The Greatest Temptation

A Sermon preached on Lent I February 26, 2023 at St. Augustine’s, WI and St. Christoph, MZ

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11

On the first Sunday in Lent, we always hear the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, this year in Matthew’s version. We have great combination of readings today. The story of the first temptation in the Garden of Eden because of which Adam and Eve are driven out of paradise and sent into the wilderness. The story of Jesus’ temptations, which he – the second Adam – resists. And, parked between the two, we have Paul’s interpretation of how Sin first came into the world through Adam and was defeated by Christ: “For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)

Let’s clear up some myths first. The Genesis story has often been used/abused to place the blame for Sin solely on Eve, and through her on all women. They have been considered to be the bearers of Eve's guilt and so the first woman's conduct in the fall is the primary reason for a universal, timeless, subordinate relationship to the man! No! Eve was not the temptress, the serpent was! And Adam and Eve were clearly in this together. Eve may have done the talking and had the first bite, but “her husband was with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6) without resistance, objection or protest! You will also note that Paul places the blame solely on Adam: “As sin came into the world through one man.” (Romans 5:12) He does not mention Eve at all (which is a problem in itself). And sorry, there was no apple – all we know is that the tree from which the fruit came was “good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.” (Genesis 3:6) Another good reason, by the way, not to judge things by appearances!

Turning now to Jesus’ temptation in the desert – no apples here either! Matthew does not make a connection with the story of the temptation of Adam and Eve. Instead, Jesus' testing recalls that of Israel in the wilderness, though as Matthew emphasizes Jesus, unlike Israel, passed his test. The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, just as God had guided God’s people in the wilderness. Jesus quotes three times from Deuteronomy, all of them from commandments that Israel had failed to obey during their long trek. So, rather than Jesus being a second Adam, Matthew wants us to think of Jesus as the true heir of Israel. But it is the same idea as Paul’s. Jesus is sent by God to redeem the past, to cure and to heal past transgressions, and to release us from the effects of sin – both individual and collective. He establishes a renewed relationship between God and God’s children – either as a second Adam or as a new Israel.

Jesus heals the past by reliving it, he heals the world by being part of it, but without repeating our mistakes. As the Letter to the Hebrews (4:15) says: “but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.”

Jesus’ temptations are not an accident. “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil,” (Matthew 4:1) God sent him there! Both the fasting for forty days and forty nights, and the temptation are part of his preparation.  Fasting – as many people do during Lent – is a way of focusing on God, the hunger and the lack act as a constant, physical reminder. And Jesus was – with the exception of the devil of course – alone. During his ministry Jesus would often withdraw to be alone in prayer and meditation.

The temptations were also part of his preparation. What does it mean to be the Son of God? What does it mean to be equally human and divine? The devil invites him to act according to various worldly expectations for the role of Messiah. If you have such power, then surely you can also use it for personal gain and to satisfy your own needs. That won’t do any harm. If you are the Son of God, nothing can harm you. But why don’t you just check to make sure by throwing yourself off this tower? If you are the Son of God, you can rule this world, now, by yourself, you don’t need to wait – think of all the good you can do!

But then Jesus would not be the Son of God in whom in John’s words (1:18) God is made known. His power and mission would be corrupted. And so, anticipating many of the debates that he will have with those who are also sure that they know God’s will, Jesus refuses each temptation with a passage from Scripture.

Each temptation also anticipates an aspect of Jesus’ ministry. He refuses to use his divine powers to feed himself. But is willing to use them to feed others, both physically (the 5000) and spiritually: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)

He refuses to test God by putting himself in danger, and yet when it is necessary for his mission, he uses his divine powers to calm the seas (Matthew 8:26) or to slip through a threatening crowd (Luke 4:30).  But ultimately, and in obedience to his mission, he goes to the cross to die – where, echoing the devil, those who passed by mock him saying “Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:40) God does deliver him, by his resurrection, and through him delivers us.

And finally, counter to for example Judas’ expectations, Jesus was not a political or military messiah, who would drive the Romans out by force: "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest" (John 18:36). Instead of receiving “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour,” (Matthew 4:8) Jesus inaugurates the Kingdom of God, which is built on the values of the beatitudes such as simplicity, righteousness, justice, mercy, and peace. Jesus does not just resist the temptations. He turns them round; he transforms them into something good!

For me there is a certain tension in the 40-day season of Lent. Learning self-discipline is good, some of the things we manage to do without during Lent may well be worth doing without permanently, some of the practices we adopt, for example on the journey to zero waste, are well worth keeping, and many of the Lenten disciplines we take on will improve our spiritual health and bring us into a closer relationship with God.

But, we can be tempted to believe that by fasting - giving something up - and then resisting the temptation to eat or drink whatever we have decided to quit, we can transform ourselves. And we must not be tempted to believe that we can do this on our own …. Like Adam and Eve who thought that by eating the fruit they would become like God, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:5) The greatest temptation would be to turn from the path of following Jesus Christ. He resisted the devil for us, he died for us, he rose again for us, he is “mighty to save,” and only through him do we “receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness.”  

Amen.