Category: Lent 1

Lead Us Not into Temptation

3/2/2020

James Tissot, Temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness, 1886-94, MetMuseum.org, Public Domain

Invocavit (Lent 1)
Gen. 3:1-21; Matthew 4:1-11
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
March 1, 2020

And Lead us not into temptation.
What does this mean?
God tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.

Jesus teaches us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer that our heavenly Father would lead us out of temptation. This is an important petition. We must not think that temptation is no big deal or that because we have the forgiveness of sins that it doesn’t matter whether we fall into temptation. Temptation leads to false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. It was falling for temptation by our first parents that plunged our human race into sin and death. The Apostle warns, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:12-13) And so it behooves us to pray to God for aid against temptation, so that we do not fall into a worse condition than we were in before we had Jesus.
God tempts no one. The tempter himself is Satan. In our Old Testament and Gospel lessons we heard how Satan tempted our first parents and won and how this same Satan tempted our Lord Jesus and failed. Jesus then became the perfect high priest, being tempted like us in every way, except without sin (Heb. 4:15). These were two very different outcomes, yet the old tempter didn’t change his technique. In both cases, Satan did what he always does. He lied.
“Did God really say...”, the serpent asked. He knew full well what God had said, yet, you’ll notice that he does not ask if God said what he actually said. He doesn’t ask if God really said that they were forbidden to eat of the tree that was in the midst of the garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Rather, he asked whether God forbad them from eating from any of the trees. He tricked Eve into engaging with him, but she was unprepared. The lies kept spewing from the liar’s mouth until Eve and her husband forgot the command of the Lord.
Likewise, Satan lied to Jesus every step of the way. Yet, Jesus did not consider the devil’s lies. He didn’t weigh them against sound reason. Rather, he responded with the holy Scriptures, the Word of God, which St. Paul calls the Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). Of course, Jesus did not need to quote Scripture and say what was written. Jesus is the incarnate Word Himself, the Son of God. He certainly could have driven Satan off immediately. Yet, Jesus purposefully used a weapon that each of us has at our disposal in order to teach us how to fight against Satan.
In the first temptation Satan attacks the Third Commandment, which teaches us to fear and love God, so that we do not despise preaching and God’s word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. Again, Satan is sly. He tells Jesus to prove that he is the Son of God by turning stones into bread. Jesus is hungry. He hasn’t eaten in forty days. And he certainly has the power to turn stones to bread or even raise up children for Abraham. Yet, Jesus knows that he does not prove himself to be the Son of God by satisfying his bodily hunger, but by doing the will of his Father, who sent him.
This teaches us that there is nothing more important than hearing and learning the Word of God. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” This isn’t hyperbole. You need to hear God’s Word more than you need to eat. In the Lord’s Prayer, we are taught to pray six petitions that have to do with our spiritual needs. Yet, we are taught only to pray one petition that concerns all our needs of the body. Yet, we think our bodily needs are more important. Satan frequently and with much success tempts Christians to consider their jobs, investments, property, and all other stuff more than hearing, learning, and conforming to the Word of God! It is God’s Word that gives us faith in Christ. God’s Word gives us the Holy Spirit. God’s Word gives us eternal life. Yet, we seek after bread, which perishes.
In the second temptation the Liar attacks the Second Commandment, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.” Satan in this temptation uses the Word of God. Yet, he misuses it. He perverts it, cutting it up and putting it back together. God indeed promises the protection of angels, but Satan leaves out the phrase, “to guard you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:11) Satan means for Jesus to put God to the test, which Scripture clearly forbids (Deut. 6:16).
