This sermon was delivered to St Oswald’s in Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland on the 22nd February 2015; (St Oswald’s is a Scottish Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Glasgow and Dumfries).
“Please be seated, and join me in a short prayer.” Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord. Amen. (Psalms. 19:14)
Introduction
Today's gospel reading is very familiar to us all; it is the story of Jesus being baptised in the River Jordan, … anointed by the Holy Spirit; and driven into the wilderness, … emerging after forty days to start his ministry.
I am putting this in its simplest form as what I am about to say is not as simple. ... Now, many Christians claim to have had a personal revelation or an encounter with the Lord; a conversion that has totally changed their lives. You maybe one of them, and I for one, … love to hear these stories, ... but only recently I have managed to put these testimonies into a logical order, and it came as a surprise to me that these encounters follow the same logic as this mornings gospel reading.
First of all there is a period of pain and suffering, normally a long drawn out period, where hope seams to have faded into the distance; and where life for the believer is just so unbearable to keep on living. … It is at this point in time where a prayer to the Lord is somehow answered, ... and something happens, ... something magical, but something without apparent logic, ... from which comes great relief, … that God is alive and he is watching over them.
Normally these experiences last for seconds, ... but they restore all hope and confidence, ... if fact they inspire the believer for the future, leaving an ecstatic feeling that may last for days, maybe even weeks; …, ... and then, ... something goes wrong, ... and they descend into a doldrums, ... a wilderness of where their faith is severely challenged.
Are you with me? I hope so, because that is exactly what happened to Jesus at his baptism, … and it is therefore an example for us all to follow. Let us go through it quickly and you will see.
First there is the long period of suffering; ... well we know very little of the early life of Jesus, and we do not know what kind of mood or state Jesus was in when he went forth for his baptism that morning, ... but we do know that he did suffer on this earth, otherwise he would not have been an effective preacher of the gospel, ... and he would not have been able to related to the people as well as he did.
Next, Jesus was baptised, first with water and later by the Holy Spirit, verses 10 and 11 says, "And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: ... And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". …
Can you imagine a voice from heaven saying that you are my beloved son, or daughter, in whom I am well pleased? … Unlike the films we have seen, Jesus must have been elated at this; his spirits must have been raised sky high, ... the Holy Spirit of God expressing His true identity, and I am sure that Jesus could not contain himself.
But, and there is always a but, verse 12 and 13 then tells us, "And immediately the spirit drove him into the wilderness. ... And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; ... and the angels ministered unto him".
The Greek word here for driven is a very string word where Mark reserves for exorcisms or violent acts, from which we can conclude that it was necessary after such a high experience to be put to the test in the wilderness, ... it is not because God has left us, no, ... it is because God is developing us, or forming or reforming us into something else, ... something that he wants us to be.
And I just wish I could have heard this message 20 odd year ago; because that is exactly what happened to Jesus after his period in the wilderness, verse 15, "And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. ... Now after that John (the Baptist) was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God".
Jesus was now anointed, and qualified to continue with his ministry. Can you see how God was with Jesus during this time of trial, but it was a time necessary to mould Jesus into the son that God wanted him to be, ... the son who was about to do the work of his father in heaven. ... And although the bible cannot convey this, I have no doubt that this wilderness experience for Jesus was absolutely horrendous.
Yes we hear of the angles ministered unto him in verse 13, but is it not obvious, that the angels were ministering to him because he needed them to ministering unto to him, ... in other words, … he was struggling, he needed the help of the angels.
Jesus was struggling with many things not least temptation, ... and we all know he overcame the temptation, but it was no walk in the park for him as the Bible tells us that "Jesus was tempted in every way, yet … he was found to be without sin". And so we can conclude that if Jesus wasn't tempted as we are tempted, then he would not have been able to relate to us, ... and if he could not relate to us, ... then we could then say that he was more divine than human.
I must say, that the more I study the bible, the more I see Jesus as being human, and it has changed my perspective of him, because he was the same as every one of us, and he was tempted just as we are tempted. I do however feel that he had more of a knowledge of God that we have, but because of that, he suffered more than any of us could ever imagine; but and another but ... Jesus overcame both the suffering and temptation, because he knew exactly who he was, ... and what his Father expected from him, ... to die for us, ... and thereby restore mans relationship with his father.
There was no other option for Jesus, he was there to do his fathers will and not his own, so the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness to face Satan ... and strengthen his resolve as his Fathers son. ... And I have no doubt that Satan through the book at him. Yes we here of three temptations in the wilderness, but there were obviously more, these three were the worst Satan could throw at him, and Jesus probably endured them while he was at his weakest.
The first temptation: Using God’s power for yourself.
Let us now look briefly at these temptations. First, Mathew 4 verses 2 and 3 tells us that "when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ... And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread".
In this first temptation, Jesus is in a weakened state; not on fire with the Holy Spirit, but weak, and Satan hit him with a double-barrel temptation. One, break your fast by using your powers for yourself, ... and secondly, prove to me, and to yourself, that you are the Son of God.
Did you notice the words, "if thou be the Son of God", implying if you do not turn these rocks into bread then you are not the son of God. So the first part of this temptation is too break the fast, and the second is to prove his identity by using God's power for himself.
It was quite a dilemma, but Jesus simply answered, Mathew 4:4, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God". Jesus used Scripture to address the devil, he quoted Deuteronomy 8:3.
It is important to keep in mind that Jesus time of 40 days in the wilderness parallels Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness; because the temptations are the same; and here Jesus is quoting Scripture pertaining to the failure of the Israelites to overcome their temptation, ... do you remember, … the Israelites wanted to return to Egypt and slavery instead of wearing in the wilderness, ... instead of letting God developing them as a nation, and being reliant on him.
