TEMPTATIONS - MATTHEW 4: 1 - 11

INTRODUCTION

I like Lent, since church business really picks up (more prayer, sacrifice etc.)

Lent is above all the “desert season,” and the Gospel invites us to spend some time in the desert with Jesus.  The desert climate and environment is rough and difficult.

We experience “desert periods” that are spiritually dry, and emotionally difficult.

·        These times are a test of our faith.  They are a time of temptation.

·        These times are often present a crisis, that is, a turning point in life.

GOSPEL

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 

Jesus is led “into the desert.”

The desert was not a pleasant place (forget the desert resorts like Palm Springs).

The desert is wherever we would choose not to go, because life is difficult there.

In the desert  one is vulnerable to  hunger and thirst (food and water are scarce). 

In the desert  one is vulnerable to the elements of harsh weather (heat and cold).

In the desert  one is vulnerable to the wild animals, and wild criminals.

In the desert  one is vulnerable to being lost, since the land is virtually trackless.

In the desert  one is vulnerable to loneliness, silence, and isolation.

In the desert  one is vulnerable to struggling with mirages or illusions.

In the desert  life is rough and difficult.  There are no comforts or conveniences.

Paradoxically, the desert was also a sacred place for God’s chosen people.

In the desert, God called and led Israel, and formed them as his Chosen People.

In the desert, God made a covenant with Israel, and gave them his commandments.

In the desert, God exposed Israel’s sins, and taught them how to follow his Spirit.

This temptation story is based on the pattern of Israel’s temptations in the desert.

Like Israel, Jesus is repeatedly tempted by the devil in the desert, but unlike Israel Jesus overcomes the devil’s temptation and does not sin.  This is like a 3 act drama.

FIRST TEMPTATION

He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.

Jesus fasted for “forty days and forty nights.” 

“Forty days” is a common Hebrew expression for a “considerable time period.”

Noah spent 40 days on the ark, while the earth was purged of sin and recreated.

Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with the Lord before promulgating the Law. Israel had wandered for forty years in the desert and had yielded to temptation

Elijah spent 40 days on Mount Horeb (Sinai) when he received God’s instruction.

Forty days is understood not literally but as a formation period for God’s mission.

The tempter approached and said to him: “If you are the Son of God, command these stones become loaves of bread.”

The devil is called “the tempter.” 

Notice that the devil tempts Jesus when he was feeling most weak and vulnerable.

Naturally, the devil tempts Jesus with food, the very thing he hungers for most.

There is more to this temptation though than just “turning stone into bread.”

The devil tries to turn Jesus’ attention away from his deepest hunger for God.

This is a temptation to misuse his divine power to his own personal satisfaction.

By turning stones into bread, he would be manifesting God-like power (as when God provided manna in the desert for Israel), but only for his own advantage.

He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3.  Jesus recalled Israel’s longing for the food that they had left behind in Egypt (breads and meat), and their dissatisfaction with the sustenance (manna, quail, water from the rock) which God provided.

Unlike Israel, Jesus was content to be nourished by the food God provided for him.

Jesus is fed and strengthened by the word of God, to do the will of God.

SECOND TEMPTATION

The Devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.  For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

The “parapet of the temple” was where the blasphemers were thrown to their death.

It was the temple’s highest point, and the longest drop (450 ft) to the Kidron Valley.

Like the first temptation, the devil begins by saying, “If you are the Son of God...”

These words are meant to taunt Jesus into proving his identity.  But the words remind us that Jesus is God’s Son and will use his power only as his Father wills.

As if in an attempt to “beat Jesus at his own game,” the devil couched his second temptation within a verse from Scripture, Ps 91:11-12 (Sunday’s Responsorial Ps).

Even the devil knows how to quote Scripture!  (Scripture can be used or abused.)

(There is a great lesson here: anyone can make the Bible say whatever they want.)

Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

The purpose of Satan’s activity is to deter a person from truth, and from their relationship with God.  Jesus does not “fall” for it.  Jesus exposes his evil intentions.

