2-14-10

Luke 4:1-13

● This episode found in Luke 4 (as well as Matthew 4) is one of the best-know satanic scenes offered in the Scriptures.  Here, Jesus re-enacts the testing of Israel in the wilderness, as well as that of Adam and Eve in the garden. This time, Jesus succeeds where they had failed. He proves to be the ‘faithful son’.

● In the Scriptures, the Greek words for “test” and “tempted” come from the same root. So, it’s only as we understand the anticipated outcome that we are able to identify the difference.

            “test”- meant to ‘expose’ what’s really there in order to develop a more authentic and fully-developed faith (i.e. Rivercom with pagers: gets your attention; prompts some response). They often come without warning which allows us realize the health of our present condition.

            “tempt”- meant to ‘exploit’ your weakness in order to take advantage of you. The expected-outcome is always destructive in nature.

James 1:13 “… when tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me’… he does not tempt anyone…”

● Admittedly, though, every time we are tested we are tempted, right? Temptation always suggests that we live and act in ways that are inappropriate responses to God’s love. It is becoming convinced that there is actually a way to fulfill our desires and satisfy our longings apart from God.

● The temptations Jesus faced, as well as the ones we face, are not necessarily an attempt to cause us to commit a particular sin, or violate some particular law, but to forfeit our creative-purpose: to discover our sense of identity and ultimate reality apart from God. They are “de-humanizing”.

● So, all temptation involves the abuse (misuse) of some aspect of God’s good creation. It is the attempt to meet legitimate needs in illegitimate ways (i.e. legitimate quest for meeting needs can result in greed and materialism; sex offered to us a beautiful and enjoyable expression of committed love, can often wrongly result in lust , self-gratification and damaged relationships).

The first temptation--- stones to bread.

            “If (or, “since” may be better) you are the son of God…” The challenge is not whether Jesus is the son of God, but what kind of son will he be? How will he understand his identity and how will that affect his posture toward God? Will he use his privileges and rights as son to satisfy himself and act independent of God?

● Jesus is hungry. 40 days without food will do that to you. Who could blame him for whippin’ up some bread from stones. Such a Messiah would quickly earn the favor of the people, right?

● Jesus counters the enemy with a return to the story.

Deuteronomy 8:3, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known to teach you that man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”.

Moses reminds them (and us) that nothing makes you forget need like satisfaction.

● Nothing makes you forget hunger like feeling full, right? I notice that in those times, it’s easy to start telling another story, one full of ourselves.

● The passage continues to inform the people that the land that they are about to inhabit is a land where “bread will not be scarce” (no shortage of ways to satisfy yourself) and you will lack nothing”. How will you respond when virtually everything you need/want is available for your enjoyment?

“When you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down… then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God. You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me” (Deut.8:10,14,17,19). “If you ever forget the Lord, you will be destroyed…”

The second temptation--- being shown the Kingdoms of the world.

            Jesus responds again from story in Deuteronomy 6:13 13: "You shall fear (honor; glory- give it weight) only the LORD your God ; and you shall worship (serve) Him...”

● “Kingdoms” do not necessarily refer to literal kingdoms, but the right or the authority to rule (territory subject to the rule of a King). The right to rule (authority) will be something entrusted to him as the result of his willingness to participate in the saving-actions of God toward the world [Paul’s point in Philippians 2].

● Jesus refuses to take hold of his rightful authority in the oppressive and threatening ways demonstrated by kings and nations and rulers throughout history. Later in Luke he reminds is followers that they are not to “lord their authority” over people, but are to use their influence in order to maximize service (22).

In essence, in the temptation, Jesus gave up the right to coerce belief. He refused to use his “Godness” to over-ride human freedoms in order to secure our allegiance. 

It’s the miracle of restraint. So insistent upon human freedom is Jesus that he is willing to allow people to live as if he did not exist:

The third temptation--- throw yourself from the pinnacle of the Temple.

            Deut 6:16 16 "You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah (“temptation”).  “Because they tested the Lord and said, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ (Ex.17:7)

            In Deuteronomy, the people complained against Moses for lack of water. God identifies the complaint as not only a complaint against Moses, but an indirect challenge to his word (promises): “Is he really with us or not? Is he true to his promise, or not?"

● Remember, it was this “presence” which was not only to establish their identity as a people, but to determine the way they would function as his representatives in the world.

Putting God to the test is a direct affront to his character. It’s not a request for revealing, but a demand for proof. It’s our often “passive-aggressive” approach to God (‘Well, I guess I just won’t read my Bible anymore since you haven’t been able to get my kids under control!’)

I have found that, most often, God fails the tests we set up for him.

            They usually sound something like this: “God, I’ll give my life to you if you’ll just let me get that new supervisory position at work.” God, if you’ll just cause my husband to come back, I’ll know you are powerful and I’ll really follow you this time.” “God, if the results show that the tumor is benign, I’ll love you forever.”

            We all know that jobs go to someone else, husbands don’t always leave their mistresses and people die of cancer every day.

The temptations typically involve who he has revealed himself to be and “the kind of God that we want him to be.”

…We want a God who is willing to perform for us and our friends like a birthday-party magician.  [“You’re losin’ ‘em, Jesus, come on, do that water from the rock thing!”] Not for his own sake, but so that we won’t be left looking stupid when he doesn’t make good on our promises.

…We want a ‘take-charge’ kind of God (power/authority); one who’s willing to flex his muscle, on occasion. We want a God who imposes himself on all of those people and systems that are making life uncomfortable for us. We don’t want a God who suffers and appears impotent.

…We want a God who lets us test the limits; one who will let us “ski out-out-of-bounds’, but still be quick to come to our rescue when we do.

…We want a God who honors our compliance. If we accommodate him by performing well, he rewards us with such things as a successful, fulfilling career, a happy marriage, 2.5 obedient children and a life free of stretch marks and premature balding. It’s the belief that, “God loves me if ______.”

►Because he is revealed as Creator, he cannot be manipulated or coerced, but he can be counted on to freely make available all that is at his disposal in order to meet our needs. We could come to know that our God was not fickle and easily coerced into action, but his heart could be moved.

►We can be confident that since this Creator-God has invested something of himself in us, we can go to him to find out the truth about who we really are and what life was really meant to be.

►We can come to know that God is a “giver” even if we haven’t figured out a healthy way to receive and that he keeps offering himself to us and seeking our good even when we fail to notice.

►We can come to know that this God does not “love us if”… he just loves us, and we can trust that he responds to us because he desires us (relationship with us) and not out of obligation.

►We could discover that even when the damage we experience in life is ‘self-inflicted’, our God is compassionate and forgiving; that he believes in us even when we are less than faithful. He is willing to come to our rescue at the risk of his own personal comfort and safety because he thinks we’re worth it.