Luke 4:1-13
Today’s Gospel reading from Luke 4 tells the story about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. He is made vulnerable, and we are given an intimate look at who he is on the basis of what he rejects. After his baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert region on the other side of the Jordan River. He is there for forty days (which, by the way, is the reason our season of Lent lasts for 40 days). Like Jesus, we fast and pray during this time of reflection and contemplation. We seek God’s leading for our lives—to know our God-given purpose.
And, like Jesus, we face the reality and the power of temptation. We become vulnerable.
After fasting for so long, Jesus is hungry. The devil says, “If you are really the Son of God, make these stones turn to bread, and eat up.” Jesus refuses. “One does not live by bread alone,” he says. He is defined by what he renounces and therefore remains true to his identity.
Jesus is empty, and the devil offers him a career in government, saying “If you’ll just worship me, I’ll give you riches and power, and put you in charge of the most powerful nation in the world.” Jesus refuses, quoting from Deuteronomy the words of his Father, “Worship the Lord and serve only him.”
Satan is not offering Jesus just any old temptation. It’s a temptation comparable to identity theft. It’s temptation to lay aside his mission, what he has been called to do, and move on to more agreeable work. It is a temptation to be the God he is not. It is a temptation on his very being…his moral character!
There are many sermons that can be preached from this text, but the one we most need to hear is that the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is the greatest temptation of all!! The devil tempts Jesus to make his life and his mission all about HIMSELF—you can have a full belly Jesus; you can have success and wealth, Jesus; you can have power over life’s difficulties, Jesus! That’s what the devil offers Jesus at one of the most vulnerable times in his life!
But the reality is, Jesus wasn’t born to elevate his own life. Jesus was born not to save himself but to teach us all how to elevate one another.
Rev. Dr. Debi Powell-Maxwell
3/9/2025
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