THE WORD
OVERCOMES THE TEMPTER.
In the name + of Jesus.
Thomas Edison is credited with inventing the light bulb. To be more accurate, he refined what had already been invented, but Edison’s version was far superior. His light bulb lasted far longer than any other before him. Do you know how many attempts Edison made to get his final product? 10,000. Ten thousand! Most people would have given up. How long would you have lasted? 1,000 attempts? 500? 13? When asked about his consistent failures, Edison replied, “I have not failed. I just found 10,000 ways it won’t work.”[1]
When the devil came to entice Adam and Eve into sin, he did not need 10,000
attempts. It only took him one. The devil was instantly
successful. In fact, he has not had to change his tactics ever. He
attacks God’s word. He challenges God’s love. He seduces us to
reject God’s wisdom and will. He tells us that we can be our own
gods—doing what we want, seizing all that we crave, and finding a better,
happier life by doing it. The devil tells me that I am the judge of good
and evil. Who better to make that assessment than me? I know what I
like. I know what I hate. I know what favors me and benefits
me. I know what is inconvenient, expensive, and unpleasant. Who better
than me can decide what is good, right, and salutary? The devil
congratulates me on being smart enough to follow my own path.
But this is what the Lord says, “There is a way that seems right to a
man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12). Adam
and Eve discovered that path. It seemed good, right, and salutary to them
to seize what God had forbidden. It led them right out of Paradise and
sentenced them to death. Learn the lesson well. The Tempter wants
to look like your friend. He promises you an amazing life, but he gives
you a cursed death. Even the happiness he promises is unfulfilling
because you have to keep on pursuing sins to attain an elusive happiness.
That path leads to a dead end. The devil’s temptations seem good, right,
and salutary, but they all end up hollow, shameful, and fatal.
Still, the devil’s tactics work. He has not had to invent anything
new. He continues to attack God’s word, to challenge God’s love, and
to seduce us to reject God’s wisdom and will for our own. And we fall for
it. He tailors particular temptations to you, too. He knows your
weak spots. He knows what lies you will fall for and what sins you cannot
resist. He hopes that you will just concede the battle against your sins and
that you will no longer resist temptations. He wants your sins to become
your habit, your lifestyle, and even your identity. It has worked on
countless people. The devil hopes it will work on you. If it does, you are his forever. And
since he is more powerful, more crafty, and more experienced than you, the
danger is real. You have only one hope: The Word overcomes the Tempter.
Just as Satan seduced the first holy people, so he attempted to seduce
Jesus. It happened immediately after Jesus’ baptism. There, the Father testified, “You are
my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). The
devil challenged this word, as well as the anointing which marked Jesus as the
Christ. If he is the Christ, the Son of the living God, then he has
authority and power to do great things. After 40 days of fasting, he
should take advantage of those things—if he is the Christ, the Son
of God. The devil said, “If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread” (Luke 4:3). “If you are the
Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command
his angels concerning you, to guard you’” (Luke 4:9-10).
What did the devil do? He attacked God’s word. God the
Father called you “my Son”? Yeah? Let’s see it. Let’s see if
he follows through on his word about the angels protecting you. Surely he
would save his Son, right? He challenged God’s love. The
Holy Spirit drove you out into the wilderness? What kind of God is
that? I didn’t think a loving God would be that cruel. He tried
to seduce Jesus to reject God’s wisdom and will for his own. I would
be hungry after forty days of fasting. But I would also be smart enough
to feed myself. If you are the Son of God, that would be easy.
You’ve done that bread-in-the-wilderness thing before, right? For forty
years you did it. Why not now? Why not for yourself for
once? The devil’s temptations always seem to make sense. They
are always appealing. They show you the easy way. And they always
work. But not on this day. Not with this man.
The Word overcomes the Tempter. Jesus is the Word made flesh. As
the Word, he is true God. But the Word became flesh. He
became a man. “We believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ,
God’s Son, is both God and Man. He is man…born in time from the nature of
his mother…with rational soul and human flesh” (Athanasian Creed).
This is the man that Satan sought to entice and ensnare in the
wilderness. He had overcome a holy man in a lush garden. How much
he must have savored the idea of overcoming this holy man—and this time in a
wilderness!
But not on this day. Not with this man. The Word overcomes the
Tempter. Jesus did not invoke his divinity to overcome temptation.
