Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil

 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written,

'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:

'He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,' 

and,

'In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

- Luke 4:1-13

In yesterday's reading, we read about Jesus' baptism:  Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to lose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."  And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.  When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. My study bible tells us that "this exodus of Jesus into the wilderness following His baptism has a dual symbolism:  (1) the Old Testament type of Israel in the wilderness Exodus following the 'baptism' in the Red Sea; and (2) our new exodus of salvation from darkness to light, though yet in this world."

And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  Fasting, in many forms and in a variety of applications, still remains a viable part of our practice of worship and a practice of cultivating attention to God.  Lent remains a period of fasting for many Christians:  the fast is from all that distracts from the word of God, and God's way for us in our lives.

And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  My study bible tells us that "Satan's attempt here was to exploit the extreme hunger which the Lord experienced in His humanity.  The phrase, if You are the Son of God, shows Satan was seeking to generate self-doubt in Christ concerning His divinity, and to control His actions."

But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"   This is the point of practices such as fasting:  it is to focus on the word of God, the things that are essential, that come first.  If we think about the temptations to Christ here in today's passage, they serve as temptations to swerve off the course of God's word, Christ's mission.  They are distractions to what is truly of essence and importance to His mission in the world.  My study bible says, "The fullness of life sought by mankind is not found in material satisfaction, but in the revealed word of God."

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."   And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  A note here reads, "The devil claims to be the possessor of all worldly power and wealth, and attempts to turn Jesus from His true sonship and ministry.  Christ does not dispute the claim, but declares that man is to worship God alone."  In Jesus' response to the temptation of worldly power, we can see again the purpose of the forty day period:  it is focus.  What is His mission?  What is the thing God the Father has asked?  This is the point of true purpose, and that true purpose remains not just for Christ, but for each of us.

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,'  and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"   My study bible tells us:  "The third temptation (second in Matthew's order) concerns self-aggrandizement and vanity.  Is Jesus to base His ministry on new, spectacular acts designed to get people's attention?  He declares one is not to tempt God, that is, to test His providential love and care by thoughtless and vain acts."

 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.  My study bible notes that "in Luke's account of the temptations, the devil will bide his time for another opportunity to test Jesus."

Today's reading is all about temptations, temptations for how to use our capacities in life, worldly power, temptations to self-aggrandizement, and to swerve off the course of our focus:  that of God's service and God's love.  So how can we see mirrored through Jesus' life what is also essential to our life?  Jesus focuses on His mission.  Just after the Baptism, this is the first thing He does.  The fast, away from people, is a time of focus, of prayer, on the "facts of life" that really and truly matter.  It is a focus on mission and on service:  what does God call us to do?  How are we to change?  What is our true focus?  Fasting is a practice whereby we cease to make a fuss about the material things of life, and focus our energy and attention instead on the things that God is calling us toward.  Often this involves a shift in our perspective, a discarding of things that don't matter.  And in the example of Christ, it mirrors to us a shift to focus on labeling our temptations, focusing instead on what is more important, and discarding the things our "worldly" minds might suggest to us are important:  the material first, the acquisition of worldly position for its own sake before God's calling for us, the temptation to somehow "prove" we have God's grace, rather than to remain in the relationship of love where God places us and in which we abide.  Spectacular acts are not the point, and neither are they the point of fasting!  We don't earn grace; instead, the greatest lesson we can learn from this focus is that it is the love of God we put first, right where we are.  To abide in this love is to do the work of God.  So how can you put aside your temptations?  What practice helps to put the focus where it needs to be?  Can you get away for a time, for a minute or longer?  Can we put aside the fuss and bother of daily life, all the things that take up attention and time for a period of deliberate prayer, and focus in that love?  Let us think of love right where we are, and remember whenever we are tempted with the things of the world that distract us:  the point is God's love, to abide in that place, and to focus.  Let us remember that it is the Spirit that led Jesus to this time, and that it is the Spirit who may lead us also away for a time, to focus and sense what is truly of essence in our lives.