DEVOTION

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’^" The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.  
                                Luke 4:1-13

(Part 2) 

     Another perspective from which we can understand the Temptation narrative is to see it as a colossal battle between the Eternal Son of God and the Prince of Darkness. One of the first observations one might make is that the Son of God has become fully human. The early church was challenged in its understanding of the true nature of Christ. He was fully human and fully divine. There were movements in those early days to discount one or the other. Some said that he was not divine but simply a human being like all others – created by God. Other movements discounted His humanity, believing Him to only appear to be a man. Neither extreme was acceptable and the creeds of the early church reflect this. The language of the creed which was produced at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. sought to deal decisively with the issue of Christ’s identity:

“I believe . . . in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God; Begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God; Begotten, not made; Being of one substance with the Father, By whom all things were made; Who for us men and for out salvation came down from heaven, And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, And was made man.”

     In becoming fully human, Christ identified with all people in their weakness and vulnerability. He disciplined Himself as we all should through prayer and fasting. This holy exercise made Him weak and hungry. Temptation has its most power when we are the pinnacle of our power and, in this case, the point of our greatest weakness. He suffered real hunger. The devil comes to Him and first tries to confuse Him about His true identity:  “If you are the Son of God.” One of the devils most deadly ploys is to attack us at the point of our true identity. By plying us with the insidious statement, “If you are a child of God,” he undermines the very life bestowed on us by the grace of God. “If you are truly a child of God you would not do the things you do. How can you stand here in the presence of the Almighty and claim to be something you are not?!”

     He also attacked Christ at the point of His humanity, “Command this stone to become bread.” Alleviate your hunger. Give yourself to your most basic needs. In this same way the devil tempts us to give our lives wholly to the endless search of meeting our needs:  safety, security, food, clothing, pleasure, and all others in an endless list of worldly attachments. One place where we are most vulnerable to temptation is to give validity to our lives through some accomplishment. We desperately want our lives to have meaning. We want to leave our mark. We do not want our lives to be wasted. Such a powerful temptation may cause us to chase after an endless succession of enterprises, self-promotion, and acclaim in a vain attempt to somehow prove our own worthiness. It takes courage to turn away from this insidious temptation which is so often disguised as a quest for excellence. True children of God receive their delight in serving the One who gave His life for them; they willingly give up their need for success in order to give Pleasure to the One they call beloved. The Lord who sees in secret will reward you openly.  

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                                  The Will of God by Kent Reynolds
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