But this time, just 40 days prior, Jesus heard the words ... “This is my Son, who I love, and in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus therefore did not need to prove himself to anybody; ... because he knew exactly who he was, and … he knew who was looking after him.
And we are all called to do the same, ... we need to know that we too, that we are also children of God, ... and that he is watching over us just the same. We are tempted in exactly the same way in order to strengthen our faith, ... and not to weaken it as we so often think. Our faith in the wilderness is to developed and strengthen our resolve, for a purpose that God alone has chosen for us; … a purpose that he wants us to fulfil.
2. The second temptation, the misuse of power.
Ok, we better move on, ... the second temptation in Matthew 4, verses 5 and 6, "Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and placed him on a pinnacle of the temple, ... And said, If thou be the Son of God, (then) cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone".
Did you notice that Satan was quoting Scripture here? … Some of the most evil people that you will ever meet, will quote Scripture, and we need to remember that they do not know the Lord, and they will quote scripture out of context to suit their own manipulative needs.
The Devil wanted Jesus to jump from the highest point of the Temple to prove that God would protect him, but Jesus reply is again from Deuteronomy 6:16 "Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, ... (as ye tempted him in Massah).
If you think about it, I suppose Jesus could have tested his power here, ... but to what ends. According to the Bible, Jesus only ever performed a miracle to help others, and he only ever used his powers to carry out the will of his Father, and his father did not ask him to jump from a pinnacle. … No, Jesus countered acted Satan’s misuse of Scripture with the proper use of Scripture, … in proper context. Jesus knew the whole Bible, not just select verses, and it is knowing the bible that empowered him, … and us too as you know.
3. Third Temptation, Earthly Glory.
And finally, the third temptation, Matthew 4 verse 8 reads, "Again, the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; ... And said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me".
Now, I have to laugh at this one, I always have, because did these so called kingdoms not belong to God in the first place, what exactly was Satan offering him? Well I will tell you, these kingdoms did belong to the Lord, but Satan wanted them for himself, ... however Satan could not take them without the help of Jesus, and here, Satan is trying to trick him into thinking that life under his control, life in his regime will be far better. ... How many times have you seen somebody fall for that one? And that includes ourselves. How many times have you yourself fallen for that one?
Anyway, ... in this last temptation, Satan promises Jesus the earth. He promises him power and glory and an earthly kingship without the suffering on the cross, ... if only he will join forces with him.
Jesus did have a choice, ... become Sin itself and die a painful death, or … rule the world under Satan without the suffering? I thank God that Jesus knew there was no alternative, and answered Satan with more scripture from Deuteronomy 6:13 "You shall fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shall swear by his name. Mathew 4:10 puts it simpler, "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and him only shall you serve".
I like that, "Get thee hence, Satan", ... Jesus sent him away. In a similar verse, James 4:7 tells us to "Submit ourselves therefore to God. ... Resist the devil, and he will flee from you"; however … we have to do this regularly as he will return; do you remember, while Jesus was on the cross being crucified, a voice cried out "if you are the Son of God, (then) come down from the cross (and save yourself)".
The “if”, “then” logic again, Satan never gives up, but neither did Jesus. Someone once said, "it wasn’t nails that held Jesus to the cross, it was his love for us." … I am sure Jesus in his Maybole accent must have said, “Naw son, I am dying on this cross to save you”!
Jesus was in every way tempted as we are tempted, and we therefore should not take temptation lightly.
The wilderness experience prepared Jesus for ministry; and we too will go through the wilderness experience, or time of trial, ... not to punish us, but because God deems it necessary to make us more like Jesus. … And it is hard, ... but the trials and the testings are what makes us, ... and not what breaks us.
This then helps us understand the meaning of 1st Peter 4:12 & 13 which says, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: ... But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ... you may also be glad, ... with exceeding joy".
I like that, exceeding joy, and there is so much I can say on this topic, but I better stop there for today, … and have a short prayer,
Let us pray.
Father, we thank you for Jesus. We thank you that he became sin for us and died on that cross to restore our relationship with you.
Father we thank you that you enabled Jesus to endure the horrendous trials and tribulation for us; in order to show us the way to overcome.
We thank you also Father that you are changing our lives for the better, … to be more like Jesus, but Father we need your help to endure the trials of this world, so please reveal to us, like you did with Jesus, who we are in you, and what you want us to do, … and what you want us to become.
Empower us with confidence Father, and faith, … that we are part of your almighty plan; and that you are with us every step of the way, understanding fully our pains and frustrations.
Father we also take this opportunity to pray for Paul Humphrey and his congregation, whose inspiration helped me start and complete this complex sermon.
Father, we humbly ask that you strengthen us, in Jesus name,
Amen.
Note to the reader:
If you have been blessed by this sermon, or any of my sermons, I would be greatly honoured to receive an e-mail from you saying so; I like so many others need encouragement.
I often feel that to deliver a sermon one time to my congregation is such a waste; where as many more could be blessed by its message, after all, it is not for my glory but for his. I would therefore like my sermons to bless more people, preferably internationally and not only in a small part, of a small country called Scotland.
Simply let me know where you are in the world … and any other information you may want to share or be prayed for. I would also take it as a compliment for you to use my sermons in order to bless others in his almighty name. I do not even need acknowledged, but he does, and I will receive a blessing directly from him.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and I wish you "all the best" as we say in Scotland … and I pray that your endeavours in the Lord are equally blessed. Yours in Christ, Gordon McCulloch, Scotland.
Compiled By: Gordon McCulloch (Worship Leader),
St Oswalds Episcopal Church,
Maybole. Ayrshire.
Scotland. UK
KA19 8KF
E-Mail: please me through Sermon Central or at
victoriouswisdom @ aol.com
