Sermon 9th March 2014

Today, the first Sunday in Lent, our Vicar, Cameron Barker, preaches. The reading is from Matthew 4 verses 1-11.

Beginnings matter: hugely! How something or someone starts out often determines the whole way ahead. Falling at the first hurdle can mean that the race is over as soon as it has begun.

Matthew 4 is the illustration of just how beginnings matter. It’s no exaggeration to say that if Jesus had fallen at this hurdle, we wouldn’t be here now. That’s how vital it was for Jesus to choose the right path, right from the start of his public ministry. If Jesus had made even one wrong choice in that desert, God’s plan to save the world would have been dead in the water. So how Jesus began this journey was foundational to all that then followed. And the importance of Jesus’ journey to the cross really can’t be understated. Given what it accomplished for all people for all time, it has no equal; and it never will do.

The great news is that we have still got 41 days to reflect on what Jesus’ journey meant, and how it affects us. I can see some puzzled looks: 41 days? Where does that number come from? Any good Anglican knows that Lent only lasts 40 days; and those began last Wednesday. Good Anglican are right of course – but so am I. From now until the day before Easter there are 41 days. So, by Easter Day we should be well ready for a party. And we will be ready, if we use these next 41 days to get ready for the key event in the entire Christian year.

So that’s the journey that we are setting out on today: a journey to get ready for a party. There’s a great pre-party this year: the re-opening of St Paul’s on Palm Sunday (hopefully). But before you get too excited, this also needs saying now. As with all parties, there is much work to do to get ready for it. And the type of preparatory work that we will have to do is clearly signaled by what Jesus experienced in the Galilee desert.

He may have been thinking ‘party’ himself, after what had just happened to him. As it’s been a while since we’ve been through the early part of Jesus’ life, let’s remind ourselves of where this event fits into the wider story. In Matthew, Jesus’ encounter in the desert is the second episode in his public ministry. What happened immediately before, at the end of chapter 3, was his baptism. At that, Jesus heard a voice from heaven declaring him to be God’s Son, and the Holy Spirit came on him in the form of a dove.

How affirming must that have been? What great next step might Jesus have expected after that happened? So how instructive for us that this is what followed that spiritual high. It may not be what we might expect, much less hope for, after such an experience; but this is what happened to Jesus. That same Spirit then led Jesus into the desert, to face this series of temptations – or ‘testings’ is perhaps a better translation. And note this happened at God’s initiative: it was what He wanted and needed, not least to show what is possible for us too.

Now it may be that Jesus ‘only’ expected to fast and pray in the desert. That in itself wouldn’t be a bad habit for us to pick up this Lent: how to fast and pray more. Jesus spent 40 days doing it, which would be challenging for most of us. But as he prepared to begin his public ministry, Jesus experienced so much more than just that: he was also tempted (or tested) by the devil. And yes, as those who have heard me on this subject before know, I really do believe in the devil’s existence. Jesus obviously did so himself, because it could only have been he who told his disciples what happened to him. Jesus knew too that Bible says there is an enemy who opposes God and all those who follow him. So that is a fact which we’d best not ignore either, if we want to journey on in faith. And what better example of how to resist this enemy can we learn from than Jesus’ own here?

For Jesus it was crucial to begin his journey the right way. Jesus knew who he was; the events at his baptism had just confirmed that. He knew what he had come to do: to die so people could be reconciled to God. He knew that would be more lonely, difficult and painful than we can ever imagine. But he knew too what he would achieve if he obeyed God. So Jesus was determined to do whatever it took to do that: or was he?!

That, in effect, was the question the devil put to Jesus. Was Jesus prepared to do what it took, to pay the price? Or would he consider taking an easier route, one that would cost him less? Of course there was more to the devil’s tactics than that. Even from this short account, we can see that. That key question, about whether Jesus would do what it would take wasn’t the devil’s starting point, though. On the surface he appears to have come at Jesus where he thought he would be weakest. Is Matthew 4:2 the biggest understatement in Bible: “After fasting for 40 days and 40 nights he was hungry.”?

Jesus was well hungry: which was why it would have been such a tempting temptation to turn stones into bread. And for Jesus it was a temptation: unlike us, he had the power to do it – but he wasn’t going to. And he told devil straight that he wasn’t. Why not? Well, Jesus spotted the hook in the bait (and there always is one). It was the devil’s opening words that showed his true intent. It may have been subtle, but it was clear: ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread’. ‘If you are …’. Jesus had just had his identity affirmed at his baptism: now the devil was inviting him to prove it. But Jesus was secure enough not to need to play that game, and so he refused to.

There was nothing intrinsically wrong with what the devil invited Jesus to do here. Turning stones into bread wouldn’t have been sinful in itself. Later on Jesus fed 5 000 people with next to nothing, remember. But, on this occasion it would have been an abuse of power for personal ends. Jesus would have been turning aside from what he was supposed to be doing – fasting and praying. And he’d have been doing it to do something he didn’t need to: prove who he was.

