Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve"

 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 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 that as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John the Baptist, 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 loose.  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.   There is a dual symbolism here in Jesus' exodus into the wilderness, says my study bible.  First, it fulfills the Old Testament type, in which Israel journeyed in the wilderness for forty years after its "baptism" in the Red Sea.  Second, it prefigures each individual's own journey through the fallen world after baptism as we struggle towards the Kingdom.  Let's note that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.  The temptation happens while we are engaged in a spiritual journey; the struggle is part of the road in this world.

And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had 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.'"  We note that every time Christ rebukes the devil, it is "with the truth and power of Scripture," as my study bible puts it.  As faithful, we become immersed in Scripture in order to resist and drive away temptation (Psalm 119:11).  Jesus' quotations are from Deuteronomy, and speak of loyalty to God.  Here, the devil challenges His relationship to the Father.  Here the quotation is from Deuteronomy 8:3, reminding us of the temptation in the wilderness of the Israelites.

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.'"  Here Christ is tempted with the notion of authority.  This will come up again and again in His ministry, as the leadership in the temple will challenge Him, asking by what authority He does what He does.  But Jesus asserts His own authority as the stronger man, when He responds, "Get behind Me, Satan!"  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:13, asserting both the Father's and therefore His own authority.

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.'"  Satan also uses Scripture, but without understanding their truth nor their power.  (The Pharisees similarly use Scripture in error in John 7:52.)  My study bible says that knowing and quoting Scripture without true understanding is worthless and at best ultimately condemnable.  Outside of the work of the Spirit (at work in Holy Tradition), Scriptures are robbed of authority and truth.   The quotation is from Psalm 91:11-12.  We note also the malice and corrupt intent behind the quotation, another important indication that the use of Scripture will be false.

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:16.  Again, similarities will occur as the religious leadership repeatedly demands a sign from Christ to prove the presence and power of God, just as in the wilderness the Israelites tempted God (Exodus 17:1-7).

Now  when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.  There will be additional opportune time(s) for temptation.  My study bible refers us to Luke 22:40-46 and Matthew 16:21-23, both times when Jesus is tested when He is facing the Cross.

 How do we think about temptation?  I feel this is not an easy question, because there are so many ways into which we can be deceived into thinking that something is good for us when it is not, or that something is bad for us when in fact it is the way God leads us.  If we look at the examples that Jesus faces, His temptation often comes from "normal" human impulses.  He's fasting as a kind of practice of resisting temptation, a form of devotedness to God.  But every time Jesus is tempted it is in some sense based on the challenge to His identity as Son, testing His relationship to the Father, His identity from the Father.  His hunger may be a source of temptation, but Satan's real goal is something much deeper than simply tempting Christ on the basis of human need or vulnerability.  Satan's real goal is destroying the authority of God, the power of faith and the relationships of all beings, even the Son, in the truth of God.  Challenges and temptations may come in all kinds of forms, but the basic challenge is really to God's authority in us, the heavenly authority conveyed through faith.  That's the real temptation.  The devil in today's reading uses worldly goals to tempt, to deceive, to blind, but the real aim is the disruption of relationship to God, the destruction of saving faith.  And I think that's what we need to remember when we think about what temptation is.  There are all kinds of things in life that we need, that are essentially good, or that are even beautiful in many ways.  But the real question is all about where we find the fullest life, the truest beauty, a depth of joy, and a peace that isn't reliant on what everybody else thinks and does.  All of those things are rooted in salvation, the relationship to God, the life of fullness and abundance Christ offers us.  Real temptations are those things that seek to rob us of that abundance, and joy, and peace, and beauty.  They are the things that ask us to give up what truly fills us, the inheritance of sonship, the authority that offers real leadership in all times.  That is a loss that is eternal -- and internal.  We are asked to give up who we truly are, just as Christ is tempted to do here.  Let us remember where our real treasures are.