Satan uses such a trick on us today. Then he tempted Jesus to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple. Now he tempts us to thrust ourselves into licentious sins. To behave licentiously means to behave unrestrained by the law, as if you have a license to sin. Satan misuses the Gospel itself, the greatest Word from God, to persuade Christians into un-Christian behavior. Scripture teaches us that we are saved by God’s grace apart from our works. And because Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, God’s grace will never run out. Where sins increase, so grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20-21). And what does the tempter do with this beautiful Gospel message? He asks, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” Even more, he asserts this! He convinces Christians that their sins cannot harm them, so long as they have a superficial knowledge of Christ. And he encourages Christians to continue in fornication, adultery, drunkenness, rivalry, slander, hatred, and any sin under the sun, with the false promise of rescue you from your sins even if you do not repent. “Cast yourself down into the abyss of sin! Don’t hold back! He’ll command his angels!” Yet, such reckless behavior would be to put God to the test. Christians must fight temptation and repent of their sins daily.
The tempters final test attacks the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods.” This seems like a wild attempt of a desperate fool. Who would bow down to Satan? Yet, imagine all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. Such a vision would certainly instill awe and wonder in any of us. And how quickly people turn from worshiping God in order to gain even the smallest portion of this world’s wealth.
We truly behave like addicts. The addict chases a temporary pleasant feeling and keeps running back to it over and over again until he is left empty, broken, with ruined relationships, no job, and utterly unsatisfied. And then the addict continues to chase after that drug that ruined his life in the first place. And this is how we behave as we strive after earthly treasures that moth and rust destroy and thieves break in to steal. It is as Paul Gerhardt wrote in his hymn, “What is all this life possesses?/ But a hand Full of Sand/ That the heart distresses.” And so, we need to learn to turn from the lies of earthly riches and bow down only to the true God in heaven.
Jesus did a good job countering all the devil’s attacks. He effectively used the Holy Scriptures to foil the tempters power. Yet, as you’ve no doubt picked up, Jesus is a lot better at this than we are! He went three for three! How many times has the devil scored on you since you’ve woken up this morning? Indeed, it would be a sad and tragic case if Jesus came to earth and strove with Satan simply to show us how it’s done.
Although, we Christians try to use God’s Word to resist temptation and by the power of the Holy Spirit we are indeed successful against Satan, we do not always stand victorious. We let our guard down. We fall for his tricks. We behave like soldiers putting down their shields and taking off their armor in the middle of the battlefield, oblivious to the myriad of arrows zinging around us. We underestimate the danger of temptation. But remember, Satan is like a snake. If he can fit his head in, he can fit his entire body in as well. If you give the devil an inch, your treacherous heart may betray you and give him a mile.
And then the devil enters into the next stage of his attack. He accuses. Yes, the same miserable being that tricked you into sinning against your God then accuses you of sin and he tells you that you cannot be saved by grace. You’ve soiled it. You must make atonement for your sins. Or perhaps, even despair.
Yet, Jesus did not strive in the wilderness with Satan for his own sake. And he didn’t do it simply to give us an example to follow. Rather, our Lord who so successfully used Scripture to battle Satan fulfilled Scripture itself; a portion of Scripture Satan knew quite well, because it was to him that these words were first spoken:
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
Jesus Christ himself is the seed of the woman, born of the Virgin Mary. He has come to bruise the head of Satan and win a total victory. Jesus defeats Satan by his perfect obedience to God the Father. Jesus withstands the temptations of the devil in our place. He is the only human being who has never sinned. And Jesus suffered the price for our sins. That is what God meant when he said that Satan would bruise Christ’s heal. Jesus was indeed crucified after Satan enticed Judas to betray him and the chief priests to cry for his blood. Yet, Jesus’ wound was only temporary. After making full atonement for all sins he was raised from the dead. Jesus’ wound has healed. He is victorious over Satan. Satan’s wound will never heal. He is judged.
Jesus said “Begone, Satan.” and Satan departed. We too have the authority to say those powerful words. After Adam and Eve failed to cover up their sins with fig leaves and got expelled from the Garden of Eden, God clothed them with the skin of an animal. You must slaughter an animal to take its skin. This foreshadowed the work Christ would do for us. Jesus offered himself up as a blameless sacrifice in order to clothe us with his righteousness. Scripture says, “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Gal. 3:26-27)
Through faith in Christ Jesus we share in Christ’s victory. The evil foe, who has no equal on this earth is no match to us. Christ Jesus has given us a little word that can fell him. We are baptized into Christ the victor. Christ Jesus has washed away our sins. We are forgiven. Satan cannot harm us. Amen.

