The Temptation of More and the Blessing of More Luke 4:1-13; Deut. 26:1-11; Romans 10:8b-13

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

Wednesday evening, we heard John the Baptist bear witness to Christ, that he saw the Holy Spirit descend and remain on Him at His Baptism.

Having been baptized, and having heard His Father’s blessing, the first thing Jesus did was to go alone into the wilderness to fast for 40 days, and then to be tempted by our formidable foe.

With Jesus hungry and alone, making himself a vulnerable target, the devil seized the opportunity, as he does with us, hitting us hard with temptation when we’re most vulnerable.

What a prize it would be, what a trophy to indulge his vanity, for the devil to be able to bring down God’s own Son; and bring down everything with Him so he could gloat over it all.

He did his best, or maybe we should say, his worst, but it wasn’t near enough. The devil really had no chance in facing down God’s Son.

How irrational of him to think he could ever overcome the one and only almighty God. But that’s vanity: vanity leads us to do and believe crazy things.  

We’re seeing it right now in the tragedy in Ukraine, because of one man’s vanity, and his thirst for more power and more kingdom.

How ironic it is, that the One Man who had all the power and the glory, didn’t covet it, but set it aside to suffer and die for us.

And then to pick it up, and rise and rule for us, that He might send His Spirit and pour His heavenly blessings upon us.

The devil, hating everyone and everything, as he always does, was determined to not let that happen. 

So he went into the wildness, to try to subjugate God’s Son unto himself. What ambition, and how misguided.

Our Gospel says, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days. He did not eat anything during those days. When they came to an end, he was hungry. 

As weak and weary as a man could be, in that most vulnerable condition, Jesus allowed the devil to engage Him. 

We might think, “Jesus, run away; come back to fight another day, when you’re stronger.”.

But even at His weakest, Jesus was stronger than sin and Satan. Paul said, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” When in our weakness we depend on God, He empowers us.  

The Devil said to [Jesus], “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

Prove that you’re who you say you are; turn stones to bread and I might believe, and that you might relieve your suffering. Satan was never going to believe.

How tempted Jesus who was starving must have been. 

I know how hard it is to just give up sweets for 40 days; how tempted I was looking at those deserts on the table at our Soup Supper the other night.

Jesus stood firm; He had nothing to prove to Satan. 

4 Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”

What good does it do to feed the body, just to starve the soul. 

God wants us to provide for the body, but not at the expense of the soul, but along with the soul, with the needs of the soul coming first.

Adam and Eve gave into temptation and ate the fruit to the ruin of their souls. 

Jesus resisted, for the good of His soul, and my soul, and your soul. 

God calls us to hunger and thirst for righteousness; to want more of what we need most, His truth, His love, His mercy -- all the blessings He gives us through His Word and Sacraments.

Next came the appeal to His vanity. It worked against Adam and Eve, and it was vanity that misled the devil, so tried with Jesus. 

He tempted Him with more power, more kingdom, and more glory, all to better feed His vanity; but as the devil would find out, Jesus had no vanity to feed.

Won’t it be great; leaving in that Kingdom where there is no vanity. 

Next, the Devil took him up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 

Imagine the sight of all the great kingdoms and civilizations of the earth flashing by in a moment of time.

 6 The Devil told him, “I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, because it has been entrusted to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. 7 So, if you worship me, it will all be yours.”

What a liar! How naïve did he think Jesus was. Jesus doesn’t fall to the devil’s tricks like we sometimes do.

None of it was Satan’s to give; it was all God’s. It already belonged to Jesus.

This was a temptation of more, but also a temptation of less: less suffering, less trouble, less opposition and persecution.

“Worship me, and, I promise, I’ll bow out. Just think of how much easier it will be for you, without me hounding you every step along the way to the cross.”   

8 Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

Jesus wasn’t falling for it. 

He wasn’t afraid to suffer and die for the world, to die and rise and make His Church, a spiritual Kingdom of grace and salvation; He wasn’t jealous for worldly power and glory; He didn’t covet a political Kingdom.

When the devil tempts us to be vain and selfish, as he does every day, let us not fall for the lie; vanity feeds the ego, and destroys the love. 

The more vain we are, the harder we are to love. The more we want to be worshipped and praised by others, the less glory and praise we give to God. 

How wonderful will be that world to come, where there is no vanity, only love.

When we do succumb to vanity, let us be humble to repent, not proud to persist; let us be grateful to be forgiven, and embrace God’s power to make ourselves less, rather than to promote and puff ourselves up.   

The devil had one more trick to try. 

 9 The Devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here, 10 because it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you. 11 And, they will lift you up with their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

This was a temptation for Jesus to abuse His power.

The devil always abuses his power; we sometimes abuse ours. Jesus has more than any of us; He has all power and He never abuses it.

The 19th century historian and philosopher, John Acton said that with great power, comes great corruption. 

That certainly has been the case for some leaders in the history of our world, perhaps many. 

No matter how much power we may have, we all abuse it to some extent; and we all need pardon for it.

Jesus never abuses His power because His power is holy, and He is benevolent. 

On the cross, Jesus was mocked by those who called for Him to use His power to come down. It was a last vain attempt by the devil to make Jesus sin.

As Jesus didn’t allow the devil to goad Him into abusing His power in the wilderness, so He didn’t allow His enemies to goad Him into abusing it on the cross. 

Let us not be teased and goaded into sin. We have nothing to prove to the world, just a witness of the Gospel to share. 

We don’t need the world’s approval; we need our Father’s blessing, through His Son.  

Jesus resisted temptation; He set His power aside, and died, that we might live. 

Then in holy power He rose, and ascended, and sent His Spirit to be our power to believe. In power He rules for us, and in power, He will return for us. 

Then will be the time for Him to reveal His power and glory for all to see. 

When temptation comes our way, as it does every day, let us look to the One who knew no sin; who resisted, that He might remain innocent to die for us, and win our life and forgiveness.

When we stumble, as we repent, He forgives us and sets us back on our feet, to walk with Him, and with His help, to serve in His name.

And as we walk and serve with Him, the peace of God that passes understanding, will guard our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, who resisted all temptation and saved us. Amen.