Tempted As We Are

Two weeks ago at Mosaic, Brandon discussed something that I've wanted to blog about ever since - but you know how our schedule is and how I never blog as much as I would like. We talked about how Jesus Christ was tempted in Matthew 4:1-11. Most people have reduced this event to a mere child's Sunday School lesson with a cartoon devil and a pristine Jesus. Maybe the real battle began in His thoughts. Isn't that how the enemy tempts us - not blatantly, but kind of sneaky-like?Let's look at it again.

Jesus has been in the desert without food for 40 days and 40 nights. He was hungry - no doubt. Verses 3 & 4 say, "And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God's Son, command these stones to be made [loaves of] bread. But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." What is the real temptation here, is it merely hunger? I think it's deeper than that - it is a temptation to fulfill human need by His own hand. Basically it's that instant gratification thing - if you see it, you want it, then get it! But Jesus knows that simply gratifying our base needs is not the answer. It does not sustain us. We have true life when we realize that our real food and our real drink is every word that comes forth from the mouth of God - relationship with Him! Look at Mary and Martha for a minute. Martha was busy trying to gratify those base needs, but Jesus commends Mary who chose the greater part - simply finding out what Jesus had to say to sustain her and having relationship with Him. We can do a lot of things and some of them good things! But what sustains us is our communion with God.

Verses 5-7 say, "Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on a turret (pinnacle, gable) of the temple sanctuary. And he said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will give His angels charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written also, You shall not tempt, test thoroughly, or try exceedingly the Lord your God." Here the devil considers what Jesus has just said and then tries to tempt Jesus using the word of God! But he twists it and perverts the meaning. Again, the real issue here is not to get Jesus to kill Himself or to question Jesus' power. The enemy is appealing to a deeper need here. The temple is a busy place filled with lots of people - lots of influential religious people. To have such a display from Jesus as Him throwing Himself down and the angels rescuing Him would surely have proved once and for all that Jesus was Who He said He was. Everyone would have seen for themselves. But Jesus knew that simply satisfying His ego wouldn't accomplish what He needed to accomplish. So many times we are hell-bent on proving ourselves or stroking our ego. We will go to any extreme not only to satisfy our base needs, but to feel good about ourselves as we do it.

Verses 8-11 say, "Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them. And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. Then the devil departed from Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him." Wow, who of us would be so strong to see all the glitter and what appears to be glamour of riches and earthly power and not sell his soul to have it? Again, the real issue here is not having all these things - Jesus knew that He already owned it all. The devil could not give Him any more power or glory than He already possessed. In fact, He probably stifled a giggle at the presumptuousness of the enemy. The real issue here is that the devil wanted Jesus to opt out of the cross. Wouldn't it just be easier, Jesus, to do things my way - give Yourself all that You want, prove to everyone Who You really are, then rule and reign here on this earth bathed in all glory and power - oh yeah, and give me the credit. Jesus knew better. He knew that the only way He could accomplish God's awesome plan for creation was to rise to a higher level - walk a higher road - a road of self-sacrifice not selfishness. Worship is reserved for God alone. This relationship with God is not always paved with the sort of things we would like. Our sin nature longs for the easy road of instant gratification, ego boosting, and temporal glory and earthly power.

Let's compare these episodes of temptation with another scripture found in 1 John 2:15-16 which says, "Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one's own resources or in the stability of earthly things] - these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself]." We again reduce this passage to a list of "no-no's" or literal items we cannot have or like. I think it's deeper than that - it's the issue of trust and relationship. Instead of worrying about having every little thing that we want when we want it, find out what God wants for you through His word - concentrate on fulfilling His will for your life and not your own agenda. Instead of worrying about our reputation and what people think of us or whether they believe us or in us, realize that it's all about Him and not about you. Realize that there are bigger things going on than just you - pour yourself out for others instead of clawing and scraping to elevate yourself. And finally instead of feeling safe and secure because of your own works here on this earth, take the risk and trust in what Jesus has done for you - then live a life free from the taskmaster. Find your freedom in Christ and then set about to do His will on this earth - realize that you can give absolutely everything - every penny, every second, every dream, every desire - and still in the end gain it all - eternal life with Jesus. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where thieves can't steal and moths can't destroy and rust can't corrupt. Is what you're hanging on to really so important? Give it away.

All this is simply to say that when we look at Jesus' temptation, we see that He really is acquainted with our sorrows and our grief - He really was tempted in the same way we are yet without sin. He overcame and we can too - by His blood and by the word of our testimony. I don't pretend to know everything about this subject - these are simply my attempts to hash out meanings and find inspiration. I hope they encourage you, too! Have a great weekend and we'll talk more next week!