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Invocavit (Lent 1): Good Overcomes Evil

3/11/2019

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Matthew 4:1-11

There is both good and evil in the world. Which do you think is greater? Many by observing history determine that there is more evil than good in the world. One would think that the Second World War, which caused the death of over 60 million people yet saw to the collapse of perhaps the most evil, murderous governments in human history, would have put an end to mass murders. Yet, in the decades since nations from around the world have attempted genocides and performed mass murders on their people. Even in our country there is a silent mass killing of the unborn which has reached over 60 million victims since 1973. It certainly has become apparent that when evil is overcome in one place it pops up in another.
Evil is ubiquitous; it is everywhere. We see it even in our own hearts, as Jesus himself tells us. So, it appears that evil is greater than good and ultimately evil will triumph over good. Yet, in our Gospel lesson we learn the exact opposite. Good triumphs over evil. Christ Jesus is God. He is the source of all good. Satan is evil. He is the source of all wickedness. Satan tries to defeat Jesus by tempting him into sin, but Jesus overcomes Satan by withstanding temptation.
Jesus’ victory over Satan is significant for us in two ways. First and most importantly, Jesus is victorious in our stead. He is our substitute. God credits Jesus’ obedience as ours. Second, Jesus overcomes Satan’s temptations as our example. We learn from Jesus how to overcome temptation in our own day-to-day lives.
Jesus is our substitute. You must understand this if you are to understand that you are saved by grace. Many believe that when God saves by grace, he simply overlooks sin. If someone is confronted with breaking one of God’s commandments the response is often, “But God loves everyone.” or “Jesus says, don’t judge.” or “Everyone’s a sinner.” Yet, that God saves by grace does not mean that God simply overlooks sin or doesn’t care about sin. God is a righteous God. He hates sin and punishes it. Good must triumph over evil, not simply ignore it. Rather, that God saves by grace means that God saves us through Jesus apart from our works. Grace means that God saves us apart from our works, but not apart from Jesus’ works.
What does it mean that God saves us through Jesus? It means that Jesus fulfills all righteousness through his own obedience, so that we might be saved through faith. Sin is disobedience to God. We are disobedient to God. Jesus is obedient to God and God credits Jesus’ obedience to us through faith. We are sinners because our first father Adam was disobedient to God’s command. Christ comes to undo the sin of Adam through his own obedience, as St. Paul writes in Romans 5, “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (vs. 19) God looks at you favorably, because of Jesus’ obedience.
Jesus’ obedience is divided into two parts: his active obedience and his passive obedience. Jesus’ active obedience is where he fulfills the obligations of the Law in our place. St. Paul speaks of this in Galatians 4, “But when the fulness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (vss. 4-5) Jesus Christ, in human flesh, does what no human being from Adam to this generation, has been able to do; he obeys God’s law perfectly. He does not do this for his own sake, but for ours. God credits this active obedience to us by grace.
Christ’s passive obedience is his willing suffering and death for our sins. St. Paul speaks of this passive obedience in Galatians 3, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” (vs. 13) and again, in Philippians 2, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.” (vs. 8) This passive obedience is usually what we think of when we think of Jesus as our substitute. He suffered in our place. Yet, it is both his active and his passive obedience which saves us. If Christ had not been actively obedient in fulfilling the commands of God’s law, his passive obedience in suffering for our sins would not rescue us. Jesus needed to be perfect for his passion to save us. Christ redeems us with a great exchange: he exchanges his perfect obedience for our sin and the punishment we rightly deserve he bears on the cross and gives us full remission of sins and eternal life.
Christ’s victory when tempted was essential to his victory over the grave. And the ramifications for us cannot be overstated. In this episode we see a battle between the two greatest extremes: the greatest Good verses the greatest Evil. The victory of the Allied powers over the Axis of Evil is nothing in comparison. And what is truly remarkable is that Jesus does this in human flesh. He is our David, who slays our Goliath.
In each of Jesus’ three temptations from the devil, he does as a human what we humans fail to do. Yet, he endures temptation just like the rest of mankind and he overcomes the same temptations, which fell Adam and Eve, the children of Israel, and you and me. And he does this by using the same tool that is available to us: the word of God. This is how the author to the Hebrews is able to write, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
