Baptized, Tempted, Forgiven, Protected

Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God, our Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ, who overcame sin and temptation for us.

We’re going talk about how the baptized children of God are kept and protected during times of temptation: Baptized, Tempted, Forgiven, Protected.

Jesus began His ministry in water of the Jordan River, just as we begin our life with Him in the waters of holy Baptism. 

Jesus was baptized, even though He had no sin to wash away. Instead, His baptism was His public anointing as the promised Messiah, sent by God. 

We see this as the Father identifies Jesus as His Son, and encourages Him, saying: This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

And at Jesus’ transfiguration, the Father would add to that: Listen to Him.

This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.

The words He will say to you are My words to you.

And the deeds He will do for you, are from Me, deeds from Heaven, deeds that will be an example for you, but more that, deeds that will save you, and words that will set you free. 

From the Jordan River, Jesus journeyed alone into the Judean wilderness, led by the Spirit, our Gospel says, leaving His disciples behind. 

What Jesus would do there, He had to do alone… no one could do it for Him, nor with Him… the fate and salvation of the world rested on His shoulders alone… quite a responsibility. 

Jesus alone had to resist the enticements and temptations of the great and ancient enemy of God and humanity, the old, Satanic foe, who has sworn to work us woe, as we sing in A Mighty Fortress.

Mark says in today’s Gospel: 12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Mark offers this very brief account of Jesus’ temptation. We have more detail in the other Gospels, and that’s a part of the beauty of having four Gospels: all put together, they paint a rich and complete picture of the life and ministry, and death and resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus being weak and vulnerable from fasting, and alone, the tempter threw the best, or worst, of his lies at Him… the original temptation, that the tempter himself, Satan had succumbed to, and that Adam and Eve had succumbed to, the temptation to misuse His power and abilities, to use them for selfish gain.

We’ve all succumbed to the same temptation, using ourselves, the human capabilities that we were created with for self-centered purposes… and for a selfish outcome, which is basically what sin is, selfishness.

But thanks be to God, we have a Savior who rescued us, and a baptism to wash us, to carry our sins and moral failures far away, and to give us a new day to walk with God.

To walk with God is to trust and follow His Word, which is our protection in every situation, each trouble and temptation we face in this life. 

Even fasting, in His hungry, weakened state, Jesus had the power of God’s Word to shield Him, to keep the devil’s lies from possessing His mind and penetrating into His heart, to stop Him on His mission to be the world’s salvation. 

The Tempter’s lies can’t stand up to the Word of God. Believing and using God’s Word, saying “It is written”, Jesus resisted the temptation to abuse His power.  

He tapped into a power far greater than the power of evil, the power of the Gospel, the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, for which the devil has no defense.

When Satan tried to twist the words of Scripture to deceive and mislead Jesus, Jesus corrected the devil’s lies with the true meaning and right use of God’s Word.

2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed, His very, inerrant, inspired Word for us all. It’s that high regard and trust for God’s Word that keeps us from giving in to worldly deception.  

There’s so much deception in this fallen world; it’s hard to know what you can and can’t believe and depend on. 

In overcoming the devil’s lies with the truth of Scripture, Jesus clearly shows us that God’s Word can be trusted completely in every situation. We can depend on it to protect us from the devil’s lies, and his malicious intent.

In Eden, the devil convinced Adam and Eve that they couldn’t trust God. He’s been doing the same thing ever since: “Don’t believe what God has to say to you in His Word, you know better than He does.”, the devil whispers in our ear.

Or even more, to tempt us that God has nothing to say to us, that Scripture is just the opinions of ignorant or superstitous people in days long gone, but it’s meaningless for humanity today… or of little or moderate value at best.

But Paul tells Timothy that Scripture is, able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  

The ultimate wisdom, the most impacting, longest lasting, everlasting wisdom is in Scripture for us, God’s very words to us and for us, to do for us what no other words can. God’s Word is irreplaceable… let us always trust and treasure it.

Without the Word we are at the mercy of the one who has no mercy, the devil, who has no love in him at all.

With the Word of God to make us wise for life with Christ, we have a shield and sword, as Ephesians 6 says, to protect us from the flaming arrows of the evil one, his lies and temptations.

Through His Word for us, our God, as Psalm 46 says, is our fortress, our refuge and strength, our constant help in times of trouble. 

In the hymn, Today Your Mercy Call Us, we sing: when all things seem against us, to drive us to despair, we know one gate is open, one ear will hear our prayer.

While the devil may be whispering his lies in one ear, with both ears, let us hear God speaking the truth to us through His Word. 

And let us be assured that with both ears, Jesus hears, as we carry every need to Him in prayer…

… as we sing in What a Friend We Have in Jesus, Have we trials and temptations, Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer.

James says in today’s Epistle: 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 

Jesus remained steadfast for us under trial, not just as He was tempted in the wilderness, but as He was tempted throughout His entire life, and during His ministry, and most of all, as He suffered and died for us.

For us He was baptized and tempted, and He prevailed. 

Although we’re baptized in His name, and our faith is in Him, yet in our weakness, we sometimes give in to temptation… we sin daily.

But thanks be to God, repenting and believing, receiving our Lord’s Absolution, we’re forgiven… 

… and receiving His body and blood, we’re strengthened to do better. 

Believing and abiding in His Word, holding on to that supreme and eternal truth that will someday obliterate all lies (how wonderful that will be in Heaven’s glory, no more lies and deception to have to sort through)…

… holding on in faith and confidence to God’s word of truth, we have His divine protection, to keep us from the evil sent to destroy us, and meant to rob us of all that Jesus won for us on the cross, and all the Holy Spirit has delivered to us in Baptism.

As our Lord has done all this for us, let us be there for one another, to help and encourage and protect and pray for each other in our times of trouble  and temptation.

As we face life’s trials and temptations, may God make us strong… in faith toward Him, and in love toward one another.

And at all times, may the peace of God that passes understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, who has overcome temptation and delivered us from evil. Amen.