Deliver us from Temptation

The First Sunday in Lent

Text: Matthew 4:1-11

      This morning, I want to speak to those who have been tempted and have failed – who know themselves to be weak in the fact of temptation. 

      To the strong, the narrative of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness stands as an example to follow. It announces that Jesus has fought the battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil and has won and says: Now, you too stand and resist the devil’s attacks. To the strong also is the promise that “No temptation has come upon you but that which is common to man. With the temptation, God always provides a way of escape.” For the strong, the time of temptation means being confronted with a choice for evil or for good and being exhorted to pray for the will to choose the right. Sermons on the temptations of Jesus nearly always address the strong. I have heard plenty of sermons which present Jesus in the wilderness as an example to follow, and I preached a few myself. 

      The strong pray for more strength to face temptation. The weak pray: “Deliver us from temptation.” They know that if they fall into temptation, they will fail. They have learned through bitter experience that, to be tempted is to be bereft of God’s help and delivered for a time to the power of the devil. Talk about choosing the right completely misses the mark. In the midst of temptation, they know that they will make the wrong choice and forfeit their freedom.

      There is a word from this passage this morning for those who know that they are no match for temptation – the weak; and I include myself in that category for the purposes of this sermon. As far as you can see, you have lost your way. You are backslidden. You have fallen off the wagon. And in a sense, this is true. But Jesus’ triple victory against Satan shines light into our darkness and reveals that losing our way is actually part of the way. Being lost is the first step to being found. Our chaos is part of God’s unfolding plan. Even when we are living in some personal hell, we are still moving towards Christ, who descended into hell. Jesus Christ has entered the realm of god-forsakenness.

      What is temptation, anyway? We usually think of temptation as some form of allurement. We may picture a basically good person who is beset by two different voices – the voice of evil on one side and the voice of good on the other. This picture is a popularization of Goethe’s famous temptation of Faust by the devil, though Goethe’s account is far more psychologically complex than the popularized version. In this picture, the will is essentially autonomous or neutral. The drama is about the person’s choice for Satan’s way or for God’s. But the weak cannot find ourselves in this picture. We need a bigger definition of temptation if we are to remain in the game. The New Testament word for “temptation” can mean allurement, that is, a power which draws us from the love of God and therefore must be resisted. But temptation can also mean “hardship” – a sick child; a job gone sour; a personal attack; betrayal. The temptations which draw us from the love of God often enter our lives through setbacks or heartbreaks which we did not choose. 

      I was speaking recently with a young couple whose young child has a rare neurological condition – similar to cerebral palsy. The child was presnt during the conversation, so I was able to meet him. After describing the condition, I asked how he and his wife were coping. He said that they had discovered other couples where they lived who have a child with the same condition – you very quickly discover each other, he said. Then he paused and said: “You know, the divorce rate among couples who deal with this is 90 per cent.” This was said without the slightest hint of moral superiority. He added: “We thought about it. But we determined that we were all better off together than separate.” This is a man who understands temptation. 

      When Jesus enters the wilderness, he enters a godforsaken place. In the Bible, the desert wilderness is not a retreat from the stress of daily demands. On the contrary, there is where people are assaulted by the power of the devil. Notice how much power is afforded to the tempter here. The Spirit leads Jesus to the wilderness, but once he is there, the tempter directs the action. This is particularly evident in the second and third temptations. Satan takes Jesus first to the Jerusalem temple and then to the top of a mountain from which he shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth. What exactly is being described here? Is this a vision? An illusion? A demonic attack? How can he suddenly be transported from the desert to the Jerusalem temple? Where and under what circumstances could Jesus see all the kingdoms of the world, past, presnt, and future? We do not know. What we do know is that Jesus was tempted to use divine power for personal ends. He felt the urge to withdraw from his God-given vocation to suffer and die. He was tempted to achieve glory, bypassing the ignominy of the cross. He could have done this. It was his right. But if he had, we would have been left out of the picture. 

      Where is the action of God the Father here? He is strangely absent. There is no record of Jesus praying to the Father and receiving his help. Instead, we are left with the impression that he is utterly alone and without help. It is only when the devil departs and the demonic attack is over that divine help is at hand. 

      Jesus has experienced temptation as we experience it – when we are left without God’s help. When God is distant. When we cannot pray and do not want to pray. When we called out to God for help, and the door was slammed in our face – slammed shut, and double bolted. 

      According to the Bible, our experience of temptation is part of a cosmic battle between the good and gracious God and the powers and principalities of evil, which are determined to undo God’s work. We are caught up in a great cosmic battle between the forces of God and the forces of evil. And the battle ground is the human heart. We are swept up into this forces which are more powerful than we are – both for good and for evil. Of course, we have our particular part to play – the smaller drama that unfolds in our lives for the 70, 80, or how many ever years we are allotted on this earth. But our successes and failures, our temptations are part of a much larger battle.

      In Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, the action revolves around a mysterious ring, which gives certain powers to the ring bearer. However, the ring is being sought by the forces of evil, personified in the dark Sauron. Once the ring is in his possession, evil will triumph. The action of the book proceeds on two levels. There is the drama of Frodo, Bilbo, and their experience of the ring. As their story unfolds, they discover that that are caught up in forces which are much larger than their small lives. Frodo is pulled into the redemptive plan, without choosing the ring. The ring chose him, we might say. He decides to make the journey to dispose of the ring, but this decision is part of a larger plan. Curiously, when he wears the ring, he is overcome with a power which compels him to possess it for his own powers. “It is mine,” he growls when his friend, Sam, offers to carry if for him for a while and to relieve the burden, “Take your hands off of it!” At times, he knows himself to be in the grip of evil powers much greater than he. As we watch the journey of this little band, we see something much larger unfolding before us: a cosmic battle between Sauron, the forces of evil, and the rightful king, who restores order to Middle Earth. 

      When we are assaulted, we are not free to choose. I do not mean to suggest that we are determined. Certainly at some level we make choices and are responsible for them. But if you take a look at what is going on from a greater distance, we would see that we are involved in a great cosmic battle. 

      Where is the good news in this? 

      First, we can be reassured that times of temptation and darkens are not a detour. They do not mean that we have lost our way. They are the main road. There will be times of temptation, when God’s help seems far away. We will feel defeated in these moments, and voices of accusation will call our sonship into question: “If you were a real believer. . .” It is through these times of darkness that our redemption draws near. 

      Second, the powers of darkness are defeated powers. It is true that we often fail to resist when we are in the grip of temptation. But the battle has been fought and won by the Son of man. Once, this path has been trod without giving in. This means that the temptations we experience are part of a larger battle. God is already putting into place the great showdown, when the powers of evil will be annihilated, and God will be all in all. Of that final outcome, there is no doubt.