Mar 9, 2014  First Sunday in Lent

Matthew 4:1-11 (The Message)

1 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. 2 Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, 3 which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: "Since you are God's Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread." 4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth." 5 For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, 6 "Since you are God's Son, jump." The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: "He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone." 7 Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: "Don't you dare test the Lord your God." 8 For the third test, the Devil took him on the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth's kingdoms, how glorious they all were. 9 Then he said, "They're yours - lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they're yours." 10 Jesus' refusal was curt: "Beat it, Satan!" He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness." 11 The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus' needs. Teaching and Healing
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Jesus was tempted.  His temptation was real.  It was not a game he was playing.  He was truly human which means he was temptable.  His temptation was necessary in his human journey as the Son of God.

His temptation was for you and me.  It reminds us that we too will be tempted and we can overcome, with his help.  We too have to struggle with wanting bread more then the bread of life; wanting to have it easy rather then face the difficulties of life; wanting to have it all and even be god rather then live as His children in His Kingdom; as servants not masters.

We live in a fallen world; we are a fallen race.  We are temptable, for we want more then we have. We want to have it all and feel good; not be challenged to live as God would have us live.  C. S. Lewis reminds us that the devil is most pleased with good people who do no good.

God calls us to struggle to be all we can be as we struggle to stay steadfast in
God’s word.  God’s word which always places grace at the center of our living and calls us to be what only grace can enable us to be.

Jesus had limits; his limits were that he was not to use his divine sonship as a way to get out of being human when the going got tough.  Not turn stones to bread - jump off the temple, do what best serves himself even it it means worshipping the devil!

We would like to live without limits, thinking this would be paradise. But would it?

“Imagine a life without the experience of limits.  You could have wild strawberries whenever you wanted them!  Nothing would be inaccessible, nothing forbidden, nothing out of reach, no unfulfilled dreams or wishes, no ‘thus far and no farther!’.  But how could human beings under such conditions ever experience wonder, surprise, or gratitude?”     (Douglas John Hall, “God and Human Suffering, p. 58)

And where would life be without wonder, surprise or gratitude?