The Story 24 -The Temptation of Christ

Transcription

1 [DURING SERVICE, HAVE MATT 3:13 4:11 READ] The Story 24 -The Temptation of Christ Preached by Mr. Adam Williams Converge International Fellowship 6. July, 2014 Good afternoon. My name is Adam Williams, and it is my privilege to be able to bring to you the message today, as we continue working our way through the Bible in one year, and in particular as we look at the life of Jesus over the next several weeks. OPENING PRAYER Last week you celebrated Christmas! Well, perhaps not with turkey and all the trimmings, but singing carols and looking at the birth of Christ. Today we are jumping forward 30 years to the start of Jesus public ministry. But what about the intervening period? Well, we don t know very much. We have a glimpse into Jesus childhood (almost manhood in Jewish terms) around a visit to the Temple. We know he had siblings, and his father disappears from the story, so one can imagine he died at some point. Apart from that, it seems there is nothing notable to be recorded. Jesus lived a normal life, one could imagine as a carpenter, if he followed in his father s trade. So we pick up the story when Jesus is about to start his public ministry. First, to mark this change in direction from private life to public ministry, Jesus is baptised. Not because he has sinned and needs to show evidence of his new life. Baptism marks taking on a new direction in life, and so it was for Jesus, as he sets off in a new direction. And perhaps more importantly, God the Father is involved, giving explicit confirmation of who Jesus was. Immediately after this, comes the first (but not the last) recorded temptations of Jesus, and that is what we are going to concentrate on today. So, Jesus has come out of hiding, so to speak, and is about to start his public ministry, which he knows will eventually end with his death on the cross. And it is at this point that Satan comes, to try and derail Jesus even before he starts. Because Satan knows that if he can persuade Jesus to avoid the cross, or even go to the cross, but having sinned, then God s plan to save mankind will fail, and Satan will emerge the victor. So even before Jesus starts on that path which will eventually lead to his death and resurrection, Satan is there trying to prevent it. Today we are looking in particular at the temptations that Jesus faced just after his baptism, when he went into the wilderness for forty days. And I hope that we will learn not just something about how Jesus dealt with these temptations, but get some practical advice for ourselves when we face temptation, as we all undoubtedly will.

2 First, let s have a look at when these temptations took place. They are described in Matthew, Mark and Luke s gospel. Mark as normal has the shortest description, but Matthew and Luke are very similar, differing mainly only in the order in which the temptations were faced. As I already mentioned, the temptations came immediately after Jesus had been baptised by John, and confirmed by God as His Son. This was a time of particular closeness to God, and yet it is followed by the Holy Spirit calling him into the desert for forty days, when the temptations took place. So perhaps the first thing we can learn is that temptation often comes immediately after a period of particular closeness to God. So we should not be surprised when, after wonderful worship, or exceptional fellowship, or insightful teaching, we are faced with temptation. The second thing we should note is that it is not God who is tempting Jesus, but Satan. God does not tempt anyone the tempting comes from the devil. God allows us to be tempted, but we have his promise in 1 Cor 10:13 that we will not be tempted beyond what we can endure. God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out, so that you can stand up under it. The temptation of Jesus had significant parallels with the history of the Israelites. Jesus was baptised in the Jordan. For us, baptism is a sign of new life, and similarly, the Israelites were rescued to a new life by being brought out of Egypt through the Red Sea. Then Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days the Israelites were in the wilderness for forty years. And finally the Israelites failed and rebelled continually during those forty years Jesus knew that he must not fail and give in to temptation, if he was to fulfil God s plan for Him. The first temptation appears straightforward. After forty days of fasting, Jesus was naturally hungry, and Satan plays on this physical weakness. Just turn these rocks into bread. You know you can do it. Then you don t need to be hungry any longer. But this temptation is more than just tempting Jesus to have something to eat when he is supposed to be fasting. It undermines Jesus s trust in God providing for him. If Jesus is God s son, then why is God not providing for him? He is tempted to doubt that God will provide for him, and to do it for himself. Is that not also one of the many temptations we face? We think we are self-sufficient, that we don t need God, that we can solve our own problems and provide for ourselves. We maintain an illusion of control of our lives. As Eric pointed out to me at a recent men s breakfast, the difference between those who maintain an illusion that they are in control of their lives, and those who recognise that they need God, this difference can be as little as one phone call. Imagine that call (an accident, a redundancy, an illness, a death), which turns your life upside down, and suddenly you realise that you are no longer in control. Jesus counters this temptation, as he does all of them, by using scripture. (Read DEUT 8:1-3). The Israelites were in the same situation as Jesus hungry after wandering in the wilderness; given manna so that they would realise that man does not live by bread alone. God provided for them miraculously he would provide for Jesus too.