In the first temptation, Satan attempts to make Jesus commit the same sin he lured Adam and Eve to commit on that dreadful day. Turning stones into bread is eating the forbidden fruit, because it is doubting that God will provide for the body while neglecting God’s Word. God gave Adam and Eve more than enough food to satisfy their bodies, but Satan convinced them to be dissatisfied with what God had given them. The desire to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was an accusation that God withheld something good from them. Satan tempts us into this same sin today. He drives us to break the Third Commandment by despising God’s preaching and word, because we think God will let us starve or lose our house if we worship him instead of working. But Jesus, who hasn’t eaten in 40 days still trusts that God will provide for his body. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Thus, it is written for us as well.
And so, the swing which fell our first parents, and which caused the children of Israel to grumble in the wilderness, and which leaves churches sparsely filled throughout the land, failed to fell Jesus, our champion.
In the second temptation Satan broke the Second Commandment by misusing God’s Word. He quoted Psalm 91, which we recited in our Gradual. Yet, Satan leaves out a very important line, so as to mislead Jesus. The text goes like this, “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” (v. 11). Yet Satan takes out the line, “to keep you in all your ways” and thus totally changes the meaning of the text. The verse is meant to encourage you with the promise of guardian angels to keep you in the true way. Satan changes it into some warped prosperity Gospel, which promises the service of angels for your any whim.
And this is what Satan does today. He lures people, who are altogether too willing to be lured, to omit parts of Scripture that makes them uncomfortable. So, we have Christians who love to talk about how gracious and loving God is, but they deny the need for repentance, remorse over sin, or amendment of life. Yet, you cannot receive forgiveness of sins unless you repent of your sins. Just last month the United Methodist Church, America’s third largest “faith group” in the United States voted by a narrow 53% majority to maintain the church’s opposition to same-sex “marriage” and openly-practicing homosexual clergy. This means that nearly half of the delegates for that church body reject what the Bible teaches about homosexuality.
The Bible is clear that such behavior is sinful and that those who practice it will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). And this is not just an outdated teaching of a bigoted St. Paul, who had never met a homosexual. Rather, St. Paul ministered to such sinners, confronted them with their sin, brought them to repentance, and comforted them with the sweet gospel of free forgiveness for Christ’s sake, as he himself writes after condemning homosexual activity, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)
Our church’s stance on homosexuality or fornication or any other now socially accepted sin is based solely on the Word of God, which our Lord Jesus teaches us to hold fast to when assaulted by the devil. The rejection of what the Bible teaches against sexual immorality shows an overall rejection of what the Bible teaches against sin as a whole. We are all sinners. And we all need to repent of all our sins, whatever our personal sins might be. Scripture is very clear that if you do not repent of your sins you cannot be saved. It is a lie of the same devil, who tempted our Lord Jesus in the wilderness, that we don’t need to turn from our sins and ask for forgiveness. Rather, God teaches us in Scripture that we must daily repent of our sinful desires and receive forgiveness for Christ’s sake. Picking and choosing what you want to believe from the Bible is putting God to the test, but trusting in God’s Word even when it is difficult will lead you out of temptation.
The final temptation might seem like the easiest one to resist. Who would bow down and worship Satan? Yet, Satan succeeds in this temptation most frequently. Because, whenever you fear, love, or trust in anything other than God, you are bowing down and worshiping a false god. False gods can be money, possessions, power, sex, sports, even your spouse or children. And behind every false god is a boastful Satan. Satan caused Adam and Eve to worship themselves instead of God in the Garden. He led the children of Israel to bow down to every god in heaven, earth and sea, made of stone, metal, and wood. And our generation is no better as people labor for the most unsatisfying gods imaginable. Yet, Jesus teaches us the most important commandment, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”
Jesus loves the Lord God with all his heart, soul, and mind. He worships him perfectly. He is the only human being, who has ever done this. All of us have fallen short. Yet, through faith in Jesus God credits Jesus’ perfect obedience to us. Through your faith in Jesus Christ, God is pleased with you on account of Jesus’ obedience.
Yet, faith in Christ not only credits you with Jesus’ obedience like a transfer from one bank account to another. Faith in Christ changes you from a slave to your sinful desires to a child of God. As a child of God, you desire to imitate Christ, because you hate the evil, which Christ overcame for you. In Christ’s temptation you not only see the obedience, which saved you from hell. You also see Jesus demonstrate the weapon God has given you to overcome the devil every day. That weapon is the word of God, which reveals to you your Savior Jesus and guides you in the way of the LORD.
Christ Jesus overcame the greatest evil in the universe through his perfect obedience through life and his willing death for the sake of sinners. Good overcame evil. And through faith in Christ, God overcomes evil in you. Not only does he forgive the evil you have done, but he thwarts the plans of Satan through you. Let us ever walk with Jesus, so that we might trample Satan under our feet every day. Amen.

