Sermon preached at St. Alban's, Spirit Lake, on February 25, 2007
(Year C, First Sunday in Lent, BCP Lectionary)
by the Rev. Carl D. Mann

Texts:   Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91
Romans 10:5-13
Luke 4:1-13

WWJD: What would Jesus do? Remember that phrase from not too long ago? It was printed on bracelets and worn mostly by young people to give them pause before they did something they probably shouldn’t do. Should I go drinking with my underage friends? What would Jesus do? Should I go straight home after school like I told my parents or go hang out at the Mall? What would Jesus do? Should I do my homework or watch television? What would Jesus do?

You get the idea. It wasn’t always about really bad things. It was about every single decision that occurred in life. Even though it was ridiculed by our culture or even taken to the extreme such as what kind of car would Jesus drive or what kind of food would Jesus eat, it was a good thing that helped kids stay focused on what was right and proper, as well as made them stop and think before doing something they might regret.

Today’s Gospel is a real example of “what would Jesus do” because it centers on how he deals with temptation. Luke tells us that just after his baptism, the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness where he spent forty days and nights fasting. At the worst this implies that he has gone without food for a month and ten days, which renders him in extreme hunger! It was at this point of physical deprivation when Jesus was at his most vulnerable that the devil began to tempt him.

Playing on the obvious, the devil tells Jesus that if he is the Son of God, (trying to make him doubt what he had just heard from God the Father at his baptism), then he should make bread of the stones that surround him in order to fulfill his hunger. What did Jesus do? He said, “It is written that one does not live by bread alone.” Now that’s a great answer!   It indicates that there is more to people and their lives than just material goods or physical sustenance. There is a spiritual side to people that needs to be cared for as well. What could he have done? He could have finished the biblical quotation from the Book of Deuteronomy. The KJV of Deut. 8:3 says, “Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” The RSV says, “Everything that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.” Now why didn’t he finish the quote? By finishing the quote he would have fallen smack into the devil’s trap! By finishing the quote he would in essence be saying, “I AM the Word of God! I was the first thing spoken, and everything that followed in the whole universe came into being through me, the spoken Word of God!” He could have also said, “I AM the Bread of Life! He who comes to me shall never hunger! I AM the living bread, which came down from heaven. The Israelites ate manna in the desert and died but anyone who eats of me will live forever!

Now of course, the devil knew who Jesus was but he wanted to trick Jesus into playing the God card. He wanted Jesus to indiscriminately display his powers to the world, especially for his own self-preservation, and especially when the devil told him to do so. But Jesus knew the plan for salvation and knew that this wasn’t the time or place or situation to display his divine powers so he chose not to do it.

Next the devil instantaneously shows Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world, and said if you will fall down and worship me, I will give you all of the power and authority, which is mine to bestow. The Greek word for worship means to fall prostrate on the ground in obeisance, which may have derived from a word likening it to a dog groveling and licking the hand of his master. What did Jesus do? He said, “It is written, “Revere only the LORD your God and worship Him alone.” Another great answer right out of the Law. What could he have done? He could have quoted the prophet Isaiah: “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay; that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"? He could have said, “Why would I worship you as my master? You were created through me. I AM the Creator and you are the creature. I AM your master! He could have put the devil in his place right then and there but he chose not to do it.

By now, the devil is getting edgy, and he decides to fight fire with fire. He, too, can play this game of quoting scripture. He takes Jesus out of the wilderness and up to Jerusalem to the very pinnacle of the temple, which is a 450' drop off the back wall to the bottom of the cliff on which it was built. Then he tosses out the challenge: Throw yourself down for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,” and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” The devil quotes right out of Psalm 91 that we recited this morning. But Jesus again quotes scripture from the very Law of God, “Thou shall not put the Lord thy God to the test.” He could have revealed himself in full glory, which he humbly left behind in order to become incarnate but instead he puts the conversation to an end. Essentially he is saying, “Enough is enough! I am a man for now but you are playing with matches which will produce a flame that is beyond your control.” And the devil knew that he had lost this round and left him waiting for a more opportune time. And the next line that we didn’t read this morning says that Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. He was led into the wilderness by the Spirit and came out of it full of the Spirit.

Each time that Jesus was confronted with temptation what did he do? He went to the Holy Scripture in order to discover God’s will through God’s word. Yes Jesus is God and he could have smitten the devil like the flea that he is at any time but instead he used the gifts that God has provided for all of us. This is extremely insightful. We can discover God’s will by reading His word. Our catechism on page 853 in the BCP states that we call the Holy Scriptures the Word of God because God inspired their human authors and because God still speaks to us through the Bible! If we did it more often when confronted with the temptations in our own lives, our lives would be less confusing. It’s like pushing the Easy button in that Staples commercial on television, just read and obey the Word of God. Not that life would be easy. Once we choose to follow God’s will the more the devil will try to knock us off the path. And one of the ways that he tries to do this is by using scripture or any other gift that we have been given to entice us into his way of thinking by twisting or perverting it deceptively. So it is necessary to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the word of God so that we will recognize when it is being taken out of context, and in time, resisting the world, the flesh, and the devil will become easier. N.T. Wright, the Bishop of Durham says, “It is a central part of Christian vocation to learn to recognize the voices that whisper attractive lies, to distinguish them from the voice of God, and to use the simple but direct weapons provided in scripture to rebut the lies with truth.”

What Jesus did was very important. He has set a perfect example for us. He could have chosen to use his divinity to make up for the limitations of his humanity but he didn’t. And by not doing so he is letting us know that he is taking his part in the plan of salvation seriously. By not doing so he is showing us how to use our gift of free will properly by choosing not to fall sway to the deceit of the devil as Adam and Eve did. By not doing so he is showing us how to obey God. He knew that to fall prey to the devil would be to fall into the earthly way of thinking about salvation: that of power and might and the sword. But by resisting temptation he knew that he was following the heavenly way of thinking about salvation: that of faithful and humble obedience by way of the cross.

On this first Sunday in Lent, I once again invite you all to observe a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. This is what Jesus would do. Gloria Patri