This article is inspired in part by the Sermon notes that have been produced by Roots. Here, the author focuses on how the Devil is tempting Jesus to question his own identity….
Sometimes retaining your focus when sermon writing is difficult. As I reflected on this, my son was kicking a ball repeatedly against the back wall of my study, occasionally missing and hitting the window. He is singing at the same time; some or other chant that about Peterborough United. I am becoming increasingly frustrated, having to shout at Ben to keep it down. I am feeling tired – it has been a long and draining week, and I have to confess, I am a little grumpy. And then to top it all, I hear the distant sound of an ice-cream van as it blares out the theme tune to what I remember was Blue Peter. I am not amused. I can’t seem to get the beginning of this sermon right. My son would love me to come out with him, but right now I am struggling to balance my responsibilities as a Dad with that of being a minister. I am also trying to balance the sense of frustration and unrighteous and underserved indignation that I feel (I really want that ice-cream), with the peace that I should be modeling as a minister.
And then it struck me. The temptations are about just that. They are about identity. They are about who Jesus will be in the moment, and whether he will be faithful to God’s call. Will Jesus accept his place under God’s authority? Will he be tempted to use his power and influence to further his own ends? Will he go it alone, rather than working according to God’s plan? This penetrates much deeper than the questions that are raised by the momentary struggles that I am facing as I find it hard to concentrate. God is less worried, I believe about whether I cave in and dash our for a 99 Flake, so long as I am not eating a hundred of them at a go. God is less worried, I believe, about whether I am occasionally grumpy, just so long as I don’t take it out on those around me. But God is concerned about whether I live in humility and know that He is almighty and all powerful, and I am very small, and that I have a small part to play in his plans for the world, rather than me thinking that I can ask God to bless my plans – leaving him, so to speak on the touchlines cheering along. I think that God is concerned that I do not use the gifts that he has given me, for my own purposes. He gave them so that I could help others. And I think God is concerned that in my ministry I do not promote and sell myself as some kind of superstar. The temptations are not really about what Jesus is being tempted to do. They are about who Jesus is tempted to be. The devil (or deceiver) tempts Jesus to rely on himself alone – to turn the stones into bread. He tempts Jesus to be a religious evil Knievel, attracting everyone with supernatural sensationalism. He tempts Jesus to be a tyrant and follow him, with the promise of all the land he can see. In the, quite literal, heat and hunger of the moment, these temptations must have felt strong, yet Jesus resists. He is determined to find his own identity as the Son of God, and to live by his Father’s values. And so, it is for me, and for all of us.
There is something significant that is happening to Jesus here, something that happens to all of us as we go about our lives. Jesus is wrestling with the identity that the devil tries to force upon him. In life we may have times when others force an identity upon us, that can be unhelpful. Think for a moment about how you may have been known at school or at work. Were you the quiet geek, were you the life and soul of the party, were you the sporty one? How was your identity a blessing or a curse? And today, how is the identity that others may put upon you, be a help or a hindrance? Crucially, if we find that we face burdensome expectations, can we throw them off? And as I see it, not only people but also churches, have unhelpful expectations about what they will do and what they won’t do. One of the crucial questions that we are having to ask ourselves at the moment, especially as the Church engages in new forms of fellowship and mission, is what we mean by the term ‘Church’.
We would do well to turn our attention to how Jesus deals with these attacks on his identity. Most importantly, he turns to scripture to refute Satan’s argument. Jesus identity is to be found in scripture. Likewise, God’s broad purpose for our lives is revealed in scripture, and when we struggle or face difficulty, it is to scripture that we must return. This is helpful in at least two ways. To turn to scripture, is by implication, to acknowledge that God’s presence. Yet in life, it is so easy to forget God. It is easy to forget that we are accountable to God. It is too easy to be swallowed up in a sea of human opinion since God is absent from most of our Western media. More than this, opinion in some aspects of the media is instant and knee jerk, with little evidence of reflection and analysis. Journalism at times can become a case of summarising people’s responses, rather than what you might call hard-nosed journalism that invests in deep investigation and reflection. Is there such a thing as paying too much attention to the views of others? And in these pithy pieces of analysis, we might recognise that we have engaged speech first and brain second. If we look to how Jesus responds to the devil, we can see he engages scripture first, then speech second.
Moving on from this, another reflection from the account of the temptations, is how Jesus is not naïve about how the Devil operates, and what the Devil is trying to do. We have not talked much about the Devil. It seems somewhat crude. He is referred to in slightly different ways in the gospels, ho diabolos – meaning ‘the accuser’. This is the same word used for Judas, and those who gossip in revelation. The devil attacks us, accusing us of some kind of failing. This leads us to question our identity as children of God, and crucially, whether God is with us and for us. Another title is ho poneros, which means The Wicked One – used to describe Satan himself – the one who works in opposition to God. There is ho peirazon, which means the tempter. There is pseustes, which means, the liar and the father of lies. I could go on, but my point is however we view the Devil, any view that dismisses him as the creature in red with a fork, or as a piece of ancient superstition that we can now disregard, is wholly inadequate. However we picture the Devil, he is still at work, trying to undermine the work of God and us. At the same time, by the power of the Spirit, we can resist. But we can only do that if we take scripture and the promises of God seriously.
I want to end by referring back not to the temptations, though, but to the description of the serpent (another word for the Devil – or deceiver), in the Garden of Eden. As I have said before, I don’t think important whether you read this as literal or otherwise, although most orthodox Jews would he horrified at the idea that people would take it literally. What is at stake is how the deceiver undermines Eve by questioning what God has really said. And then he undermines God by questioning God’s motives. So often in life the truth is warped by two things – a distortion of what someone has said, and or, a distortion of motive.
As Christians, we need to seek God and know his promises for our lives.
Matthew 11:28-29
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Romans 10:9
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope
And we need also to note how God has been shown to be faithful in his promises
Lamentations 3:22-23
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you
1 Corinthians 10:13b
God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.