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Invocavit (Lent 1): Christ our Victor

2/19/2018

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Matthew 4:1-11

February 18, 2018

"Do you renounce the devil? Do you renounce all his works? Do you renounce all his ways?" These three questions have been asked of baptismal candidates at Baptism since ancient days. And for good reason. We are baptized into Jesus' Baptism. Immediately after Jesus was baptized at the end of chapter three in Matthew's Gospel he is led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And so, we too, after being washed in Jesus' Baptism enter into battle with Satan.

Considering our track record and how our first parents so miserably failed in their first encounter with Satan, this probably seems like a daunting task. As Martin Luther describes the old evil foe in his hymn, "A Mighty Fortress," "on earth is not his equal." And so, how can we possibly be a match for this enemy we have renounced?

To find some comfort and hope we should look to a Bible story, which should be well known to all of you. Goliath of Gath was a Philistine warrior, who stood over nine feet tall! He stood between the Philistine and Israelite armies and proposed a wager. Set any Israelite soldier against him, and if the Israelite could kill Goliath, all the Philistine army would be their servants. But if Goliath killed the Israelite, then the Israelite army would be the Philistines' servants. Goliath was terrifying. And the stakes of his wager were incredibly high. So, the Israelite army remained in their camp afraid.

Yet, a young shepherd boy named David came. He did not arm himself with mail or even carry a sword. Rather, David came to slay the Philistine in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. And he did. God guided the stone from his sling right into the Philistine's forehead and Goliath fell dead. And David took Goliath's sword and cut off his head. The Philistine army fled as the Israelite army recovered from their terror and chased after them and plundered their camp.

Shortly after Satan deceived Eve and led Adam into sin, God put an end to Satan's notion that he would continue to win the victory over Adam and Eve's children. God made a promise, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he will bruise your head and you shall bruise his heal." (Gen. 3:15) This was the first promise God made that Christ would be born of a woman to fight our battle against Satan. It is as Luther wrote in that same hymn,

With might of ours can naught be done,
Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the valiant One,
Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this? Jesus Christ it is,
Of Sabaoth Lord, And there's none other God;
He holds the field forever.

Jesus Christ is our shepherd boy, who goes and fights Goliath for us as we cower on the sidelines. Luther rightly says of him, "There is none other God," yet, this Jesus Christ is also true man. He became a human being, the offspring of Eve, so that he could fight Satan in our place. As St. Paul writes, "But when the fulness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:4-5) God is not under the law. But he became under the law in human flesh in order to battle Satan for us.

And so, after Jesus' Baptism the Spirit leads him out to the battle field to fight Satan. Yes, Jesus finally defeats Satan and crushes his head when he dies on the cross, but unless Jesus wins this battle against temptation, then the battle on the cross is lost before it begins. You need to know how important this temptation of Jesus is and how necessary it is for us that he wins. The stakes are too high for him to lose. If Satan wins and Jesus sins, then we all become servants of Satan and his angels forever. Yet, if Jesus wins, Satan and his demons become our servants.

Jesus won. Although Satan used his finest cunning and thousands of years of expertise to draw Jesus into sin, taking advantage of physical weakness, twisting God's Word, and offering great riches, Jesus defeated Satan.

Now, I have a question for you. When Goliath fell dead and David hewed off his head, did the Israelite army run away and hide? Did they surrender to the Philistine army? No! They chased the Philistines down like dogs hunting a fox and they plundered their goods! Now you have witnessed your champion Jesus make minced meat out of Satan. Should you now surrender yourself to this evil foe? No! Christ has given you the victory! When he wins, you win!
Satan doesn't only tempt you to sin. He also accuses you of sin. He's an insidious little creep. Not only does he try to get you to break God's commandments, but then he accuses you of being a law-breaker in hopes that you will despair of God's love for you. But in Christ's victory over Satan, you have a retort against the devil. "God has put on my flesh and blood and defeated you on my behalf, Satan! And in Baptism I have put on Christ! You can't accuse me, because I have a champion in heaven, who gives me victory over you!"

This must be the primary message you get from the temptation of Jesus. Jesus defeated Satan and gives you the victory. Now, his journey to the cross should make more sense. The sinless Son of God gives us the victory over Satan, and then he takes on our sins and goes to the cross to die for them. He can't die for his own sins, he has none, Satan failed to deceive him. He dies for your sins. Jesus can crush the head of Satan on the cross, because he defeated the tempter in the wilderness. And Jesus gives you the victory of both these battles.

