If You are the Son of God

 

Temptation of Christ, mosaic, 1100-1150.  Barrel vault detail, Basilica di San Marco, Venice

 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 

 

Yesterday 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.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.   My study bible tells us that this exodus of Jesus into the wilderness following His baptism has a dual symbolism.  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 is a prefiguration of our own journey through the fallen world after baptism, as we struggle towards the Kingdom.  Let us note once more the powerful role of the Holy Spirit, right from the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.   First the text tells us that Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit after His Baptism in the Jordan.  And also, Jesus was then led by the Spirit into the wilderness, for His forty days of temptation by the devil.  

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.'"    My study bible asks us to note that each time Christ rebukes the devil, it is with the truth and power of Scripture.  It says that this teaches us, the faithful, to become immersed in Scripture in order to resist and drive away every temptation (see Psalm 119:11).  All of Jesus' quotations from Scripture come from Deuteronomy, the recounting of the time of the temptation of Israel during the forty years of struggle toward the Promised Land.  Here He quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3.  Jesus' struggle with the devil and the temptations put before Him is marked by the temptation for an earthly kingdom.  Here specifically the temptation is for earthly comfort in the "food which perishes" (John 6:27).  My study bible notes that while Adam disregarded the divine word in order to pursue the passions of the body (Genesis 3), the New Adam, Christ, conquers all temptation by the divine word, giving human nature the power to conquer Satan. 

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.'"  It's very interesting that the text tells us something "marvelous" -- that the devil showed Christ all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.   In John's Gospel, Jesus calls the devil "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11).   He's also called "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), because the whole world is in his power (1 John 5:19).  But God's Kingdom is not one of earthly power and possessions, my study bible tells us.  In the devil's test, Jesus is being asked to choose worldly power over the Kingdom of God.   But He refuses a road suggested by anything contrary to His mission; that includes the road of earthly glory, which would lead Him away from His suffering and death for the redemption of the world.  As in the Scripture He quotes, Jesus serves only God.  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:13.

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.'"   Here the devil attempts to quote from Scripture (Psalm 91:11-12).  But, my study bible says, he does so vainly (as do the Pharisees in John 7:52), but understands neither their truth nor their power.  To know and quote Scripture without true understanding, my study bible tells us, is worthless at best and ultimately condemnable.  Without true understanding through the Holy Tradition of the Church, the Scriptures are robbed of their authority.  That is, without the experience of all those whom St. Peter calls the holy people of God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit  (see 2 Peter 1:19-21).   Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:16.

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.   For those "opportune times" see Luke 22:40-46, 23:35; Matthew 16:21-23.

Let us note that even Jesus is not free from temptation in this world.  In Hebrews 4:15, St. Paul writes, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."   So clearly, if Jesus had to face temptation (and indeed, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be so tempted), why do we, as "moderns," tend not to take temptation very seriously?  It seems there might be some who feel that to be a faithful Christian is such a profound thing that it confers freedom from temptation.  We are taught to pray by Jesus that we are not led into temptation, but at the same time delivered from the evil one (Matthew 6:13, Luke 11:4).  There is really nothing in Scripture that says we won't be tempted, and so we need to consider very carefully Jesus' acts and response here.  Why does He go into the wilderness for forty days?  Why is it that we model our period of Lent prior to Easter along the same lines?  The traditional role of fasting is really one that addresses temptation, teaches us that we are capable of being disciplined, of saying "No" to something, and ignoring our own bodily or personal comfort in order to do so.   For this reason, fasting, in acceptable periods and norms, is a good practice so that we learn discipline in a spiritual sense.  We're not slaves to passions and temptations, to things that merely sound good but might not really be so.  We bind ourselves in loyalty first to God, as does Jesus in all the Scriptural quotations He uses here.   The Church has historically practiced fasting in imitation of Christ in the wilderness, and it gives us particular determination and reminder of where our top priorities are, and what we choose to serve in life.  It also teaches us that we are quite capable of sacrificing temporarily for something bigger, higher, more important.  We are not slaves.  In John chapter 8, Jesus says quite solemnly to those among the religious leaders, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin" (see John 8:31-36).  And so, our awareness of temptations, and our own commitment to discipleship, to discipline, becomes even more important to our own well-being when thought of in this light.  Almsgiving, fasting, and prayer all fall into this category of practice and strengthening discipleship, for each one involves some element of sacrifice for a greater good, a higher goal than is immediately before us in material or earthly terms.  In popular culture, it seems that we are constantly told that we need to be disciplined for reasons of personal appearance to others.  Quite often, this is put into terms of physical health, but truly that frequently comes second to our physical appearance and also our social appearance before others.  Advertising frequently appeals to our vanity:  foods to help us to slim down compete with hair care products, or pitches to our need to get on a bandwagon of some sort and take up a slogan are promoted by those who'll profit with power and wealth if we do so.  Temptations to give up our own sovereignty under the love and protection of Christ abound.  But it is our own practice of spiritual discipline and discernment which becomes the one thing necessary, especially in a world quite beset with a dizzying array of temptations, of things that sound great which hide ulterior motive, and seek to make us pawns of others -- just as the devil does in today's reading.  The devil begins two of his temptations with, "If You are the Son of God," seeking to strike a blow against Jesus' true identity and loyalty to God.  The other temptation seeks to take the place of God, tempting Jesus with worldly glory and authority, if only "You will worship before me."  But Jesus asserts His own power and authority, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!"  In teaching us about discipline and temptation, Jesus asks us to do the same, in a very particular sense.  He is here in this world, as is the gift of the Holy Spirit, in order to elevate human beings to sonship, to adoption by grace.  He teaches us that we also have the power to assert this authority, to pray in His name (and in the name of the Holy Trinity -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), and to resist and discern temptation.  By His truth He has come to set us free, to be our Deliverer and Savior, so that we are not slaves of sin, and not slaves to the ruler of this world.  Let us deeply consider the power on offer in all this, and keep in mind that even Jesus Himself was tempted.  Therefore let us not fool ourselves into thinking that we don't need to take spiritual discipline seriously.  He set the example -- and by way of the leading of the Holy Spirit -- for all of us, so that we might be free and resist the false allure of what sounds good, but seeks to make us less than we are:  children (sons) of God.