The Blessings of Being Tested James 1:12-18; Genesis 22:1–18; Mark 1:9–15 

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

Our sermon theme is the Blessing of Being Tempted, based on our Epistle, 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.

Today, our First Sunday in Lent, we begin the journey to the cross with our Lord. 

His long and difficult road began right after the glory of His Baptism in the Jordan River, where He was revealed to be God’s only and dearly loved Son. 

The next thing Jesus did was to walk into the wilderness of Judea, to overcome sin and temptation for us. 

Jesus’ temptation was trying and painful for Him, but a blessing for us. In overcoming sin, Satan, and temptation, Jesus was at work, achieving our salvation.

More than 2000 years before Jesus was tempted in the Judean wilderness, Abraham was tempted on nearby Mount Moriah, where eventually the Temple of Jerusalem would be built.

Our Old Testament says, After these things God tested Abraham… He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”  So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac... and arose and went to the place  which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 

Already in this story, we have clues as to its ultimate purpose. 

It’s immediate purpose to test Abraham, and His love and loyalty to God above all else. It was a test Abraham needed, and that we all need in our walk with God. We all need to be tested and strengthened to keep our love and loyalty to God above everything else. Then, all other loyalties will align into their proper places. 

This right balance and arrangement of our priorities, is a blessing to our relationships and improves them, first with God, and then with others.   

Abraham proved that his faith was true, as he was resolute to trust God and follow through on His command to sacrifice Isaac. 

Abraham believed that God had a plan and knew what He was doing; that God wouldn’t have Abraham do anything wrong, or anything to cancel the promises He had already made to Abraham -- that from his line, the Messiah would be born; and in that way, Abraham would be the father of many, not genetically, but spiritually, many people from many nations who would follow Christ. 

As it turned out God knew exactly what He was doing in testing Abraham, just as He knows exactly what He’s doing when He tests our faith.  

God’s plan was not to sacrifice Abraham’s son, Isaac, but to many years later, sacrifice His Son, Jesus. So an angel stilled Abraham’s hand, and Isaac was spared. 

God said to Abraham, because you… have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore.

In this most challenging test in his life, Abraham showed the extent of his faith. And his faith was increased, as he saw God’s perfect plan coming to fruition. 

But if Abraham had not been tested, his faith and resolve to follow God would not have been strengthened, and he never would have received the blessing. This test of faith, resulted in Abraham trusting God and His plan for him all the more.

But there was an even greater thing happening. In this extraordinary way, much more impacting than just words alone would have been, in this heart-stopping real life story, God was promising that He would sacrifice His only Son for the world.

We see this is in the language God used. When talking to Abraham, He said, “your only son, Isaac, whom you love”, just as God would sacrifice His only and beloved Son, Jesus.

Also in the story are the words, “the third day”. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 

God intentionally did this when Abraham was 3 days journey away being in sight of Moriah. The three day journey was symbolic of Jesus being in the tomb, and then rising on the third day. 

Also, the mountain where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, was where the temple would eventually be built, and countless sacrifices would be made over the centuries, all of them pointing to the perfect sacrifice of God’s Son on the cross.

After stopping Abraham from sacrificing his Isaac, God provided a ram caught in a thicket, for Abraham to sacrifice. That ram represented Jesus, the Lamb of God, who as John the Baptist declared, would take away the sins of the world.

So it really wasn’t that sheep taking Isaac’s place, it was Jesus, who took Isaac’s and Abraham’s and your and my and the world’s place, dying for all our sins, that we might be spared, and live in God’s love forever.

It’s so amazing to see how God’s plan to save the world was organized and carried out in such detail, already thousands of years before Jesus died and rose. And as we said, He didn’t just promise it in words, but in this real life, dramatic event.

Every bit as suspenseful and impacting, was what happened about 20 or 30 miles away, and 2000 years later, as Jesus was sorely tempted in the Judean desert. 

Fasting 40 days, suffering from severe hunger, Jesus allowed Satan to tempt Him, first tempting Him to give in to His hunger and break his fast by turning stones into bread. 

Jesus resisted with God’s Word: Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Jesus reminded himself that the spiritual is greater than the physical.

Then He resisted Satan’s supreme temptation, that if Jesus would only honor him, Satan would relinquish his deathly deeds in the world and bow out. 

He was suggesting to Jesus that if he would do it the devil’s way, Jesus wouldn’t have to suffer and die to redeem the world, because Satan would just withdraw his evil influence.

Jesus recognized it for the lie it was, and told the devil to “be gone!”. 

Matthew tells us that angels then came and ministered to Jesus, restoring Him to health, so that He could go back to Judea and Galilee to fulfill His ministry.

In overcoming the devil’s temptations, Jesus showed Himself to be God’s Son. He resisted sin and the devil’s temptations all the way to Calvary, where he died to win our forgiveness for all the times we’ve sinned and failed to resist the devil’s temptations.

Now, risen above all suffering and temptation, Jesus is our power to not fall prey to the devil’s lies, and the world’s deadly schemes that would tear us away from our Savior. Jesus is our help when we fail, our grace when we repent, and our wisdom to learn from our mistakes.

That we might learn to be strong in Him, God allows our faith to be tested. At the time, those tests of faith may be unpleasant, but when we go through them with God, they ultimately bless and strengthen us in many ways.

I remember back in school days, testing week. It was Iowa basic back then. I think most schools use Map now, M-A-P, Measure of Academic Progress. Testing week may not have been particularly fun, but it did reveal what we had learned, and it kind of solidified it, burned it into our minds, a bit.

Sometimes in life, we have to go through seasons of testing, extended periods of time where our lives may look a bit like Job’s, with one trouble after another, all trying to consume us. 

But your faithful, mighty God won’t let you be consumed by your troubles, not when you look up to Him with love and trust, as Abraham did. 

God, who has a plan for your salvation, also has a plan to help you through your troubles. 

Through His Word and Sacraments, His Spirit comforts our hearts and solidifies our faith, to have the strength and courage we need to endure life’s troubles, and resist Satan’s pesky, persistent temptations. 

Through the fellowship and support of His dear people, His Church, God will comfort and assure you that you’re not going through your trials alone, there are many to love and help and pray for you.

With God’s powerful love at work in you, you will pass the test and keep the faith; and, James says in our sermon text, receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

So rather than seeing the troubles and tests of life as things that drain and destroy us, let us see them as things through which God will strengthen and bless us, and work His perfect plan for us.

By God’s grace, may you always pass the test and never fall away, but remain steadfast, faithful and true to your dear and loving Savior, who suffered all for you, and prevailed.

And may God’s peace, which passes understanding, guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus our Lord, who passed the test for us, and is forever faithful and true. Amen.