Tested in the Wilderness
Luke 4:1-13
After his baptism, Jesus was affirmed by the Father and anointed by the Spirit. Now the same Spirit who descended on Jesus in the form of a dove leads Jesus into the desert, where he will be tempted for forty days by the devil himself. Importantly, beyond leading Jesus into this difficult circumstance, the Spirit also fills him, thereby empowering Jesus for the moment.
Though the text intimates that temptation was a constant throughout Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness, we are given special insight into the end of that time when three particular temptations come to the fore: bread, shortcuts, and presumption. The first temptation - turning stones to bread - comes after forty days of fasting. Knowing that Jesus is hungry, the devil challenges him to feed himself if he really is God’s son. Here, Jesus refuses to use his power apart from God’s leading, opting instead to focus on God’s word rather than his own hunger. The second temptation - ascending to world power by worshiping the devil - offers Jesus a shortcut to the end of his journey without suffering. Here, it is important to note that every knee will bow to Jesus but that his journey to exaltation went through the shame of the cross. Rather than making a deal with the devil, Jesus opts to worship God alone, complete with the journey that entails. The third temptation - throwing himself from the temple - has to do with presuming on God’s protection. Though a promise has been made in scripture, Jesus chooses a course that does not test God unnecessarily.
Importantly, the temptations of Jesus are not far from the temptations of our own experience. After all, can’t we all relate to using our strength apart from God, wanting to take shortcuts that entail deals with the devil, and wanting unnecessarily to presume on God’s good will? In one sense, Luke’s narrative offers us insight into overcoming temptation in our own lives. Just as Jesus was empowered by the Spirit and employed scripture in the midst of temptation, so also can we his people.
In another sense, something far larger is happening in Jesus’ temptation than in our own. If you’ll recall the story of the Exodus, Israel came through the water of the Red Sea and spent forty years in the wilderness because they tested God. In the temptation narrative, we see Jesus coming through the waters of the Jordan River in baptism and spending forty days in the wilderness. Sound familiar? In a real sense, Jesus, the representative Israelite, is retreading Israel’s steps with one important difference: whereas Israel tested and displeased God, Jesus stays true. In both a personal and cosmic sense, the temptation for Jesus is a time of testing. On the personal level, he must choose God’s way. On the cosmic level, he must succeed where Israel failed, thereby taking the hopes and promises of Israel on himself. Through Jesus, God will fulfill his promise to Abraham to make him a blessing to all nations. On both the personal and cosmic levels, Jesus passes the test. Next, he will begin his ministry.
One further point to consider in this story is the use of scripture. In response to all three temptations, Jesus quotes passages from Deuteronomy. He isn’t the only one quoting scripture, though. In the third temptation, the devil quotes a section from Psalm 91, and Jesus must discern which portion of scripture is appropriate to the moment. In this, we see that not every use of scripture is valid. Indeed, sometimes scripture can be employed in downright devilish ways. How are we to know the difference? Here, I think we need to let Jesus lead. He is the key to our interpretation of scripture.
Last year, Psalm 91 (and a few other passages) made plenty of appearances in discussions about masks, distancing, and worship, often becoming the impetus for flouting public health guidelines. In this line of thought “faith over fear” became the rallying cry, the idea being that faith in God’s protection meant not wearing a mask, etc. Yet, was this a valid use of Psalm 91? If we allow Jesus to speak, we hear him summing up the Law like this:
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40, NIV)
According to Jesus, love of God and love of neighbor are paramount and serve as lenses for viewing everything else. A huge problem comes when we read passages like Psalm 91 apart from Christ. When we do, they float unmoored from the gospel story. When we bring Jesus into the picture, though, we, like Jesus himself in today’s passage, are able to put Psalm 91 into proper context. The question is not whether Psalm 91 is true. The question is how Psalm 91 fits into the Jesus story in this particular moment. What does it mean to view this passage through the lens of Jesus’ example and teaching? What does that mean for this moment in history? Now, that is a discussion worth having. Moreover, it is a discussion that will lead us in the direction of sacrifice for the sake of our neighbors rather than unnecessarily testing the Lord’s good will.
I love that Psalm 91 is about shelter, refuge, and a dwelling place. Since 2020, we have had to take refuge and I find great comfort in knowing that I can cling to the certainty that I dwell with God in His dimension at the same time I dwell here in an uncertain world with an unclear future. It is sad to me that some have used this Word as a means to live without protecting themselves and others from this invisible force of nature. It is a comforting Word in assurance of protection, but if we look to the example of Jesus - this does not mean protection from physical death but protection from spiritual death. Jesus was our ultimate example of abiding. He set himself in the shelter of the Most High and yet his body died. He sustained great affliction, mentally and physically. I have heard some say that we must put our own bodies on the line for others, trusting that God will keep us from harm, trusting that the pandemic isn't truly a great threat. But isn't the purpose of putting our bodies on the line for others that we might die?
My local congregation says we should be looking to other countries and states and seeing that there are a multitude of responses one can make to the pandemic, the christian should be courageous in stepping out however their conscience guides them. I have great difficulty with this thought because it makes the pandemic an individual issue, not a global issue and I feel that that is a mirror of our church unity problems. We let our faith be an individual response rather than a community response. We've all decided to be experts ourselves, not letting anyone be an expert for us. And just like bad science where we can create an experiment to say what we want it to say rather than actually thinking objectively - we have created bad theology in that we are using scripture to say what we want it to say rather than abiding and asking for God to guide us. With this in mind, I think we need to look at Psalm 91 in the plurality of who it speaks of. If we don't start from the beginning, "You who live in the shelter of the Most High" (and see that this includes more than a single person) then we may read "no evil shall befall you" as a personal promise for everyday life that leads us to take new testament freedoms and american liberty to form our conscience. But the end of Psalm 91 reminds us, it is "THOSE who love me, I will deliver". "I will be with THEM in trouble". Not that trouble won't befall. But that we lead with the Father. We let God be for us, with us, and we rest in His shadow. When I am in His shadow, no one sees me. Just like Jesus was in His shadow, Jesus' true glory was hidden in that shadow so God could be glorified - we should do likewise.
But I wonder. Because I don't want to judge the hearts of my pastors. I have been asked to not do that. I have been asked to see their intention as good. But, clearly, their good looks different than my good. So, we must agree that our conscience is different. They didn't believe that church life was sustainable without singing or with masks. They didn't believe life was sustainable at all without gathering. In some way, I would agree. God's design is community. But, God's design also is for creativity and endurance. As much as I may have a word of truth that speaks to idolatry in the lives of the people in my community, they can't hear it and it merely divides us. And, if I speak out, I wonder if I then step out of the shadow of the Almighty. I think that something that 2020 has taught us is that silence is not the same as peace, but how do we speak without drawing attention to ourselves and instead draw attention to the the Lord? I suppose the answer is to abide.