Temptations in the Desert

The encounter in this morning’s Gospel takes place just after Jesus is baptized and as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Directly from that moment, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness, alone, for 40 days. It is here that Jesus meets the Devil.

Now, let’s take a moment and understand who “the Devil” really is in Scripture. We’ve had a tendency to dress him up in a red suit with a pitchfork, and tail, and a headband with horns. That image comes from a mix of Greek mythology, ancient near Eastern cults worshiping pagan gods and goddesses, and Babylonian mythology. That image is an image of mythology. It comes from pagan idol worship.

“In the Old Testament,” Religion scholar William Caldwell writes that “we have seen that the figure of Satan is vague….” The word “satan” means adversary. It appears 27 times in the Old Testament, sometimes talking about adversaries of the Israelites, 14 of those times in Job, and most likely was not considered a proper noun, it’s not a name, but a description of how someone or a creature is being adversarial.

In the New Testament, the word Satan is used once by Paul talking about the thorn in his flesh, placed there by Satan, he sees the wound that is hindering him, that he has prayed God would remove, as adversarial. It is something he is fighting, put there as an adversary to his mission.

The other word in the New Testament that is used to describe the force of evil that we have come to translate as the Devil is diabolis. It means “talking about someone behind their back, talking about someone in a slanderous way.” The devil is personified by anyone who slanders God, who attributes falsely to God negative traits; the devil is someone who lies about who God is and how God is.

New Testament scholar Fred Craddock writes that, “The Scriptures variously characterize the power of evil in world: tendencies within ourselves, a personal being outside ourselves, apparently a powerful angel gone astray; a cosmic power; and organized forces arrayed against the will of God for the world,” he goes on to say, “In whatever images or concepts, Scripture agrees with experience that there is in us and among us a strong opposition to love, health, wholeness, and peace.”

And Jesus facing the temptation of diabolos in the wilderness is proof that we ALL struggle with evil. NT Wright comments that the voice appears as a string of natural ideas in Jesus’ own thoughts. Sometimes toying with an idea gives it space to grow until it is so attractive that you just can’t resist it. If you’re the Son of God, surely, God does not want you to suffer, hungry here in the desert – look at that rock, smooth, round, just the size of the rolls your mom always made, wouldn’t that taste good. Moses made sure God’s people didn’t starve in the wilderness – they had manna and quails. The expected Messiah is supposed to be a prophet like Moses, lead God’s people like Moses. He had to ask God, but you’re God’s Son. You could just do it. What could it hurt? Aren’t you hungry? Listen to your stomach! Can you remember how good fresh bread baking smells, how it almost melts in your mouth? Jesus responds with a quote from Moses’s final sermon/instruction to the Israelites as they prepared to leave him on Mt. Nebo and follow Joshua across the Jordan in to the Promised Land.
“Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.” Jesus will not turn stone to bread not because he can’t, but because there is purpose in his hunger. Bread is inadequate for the abundant life God wants for us. Yes, we need food and water and shelter, but those things will never afford for us abundant life. They are inadequate, and always will be, for flourishing, for life filled full to the brim. “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Relationship with God, talking with God, prayer and listening…that leads to abundant life.

Then the diabolis slanders God again, “Ok, Son of God, look at the world, I will give you all their glory and authority; because it has been given to me (now that’s the slanderous part), and I will give it to anyone.” The world has been given over to evil. That’s the claim. Certainly, the power of evil was on display as Rome held peace by force across the Empire. And the expected Messiah is supposed to be a political leader, a king of the lineage of King David, and to usher in God’s kingdom, to bring freedom for those who were being oppressed and reign in peace, with justice, and plenty for all. Jesus responds with another quote from Moses’s farewell sermon as he reminded the Israelites of God’s commands, “Stand in awe of (worship) the Lord your God, serve him only.” Jesus will not submit to anyone but God, even to gain power. Becoming politically compromised, seeking power for power’s sake, is betrayal of the first commandment, to worship God and God only…and cannot lead to the abundant life of God’s Kingdom. Pouring out your life for peace, justice, and plenty for all leads to God’s Kingdom.

Finally, diabolis turns to Scripture, because if you take a verse out of context, it can be used for evil. From the pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem, God is slandered with God’s Word, Scripture says, “God will command his angels concerning the righteous, to protect them. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” New Testament scholar Sharon Ringe points out that, “The Messiah is supposed to be righteous, pure, a worthy priest, who would ‘live in the shelter of the Most High’ and ‘abide in the shadow of the Almighty’”. Instead, Jesus is tempted to create a spectacle, to give ‘em the old razzle dazzle! Let God show off a little – put on a show – you get up there – way up high and swan dive, and God’s angels will swoop in and save you! Again, Jesus responds from Moses’s farewell sermon. As Moses taught on the first commandment, stand in awe of (worship) the Lord your God, serve him only, he went on to say, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.” When the Israelites escaped from Egypt, they first realized, and grumbled, that in the desert, water was scarce. They found water, but it was rancid. God made it potable. Then they got hungry. God rained manna, but they wanted some meat. God sent quail. Then they came to a place with no water. Again, why did you bring us out of Egypt just to die. The Israelites had a hard time trusting God – they kept more of the manna than God instructed, they grumbled about dying with no water even after God had provided water before, and after God provided manna and then quail. It took constant razzle dazzle for them to believe – God had Moses strike a rock with his staff and water poured forth. Abundant life only comes when we learn to trust God and not require signs to believe.

Then, diabolis left until a more opportune time. Doubts about God, attributing to God events and things that are not consistent with who and how God is, happen to all humans, even Jesus. Fred Craddock asserts that “If anyone is having trouble believing that Jesus was really tempted, then he or she needs to keep in mind that temptation is an indication of strength, not of weakness. We are not tempted to do what we cannot do but what is within our power. The greater the strength, the greater the temptation….so deceptively attractive.” We all need to learn the difference between the whispers of attractive lies and the voice of God.

We all will face these temptations – the temptation to believe we are self-sufficient, the temptation to seek and worship power, and the temptation to require a sign or something sensational to believe. And when we face these temptations, throughout our lives, each time we face them, we have a choice. May we follow the example of Jesus and realize that we were made to rely on God, to turn to God in our need. May we follow the example of Jesus and worship only God and seek God’s kingdom of peace and justice. May we follow the example of Jesus and simply trust God, day in and day out, with our lives.