at the very beginning of His public ministry. As the true Son of God Jesus knew that three years down the road was the cross. As the true Son of God Jesus knew that on the cross He would endure the unspeakable agony of hell itself as He suffered and died to redeem us from our captivity to sin, death and the devil and open for us the gates to His heavenly Father’s Kingdom! Satan therefore tempts Jesus with the false idea that Jesus can avoid the agony of the cross and still achieve His goal. Matthew writes, “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.’” While we don’t know how Satan showed Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world” this temptation reminds us of two truths that we dare not forget! First, as a fallen angel Satan is far more powerful than we can even begin to imagine. Second, Satan’s ultimate goal is to have every human being— including every single one of us— bow down and worship him.
Jesus, however, was not about to do such a detestable thing. Yes, the way to the cross would be difficult beyond measure. Yes, the agony of the cross would be horrendous beyond description. But never would Jesus turn His back on His heavenly Father and bow down to Satan— never! Using words that we would all do well to remember Jesus cuts down this temptation by saying, “Away from me Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
While this portion of Scripture may be very familiar to many of us this is also an absolutely beautiful portion of Scripture for us to turn to on the First Sunday in Lent, my friends. The season of Lent very clearly reminds us that Jesus’ ultimate destination is none other than the cross on Calvary’s hill. As our Savior resolutely makes His way to Calvary He willingly enters into this battle in the desert. Why is Jesus so willing to engage our greatest and most powerful enemy? Our other two Scripture readings for today answer that question for us. Our Old Testament lesson (Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17; 3:1-7) reminded us that when Satan first initiated this spiritual war with our first parents Adam and Eve— Satan won. Adam and Eve gave in to Satan’s temptations. They rebelled against God. The result of their disobedience is that sin and death are now a part of our world. The result of their rebellion is that sin and death are now an unavoidable part of humanity’s reality. In our Epistle lesson for this morning (Romans 5:12-19) Paul clearly emphasizes that Jesus is the “Second Adam.” As the Second Adam representing the entire human race Jesus also went toe-to-toe and face-to-face with our enemy Satan. Thankfully, Jesus did not rebel against the heavenly Father. Thankfully, Jesus did not give into any of Satan’s temptations. Thankfully, the result of Jesus’ perfect obedience is that justification and eternal salvation is freely given to everyone who puts their faith and trust in Him!
One of the most important truths that we can take home with us from this text then is not only that our Jesus willingly entered into this battle in the desert, but our Jesus clearly and convincingly won this battle! In fact, my friends, the writer to the Hebrews puts all of this into an even greater perspective when he tells us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are— yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). This battle did not end here in the desert. This battle not only continued for the next three years but this battle then culminated right there— on the cross of Calvary’s hill. We can hear the tempting voice of Satan coming from the mouths of Israel’s religious leaders as they stood at the foot of Jesus’ cross and sneered, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God’” (Matthew 27:42-43).
Thank God that Jesus was willing to battle Satan in our place. Thank God that Jesus won that battle. Thank God that Jesus’ victory has become your victory purely by grace through faith in what Jesus has done for you! At the very same time, however, recognize that Satan has not given up the fight. Even though Satan lost the battle here in the desert, even though Satan lost the battle on Calvary Satan is still battling. He is battling for your soul, for the souls of your children, for the souls of your grandchildren and for the souls of every single one of your brothers and sisters in the faith. Since Satan could not defeat Jesus by tempting Jesus to sin, Satan’s goal now is to drag as many of us down to hell with him as he can. And Satan’s tactics have not changed, my friends.
Do you have any personal weaknesses? Guess what! Satan not only knows exactly what your personal weakness is, but Satan tailors the temptations that he brings against you in the hopes that he can strike your “Achilles’ heel”! Do you have a tendency to put yourself into situations that are spiritually dangerous— foolishly thinking that you are “strong enough” to handle it, foolishly thinking that even if you do get singed by the fire God will come to your rescue before you get completely burned? Do you get a twinkle in your eye when people place before you the pleasures and the prosperity of this sinful world? No, my friends, Satan has not given up this battle. In fact, in some ways he has only gotten better at waging his battle against us!
Martin Luther once wrote, “Satan has gathered experiences from the very beginning of the world and has been made more cunning by daily practice. If he finds it impossible to overcome us by the greatness of the temptation, he tries to overcome us by persevering until he has wearied us…Such is the supreme wickedness of Satan. In order to overcome it we must fortify our soul with this and other passages of Holy Scripture that, as he does not weary of assaulting us, we may not weary of persevering in prayer and in hope until we gain the victory” (What Luther Says, page 1347).
Note how clearly Luther reminds us of where and how to gain the victory. Just as Jesus cut down Satan’s temptations by using the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, so also that same sword has been given to us. This sword is just as sharp and just as powerful now as it was in the desert. But ultimately, our victory is assured only when we look to Christ alone for our strength and our salvation. If we try to battle Satan on our own we will most certainly lose. If we stay close to the side of our Lord and Savior the victory is already won! The cross on Calvary’s hill proves it!
Just as certain passages have helped me through some difficult times in my life so also I am sure that you have certain passages that have helped you as well. If not, there is no better time than today to find such passages and commit them to memory. Like Jesus our Lenten journey this year has one destination— Calvary. Like Jesus we will be battling Satan all along the way. Therefore my encouragement to you is to stay close to your victorious Savior, my friends. Stay close to your Brother Jesus so that through His victorious Word you will always have the comfort and the confidence of knowing that the battle has already been won! As Jesus proclaims to you from the cross, “It is finished!”
To God be the glory!
Amen