Scripture Reflections

On Sunday we heard Luke 4:1-13, which records Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. The temptations likely don’t seem tempting to us—only “command this stone to become bread” even really makes sense—but that isn’t because we aren’t tempted by the same things. Most temptation looks a bit odd when pulled into the light and reported this factually. There is a seduction we feel in the midst of temptation that loses its power when the actual temptation is named out loud in a clinical fashion, and when named out loud, temptation usually seems a little strange. “Why on earth would anyone want to do that?”

A little thoughtfulness and imagination reveal that Jesus was tempted in ways that are common to us all. In each instance, he was offered something legitimate. Material comfort and provision, proof of the Father’s love, power and influence—not only were these legitimate desires, Jesus actually deserved all of them! We all desire these things in some degree, and we all assume that we deserve them in some sense.

The temptation is not usually even the thing itself. The real temptation is how and when we acquire it, and Jesus’ responses to temptation reveal our own sinfulness. There is nothing wrong with the desire for material comfort and provision, but does it rank higher than the word of God in our daily life? A little self-reflection likely reveals that we depend far more on what we eat and our finances than God’s word. There is nothing wrong with wanting God to demonstrate his love for us, but do we set the terms for what it means for him to love us? Again, self-reflection likely reveals how frequently we put him to the test by assuming that, if God loves us, a certain area of life must be fulfilled or fixed. And there is nothing wrong with wanting a voice and influence amongst our family and friends or in our workplaces, but do we bend the knee to the devil to get it? In other words, do we seek to achieve it using the world’s methods of selfishness, pride, slander, and dishonesty? Self-reflection reveals how frequently we take matters into our own hands and operate with the devil’s tools in seeking influence.

The way of Christ could not be more clear. He does not deny that the thing is legitimate, and he does not debate the devil (that would be a fool’s errand!). He simply refuses the bait, buttressing his refusal with Scripture. The posture we see is of one utterly convinced that the Father will give him what he needs at exactly the right moment. And that is what we are called to; this is what faith looks like in action. The way of Jesus is to approach every situation with the deep conviction that God will provide what we need, in his timing. To take matters into our own hands and grasp for things as if God won’t provide them is sin, because it is an act of coveting and a failure of faith.

The only remedy for our continual grasping, our failure of faith and our covetousness, is the life of Jesus. He conquered the temptations common to us all and offers his very life to us, so that in him, we might be able to wait in faith for the Father to provide everything. There is no need for us to grasp in covetous doubt, “For all things are yours, whether … the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.” (I Cor. 3:22-23)

Steven+