Oak Chapel United Methodist Church

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Because of this story we say, "The devil can quote scripture for his own purposes." And indeed we see he can. And so can Jesus. This event, early in the life of Jesus, is usually referred to as The Temptation of Christ. A lot is going on here. Some broad, strategic issues are addressed, and some narrow, tactical ones, too. At the strategic level, the story reminds us that there is (and always has been) a cosmic and eternal struggle taking place between God and Satan, or (if you prefer) between the forces of good and the forces of evil. That sounds, even to my ears, like some medieval concept long gone in its usefulness.

Facing our Ultimate Enemies

But the Bible teaches it, and Jesus assumed it, and (if we believe it) it makes a huge difference in the way we understand and deal with problems. It says our immediate troubles are not our ultimate enemies, don't you see? Modern people don't think that way. We think, OK, my problem is pride, drug addiction, lying, lust, over eating, illness, boasting, alcoholism, gambling, (something specific) and we go after the thing itself.

But Jesus knew that, behind these outward symptoms, there is a systemic disease. Our specific problems are what they are, of course, but they are also part of what the Bible attributes to Satan and calls "sin." Jesus never forgot that. He knew that human troubles don't spring up out of nowhere, but came from the devil's malignant influence in this otherwise perfect world.

Your Sins are Forgiven

So, when he heals the sick, he says, "Your sins are forgiven." And they get up and walk away! People then and now scratch their heads at that. Why say, "Your sins are forgiven?" Why not simply say, "Be well?" Because, when human beings get into trouble, any kind of trouble, there is always more going on.

We are very early in Jesus' ministry here, and Satan has one last chance to divert the obedient Son of God from his saving purpose. It is a test, a trial by ordeal, and Satan fails -- as he always will when confronted by a steadfast faith. That's one of the cosmic lessons here: Satan is a loser, and we don't want to be found on his side when the last gong rings. Another universal lesson is that right and wrong are often difficult to discern. Notice that Satan does not tempt Jesus with wine, women and song (the usual suspects), but tempts him with things that, in other circumstances, might be thought good.

The Devil's Promises are Attractive

To make bread from stones might be a good thing. To demonstrate God's power by allowing oneself to be saved from a fall could be effective marketing. For Jesus to rule the whole world -- why we pray for that, but not, of course, if he would have to worship Satan. (One little fact that's good to know is that, in Greek, the word for kingdom is from the same root as the word for empire, as in Roman empire. So Satan is offering to make Jesus be Caesar, and to give him all the other empires, too.

The Real Argument

The real argument, of course, is not over kingdoms and empires, but over kinds of kingdoms and empires.) Right and wrong are not simple. We cannot be, must not be, judgmental, sanctimonious, holier- than-thou. It is not always clear what's right, and we've been wrong too often in the past, when we were certain we were right. It sometimes depends on the circumstances and the motives.

As the country song says, "Sometimes right is just as wrong as wrong is." I think Jesus had to consider carefully Satan's proposals. They were not no-brainers. And he states clearly and carefully why he thinks each is wrong. This is a quiet victory. It comes after struggle, and is not a slam dunk. In our daily lives, when we are tempted, we can take Jesus as our model of resistance. And, being honest, we are all subject to temptation. It is very dangerous to be overconfident about sin.

Admitting our Weakness

Clarence Macartney suggests that when we pray "lead us not into temptation" we are tacitly admitting our own weakness and asking God to protect us "from events, activities, and persons who might stir up the evil that is within us." You see, the weakness is already there. The old-time preachers used to talk a lot about temptation, but we don't hear much about it these days, because talking about it suggests an easy susceptibility to sin, and we don't like to think of ourselves that way. But, in truth, if we recognize our weakness, it helps us to overcome.

Too Near to My Price

Those same old-time preachers used to tell the story of a steamboat captain, during the Civil War, who was offered $100 dollars to carry a cargo of cotton up the Mississippi River, through the union lines, into the north (where it could be sold for a fortune). The captain said "no," and reminded the tempter that smuggling was illegal. "What if I give you $1,000?" Still "no." "I'll give you $3,000." At which point the captain drew his gun and said, "Get off this boat. You're comin' too near to my price."