This human being proved a perfect trust in God’s word. Jesus did
not take a short cut to seek glory. He did not opt for the easy way to
fame, fortune, or pleasure. He remained true to the path that his Father
had set for him and into which the Holy Spirit had thrust him. That path
was the hard way—the way of obedience even when it was inconvenient, the way of
suffering even when it was unjust, the way of faithfulness even when it was
costly. Jesus was not motivated by his stomach or his wallet or his
ego. The Word made flesh overcame the Tempter with the words of Scripture.
The Word overcomes the Tempter. Jesus refused to fall prey to any
enticing and deceiving words of the devil. He stood firm on God’s
truth. Jesus invoked the words of Scripture to overcome each temptation
that was presented to him. Jesus exposed the devil when he quoted
Scriptures out of context. He was sent to trust in God, not to put God to
the test. Jesus made it clear that the passage which says, “You
shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve” (Luke 4:8),
is to be taken to heart and put into action. Jesus also showed the devil
that his belly would not be his master, but that life comes from the word of
the Lord. Jesus refuted each temptation: “It is written” (Luke 4:4). “It is written” (Luke 4:8). “It is said” (Luke 4:12). And since
it was the word of the Lord, it was not open for debate or negotiation.
The Word overcomes the Tempter.
Jesus’ resistance to every temptation and faithfulness to God’s word is surely
an example to follow. But he did not face the devil just to set us an
example. You know the words of the Scriptures which direct your
steps. You know the Commandments which are to guide your way. But
even with your knowledge and agreement of them, you and I still are overcome by
sin and temptation. All the “What Would Jesus Do?” bracelets in the world
will not keep us faultless. By remaining faithful to the Lord, Jesus
remained innocent—not merely as your example, but as your substitute. So,
when Jesus went to the cross to pay for sins, he went as a holy, pure sacrifice.
His innocence is necessary to satisfy God’s demands of an obedient life. His innocence is also necessary to be a
proper and pleasing payment for our sins.
St. Peter writes in his epistle, “Christ suffered
once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us
to God” (1 Peter 3:18). He brings us to God as those who have been washed in his blood
and purified from all unrighteousness. Jesus, who has overcome the devil
with an innocent life, a sacrificial death, and a resurrection from the dead,
brings us to God as those who have been snatched from sin, death, and the
devil. Through Jesus, you have overcome the Tempter; for all his
accusations have been nullified. All his claims are void. All his
words are overruled by the Word made flesh who gives us his word in the
Scriptures and gives us his name in holy baptism.
Since you have been declared God’s holy ones, the devil will continue to attack
you. He will not attempt 10,000 ways to do this. He will stick with
what has worked. He will attack God’s word, challenge God’s love,
and seduce you to reject God’s wisdom and will for your own. And it will
be appealing. If it weren’t, it would not be a temptation. If the
devil fights you with what has always worked, you also get to combat him with
what will always work: The Word overcomes the Tempter. This is the only
sure refuge you have. Your strength, your hope, and your victory will
only be found in Jesus. He will continue to keep you in the faith as you
continue to hear his word and receive the body and blood which have redeemed
you. He will continue to strengthen you in the faith that stands firm in
the truth and despises the devil’s lies.
Clinging to Jesus is the only way to overcome the Tempter, sin, and
death. St. Peter urges you, “Be
sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist
him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9). It is important to remember the true enemy so that you are not
deceived by other fears or threats. We are now living in a world that
watches war upon Ukraine. Talk of NATO forces intervening is countered by
threats of nuclear war. Whether that is a sincere threat or a calculated
bluff, who knows? The devil uses such bluster to shake us and drive us
into fear or panic. But it should not shake your faith, because it does not
rattle God’s promises. Your prayer should not be, “I don’t want to die in
a nuclear war,” but “I don’t want to die outside the Christian faith.” If death comes by nuclear war, so be it. If you are in Christ, you will have a
resurrection to life in everlasting glory.
The Word keeps you safe.
The Lord Jesus secures your place in his kingdom. No earthly conflict, no weapons of mass destruction, no genocide will remove you from God’s grace. Giving yourself over to sin and temptation will do that. This is how the devil could devour you. So, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Resist [the devil], firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9). To be firm in the faith, be faithful to the Word. With Jesus, you will overcome; for the Word has overcome the Tempter. He holds the field forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] Quoted
from https://findanyanswer.com/how-many-attempts-did-it-take-edison-to-make-the-light-bulb
No comments:
Post a Comment
Due to recurring spam, all comments will now be moderated. Please be patient.