This sermon was presented at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on the First Sunday in Lent, February 25, 2007.
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Written in 1951, The Last Temptation, or as it is more commonly known in America, The Last Temptation of Christ, is a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis. The central thesis of the book is that Jesus, while free from sin, was still subject to every form of temptation that humans face, including fear, doubt, depression, reluctance, and lust. By facing and conquering all human weaknesses, Kazantzakis argues in the novel's preface, Christ became the perfect model for our lives; he sacrificed not only on the cross, but throughout his life. He struggled to do God's will, without ever giving in to the temptations of the flesh.[1] This book places a great emphasis on the humanity of Jesus dueling with the divinity of the Christ. As you can imagine, it has been on many banned book lists since its publication.
You may be more familiar with the cinematic version made by Martin Scorsese in 1988 starring Willem Defoe as Jesus. The movie version tried to address the controversial subject matter by beginning with a disclaimer explaining that, “[the movie] departs from the commonly-accepted Biblical portrayal of Jesus’ life, and that it is not intended to be an exact recreation of the events detailed in the Gospels.” [2]
This version was so controversial that it was originally banned in many cities and picketed almost everywhere. Even two years after its theatrical release, when it made its cable debut on the Cinemax premium cable channel, many systems, including the one I subscribed to back in Colorado, chose to black it out. I don’t think you would find it surprising that while doing research for this sermon I was unable to find a copy at WalMart or Movie Gallery.
The idea that Jesus was tempted is controversial. People asked, what does it mean if Jesus can be tempted? The simplest answer to this question is that if Jesus could be tempted by the spoils of this world then he is fully human. And Jesus is so fully human that he is perfectly human, more human than we could ever be.
So filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus is in the wilderness fasting, eating nothing for forty days and forty nights. Verse two tells us that during the entire fast Jesus was being tempted by the devil.
One of the elements of fasting is that while the body abstains from food, the soul is fed. The fast becomes a period of general readjustment, of renovation from the outer sphere of life down to the roots of its innermost fibers.[3] Through the fast, prayer is reinforced and penance is paid.[4] The fast is more than the deprivation of our bodies; it is a means of spiritual preparation. But let’s face it, forty days and forty nights of temptation would be ruthless. Jesus perseveres this time of trial, preparing himself spiritually for his life to come.
So after forty days and forty nights, the devil needs to bring his best material if he is going to tempt Jesus.
Luke writes about three specific temptations. The scene begins with the devil saying, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” When looking at original text, there are two ways to interpret hunger. Jesus could have been hungry for bread or he could have been hungry for spiritual truth.
It kind of leaves this open for us, doesn’t it? The original text could go either way. But all translation involves interpretation, and our text says Jesus was famished. This translation implies Jesus could use a good meal.
Jesus’ response turns this interpretation on its ear. While the devil may have hoped Jesus would fall for bread alone, invoking the words of Deuteronomy 8:3, Jesus reminds us “One does not live by bread alone.” Jesus hungers for spiritual food.
The Devil offers the most human of needs, nourishment. But Jesus turns away from earthly satisfaction in favor of something more substantial. Recorded in the Gospel, Luke is teaching the readers that the need for bread is secondary to the fact that it is God alone who gives bread.[5]
Jesus teaches that the one who gives the gift is more important than the gift itself.
The devil isn’t out of temptations yet, there is more up his sleeve. So the second temptation is offered, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.”
There is some hinky stuff in this passage. First, with this offer, we are reminded that the devil has power in the world, power that can be delegated and allocated as he sees fit. The devil offers this power to Jesus. Imagine if you will the power to do anything you desire. For Jesus, there is a lot of good that can be done with that kind of power.
But this power is given with a catch, “If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
A catch doesn’t get catchier than this. Fly paper wishes it was this sticky.
But Jesus does not get trapped by political intrigue. He denies the devil his worship using the words of Deuteronomy 6:13, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” The devil offers power over this world, a world that is temporary, a world that is limited. Jesus knows that there is a greater power than the political domain of the devil and the price of the devil’s power is too high.
Jesus rejects the devil’s demand of worship insisting that the only real power comes from God.[6]
Jesus acknowledges that the source of power is more important than power itself.