Yet, the fact remains that we baptized victors in Christ must still walk through this world with an angry devil, who will try to lead you astray and destroy your faith, so that you lose your victory. As we sing,

I walk in danger all the way. The thought shall never leave me
That Satan, who has marked his prey, Is plotting to deceive me.
This foe with hidden snares
May seize me unawares
If ever I fail to watch and pray.
I walk in danger all the way.

And so, Jesus' victory over Satan not only assures you that he has won in your place. But it also gives you an example to follow to defeat Satan. You have put on Christ in your Baptism and through faith. This means that you are righteous before God. Yet, this also means that Christ gives you strength to battle Satan with his Holy Spirit.

In the first temptation, Satan tries to get Jesus to despair of God's goodness and trust in himself. Jesus is hungry after fasting forty days. "If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread." Surely Jesus could have done this, but Satan is trying to get Jesus to doubt God's providence. So, Jesus responds, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" And so, Jesus teaches you what is most important even as you are tempted by Satan. How often does Satan turn your attention away from God's Word to focus on your belly or your bank account, as if God doesn't know how much a loaf of bread costs? And do you place your trust in God or do you neglect hearing God's Word and prayer, so that you can take care of yourself and your wants as if God won't take care of you? Let this be ever on your tongue, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." God will take care of you. He knows your needs. And he says that you need his word more than food, drink, house, home, money, goods, etc.

Next, Satan twists God's Word. He tells Jesus to test God by jumping off the pinnacle of the temple and he sites Psalm 91, "He will command his angels concerning you... and... On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone." Now, if you were paying attention to the Gradual this morning you would notice that Satan left out an important phrase, "To guard you in all your ways." The angels are sent to guard us in the ways God has sent us. This means according to God's Word. If God doesn't promise it, then don't hold God to that promise. Jesus responds to Satan with clear Scripture, "It is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test."

Satan knows Scripture and he will gladly misuse it. And you have all heard Scripture be misused. False preachers misapply God's word all the time to get people to believe things that God never actually said. Jesus says, "Don't Judge," so false teachers conclude that God is okay will all kinds of sins and no one needs to repent. Scripture says, "God is love," So, false teachers distort the word love to mean accepting sexual perversion. Scripture demands that you follow God's Law perfectly and that those who break God's Law will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So, false teachers say that you cannot be saved through faith alone or trust in the forgiveness of sins, but you must follow God's law perfectly or you will go to hell. False teachers come in many shapes and sizes, but they always distort God's word to say what it doesn't actually say. So, learn from Jesus. Take the clear passages to defend against distorted Scripture.

Satan tried to use riches to get Jesus to fall. It didn't work. Jesus again uses God's Word, "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." And he sends Satan away. This again should be on our lips and on our heart every day. There are many false gods to seek after: money, power, sex, drugs, popularity. And Satan knows them all by name. All of us must be reminded every day that God is God and we are here on earth to serve him.

"It is written," Jesus said three times to Satan. That's quite remarkable. Jesus is God. You'd think that he would simply smash Satan's face with lightning or something like that. But Jesus isn't beneath using the written Word of God as his weapon. And neither should you be. Jesus used God's Word to defeat Satan and he teaches you to do the same.

Imagine that a great knight, who had fought and won many battles, gave his battle sword to a peasant boy. Do you think that boy would treasure that sword highly? Or for a more contemporary example, if your father or grandfather were to give you his rifle that he used to fight Nazis in World War II, would you toss it in your garage to rust away? Of course, you wouldn't. You'd prize it, keep it clean, and put it in a place of honor. Well, Jesus gives you a much more valuable and useful weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Ephesians 6:17) And Jesus doesn't just give it to you to put in a trophy case. Jesus tells you to use it. And he promises that it will work well, just as it worked well for him.

God's Word is a powerful weapon to aid against temptation. Jesus has demonstrated this to us. And even more, God's Word is a powerful defense for your faith. Satan's ultimate goal is for you to doubt the forgiveness of sins won by Christ for you. He wants you to doubt God's love and think that there is something lacking in you that God cannot fill. But God's Word again gives you confidence. Your baptism joins you to your victor Jesus. Jesus has won the battle in the wilderness and the battle on the cross for you. And he gives you victory even over your grave. You have received the same Holy Spirit as Jesus. And just as Scripture promises the protection of angels to Christ, so do you have the same host of angels protecting you. When Satan attacks your faith in Christ and God's Love for you, you can respond, "It is written, 'God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.'" (1 Corinthians 15:56) Amen.

