Ready for the Test

Matthew 4:1-11

Are you ready for temptation?
Jesus is.

Jesus knows what’s going to happen in his 40 days of wilderness. And he has a plan for that.

At least, that seems to be the way Matthew tells the story.

Immediately after Jesus is baptized and publicly recognized as the Son of God, Matthew tells us he is launched by God’s Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil, the deceiver.

Three gospel writers tell this story of the Spirit taking Jesus to the wilderness, and only Matthew tells us that it’s specifically for the purpose of this encounter with the devil.

And only in Matthew do we see Jesus dismiss the devil when he’s done – and see the devil obey. “Go away, Satan!” Jesus says; and the tester promptly goes.

It’s as though you or I got to set the conditions for an important job interview, or a qualifying exam. As if we went into it knowing maybe not the questions we’ll be asked, but exactly what we need to accomplish in our responses. And we get to decide when we’re done.

I’m not saying this makes it easy for Jesus in the wilderness (or for you or me), but it makes me curious about just why Jesus would do this; why Matthew tells us the story this way.
And I think there are two reasons: first, that Jesus chooses this, Matthew uses this, specifically to reveal Jesus. To show us what kind of Son of God he really is; how he’s connected to God, how he can lead and save us.

The other reason I believe Jesus does this, and that Matthew tells the story this way, is to give us a model. Jesus resists temptations by relying on the Word of God; reveals that his strength and his identity are grounded in his relationship to God. So we can learn to use those same tools to ground our own strength and identity, to resist evil when evil comes looking for us.

Each time the tester challenges Jesus to prove himself as Son of God – by miraculous power, spectacular protection, or the rule of all the earth – Jesus models for us how we are supposed to act: by letting God be God; leaning into God’s resources instead of our own; trusting God and following God’s commandments.

Each time, Jesus quotes scripture. Quotes the commandments and advice that Moses gives to God’s people on the threshold of the promised land:
Worship the Lord your God; serve only God.

Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

One does not live by bread alone, but by every word from the mouth of God.

This is not about how to earn our way into God’s favor, but about how to live in the promised land; how to live in that place where all we need to thrive – and more – is already provided by God. To constantly depend on God in gratitude and trust, not depend on ourselves or on alternatives to God.

What makes Jesus the Son of God is that in his humanity, in the same imperfect and stressful world we live in, he lives completely in the kingdom of God, even in this wilderness that looks like the opposite of the promised land. And invites us – shows us how – to do the same.

When you and I meet temptation; when we encounter the subtle or blatant evil and deception that tries to separate us from our trust in God, Jesus invites us to double down on that trust.
When the world presents us with anxiety and fear; pressures us to succeed at all costs, to be just a little richer, a little more admired, comfortable, secure, Jesus invites us to place all our own resources in God’s hands and live as though we are already in the land of promise where we don’t need any more at all. To live in our certainty that God has already provided all we need to thrive, even when we’re getting our noses rubbed in our hunger, our fears, our desires, and the utter inadequacies of this world.

Living in the land of promise while we’re in the modern wilderness isn’t necessarily easy to do.
It may be particularly hard when the news is full of our fears of death and the unknown; of weakness and insecurity (in the form, say, of a new pandemic virus).  Or it may be easy for you to face a virus with full trust in God, but security in retirement, or success in school and work, the responsibilities and demands of everyday life, feel like things God can’t help with.

Whatever it is that is tempting us to rely on ourselves, or put our trust in something other than God, Jesus in the wilderness reminds us that what ultimately and primarily feeds us, protects us, and guides us is our worship of God, our trust in God, and the Word of God. These are what we need to meet temptation and evil; to be prepared for the test that reveals our selves.

The practices of Lent – the things we take up or give up – are meant to strengthen our worship, our trust, and our groundedness in God’s Word.  So if taking up a service to others or a new form of prayer make you proud of your own accomplishments, it may be time to give up coffee instead and really feel your dependence. If giving up chocolate or soda is an exercise in your own willpower, maybe it’s time to take up Bible Study instead, and lean into God’s will; God’s story instead of your own.

In fact, Jesus models for us today that the life-giving Word of God is the place where our life in the land of promise starts; in the word that feeds us more than bread and provides the firm foundation of the worship and trust that protect us from other temptations.

Episcopalians aren’t generally as well trained to quote scripture as first-century rabbis like Jesus. But we do need to know what Word of God grounds us, what we live by.

I tend to lean into phrases from the Psalms –“The Lord is my light and salvation, whom then shall I fear?” –

and Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

 “Rejoice in the Lord always…The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer…with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God…”

I lean into those because they trigger a welling-up of peace and trust, and remind me that God conquers fear and anxiety, and is just waiting for me to bring my needs to God.

And Jesus’ own command to love our neighbors as ourselves keeps my priorities straight.

Maybe for you, it’s another promise or assurance in scripture – that God is with us in the valley of the shadow; that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God; that the poor will receive the kingdom of God; that a mustard-seed of faith can move mountains – that protects your heart from evil. 

Maybe it’s another commandment of Jesus: “Love one another as I have loved you; take up your cross; ask, seek, and knock; feed my sheep…” that grounds you and shapes your decision making.

If you already know what word of God resonates within you, contains your deepest longings and protects you from your fears, lean into that this Lent.

And if you don’t know what it is for you, now is the time to learn, the time to dive into the Word of God and find it. Lent is the practice wilderness in which we find and renew in ourselves that trust in the Word of God that feeds, protects, and awes us, so that we are rooted and grounded in God.

So that we are prepared for temptation and it has no power over us: so we are ready for the test that reveals God’s work within us,

like Jesus, with Jesus,

today and always.