THIRD TEMPTATION

Then the devil then took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”

In this third temptation, the devil tries to seduce Jesus with “power and glory.”

The devil takes Jesus up “higher” - the place and position of power and glory.

The devil promises Jesus the whole world, if Jesus would only bow down to him.

“Power corrupts” as it often makes us compromise our principles and priorities.

Jesus came to save the world, often he was challenged to compromise his principles.

At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan!  It is written: The Lord your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”

Again, Jesus responds with a quote from the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:13).

Unlike Israel, Jesus could not be seduced by power, gain, or glory.

Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

Jesus is victorious over Satan, but his testing does not come to an end in this scene.

These “triple temptations” of Jesus are like the “typical temptations” for Jesus.

This is how the devil persistently tempted Jesus throughout his life and ministry.

1.      The first temptation to prove that he is the Son of God and turn stones into bread is like the Pharisees’ temptation: “Show us a sign, then we will believe.”

2.      The second temptation to fall down from the temple is like the soldier’s temptation: “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

3.      The third temptation is like the temptation of Peter, who tried to dissuade Jesus from taking up his cross. 

Matthew ends this desert scene on a positive note that Jesus received consolation.

REFLECTIONS on TEMPTATIONS

1.      The devil is alive and active in the world, continually tempting every one of us.

The devil sneaks up on everyone (even Jesus) everywhere (Temple in holy city).

C. S. Lewis suggested that good people know a great deal about temptation, whereas bad people know very little about temptation - they just give in to it.

2.      The devil is a strategist; he attacks us in our weakness. 

·        After Jesus fasted forty days, and he was hungry and even famished for food, then the devil said: “turn these stones into bread.”

·        After Jesus walked forty days, and he was so tired he could hardly stand up, then the devil said: “Throw yourself down and angels will take care of you.”

·        After Jesus spent forty days in the desert, and he was so lonely and empty, then the devil said: “Bow down before me and all will be yours.”

The devil will tempt us in our time of weakness and the area of our weakness.

3.      The devil disguises himself.   He makes bad things look good.

·        Bread for the hungry looks good.

·        Angels taking care of us looks good.

·        Kingdom of the world being given to God looks good.

     But the devil is a liar and deceiver.  He twists the truth.

4.      The evil spirit is the enemy of the Holy Spirit. 

            The evil spirit opposes everything that the Holy Spirit does.

            The Holy Spirit enlightens us to know and encourages us do God’s will.

            The evil spirit confuses us and seduces us to do our will versus God’s will.

The evil spirit, like any spirit, cannot be seen but is known by what it does.

            The Holy Spirit offers love, joy, peace, kindness, forgiveness, justice, etc.

            The evil spirit promotes hatred, hostility, enmity, unforgiveness, injustice, etc.

5.      The devil leads us to sin, self-destruction, and ultimately (if we let him) to hell.   The devil leads us into discouragement and despair.

SUGGESTIONS

1. Know your weakness. 

Know your area of vulnerability, and how the devil often tempts you. 

Beware – i.e. be aware.

STORY: Achilles’ Heel

2. Avoid Temptation

Don’t wrestle with the devil.  Satan is bigger, stronger, and smarter than we are.

Example: If you are on a diet, don’t walk into Graeters.

If you don’t want to sin, stay away from temptation.

Quote: “I can avoid everything but temptation.” (Oscar Wilde)

3. Pray

God alone has the power to overcome Satan.

Prayer is our access to this “higher power.”  When tempted, pray, pray, pray.

Jesus taught us to pray: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

4. Read Scripture

Jesus responded to the devil each time with Sacred Scripture.

“Throw the book (Bible) at him.”  Scripture is our shield of protection.

      Caution:  Even the devil quoted Scripture (though he misinterpreted it).

LENTEN RESOLUTION

Want to give up something?  Give up sin!

Want to do something?  Do the opposite of that sin. 

Pray everyday!  Read the Bible!