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Invocavit: Temptation of Jesus

3/6/2017

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Matthew 4:1-11

After our Lord was baptized he was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. And so each of us baptized children of God must strive with the devil. This Gospel lesson teaches us how Satan tempts us into sin and also, by Christ's example, how we can defeat Satan and overcome temptation.
In his first attempt to tempt Jesus, Satan says, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." What Satan does here is the same thing he did to Eve. He appealed to her physical desires. He moved his temptee away from God's Word to focus inward, on herself. With Eve he denies what God says is true and entices Eve with her own desire to be wise. "You won't die if you eat it! God knows you'll be wise like him! Don't you want to be wise?" Eve wants to be wise. She takes her eyes off God's clear word and focuses on her inner desires. She saw that the tree was good for food and a delight to the eyes, and was even desired to make one wise, and she did what she wanted, not what God commanded. And so the devil still uses this time tested tactic of pushing our gaze inward, as St. James writes in his Epistle, "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire." (James 1:14)
So Satan tries to entice Jesus in the same way. Jesus is hungry. He hasn't eaten in forty days. Jesus is following the will of God. Satan wants Christ to give up on trusting in God and satisfy his own desires, his hunger. Now it is difficult for us to see where the problem is in this. Is it a sin to eat? Can't Jesus, who is able to multiply bread to feed thousands satisfy his own hunger? But Satan is trying to get Jesus to rebel against God. It is as if he's saying, "God has forgotten about you. He's led you into the wilderness to die. He won't take care of you or satisfy your hunger. Go on. You can do it yourself."
But Jesus counters the devil, "It is written." With all three temptations, Jesus uses this same defense, "It is written!" Our Lord uses the same sword of the Spirit each of you is armed with, the word of God. By wielding the Word of God, proclaiming, "It is written!" Satan has already lost. St. Paul writes, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1 Cor. 10:13) The way of escape is the Word of God.
Jesus says, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.,'" (from Deuteronomy 8:3). Bread symbolizes earthly stuff. Things that fill your belly, your living room or garage, things that make you enjoy life here on earth, treasures that will pass away with time, in short, the desires of the flesh. But Jesus says, "All these things cannot fulfill a person. They will waist away. Rather, store up treasures in heaven. Cherish every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord!"
Now Satan communicated to Eve through the medium of a snake. And he spoke intelligible words to Jesus. And so we fool ourselves when we think, "Well if Satan ever tempted me to forsake God's Word and follow my own desires, I wouldn't fall for it." But Satan isn't going to approach you with cloven feet with a pitchfork in his hand or wrap his serpentine body around your arm and whisper in your ear. He's a spirit. He communicates with you using no sound, simply pushing you toward your own desires, your own perceived needs. He'll let you convince yourself that you need to sleep more than do your devotions. He'll let you convince yourself that you really need to work instead of going to Church. You need to eat after all. He'll let you convince yourself that a million things are more important than hearing God's Word, which is food for your soul.
So you must not simply proclaim to Satan, but to yourself, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." "I need God's Word. I need to hear it, learn it, digest it. If I make $100,000 in a year, win state in some sport, or make wonderful memories with family and friends, these won't gain me eternal life. Only God's Word creates and strengthens faith."
Jesus smashes the devil's face in by quoting God's Word. So the devil comes back, "Oh, you know God's Word! Hold on! I do too! Listen to this!" And Satan tempts, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" Here Satan quotes Scripture, but he purposefully and deceitfully leaves out an important part. The text quoted from Psalm 91:11-12 states, "He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." Satan's omittion changed drastically the meaning of the text. The angels are not promised to catch anyone, who wants to jump off a high building, but to guide the children of God to walk in the way of the Lord.
And so with Satan's perversion of the text he shows that wherever God builds a church, Satan builds a chapel right next to it. He loves to mutilate God's Word, to make playdough out of Scripture. And so many churches, sadly, pick and choose from God's Word what they want to believe.
Satan not only takes his seat in the pew, but stands in the pulpit! He satisfies itching ears by choosing tolerable Scripture passages, while snipping out the less savory ones. And so there are churches that accept every abomination and sin that Scripture condemns and reject the need for repentance. They give the appearance of following God's Word, while really following their own hearts and the desires of the masses. Some churches may even claim to believe that the whole Bible is the Word of God, but they still ignore parts they don't like, such as, "Baptism now saves you!" (1 Peter 3:21) and "This is my body, This is my blood." (Matthew 26:26, 28) Of course, even if a church stays faithful to the entire word of God and teaches it correctly, Satan still sits in the pew urging you to pick and choose what you want to believe.
