David versus Goliath. Thousands of years after their brief battle it is still used to describe conflicts. You have probably heard the comparison several times in recent days following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Clearly Russia is Goliath and Ukraine David. But don’t we also regularly hear the famous conflict connected to everything from politics to sports? We often use the expression “David vs. Goliath” to describe a confrontation or battle where the opponents or the armies are not evenly matched.
So let me ask you a question. Why was our Old Testament Lesson for this Sunday the account of David defeating Goliath? Normally, the three Bible readings (Old Testament Lesson, Epistle Lesson, and Gospel Lesson) for our worship services are connected in some way to a central theme or idea. And most often that main idea is found in the Gospel Lesson—from an event in Jesus’ life or from his teaching. Since our Gospel Lesson for today is Luke’s account of Jesus being tempted by the devil what is the connection to David and Goliath?
Let’s consider some possibilities. Are we comparing Jesus to David and Satan to Goliath? Some might say we would need to switch that around, right? Jesus is far superior to Satan. He is God. He has all of the attributes of God. He is almighty, he is present everywhere, he is eternal and all-knowing. As a created being, and a fallen angel, Satan has none of those attributes. But remember that Jesus gave up the full and constant use of his attributes as God in order to serve as our Savior. He met the devil’s temptations as you and I meet them. So, in that sense perhaps the “David vs. Goliath” comparison is fitting. Also, as our service folder pointed out David and Goliath were following a custom known as “battle by champion.” Two opposing armies would each send out their best warrior to fight each other. The whole army of each champion would share in his victory or his defeat. We see this in Jesus’ temptation. The demons send their champion: Satan. Humanity's best warrior, Jesus Christ, steps forward to meet him. In this battle he does not use his divine power. He uses the same weapon we have, God’s Word. Because Christ fought the battle against Satan as one of us, he won that battle for all of us. Jesus is our perfect substitute. Even as the devil rages against us, we can face him and his temptations unafraid, confident that our champion, Jesus, has already won the victory over him. Today we are invited to:
“See Jesus Defeat the Devil”
I. See the success of your sinless substitute
II. See the simple defense he invites you to use
Someone might say that our Savior isn’t a fair example to use when it comes to resisting temptation. After all Jesus is the Son of God. Wasn’t it easy for him to resist the devil’s temptations? It is true that Jesus never stopped being God. But the Bible tells us that he chose to not to use his divine power to give himself an extra edge in living a perfect life in our place. We could say he veiled or covered up his divine power when serving as our Savior. In Jesus’ “state of humiliation” as we call it in confirmation class, he faced the devil with the same abilities as we have. Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin.” Jesus faced Satan’s temptations and overcame them. He did that as our substitute for all the times we have failed to resist temptation.
The gospel lesson for today began with this information. “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” Why did God the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil? Don’t we say in the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation”? And James 1:13 clearly states that God does not tempt anyone. “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” So what’s the deal with Jesus being led into temptation? Wasn’t this a foolish idea to make Jesus vulnerable to temptation in this way?
To answer those questions, we need to recall the two basic ways that Jesus served as our Savior. Jesus came to let the curse of our sins fall on himself. In this Lenten season we will again hear about his suffering and death in all its gruesome details. But not only did Jesus enter the world as the sacrifice for our sins, he also came as the living substitute for sinners. He had to succeed where Adam and Eve failed. As the “Son of Man” he was expected to face temptation and not fall into sin. This he was sent to do in the place of every man, woman, and child who has sinned or will sin when tempted.
As if it wasn’t risky enough to lead Jesus into the desert to be tempted, he was also placed in a weakened condition before he was tempted. Luke goes on to tell us, “He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.” There is a simple truth worth recognizing in that verse before we go on to look at how Jesus resisted Satan’s temptations. The devil will frequently attack us with a temptation when we are in a weakened state physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Recognizing that fact is valuable when it comes to our own daily battles with the devil.
The first of the three temptations that are recorded in our gospel lesson might not seem like much of a temptation at all. “3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” One of Satan’s tricks is to present a challenge which calls for a sinful response. He questioned if Jesus really was the Son of God. One way for Jesus to prove that he was would have been through the working of a simple miracle. That was the challenge. But proving it by serving himself with his divine power was not the right response. Would it have been a big deal for Jesus to make himself some bread out of stone? It would not have fit Jesus’ mission. Jesus did not come to serve himself as he said in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Really there were two sides to the trap that Satan set for Jesus when he asked him to change a stone into bread. He was also tempting Jesus to doubt his Father’s love and concern for him. Why was he starving out in a desert? Surely his Father didn’t care about him and wasn’t providing for his needs! So wouldn’t he be justified if he made bread for himself to eat? Obviously, you can see what Jesus would have been implying if he had turned that stone into bread. It would have shown a lack of trust in his Father who promised to provide for his physical needs. And since he was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted it would have also shown a lack of obedience to his Father’s will.
This kind of temptation is an old one but an effective one. In the Garden of Eden the leader of the rebellious angels challenged Adam and Eve’s trust in God’s love and concern. The devil convinced them that God was holding out on them and that they had to take matters into their own hands. You know the rest of the story. They failed to stand up against the devil’s tempting.
How often doesn’t Satan use a similar temptation in our lives? He may place a challenge before us similar to the one he set before Jesus. “If you are child of God then why are you in need? Maybe God doesn’t love you as much as you think. Perhaps he is holding out on you. Why don’t you take things into your own hands and give up waiting for him?” And sadly, how often haven’t we failed to resist such thinking and such corresponding actions?
