Prayer
Heavenly Father, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
The Prince of Life Prevails
In Christ Jesus, whose victory over the devil has been given to you in Baptism, dear fellow redeemed.
The Lord has been using unconventional weapons and unsuspecting victors for a long time. In the book of I Samuel, we learn about Goliath, who was a champion for the Philistine army. Goliath was a giant of a man, six cubits high and one span tall. His armor alone weighed one hundred and twenty-five pounds. He taunted Israel’s army and demanded that someone fight him. The duel would decide the entire battle. Whichever side lost the duel would become the other’s servants. For forty days and forty nights, he taunted Israel (I Samuel 17:16).
Israel’s army was terrified. Why shouldn’t they be? No one would want to go into man-to-man combat with Goliath. Who would respond to the challenge? Yet, we learn, that when young David came to bring food to his brothers who were fighting for Israel, he became appalled at the blasphemy of Goliath against the God of Israel. David said to King Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
David was no warrior, but he knew God would deliver him. Just as the Lord had delivered him from the mouths of bears and lions when he guarded his father’s sheep, David said that God would “deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” After Saul consented, there was a somewhat humorous scene where King Saul attempted to fit David with his armor. But it was far too large for the young shepherd boy, he could hardly move. Instead, David chose for weapons his staff, five smooth stones, and a sling. At this, Goliath laughed. “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” But David said, “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you… Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
And the Lord did! David defeated Goliath by slinging a stone which struck and sank into Goliath’s head, and he fell. David then used Goliath’s own sword to kill him. The Lord used this unsuspecting warrior with unconventional weapons to defeat Goliath and deliver Israel from their enemy, the Philistines. David’s victory over Goliath was a preview of the Son of David, Jesus Christ, who would defeat the devil, delivering us from the bondage of sin. Today, in our Gospel lesson we see the first battle after Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan river when he was led out into the wilderness to fast forty days and forty nights, facing the devil’s taunts and temptations. But this was no ordinary battle over land or money, it was a battle over our souls. Here, the Prince of Light fought the prince of darkness that he might deliver us from his power.
Matthew 4:1–11.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
But He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, “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.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these I will give You, if You will fall down and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.’”
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to Him.
Why was Jesus tempted by the devil? Everything that Jesus did was for a purpose. It didn’t happen just by chance. Our lesson tells us that he was “led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Jesus came into this world with the sole purpose of saving us. After his baptism he was led out into the wilderness, that he might be tempted just as we are. Jesus was not the first to be tempted in the wilderness. Remember, the Israelites went out into the wilderness for forty days, but when they faced temptation, they failed—they sinned against God. As a consequence, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. But now Christ came to be tempted in our place and win the victory.
Did the devil know that he was going to lose? That’s a tough question. The devil sincerely believed that he could tempt Christ, otherwise, he would not have tried. Jesus was in his state of humiliation, which means that he did not make use of all his divine powers. Instead, he humbled himself, so that he could live a life in our place—to be tempted, to suffer, and even die, for you and for me. This was a real battle. These were real temptations. But Christ would and did prevail against all these devilish temptations.
Naturally, the devil began his attack trying to exploit Jesus’ hunger. He hadn’t eaten for forty days. We get hungry after missing even one meal, imagine missing 120! So, the devil says, “If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Here, the devil tempts Jesus by questioning the very words spoken by God the Father at the baptism of Jesus, “This is my beloved Son.” If you are really God’s Son, prove it! God wouldn’t let his own Son go hungry, would he?
The devil tempted Jesus by questioning his Sonship. The devil tries to make us into children of the devil by questioning whether we are really children of God. When we find ourselves in hard times, he tempts us with these thoughts: “If you are a child of God, why would you have more suffering than others? If God is with you, why is this happening to you?”
That’s why we must live on God’s Word alone. When we are going through hardships, we must barricade ourselves with God’s Word. Our outward circumstances do not determine who a child of God is. God chastises those whom he loves (Hebrews 12:6). But Jesus did not doubt God’s love or use his power for selfish purposes. He trusts God’s Word: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus uses the Word as a defense against the devil. So, what then does the devil try? He tries to use the Bible against Jesus. If you really trust in the Bible, prove it. He takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple and says, “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.’”
The devil knows Scripture. The best lies are half-truths. The devil omitted a key phrase in the verse, “To keep you in all your ways,” meaning a person who is living according to God’s will and purpose. The angels watch over us and protect us. But we should never test God. It’s only spiritual pride that tests God. We see this among Christians when they try to prove their trust in God or feel close to him by asking him to help them through extraordinary means rather than his usual and ordinary ways. Christians often do this to try to gain personal glory and fame. But Jesus resists such foolishness—“Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Finally, the devil offers Jesus everything in his kingdom if he would only bow down and worship him. The devil was giving Jesus a fast-forward option. God had promised Jesus his kingdom and power and glory, but only after the cross. With this temptation, he offered Jesus a chance to avoid the cross and receive immediately all that the Father had promised. By doing this, Jesus would ignore his present calling—which was to suffer and die for our sins. We face this temptation every day. Every one of us has a calling—husband, wife, father, mother, son, council member, employee… you name it. Yet, how often do we want to avoid our present callings and responsibilities, so that we can have glory now… peace now…or ease now. We try to avoid hardships and crosses. We are tempted to bow down at the altar of power, money, or glory so that we can have it. But Jesus, rejects Satan. He says, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.’”
These are the three temptations Jesus faced at the end his forty days in the wilderness. Yet, we know that Jesus faced temptations during those entire forty days (Luke 4:2; Mark 1:13). We don’t have to try very hard to think about the temptations Jesus faced. Just consider the ones in your own life. That’s a long list. But we often fall for the devil’s temptations. It’s easy for us to be proud, jealous, doubtful, lustful. The devil doesn’t need to work so hard on us. In our weakness, the devil often taunts us like Goliath taunting the Israelites. On our own, we are helpless and hopeless.
But the Greater David has come to free us from Satan’s attacks. And just as David’s victory over Goliath was a victory for all of Israel, freeing them from the bondage of their enemies, so too is Jesus’ victory over the devil a victory for all people freeing us from the bondage of sin. We stood no chance, but Jesus has prevailed. He clung to God’s Word. He trusted in his Father to provide for him. He did not doubt. He continued to fulfill his vocation. Jesus became one of us, “that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 4:14–15).
God has always used unsuspecting people and unconventional weapons to save his people. He used a small shepherd boy to defeat Goliath; God sent his only begotten Son, born of a virgin, to defeat the devil. David won using five smooth stones; Christ won the victory through five wounds on the cross: his hands, his feet, and his side. The Good Shepherd died for his sheep. Jesus did this for you. So that his victory over sin might become yours. And he uses unconventional means to give this victory to you.
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3–4).
God has made you his child, given you the victory by your baptism into Christ. Jesus’ perfect life is yours. You are his. Does that mean Satan will attack you and tempt you every day until you leave this world. Yes. Will you sometimes fall? Yes. Which is why we put our hope, not in our victory, but in Christ’s.
God has freed us from the slavery of sin, but he does not want us to go back into it. Those who continue to sin, who refuse to repent, make Jesus’ victory null. This is why our Lord encourages us to fight the good fight of faith. This is not done by us waging war against the devil, but by standing under the shadow of the cross, clinging to his Word as our sure defense, living in humble repentance, and trusting in his mercy.
Our God who loves us promises: “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:7). Amen.