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Temptation

SCRIPTURE

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7  The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” 

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'” 
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
 
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Matthew 4:1-11 
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'” Jesus said to him, “Again it is 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; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'” Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Now and then I will offer a homily or sermon with a focus on critical study of scripture and/or theological concepts like sin or today …Temptation
There are three misinterpretations of the temptation of Christ story we read today from the Gospel according to Matthew.
1. I could find lots of sermons about this…the notion that temptation of Christ is here as a Call for us to withstand temptation just as Jesus did (we can do this by avoiding the deadly sins) – No- Jesus later teaches us to pray “lead us not into temptation”; we cannot withstand temptation-
2. Psychological Struggle – Jesus struggles with what it means to be God’s special agent… he has just come from his baptism and is struggling with being God’s son…
3. A story about Messianic Interpretation – what kind of Messiah will Jesus be (political, social, religious, etc.); for Matthew you can’t separate the three agendas, they are intertwined in who Jesus the Christ is.
We know Jesus’ status as Messiah, son of David, Son of God he’s the king to whom others come and worship;
he also presents himself as being in full alliance/allegiance to God

In Greek the word “to test” is the same as “to tempt”

What are we being told about in this Gospel account?
Jesus’ status is being tested not to determine if it is true or not;
Jesus IS God’s son;

what is being tested is “how will Jesus use his status”?
Will he use his status in the same way as the dominant culture (powers that be) – to enhance themselves
kings use power to protect themselves (Herod demonstrates this)

the devil embodies the power and status of the empire;
the devil is not only negotiating with Jesus,
if Jesus flunks the test and uses his power as other kings, we’re in trouble, because he is to save us from our sins;
if he is in negotiation to enhance himself, he won’t be able to fulfill the task;

4:1 “then Jesus was led into the wilderness/desert …” – reference to the Exodus story (God led you in the wilderness); Deut 8:2 “remember the long way the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness to test you …” (God was testing Israel during the 40 year period that they wandered in the wilderness);
“Forty” was a number commonly used to denote any long period of time.
the Israelites sojourned for 40 years in the wilderness;
Moses stayed alone on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights;
Elijah took 40 days to complete his journey to Mount Horeb
If you ever have a bible trivia question that involves a number— 40 would always be a good guess

let’s look at verses 3-4
“upon arriving, the tester said…” – the tempter/tester comes when Jesus is vulnerable (after 40 days and 40 nights of fasting);
(not 40 days of testing)
The tempter seeks to negotiate our vulnerabilities; not “if you are the son of God”…
the Greek reads “since you are the son of God”;

How will JC use his status?
People in high status use it first and foremost to satisfy their own needs. “Charity begins at home.”
“… turn these stones into loaves”
Later in Matthew 14 and 15 there is a reversal of this
Jesus multiplies the bread to feed others;
Matthew 26:26 Jesus’ body becomes the bread for others;
he refuses to turn the stones into bread for his own needs;
God can do it, but having the power and the status doesn’t mean automatically using the power and status;
instead Jesus – demonstrates his allegiance to scripture;
Life’s agenda is first determined by what comes out of God’s mouth. Not what goes into our mouths but what comes out of God’s mouth.

“.. then the devil takes him into the holy city … throw yourself down” – Jesus was tempted on the far margins of society;
now he is tempted at the cultic center or the temple;
People understood that God lives in the holy of holies;
the temple is the place of prayer;
“throw yourself down” – reference to God “has to protect God’s son” (just like God did when Jesus was a born);
Jesus uses scripture to fend off temptation and confront the notion that God’s allegiance is solely to protecting Jesus;
Jesus knows that divine promises cannot be turned into a divine guarantee;
“God guarantees” is a form of “law”;
God makes promises; promises require trust;
Duet 6 quotation (follows the Shema) – Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.* 5You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Shema involves respecting God’s ultimate status;
respect for God means we will not tempt God

“… then the devil takes him to a high mountain … worship me” –
this is the first of several important mountain scenes in Matthew’s gospel;
It is a climatic part of this story as the last of three; “then” and “if”s –
he offers the empires of the world and their glory “if” Jesus falls and worships;
the true power behind the empire is Satan;
The Devil isn’t looking for an equal – he looking for a worshipful minion;
The Devil wants ultimate lordship, to be the one who is to be worshipped;
notice the worship mentioned here is a deception – similar to Herod’s worship deception (tell me where the child is so I can go and worship him);
Jesus answers – he will be the agent of divine reign, not of a worldly/satanic reign;
God’s reign is opposite of what is the norm; its not about using status for self;
at the end, Jesus commands and names his adversary – Go Satan;
at the end of Matthew’s gospel story Jesus will be given all authority over heaven and earth,
but it will come from God in God’s own timing – it does not come through negotiations with rulers of this world, whether they be the dominant culture, the powers that be or Satan

“… angels come and serve him…” – Chapter 20:28 “the son of humanity came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as liberation”;
Jesus will use his status to serve God and God’s agenda.

So temptation:
The world tells us to follow…I need, I can, I get!
How do we use our baptismal status, our position as disciples of Christ, as Christians?
to whose agenda will we show allegiance?
We don’t do so by turning God’s agenda into guarantees;
we don’t treat God any less than God.
We don’t think – Jesus withstood temptation – we can do it too. No…no…no!
Remember the prayer Jesus taught us …“So lead us not into temptation.”
In Matthew’s version– “Deliver us from the evil one.”
We are the disciples…I, You, we will screw it up!
We have heard how they acted in Gethsemane (the disciples fell into temptation and fell asleep)
and we know what Jesus asked of them… what Jesus asks of us – “Watch and pray.”
I challenge us in the same way to…Watch and pray through this Lenten Journey… Amen

Resources: From a workshop I attended with the Rev Dr Richard Carlson of Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, PA

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