The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree 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, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
It is human nature to want to do what someone tells us we can’t do. If I say to you,
“Don’t think about a purple cow.” How many of you just thought about a purple cow? Or if we tell children Do not run how many times does that work. That’s why I loved the term “Walking Feet” with my kids; tell them what you want them to do, instead of what you don’t.
I think it is human nature to want to do anything that is forbidden. Fear, threat, risk often keep us from doing these forbidden activities, but don’t you just want to partake?
I am not talking about murder or adultery, but how about when a friend tells you,
“Don’t tell anyone.” Don’t you want to tell?
Or someone says don’t look and of course you want to look.
Or a team leader tells you, you can’t discuss that issue, especially when it has bearing on the decision.
Or a diet tells you no cake, and you want to eat cake. I am thankful we have a moral code that keeps us from doing these things, but I think in general we want to do what others tell us not to.
That is why it is no surprise that the woman tastes the fruit from the tree of knowledge that God told her and Adam not to eat. This is especially true after the serpent tells her she won’t die. The threat is taken away, she recognizes that the fruit is to be desired to make one wise, and off she goes. Let’s recap; God tells her no; the threat is taken away and then she sees the value of the fruit. Of course she eats, and she shares it with her husband.
Centuries later we call this moment Original Sin, but did you once hear the word sin in that story? No. It is the first-time humans break God’s rule, assert their will and it changes humanity’s relationship with God forever. Temptation became a part of daily life from that moment forward. I am not sure if they know good and evil, but they are introduced to shame and embarrassment. This is all from asserting their human will against God’s will.
One commentator writes, “In the Bible the word temptation primarily denotes a trial in which a human has a free choice of being faithful or unfaithful to God;
only secondarily does it signify allurement or seduction to sin.”
So, when you are tempted, do you think about it as being unfaithful to God? Is that how you consider if you should do something tempting or not?
My guess we wonder if we will get caught. Who else is doing it? Does it hurt anyone? Those are very different questions than, “Am I being faithful or unfaithful to God?”
It is tempting to keep the extra change the clerk mistakenly gave you.
It is tempting to overlook a racial remark when a lucrative deal is in the making.
It is tempting to turn a blind eye to injustice when your portfolio is rising.
We are faced with temptation all the time. How we frame the question matters- Is our answer to temptation asking, “Will I get caught?” or is it “Am I being faithful or unfaithful to God?”
If temptation is about being faithful or unfaithful to God, we must wonder about the purpose of Jesus’ temptation. As God’s Son, it seems a forgone conclusion that Jesus would be faithful. But at this point in the story having just been baptized and before starting his ministry, the human struggle, the reality of what is at stake, shows us so much about who Jesus is.
Yes, he could have had bread instantly, but that would mean he was unfaithful.
Yes, he could have all power, but he would be unfaithful. Closeness to God involves conflicts and struggles that will lay bare one’s deepest passion and loyalty. It is one of the moments we see the full humanity of Jesus and take comfort in knowing that Jesus was tempted just like we are. When we are in our wilderness, fraught with temptations and struggles it is good to know that Jesus faced his own and was faithful to God.
When Jesus was tempted, did you notice he not only remained faithful he quoted scripture in his moment of trail. When he was exhausted and hungry, he declared, “One does not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
When tested, he said “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
When unlimited power was his for the taking, he remained faithful to the one who has all power saying, “Worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.”
Each quote comes from Deuteronomy and harkens back to Moses’ teaching, as we spoke about last week (8:3, 6:16, 6:13). In each response Jesus reminds us that each temptation is a question about being faithful or unfaithful to God.
When I was selling my Honda Pilot, I asked for $6,000. When a lovely couple came for a test drive, they offered me $5,700. I knew that I could counter with 5,900 and we could meet in the middle. I think that was what they were expecting. But I accepted $5,700. Never put me in charge of bargaining. Then when we were finalizing the deal, they counted out one hundred-dollar bills and handed me the stack. I expected $5,700, the price we agree upon.
He gave me $5,800. In that moment I had to decide was I going to say he was giving me what he thought the car was worth and what I should have asked for, or would I be honest and hand him back the extra hundred dollar bill, assuming he just made a mistake. I chose the latter. I was tempted just to keep the extra money and I wished I had bargained better, but I would rather be a woman of my word than a person who has an extra hundred bucks. In that moment I did not think my decision was about being faithful to God. Yet as I look back now, I see how my faith did teach me to not steal and to do onto others as I would have them do unto me. My faith has taught me to be honest. I agreed to a price so that was the price I took.
You face temptations all the time. They are a woven into life ever since the first woman was tempted by power and told “you will be like God” (Gen 3:5).
Power is the greatest temptation and one that can corrupt beyond recognition.
The abuse of power is devastating. All three of Jesus’ temptations were about power. Temptations ask us if we are faithful to God and they also reveal the essential character of the tested one. Jesus did not come to assume power but to set us free from the power of sin and death. If he had succumbed in the wilderness how could he have emptied himself on the cross to save us from our sins? You see the only power that can overcome the temptation of power is the power of love. Love assumes the utter vulnerability of the lover and that is what Jesus offers to you and me on the cross. God loves us so much to give his only Son for our salvation from sin, our salvation from temptations. That is why we live in grace and we can stand up after all our failed temptations. Our essential character when tested often fails, but by God’s grace and Christ’s love we have the assurance of being forgiven.
Yes, we will always be tempted, and yes we will not always succeed.
But God’s love and Christ’s grace will always prevail.
We have that assurance because Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and won, and Jesus journeyed to the cross and died so that you and I live in this merciful and compassionate reality.
Let us open our hearts to journey honestly and faithfully with Jesus as he makes his way to be lifted up once again. This time not on a pinnacle overlooking the world laid before him; but lifted up on a tree hanging between two criminals who surely were tempted and tested just like we are. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