But how did Jesus respond to the devil’s attacks? Luke recorded his response, “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’” Jesus declared the truth in no uncertain terms. His life was in his Father’s hands. If he died in the desert without food it wouldn’t be an accident. If he survived it would not just be good luck. His Father was caring for him and would provide for him. God’s Word stated those truths very clearly.
Here Jesus spoke for all the children of God. We live because God created us and he keeps us alive not just because we eat food, drink water, and breath air. Our life and our future are in God’s hands. In that way we live by every word that comes from the mouth of God which sustains us spiritually and physically.
The truly devious nature of Satan’s methods to lead people into sin can be seen in the second temptation recorded by Luke, “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours.” What was the point of this temptation? Satan offered Jesus an easier way to accomplish his work as Savior. If Jesus would bow down and worship him the devil promised to turn over the world to Jesus. He basically was promising to stop trying to rule the world with his evil power. The temptation for Jesus must have seemed very appealing. He would not have to go to the cross and suffer and die. All people would come to him if Satan stopped his interference. But that was not God’s plan. And so it would be a sin to take the easier path that the devil offered.
Jesus responded again with God’s Word. Luke tells us, “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” For all the times we have taken the easier way instead of the right way Jesus resisted Satan’s attack in our place.
The third temptation recorded by Luke shows us how adaptable the Enemy is when it comes to tempting us. “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. 10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Note how quickly the devil switched the type of temptation he was using. The very point on which Jesus stood and defeated the first temptation becomes the starting point for the second temptation. Can you see how the devil does this same thing when he tempts us. Let’s say we overcome a temptation to gossip. We say, “That is a sin, and I am not going to do it.” The devil counters with something like this, “But the Bible says, ‘Speak the truth in love.’ You are only saying this about that person because you want to help them.” Or perhaps you resist the temptation to covet the wealth that another person has been given. Then the devil tempts you to have evil thoughts about how and why others have more than you do. There might come a time when a person obeys the Fifth Commandment by taking care of the body that he or she has been given. This person eats right and gets exercise. But in time that healthy body becomes a source of pride as he or she shows it off to others. The list of temptations like these is endless. In each of them Satan uses one spiritual victory to bring a temptation that could lead to defeat.
Satan is certainly the master at misusing and stretching God’s Word. He will say, “God wants you to be happy. He says that in his Word. So he won’t mind if you do this or that.” “Since the church needs money I am sure God wouldn’t mind if you cheated on your taxes or in your business dealings as long as you give some of the profits to the church. After all, the evil government will just waste the money anyway, right? And the people who you do business with should give to the church anyway. You are helping them out!” That sounds ridiculous. But is it so ridiculous? Oh, how twisted the twisted mind of the devil can make the good things God has said. Or how about this example? “Fighting with your spouse is a sin so divorce would put an end to that sin, wouldn’t it? Divorce would actually be good, wouldn’t it?” Do you see how sinister the devil can be in the way he brings temptations before people? May the Holy Spirit help us recognize his traps and tricks and respond with the Truth to his attacks.
Jesus responded to Satan’s third attack with the truth from the Scriptures. “Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Since Jesus professed his trust in his heavenly Father when he resisted the first temptation the devil focused on that in his third temptation. And since Jesus quoted the Bible the devil quoted it back to him. What the devil quoted from God’s Word was true. But he was stretching it and using it to support a false conclusion. Yes, God promises to send his angels to watch over believers. But it is a sin to foolishly endanger your own life and test God to see if he will do what he has promised.
The way that Jesus responded to this attack holds an important lesson for us. We must let the Bible interpret itself or Satan will use even God’s Word as a tool to tempt us. Let me give you another example of how he does this. The Bible says that the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. It also says that wives should submit to their husbands as the church submits to Christ. The devil can use the passages to tempt a husband to rule over his wife and be mean to her. Well we also need the passage that says, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” The devil may whisper in a wife’s ear, “He does not love you as Christ loved the church…so you don’t have to submit to him!” Do you see how Satan can use one part of the Bible to tempt us to disobey another part of it. We could come up with many other examples to add to this list. But the answer is always the same. Let God’s Word be our response to the devil’s attacks. Let the Word be its own interpreter.
“David versus Goliath.” Our Old Testament Lesson for today has a number of connections to Jesus being tempted by the devil. Jesus faced Satan in a weakened condition. And Jesus refrained from relying on his divine attributes to resist the devil. We also see the idea of a “champion warrior” in our Old Testament Lesson. Satan represented the spiritual forces that oppose God. Jesus represented all the sin sons of Adam and the fall daughters of Eve. But there is one other thing in the account of David and Goliath that we should connect to our Savior’s battle with the devil. Remember what David said to Goliath about how confident he was that he would defeat the giant and the whole Philistine army? “All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” We see that truth play out in Jesus’ battle with Satan. How did our Savior defeat the devil? He used the Word of God. The simple defense that each of us has also been given.
Brothers and sisters in the faith, today in our Gospel Lesson we see Jesus’ defeat the devil. We see the success of our sinless substitute! Because we have been baptized into Christ and belong to him our heavenly Father looks at us as having withstood every temptation that the devil has delivered to the door of our heart. And through Jesus we have a lesson on how to resist the devil’s temptations. We see his success for all the times we failed. And we see his simple defense for all the temptations we face. Amen.