I like that old story because it doesn't pretend. The captain doesn't say, "No, I'll never do it -- not for any price." He recognizes his human frailty, and wisely puts some distance between himself and his tempter. We have to do that sometimes, don't we? We have to avoid those people and those things that bring out the worst in us. "Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil."
 

Not Putting God to the Test

As Jesus told Satan, we must not "put God to the test," by foolishly stepping into moral minefields. We must not be cavalier about sin. It has destroyed many a man and woman who thought it not a formidable foe.

As Napoleon's armies retreated from Moscow, they faced their worst enemy, the bitter Russian winter. Thousands of Frenchmen froze to death. As they were about to die, in the cold, the men would feel overwhelmingly sleepy. But to sleep meant death. Napoleon's officers rode up and down the lines, jostling the soldiers and warning them, begging them, not to fall asleep. But often the only response they got was an angry curse: "go away, for God's sake, and let me get some rest."

Beware of Falling Asleep Morally

In the moral world, when we sleep we die. One way to fall asleep morally is to rely on simple rules, rules we learned as children -- do this and don't do that -- and to count on these to keep us straight. Many years ago, on a clear night, the captain of a great sailing ship asked his young first mate, for the first time, to pilot the ship all by himself. "I'm just going below for a little sleep," he said. "All you have to do is keep us heading toward that star." But when he awoke, the captain was horrified to discover that the ship was far off course.

Tying the Wheel in One Position

On the bridge he found the boy asleep, with the wheel tied down in one position. "Well, the young man explained, since we only had to go in one direction, I thought if I tied down the wheel, we could never get off course." Many of us try to live our moral lives that way. We want to tie down right and wrong, keep them where they were when we were children. But thinking like that doesn't take into account the changing world outside.  

Living in a Dynamic World

For the young pilot, thinking like that ignored the tides, the winds, the turning of the earth. For us to insist on the old virtues, and not to think about how they should be applied, ignores the radical changes in our world. We cannot sleep like that, or we will die -- morally die. New moral questions, with their accompanying temptations, arise every day. New understandings of old problems must be recognized. We can't fall asleep. We can say in the moral world what the soldiers said in Viet Nam: "Stay alert. Stay alive."  

Losing Track of Christ

Another way to sleep, and to die (morally), is to lose track of Christ. I just don't see how morality is possible without God. If there is no God, why shouldn't dog eat dog? Why shouldn't might make right? Why shouldn't we eat, drink and be merry?

Nietze was right in his conclusion when he said, "God is dead, all is permitted." If, and only if, we maintain our relationship with Christ, as a moral benchmark and a source of moral strength, can we remain righteous. I don't believe that we are saved by right living, but I do believe that Christ wants us to live right, and not to fall into temptation. Many a man or woman has been protected from temptation by the remembrance of loving parents at home, or of a loving wife or husband, or of children who are relying on him or her. How much more protective are the remembrances of Christ!

The High Price of Succumbing

The reverse is also true: when we succumb to temptation, we soon sever our relationship with Christ. We stop reading our Bibles, stop going to church, stop praying. For now these things, which used to bring us comfort, bring us only pain. In the end, the angels came and ministered to Jesus. As God's angels will minister to everyone who resists temptation -- and suffers for it, which probably will happen.

Immorality Surrounds Us

I don't have to tell you that there is a lot of immorality all around us. The tempter is everywhere. People are tempted to hatred, to pride, to racial injustice, to laziness, to greed, and selfishness, to irresponsibility and unfaithfulness, and to a hundred other false idols.

It's not always easy to tell right from wrong, but it's not as hard as some people would make it seem either. We cannot fall asleep and die in the moral world. If we do, we will regress to a very primitive state, as some already have. Let us resist temptation, which is evil's entree. Let us stay awake to moral dangers. In our lives, in the decisions we make (large and small), let us tell Satan to get lost! We don't want to be seen with him, for he is a loser if there ever was one.