Our Lord countered, "It is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" And so Jesus uses God's Word to battle the perversion of God's Word. He uses pure teaching to counter distorted teaching. And so must we! We must judge what we hear from the pulpit to see if the pastor preaches the whole council of God, or only what he's comfortable preaching. We must use pure teaching, both Law and Gospel to counter watered down teaching from books we read and shows we watch. We must challenge our own personal beliefs with God's Word, reading our Catechisms to root out any false opinions we've adopted, and replace them with pure teaching based on the truth of God's Word.
Satan's last of three attempts seems so far fetched. After showing Jesus the kingdoms of the world, Satan says, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Who would fall down and worship Satan? Again, we must remember that Satan will not appear to us in his ghoulish form and command that we bend the knee. But he will tempt you to worship him. And he will use the riches of this world. In fact, he can get you to fall for a much cheaper price than the kingdoms of the world. He promises popularity, money, an easy, stress free life. And so we must like Jesus say, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"
What does it mean to worship God and to serve him? Worship always starts with hearing and believing God's Word. Our Lutheran confessions state, "Faith is that worship which receives the benefits that God offers." To serve God includes not only singing praises, but serving your neighbor. This means that we bow to Satan when we worship and serve this world instead of God. This includes ignoring God's Word and Sacrament to gain earthly wealth and pleasures and serving our own wants and desires at the expense of helping our neighbor.
Pastors too are guilty of bowing the knee to Satan to gain the world. They measure their own success not by how faithfully they preach God's Word, but by how liked they are and how cushioned the coffers are. They may not make sacrifices to the devil in strange midnight graveyard ceremonies, but they serve their own bellies, their own needs, instead of the sheep God gives them to preach to and pray for.
And so, we like Christ must understand the difference between worshiping God and worshiping the world, between serving our neighbor and serving our bellies.
Christ defeated Satan in every temptation. Did you?
And here we must learn the great importance of Christ's victory. If you look at this Gospel lesson simply as Christ setting a good example on how to overcome temptation, you will fall into despair. Try as we might, we still fall into temptation. We fail, to watch and pray. We fail to wield God's Word. And we fall. Do you catch yourself looking away from God's Word and focusing on your own wants? Do you ignore the parts of God's Word that make you uncomfortable and when you dash your foot on a stone blame God and his angels? Have you caught yourself at times bending the knee to the serpent as you strove after earthly gain? Have you failed to use Christ as your example?
But Christ is not simply your example. He's your champion! When Adam and Eve sinned, we all fell into sin. Because in Adam and Eve was the entire human race. But Christ, God's true Son took on our human flesh in the womb of the Virgin. In Christ is all mankind. When he strove with Satan, we all fought against him. And when Christ won, you and I won.
It is as Martin Luther wrote in his hymn, "Dear Christians, One and All Rejoice,"
The Son obeyed His Father's will, Was born of virgin mother,
And God's good pleasure to fulfill, He came to be my brother.
His royal pow'r disguised He bore;
A servant's form, like mine, He wore
To lead the devil captive.
Satan went to devour the man Jesus, just as he devours us by tempting us to sin. But Satan failed in tempting Jesus and so he was himself devoured. But Jesus did not win this victory for himself. He won it for you. And so as he went to the cross he bore all your losses. Jesus suffered for your failures against the devil's wiles. And he gives you his own victory. His victory over Satan. His victory over death. His victory that gives eternal life.
So when Satan comes to accuse you of the sins he duped you into committing, you can taunt the devil. "Jesus beat you! You couldn't get him to fall once! And he gives me the victory! So just as you had to run away from him with your tail between your legs, you can run off now, you serpent. You can't defeat me, because Jesus has already won my battle for me.
And so you can say to Satan, "It is written!", even after you've stumbled. It is written that Jesus defeated Satan! And "thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57) Amen.

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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

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Rev. James Preus

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