So in your journey with God, this Lent and beyond, beware falling into this trap. Beware of trying to prove you really are a Christian. Watch out that you don’t give in to doing a right thing at the wrong time – or in the wrong way. And beware of doing so just because you may have some legitimate need that you think you need to meet. Make sure you are aware which needs have priority. That’s what Jesus told the devil: “human beings / man shall not live on bread alone”.

Jesus had no extra resource to resist the devil. All he had was his knowledge of who God is and what God wanted. And that knowledge was drawn primarily from the Bible. Jesus stood against this temptation (and all the others) by knowing and quoting God’s Word. That’s how we can stand against temptation too: by knowing and quoting God’s Word. So there’s another possible discipline for us this Lent: how about getting to know God’s Word better than we do now?

We really do need to know the Bible, and to know it well. And to prove that, look at Jesus’ next temptation. What we need to note is that the devil knows the Bible! And he is capable of quoting it in his attempt to distract us from following God. It’s what he did to Jesus, in verse 6. The devil quoted  Psalm 91 to try and get Jesus to jump from the highest point of the Temple. The devil’s claim was that God’s angels would protect Jesus if he jumped. But anyone who knows Psalm 91 knows that the devil used it selectively. He left out those parts which make it clear this is a general promise, not a specific one. We also know that doing something like this goes against the overall nature of God’s Word. Demanding God protect us from the consequences of our foolish actions is unacceptable – as Jesus said to devil. Quoting Scripture again: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test’.

Note too that the devil’s starting point was the same here – still in verse 6: ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down’. Again he was questioning Jesus’ identity, and suggesting that Jesus prove it by exercising his rights as God’s Son. We’re very into our rights these days: always being told to exercise them, in all areas of life. We think, and are told, that we are ‘entitled’ to rights that we can demand. Well, I’d suggest that we be very, very careful about demanding our ‘rights’ from God: especially this Lent; and especially if there’s someone else who’s saying that we should do so. There may well be a hook buried inside that juicy-looking bait!

The crux of the temptations that Jesus faced as he began his public ministry comes at the end, as Matthew orders them. The devil somehow showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world – and offered to give them to him. Of course there was a catch; slipped in almost by-the-bye. Imagine: to get now what you know you will get in the end, but without having to pay the cost. How attractive might this offer have been to Jesus?

How tempting are short-cuts? How easy is it to persuade ourselves it doesn’t really matter, because the ends justify the means? Christians need to beware that sort of thinking: for us, how we get there is as important as that we get there. And Jesus knew that applied to him above all. This wasn’t primarily about him becoming king of the world: that was only a by-product of him going faithfully and obediently to the cross. What mattered most was that by going God’s way, all the way, Jesus could potentially rescue everyone from eternal death.

And then there was the price of that short-cut. For Jesus it was to worship the devil. That, as he revealed  his true intent at last, was what the devil demanded of Jesus: his worship. It may have seemed a small price to pay; but the consequences for us would have been beyond imagining. If Jesus had taken the easy road here, and turned away from the way that led to the cross, the Christian faith would never have existed. Whether Jesus knew that detail or not; he certainly wasn’t going to turn aside from God’s way. Quoting the Bible again, Jesus said: “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’.”

Matt only records these 3 specific temptations; but this was doubtless far from ‘it’. Jesus stood firm, at every turn. In the end, the devil gave up; but only for while. As is clear throughout the story, he came back at Jesus time and again, always trying to knock him off course. But Jesus survived this early test: he proved right from the start that he would go God’s way, all the way. It was the long, hard way, that required repeated choices of obedience; it was the way that would take him to the cross – in order to die there for us all.

Through this Lent we will follow Jesus’ journey to the cross. This is a journey that we can, and should, learn much from, in so many ways. This year we have a new offering designed to help our learning from each step of the journey: details of how we can use this pack of post cards this Lent is coming later. However we do it, what we can learn from Jesus’ example is how to stay faithful to God no matter what. We can learn how to do the right thing at the right time, and how to do it the right way. But, be warned that if we do want to live this way, then temptations will come at us too – as they did at Jesus – to attempt to distract us from going God’s way.

The good news is that we can stand against temptation as Jesus did – if we know, and live by, God’s word. However we may perhaps have fared before, this is a journey that now goes from here, based on key principles that we can affirm today. So: will you trust in who God has made you in Christ? Will you choose to go God’s way, all the way? Will you fast and pray? What about reading the Bible daily? If we will do these things then we really can learn how to stand against temptation. We will also learn lessons that will help our journey with God far beyond Lent. Yes; and we will be truly ready for that great Easter party which we’re preparing for. So let’s pray that we will do all of that and more, then …