So the devil has offered Jesus something to eat and all of the power in the world. What’s left?
The devil takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem. They are on the highest place of the high places of the Holy Land. And from there, the devil goads Jesus. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
This time, it is the devil’s turn to invoke scripture, Psalm 91:11-12. Now this is a good temptation. The devil uses something good to suit his own bad intentions.
In this case, the devil literally offers the oldest trick in the book. The devil asks Jesus to doubt the Lord’s sincerity. Paraphrasing Genesis 3:1-4, the serpent tests Eve saying, “Go ahead, eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. Sure, God said you will die, but do you seriously think that God will take your life?” In Luke the devil invites Jesus to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple because, after all, “God has promised to protect you. Do you doubt it?” In both, Eve and Jesus are tempted to wonder if God is serious. Eve falls victim to the temptation, Jesus does not.
Jesus responds in kind to temptation shrouded in scripture. Quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, Jesus tells the devil to shove off reminding him “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” The Old Testament reminds us that Israel tested the Lord time and time again, and in every case the Lord is faithful. It is said that scripture is best interpreted by scripture, and this is a shining example.
Jesus is invited to test the sincerity of the Lord; Jesus reminds us the Lord is not to be tested.
These first recorded temptations of Jesus, physical satisfaction, political power, and testing God’s sincerity, these are the things the devil puts on the table. Jesus passes these tests. Jesus does this by knowing what is important. Bread is not as important as the one who makes it.
Power is not as important as the one who creates and gives it. Testing God’s sincerity is not as important as knowing God is earnest and faithful.
But there is more at stake than this.
The devil prefaces the first and last temptations with this phrase, “If you are the Son of God…” So while it is easy to say that the temptations are about bread and sincerity, there is something more sinister happening. The greater, more subtle temptation the devil tries to place in Jesus’ mind is the doubt that he is the Son of God. Yes, on one level the devil asks if God will do what God has promised for the Son. But it is far more devastating if Jesus doubts whether he is the Son or not. If the devil can plant this seed of doubt, then everything else is lost.
But this seed has no purchase. Jesus will not allow the devil to define what being the Son of God means. The devil will not define what kind of Messiah Jesus will be, that is between Father and Son.
And as soon as we doubt that we are the children of God we are lost.
Jesus reminds us that being children of God is more important than anything else.
The very thought that Jesus could be tempted by fear, doubt, depression, reluctance, and lust put people in a rage. But in the past twenty years, some have begun to rethink their opinion of the movie, and of the temptations Jesus faced. In light of the movie, The Last Temptation of Christ, some have begun to examine what it might have been like for Christ to be fully human, subject to all human weaknesses, while fully God, perfect and omnipotent. Some groups that originally condemned the film have even revised their opinions. Promise Keepers is the most notable conservative Christian group to come out and defended Kazantzakis and Scorsese’s interpretation of Christ’s temptation. Acceptance seems to be growing as many people begin to examine the difficulty of bearing the two natures of Jesus and how difficult it must have been for him to be faithful to the will of the Father with this world raging around him.[7]
The idea that Jesus was tempted is controversial. The thought that Jesus could be tempted is horrifying. Even more horrifying would be the prospect that Jesus would fall to temptation. To resist temptation, Jesus relies on scripture and his relationship with the one who gives us scripture. As we approach the cross through Lent, we need to be intentional about growing in relationship with the Lord our God, just as Jesus shows us how.
[1] The Last Temptation of Christ- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_last_temptation_of_christ, accessed February 19, 2007
[2] The Last Temptation of Christ-Film, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Temptation_of_Christ_%28film%29, accessed February 19, 2007
[3] Wesseling, Theodore, “The Cleansing of the Temple.” London: Longmans, Green, and Company, 1945.
[4] Jungmann, Josef A, S.J., “Public Worship: A Survey.” Howell, Clinton, translator. The Liturgical Press: Collegeville
[5] Cousar, Charles B., Gaventa, Beverly R., McCann, Jr., J. Clinton, Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching, A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV, Year C. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, page 197.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid, The Last Temptation of Christ-Film.
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