Our text today has Jesus heading out to the desert “to be tempted by the devil’ (vs. 1). A part of that desert for Jesus was fasting for “forty days and forty nights” (vs. 2). Afterwards, when we expect it most, He became hungry, and with the hunger He faced a certain vulnerability. It was here the devil showed up to strike a decisive blow to his enemy, God. He struck, and he struck hard, but he wasn’t quite prepared for the way Jesus would respond to him.
Three times, the enemy stuck hard at Jesus. In essence, the three temptations spoke to the issues of the need to be relevant, the need to be spectacular, and the need to be powerful.” These three words, “relevant…spectacular…powerful” are words Henri Nouwen uses in his book titled, In the Name of Jesus, and they really envelop the story of our lives.
How we want to be relevant. When the enemy tempted Jesus it was for him to turn stones into bread. This act would show the world how relevant He was, and how this act would be world changing, and establish Jesus as the talk of the town.
How we want to be spectacular. Here, the enemy tempted Jesus to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, knowing that the Father would command His angels to come down and prevent a catastrophe. This action would wow the world, and impress it with a mindboggling miracle.
How we want to be powerful. Here the enemy tempted Jesus to compromise His relationship with the Father by worshiping the devil. In exchange, the enemy said that he would give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, along with all their glory. This action would place the world at Jesus’ feet, and he would be ruler over all the planet.
Jesus did not buy into the promises of the enemy at all. It was fake news, and Jesus tuned it all around on the enemy. In essence, Jesus said that He didn’t come to be relevant, spectacular, or powerful. He came to do the will of His Father, to live as one in the created order, to model the life of God, to suffer, to die, and to be raised up from the grave.
Later, in His teachings Jesus said to His disciples, “follow Me” (Matthew 4:19). He did not call them or us to be relevant, spectacular, or powerful. He calls us to be faithful, to be humble, to turn our lives over to God, so that God can be God in our lives. On Good Friday, Jesus will go the distance in refuting the false claims of the enemy. On Easter, Jesus will reveal to the world that when God is allowed to be God, resurrection authority is let loose in people, and the deepest needs of the human heart are fully met.
Amen!
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