Lent 1 Luke 4:1-13 Wilderness Adventures
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Romans 10:8b-13 Luke 4:1-13
Many of our National forests here in Colorado have wilderness areas. These areas are usually pretty rugged parts of forest land that are closed to automobiles, ATV’s and even bicycles. Wilderness areas are great places to get away from the noise of civilization and be surrounded by God’s creation. National forests are essentially wilderness areas that are set aside for everyone to enjoy.
They are places that we all own and we all take care of through the taxes that we pay. Usually when we go into such places, we can get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and see a little bit of the peace and tranquility Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden. But the little bit of peace and tranquility found in today’s National Forest does not compare to the Garden of Eden.
Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with the land, animals and most importantly, with God. Their work of tending the Garden was a joy and God truly blessed them with a wonderful environment. They did not know hunger or thirst. Every seed-bearing plant and every tree that bore fruit was theirs to eat, except of course for one tree. They never got too warm or too cold.
Everything on the entire planet was theirs to take care of and to discover. They lacked nothing. During their brief time in the Garden, they were very close to God, and could walk and talk with Him in perfect worship. And they lived in an environment in which their bodies would suffer no harm. In fact God had designed them to live forever, except of course if they ate from that one tree.
God had spoken to Adam about that tree. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 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 surely die." Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV) And Adam, who God had put in charge of everything, surely told Eve not to eat from that one tree.
Because when the serpent questioned whether God had really given such a command, she replied, but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.” Genesis 3:3 (ESV)
Did you notice Eve added to God’s word? God had told Adam not to eat the fruit from that tree. Well perhaps Adam told her not to eat of the tree, to not even go near it or to even touch it. We do not know for sure what Adam said to her, but nevertheless Eve had added to God’s command. And the serpent quickly added to Eve’s misunderstanding and responded with a blatant denial of God’s word, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5 (ESV)
Well who could resist being like God? Eve did not realize that Satan was lying to her. When Eve saw that it was pleasing to the eye and good to eat, and also believing what Satan said about it being desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. Then she gave some to Adam and he also ate. So rather than trusting in God’s truth, she doubted God’s word and put her trust in the serpent’s lies.
Eve ate the fruit, Sin entered into the world and the Garden which was once a place of joy and fellowship with God became a place of shame, sorrow and hiding from God and from each other. Adam and Eve were now more aware of themselves and each other’s shortcomings.
To make matters worse, death had now entered into all of God’s creation. Essentially as their connection with God had been severed the harmony they had enjoyed with the created world became discord. Just as their spiritual relationship of trust and love with God was broken so also the whole world began to break.
God revealed the terrible repercussions of their actions that would now follow as a result of their eating from that tree. The consequences for Eve and all her descendants were that all women would now have to endure great pain in childbirth. As the world’s population increased, all mankind would suffer both physical and emotional pain.
And Adam and all others who would be born into the now fallen world would have to work hard to provide enough food to eat and to make matters worse, everyone would also desire to rule over each other.
Since then we no longer need Satan to tempt us to sin, although he and his demons still try. Even when we resist the temptation to sin, our sinful desires still remain. In this world, people still have to work for what they desire and we are always tempted to take shortcuts that are sinful.
We rush here and there seeking knowledge and wisdom to somehow get ahead. Ironically, we work so hard so we do not have to work so hard. We are tempted to not always do our best at work, or to steal what we want rather than get it honestly. We covet things that our neighbors have and sometimes plot and scheme how we may also have what they do.
And even when we have enough food, clothing and shelter, we are still not satisfied. There is always a longing to force our will over other people, to be in charge and to rule over them. Husbands want to rule over their wives, wives what to rule over their husbands. Children want to rule over their brothers and sisters and even over their parents. Others want to be retired, self-employed or be the bosses where they work. Still others want to be governors, senators, congressmen, presidents or kings. And still others want to rule the entire world, coveting everything the world contains, even if it means having to kill to get what they desire.
And worst of all, in the midst of all of our hard work, our striving for the good life and our desire to rule over all creation, we not only forget about God, but rather than heeding His word, we want to dictate to Him what we want to believe by adding or subtracting from what the bible plainly teaches. So we are all sinful with no way of making ourselves pure enough to connect with the purity of God on our own. Surely when we look at the wilderness we now live and die in, we can see it is a far cry from the world that our first parents enjoyed and the life God would have us live. But fortunately, God foresaw all of this and out of His love for us, He made plans for our Salvation.
In order to save us, to rescue us from this wilderness we now live in, it became necessary for God to intervene. Paul tells us in Hebrews (2:14-17), that He became a man in order to pay for our sins.
He explains “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”
And so Jesus was also tempted in every way that man was and still is. In our Gospel lesson Luke describes Jesus being tempted by Satan in the same manner that Adam and Eve; namely with human wants and desires.
God became a man to save all mankind. But in order to do that, He had to live a perfect life. Satan, out of his hatred for God, knew that if He could persuade Jesus to sin all of creation would be forever condemned. So Satan tempted Jesus in the same manner He tempted Adam and Eve.
But Jesus does not give in to temptation so readily. The old serpent tempts Jesus for forty days. He tries out those temptations by relying on the weakness of our Lord’s human flesh; first urging Jesus to turn the stones into bread to fill His aching stomach. But this is against the Father's Word and will for His Son in the wilderness, so Jesus refuses the devil's suggestion.
The devil tempts Him with power, promising to give Him all the kingdoms of the world without the suffering on the cross. But Jesus knows Satan does not have the authority to give the creator what the creator has made. And the devil tempts Jesus to pride, telling Him to test His Father by throwing Himself off the temple.
But once again, the sinless Son of God says ‘no.’ Jesus is not about self satisfaction or power or pride; He has not come to earth to rule over sinful people, rather He has come to earth to suffer and die for sinners so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
The life He would offer to all mankind would, in fact, be so abundant they would share life with Him in paradise forever and ever. He has become flesh for humble self-sacrifice and servant hood.
Satan uses scripture in his temptations, but Jesus is not falling for his misquotes. Rather Jesus uses scripture to interpret scripture correctly fighting off Satan’s poor theology with His undisputed perfect knowledge. And finally after forty days of battle, Jesus answers Satan with scripture that is a command that the devil cannot fight against. Jesus tells Satan outright, “It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”
When the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. That time would come on Good Friday, when Jesus would undergo pain, suffering and humiliation. But through it all Jesus remained free of sin and not use his power to save Himself even on the cross.
And because of His perfect life and His death for all mankind, those who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe it in their hearts are now saved. So we continue to live in the wilderness, enduring the temptations, the pain and the suffering that happen in a fallen world as we await our Lord’s return. But we do not suffer without hope because we have a Savior who understands all that we have to endure, here, in the wilderness.
As Saint Paul tells us, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” Hebrews 4:14-15.
So we continue to offer up to the Lord the fruits of our labors always looking forward to the day when we come into the land of milk and honey that the Lord our God has promised us. In Jesus name, Amen.