3 So let us resist the temptation that we can provide for ourselves, that we do not need God, by remembering that we are just one call away from completely losing control of our lives, and remembering that God has promised to provide for us let us seek him for our needs, and not rely on ourselves. The second temptation is for Jesus to prove to others that he is God s son, by throwing himself down from the top of the temple, for surely God will keep his promise to keep him from harm. Satan here tries to use scripture to support his argument. But his quotation of Psalm 91 is not complete. Satan quotes verses 11 and 12 (READ THEM). But he omits the conditions which are necessary for this promise in verses 9 and 10 (READ THEM). So the promise is flawed, because if Jesus jumps, he is no longer dwelling in the Most High. Again Jesus counters this temptation with scripture from Deuteronomy. He refers to Massah, which is where the Israelites tested God because they were thirsty and insisted on something to drink. This testing of God is in fact what prevented Moses from entering the promised land. But Jesus is well aware of the danger of testing God. The first two temptations play on who Jesus is during his baptism he has received clear confirmation of being God s son. So the temptations could be summarised as follows: If you really are his Son surely he doesn t want you to go hungry. If you really are his Son, surely you want people to see who you really are. In the third temptation, it is as if Satan is getting desperate, and switches tactic completely. [READ Matt 4: 8-9] Forget about God your Father - just worship me, and I ll give you power like no one has ever had. [QUOTE FROM TASKER]. Jesus is tempted to achieve directly sovereignty over the world without going via the cross. It is the ultimate example of the ends justify the means. Of course, these temptations are not the last that Jesus faced. As Luke writes, Satan left him until an opportune time. He would return later to try and derail Jesus from his mission to reconcile humanity and God. Peter is Satan s vehicle to try and persuade Jesus not to go to Jerusalem in the run up to his arrest and crucifixion [READ Matt 16:21-23]. On the cross, people taunt Jesus to demonstrate his power and come down from the cross [READ Matt 27:39-43]. In fact, this incident is the central theme to a very controversial film released in 1988, called The Last Temptation of Christ. It was not based on the Bible, but on the book of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis, although it drew heavily on the Gospel stories. Although I have not seen the film, which was considered blasphemous, I have read a synopsis of the plot, and the last temptation is the one Jesus faced on the cross, to come down from the cross and just be normal good person. Since I doubt you will watch the film, I think I can safely tell you the ending, which is that he resists this final temptation.

4 And whatever you might think of the film, avoiding the atonement of the cross was actually the principle goal of all the temptations which Jesus faced, either by preventing him from reaching the cross, or by causing him to sin. That Jesus was subject to temptation is one of the things which confirms his humanity, and which can help us in our fight against temptation. [READ Heb 4:14-15] So we can be reassured that he knows exactly what we are going through when we are being tempted. [QUOTE FROM WRIGHT] So let s look at some of the practical ways in which we can deal with temptation. To start with, prevention is better than cure. In the Lord s prayer, we read [READ Matt 6:9-13]. Not only does this remind us that we should be relying on God not ourselves (the opposite of Satan s first temptation), it reminds us that avoiding temptation is easier than resisting in : Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. We see that the root of temptation is Satan, and that if we can avoid temptation, we will find it much easier. So if you are tempted to eat too much chocolate perhaps the answer is just not to buy any when you go to the supermarket. If you don t have any chocolate in the house, it s a lot easier to resist the temptation of eating it (although there is always the possibility of a trip to the all-night garage where there s a will there s a way!). Some legalism in the Christian life is intended to avoid temptation :. - Don t drink any alcohol (to avoid the temptation of drinking too much alcohol). - people of the opposite sex shouldn t sleep in the same room as each other (to avoid the temptation of having sex) - another example If we can t avoid temptation (and for sure, we can t avoid all temptations), then we need to resist. As Oscar Wilde said I can resist everything except temptation. So how do we resist temptation? One thing we can do is use the only active element of the armour of God described in Eph 6 : the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Since Jesus used this to resist the temptations he faced, it is surely good advice for us to follow the same approach. So we can become familiar with scripture (even memorise it) so that if tempted, we can recall God s promises and commands. Secondly, we can pray. We are in a spiritual war, so in the thick of battle, when temptation strikes, let s call on God to intervene and rescue us. How about making yourself more accountable to a close Christian friend? It is easier to give in to temptation if only you know you have done it. If you are tempted in some area, tell your Christian friend

5 about it. Apart from them being able to pray for you, you will be less likely to give in if you are accountable to them. We can also be ready for temptation. Perhaps we cannot avoid a situation which will lead to temptation. Then we need to recognise that temptation will come, and be ready to resist it. For example, you know you will face some difficult situation at work when you know you will be tempted to say a few negative things behind the back of your boss. Being aware of this danger before you get into the situation enables you to deal with it better than just walking in blind. We should encourage ourselves that God has promised that he will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can endure. So it is never necessary to give in to temptation. He will give us a way out, somehow, and although I don t want to go into details here, I can testify that God can rescue us from even the greatest temptations. But even if we avoid temptation as much as we can, and resist as best we can, eventually we will give in to one temptation or another. Unlike Jesus, none of us are perfect, so at some point we will fail, we will give in to temptation, and we will sin. What then? That is one of the most wonderful aspects of the Christian message. If we give in to temptation, if we sin, then if we repent, we can be forgiven for the sin which we have committed. Since Jesus did not give in to the temptation to sin, nor the temptation to avoid his death on the cross, he came to the cross, died, and paid the price for all our sins. This is the gospel, the good news of Christ : that the condemnation due to us for our sins has been taken by Christ. And after death, God raised Christ to new life, and we too can enter into new life. And so we can see that Satan was completely defeated by the crucifixion and resurrection. Does this mean we can just keep on giving in to temptation, since we can be forgiven everything anyway? Of course not : As Paul writes (READ Romans 6:15) we have a new master. So to summarise, let us remember: - It is not a sin to be tempted - Temptation is not just to commit deliberate sin but also to deviate from our vocation / calling - Christ has faced temptations so He knows what you are going through - We have many things to help us against temptation: for example God s word, prayer, Christian friends - God will not let us be tempted beyond our capability to resist - If we fail, we can repent and be forgiven CLOSING PRAYER