Scripture reading: Psalm 91.

Sermon text: Luke 4:1-13.

As predictably as the sunrise tomorrow, as certain as death and taxes, you can know this:

Temptation will come into your life.

Every human has faced temptation, and most (actually, all but Jesus) have succumbed. St. Augustine exemplified many humans in his statement, “Grant me chastity and continency, but not yet” (Confessions, VIII.vii).

I’d love to say that we eventually outgrow the desire to sin, but practical life tells me otherwise. I know what the Scripture says about “new creation;” I know all about salvation, justification, sanctification, and all the other “ations” in Scripture.  However, as C.S. Lewis wrote, “A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means—the only complete realist” (Mere Christianity, III.xi).

Inevitably, Christians will face temptation in our lives, and we’ll need to know how to handle it when it happens.

The disciples of Jesus would have experienced temptation to sin as well. They would have noticed that in spite of the temptation He faced in His life, Jesus never sinned. At some point, someone would have turned to Jesus and asked, “Does nothing tempt you? How do you not sin?”

The sermon passage this morning occurred in a time of solitude. No one joined Jesus in the wilderness. No one witnessed His time in battle with Satan himself. Yet, we know of Jesus’ experience and His success at conquering temptation. We know because, at some point, Jesus realized His disciples needed to know of this event and told them about it. Jesus understood that His disciples needed to know how to combat and win over temptation. The Gospel authors knew that all believers in the Church would also need this vital information. Therefore, they would naturally include this story in their Gospels.

As we read the passage today, we see how Jesus handled temptation and what His example can mean to us.

First, we need to see Jesus’ state during the temptation: Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit;” He was “led by the Spirit in the wilderness.”  Jesus knew His identity as the Son of God; He knew the Spirit, and He followed the Spirit’s leading, regardless of the direction in which the Spirit took Him. We, too, must allow the Spirit to guide us in life if we’re to win over temptation.

When we read St. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ temptation, we would imply from the words “to be tempted” that the Spirit led Jesus there for the purpose of the temptation. However, St. James wrote, “God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13). Instead, we must remember an important point. The Holy Spirit leads His people where He needs us to accomplish the will of God. Satan always opposes the will of God and will therefore actively attempt to thwart God’s will. Satan knows that if he can cause Christians to fall to temptation, he can use our guilt to keep us from following God in His plan to redeem humanity. However, believers who remain in the Spirit — who follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in all things — face a much better chance of conquering temptation.

Secondly, we must examine how Jesus responded to every temptation Satan threw at Him. Notice how Jesus began every response to Satan’s attempts: “It is written.” Jesus never responded to Satan with philosophy; He never responded by claiming His identity as the Son of God. Instead, Jesus responded by quoting Scripture. Jesus knew the Scriptures intimately; He had studied them since childhood and knew that, humanly speaking, no one could hope to talk himself out of temptation.

Scripture includes an answer for every temptation we face. Desires of the flesh? Satan tempted Jesus to feed Himself by turning stones into bread. Desires for a shortcut to rule all Creation? Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He would worship him. Desire for the “15 minutes of fame,” certain to gain attention in Jerusalem? Throwing Himself off the Temple’s pinnacle would accomplish this; from the Temple roof to the floor of the Kidron Valley below measured over 300 feet! Yet, Jesus found an answer to every temptation in the Scriptures He had learned.

As a child, I memorized a great deal of Scripture; I’ve learned more over the years. We must devote time to learning the Word of God so we can rely on it to combat temptation.  The Psalmist wrote, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). Scripture — the very words of God — can provide the answers to our temptations if we’ll learn it and apply it to our lives.

I see another major point about temptation in the sermon passage. By this time, Jesus was in His early 30’s (Luke 3:23). Undoubtedly in His life, Jesus had already faced temptation. The author of Hebrews wrote that Jesus “in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus already knew temptation, but something else stands out here.

Satan tried 3 different temptations to trap Jesus in this passage. Notice that Jesus told the disciples that “he departed from him until an opportune time.” This tells us that Jesus faced Satan again in His life. At some point, Satan thought he found the ideal “opportune time.” You need to know that evil is far persistent than we wish. We too often believe that if we defeat the temptation to sin one time, we’ll never have to face it again. Satan and his demons know that persistence pays. We must never let down our guard against the temptations we face, and we must remain strong in all instances.

Unfortunately, we will find ourselves facing St. Augustine’s dilemma. We’ll eventually find ourselves realizing how enticing the temptation seems; we’ll find it easier to surrender to temptation and fall into the sin it brings. I’ll make a personal confession. As much as it puzzles me, I tend to fall to temptation in the most ironic times: In those times when I feel the closest to God and the strongest in the Spirit. I know my worst weakness lies in pride. I’ve fought it my entire life. In a moment of self-confession, I once wrote in a paper, “Like Satan, every sin we commit begins with the proud assumption that we are above the rules ordained by God; of all creation, we alone believe the rules do not apply to us.” What do we do when we fall?

St. John wrote in his first letter, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).

In his pre-Reformation life, Martin Luther frequently worried about whether his sins were forgiven. Luther would spend hours in confession to Johann von Staupitz, his superior, confessing every little sin and failure he could remember. He would then chase Staupitz down to confess something else when he remembered it. Staupitz finally exclaimed, “Look here, Brother Martin. If you’re going to confess so much, why don’t you go and do something worth confessing! Kill your mother or father! Commit adultery! Quit coming in here with such flummery and fake sins!” (Timothy George, Theology of the Reformers, pp. 64-65). Staupitz encouraged Luther to stop dwelling on his sins and meditate instead on “the wounds of the most sweet Savior” (George, p. 63). Once Luther turned to Christ for forgiveness — and more importantly, believed Jesus had forgiven him — Luther realized that his salvation rested in Jesus’ sacrifice for his sins, and that Jesus had accomplished his salvation on the cross.

Christians, Jesus Our Lord has given us the methods and the tools to defeat temptation, just as He has also promised us forgiveness when we fail. Believe in Jesus’ victory on your behalf; believe His resurrection defeated both the sin that tempts you and the death that awaits those who fall to temptation and whose sin remains unforgiven. Your Savior’s victory paved the way for your own victory. I encourage you to spend this Lenten season in Scripture and in prayer so you can achieve victory when — not if — temptation strikes.