The
Temptations of Christ
February 25,
2007
Al Hocutt
George Lucas in the six episodes
of Star Wars tells the epic battle of good and evil. The movies are a
story the meeting of the forces of good represented by the Jedi and the
forces of evil represented by the Emperor. But there is a twist! Some of
the forces of good have been converted to the dark side of evil. Anakin
Skywalker is a powerful force for the good side. But because he is
powerful he desires more power and this leads him down the path to the
dark side. He becomes Darth Vader. Anakin has a son named Luke. Luke was a
twin and his mother died at childbirth and their birth was held secret
from Darth Vader. Darth Vader learns of his son’s existence and tries to
convert him to the dark side. Luke is promised great power if he would
only turn. Have we heard this story some where before?
Many Christians see the story of
the temptation of Jesus as a contest between Jesus
and the devil, supernatural good against supernatural evil. The gospel of
Luke does tell us that good wins over evil but if we see only that, then
we have only scratched the surface. The issue is about the real struggle
of kinship—what kind of Son will Jesus be to
his Father?
Luke introduces the power of the
Holy Spirit from the beginning of the gospel. From Mary to Elizabeth, from
John the Baptizer to the descending dove, Luke prepares us for the
temptation narrative. Luke tells us that Jesus
is full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Holy Spirit into the
wilderness. The Spirit is there in the beginning of the forty days and
when the testing begins the spirit is there as the devil begins his final
attempt to sway Jesus from his Father.
In the progression of the
testing Jesus goes from easy to hard and the
obvious to devious. The devil tests Jesus on
his physical needs. Jesus is starving but
does not allow his physical needs to take control. Jesus
recognizes the need to honor his Father above himself.
Jesus reminds the devil that
God is the source and provider for all of our
needs. The devil knowing that Jesus is
God’s son began to test him by trying to sway
him to the devil’s side. The devil tries to convince to
Jesus to worship him and he would give
Jesus everything. When that didn’t work the
devil begins to quote scripture but Jesus
knows that the devil knows scripture and is misusing it for his own good.
Jesus would not put his Father to the test.
The gospel of Luke defines for
us the relationship of God as Father with the
Son that is guided by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ is identified to us as the Son of God.
Jesus is the one that would change the world
forever and shows us the faithfulness of God
through the Son fulfilling the work of the Savior. Jesus’
temptations signal to us the end of the devils power and control.
Jesus ministry was to show us that evil was
defeated and Satan’s power on earth was at an end. The temptations of
Jesus also reveal to us that the Scriptures
have been fulfilled. Jesus has fulfilled all
that was mentioned in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. If
we are to understand Jesus we must understand
the Scriptures. And finally the temptations of Jesus
remind us that we must resist temptation. We are so quick to say the devil
made me do it! Jesus is empowered by the
Spirit to resist and so too we are empowered by the same Spirit.
Temptation is
a universal human experience. If Jesus had
not been tempted he would not really have been human.
Jesus is portrayed as fully human tested as
we are yet he is without sin When questioned about his identity and
ministry in the world, Jesus allowed himself
to be led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus responded
with the holy Word of God to answer any
questions of his purpose and call. It comes down to one word, obedience.
Obedience leads to faithfulness to the call and purpose of
God in our own lives. We can not rely on the
excuse that Jesus was God’s
son and he was stronger than we are. Jesus
was human and had human needs and desires. When tempted he stood firm in
knowing who he was and to whom he belonged. In our own temptation we too
can give in to the wants and needs of our human flesh or we could stand
firm on our own identity as sons and daughters of God
being led by the spirit into a life that is fulfilled in
Christ Jesus. We
can choose to hear the voice of God or the
voice of the devil. Both make promises that will fulfill our lives. Only
one will lead us down the path to the kingdom of God.
Will we be swayed by the promises of the world that can be taken away or
will we be swayed by the spirit of God that
brings everlasting riches in the kingdom of God?
