BE VIGILANT; THE TEMPTER IS STILL HERE

On this first Sunday of Lent, the gospel opens up with the scenario just after the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. It is baffling that Jesus who at his baptism was declared the ‘Beloved Son of God’ would soon be handed over the devil in the wilderness to be tempted. He who experienced the bloom and freshness of the flowing water of Jordan was now at the arid ground of the wilderness for a challenge from the devil.

On this day that many people describe as the ‘Temptation Sunday’, the experience of Jesus between the Jordan River and the wilderness reveals something to us. We too are on a journey of life where we switch from one experience to the other. We could be joyful today and become tempted tomorrow. The joy of abundance we feel at some moments of our lives can easily be upturned by other negative challenges that suddenly come our way. Even for us who are devoted and committed Christians, troubles and challenges can come our way as a way of testing our love for God and our total dependence upon Him. Jesus who is the ‘Beloved Son of God’ was tempted by the devil and we too who are loved by God can still be tempted by the devil even today. Let us then keep our eyes opened during these days of Lent; for the tempter is still here.

The encounter between Jesus and the devil also tells us that we too will encounter the devil especially in these of Lent. We Christians ought not to fear the devil or be afraid of his antics and deceptions, provided we truly love God and hold onto His teachings. A commentator once observed that all temptations come to us in three categories: ‘The love of the flesh’, ‘The lust of the eye’ and ‘The pride of life’. Incidentally, these are the three episodes in the temptation story as presented to us today by Luke the evangelist. The love of the flesh was the focus of Satan when he tempted Jesus to ‘turn stone into a loaf’; since He (Jesus) was hungry. By so doing, Satan was suggesting that there was something wrong with the Father’s love since His “Beloved Son” was hungry.

Satan forgot that in the years when Israel hungered in the wilderness and God sent them bread from heaven and that surely Jesus could still use His divine power to feed Himself and save His life. This is why when our Lord quoted Deut. 8:3, He put the emphasis on the word ‘Man’ and this has a theological significance. As the ‘Eternal Son of God’, He had power to do anything; but as the ‘humble Son of Man’, He had authority to do only that which the Father willed. Surely, it is better to be hungry in the will of God than satisfied out of the will of God. We all need bread for the body (Matt 6:11), but we must not live by physical bread alone. We also need food for the ‘inner person’ to satisfy our spiritual needs. This food is the Word of God (Ps. 119:103; Jer. 15:16; 1Pt. 2:2). As we read the Word and meditate on it, we receive spiritual health and strength for the ‘inner person’ and this enables us to obey the will of God.

Although Luke reverses the second and third temptations with his theological interest in Jerusalem, Luke’s second temptation which is the third in Matthew entails the ‘lust of the eyes’ (the world’s kingdom and glory). The Father had already promised to give the Son all the kingdoms of the world (Ps. 2:7-8) but first the Son had to suffer and die (Jn. 12:23-33; Rev. 5:8-10). What the devil wanted to do was to offer Jesus the glory of worldly kingdoms if He would worship him; thereby eliminating the necessity of His going to the cross. God’s pattern is to start with suffering and end with glory (1Pt. 5:10) while Satan’s pattern is to start with glory and end with suffering. Satan wants us to sacrifice the eternal for the temporary and take the ‘easy way’. Satan has always wanted to take God’s place and receive worship but Jesus quoted Deut. 6:13 reminding him that whatever we worship, we will serve. Service to the Lord is true freedom but service to Satan is a terrible bondage.

The Lukan third temptation of Jesus was about ‘the pride of life’. The parapet of the temple of Jerusalem where this took place was probably a high point at the southeast corner of the temple, far above the Kidron Valley. Satan can tempt us even in sacred places; at the highest part of the holy temple! Satan can even quote Scriptural passages to our hearts to entice us to sin. Notice in this last temptation Satan, using isolated Scriptural passages, gave Jesus assurances of protection and safety. He isolated verses from their contexts and passages from the total revelation of Scripture just to entice the Saviour to sin. Yes, when a child of God is in the will of God, he can claim the Father’s protection and care. However, if he wilfully gets into trouble and expects God to rescue him, then he is tempting God. We ‘tempt’ God when we ‘force’ Him or dare Him to act contrary to His Word. It is a dangerous thing to try God’s patience; for, as Nicias defines it in the in ‘Laches’ of Plato, courage is the knowledge of ‘what is to be dreaded and what is to be dared’.

Let this inform our resolve to be more vigilant and cautious of the temptations of the devil as we journey through these forty days of Lent. Jesus came out of the wilderness a victor but Satan did not give up. He has not given up on us either; for he continually prowls round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1Pt. 5:8). This is why those words from Andrew Bonar remain a true guide to us: “Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle”.