“The 4th Temptation”
Luke 4:1-13
Who can tell me how many temptations Jesus faces in this morning’s Gospel Lesson?
Three, right?
That’s the obvious answer.
It’s what we have been told or have come to believe.
It’s what we just read.
First, Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread.
Second, He was tempted by worldly power and money.
And finally, He was tempted jump off that highest point of the Temple into the hands of angels.
Three isn’t an incorrect answer, but I wonder if it might be an incomplete answer.
What if there is a 4th temptation?
And what if the 4th temptation is a universal one that runs through and underlies the other three?
And what if it’s the temptation that you and I and the rest of humankind are always struggling with?
What if all the other temptations are just variations of this 4th one?
(pause)
A couple of years ago, a good friend who I have a lot of respect for surprised me with a confession.
She said, “I always have this voice in my head saying, ‘You are worthless. You are an idiot. You are no good.’”
I never would have guessed that she doubted herself so.
She comes across as having a lot of confidence and does great things for people.
But then, when I got to thinking about it I decided that I’m not all that surprised after all.
Having been in the ministry for 26 years and having listened to the stories of so many people who have come to me for help—this kind of thing seems to be kind of, well, kind of universal.
Of course, it’s not exactly the same for everyone.
It’s more extreme for some and others may be barely aware of this self-doubt.
But I think it lurks in all of us somewhere.
Immediately before today’s Gospel Lesson Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan River and a voice from heaven says to Him: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
And I think that the underlying temptation in all of these scenarios is “Am I really God’s beloved?
Am I really God’s Son?
Is God really well-pleased with me?”
And then the tempter comes and says, “If you really are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
“If you really are the Son of God prove it by throwing yourself off the roof of the Temple into the hands of angels.”
“If You really were the Son of God, God would give you all the power, wealth and splendor that the world has to offer…
…You would be living in opulence but here you are…
…God has led you into the wilderness.
You are a joke!
And God is a liar.
Forget God.
And live for yourself instead!
God doesn’t care about you anyway!”
The fact that we know about these temptations is Jesus must have told His disciples about this internal struggle.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think the devil appeared in red spandex tights and a pitchfork to talk to Jesus about this.
I think these were thoughts that were going through His mind…
…and they are related to the kind of thoughts that go through all our minds.
Am I good enough?
Am I loved?
Can I trust God?
“If you are the Son of God…”
That is the question for Jesus…
That’s the 4th Temptation.
It’s the temptation for Jesus to doubt God and Himself and therefore try and prove Himself by turning stones into bread and so forth.
It’s the temptation to doubt that God is well-pleased with Him and thus seek approval and recognition from another by falling down and worshipping Satan, the deceiver.
One day while I was in college, a wrestling match was taking place in my head.
I thought that I wasn’t good enough for God to love me.
I had been involved in a Fundamentalist Christian Group—a Cult really that was filled with unbending rules.
We were given the impression that God was terribly disappointed with us if we slipped up and did something human—like having a sinful thought or doing something that was against the religious Law—which means the exact way this group interpreted the Bible—as the inerrant Word of God—the end all and be all of everything…
…they or I or both of us had no idea that they were taking much of the Bible wayyyy out of context and causing people to feel guilty about who they were.
They really didn’t know much about the Bible or God at all.
I didn’t know that the fulfillment of the Law is not about a bunch of moral codes but rather it’s about loving God and loving neighbor—which leaves a lot of flexibility in life.
Jesus broke the rules-based Law all the time throughout His ministry—it’s ultimately one of the reasons why the Religious People killed Him.
In any event, I felt guilty about myself.
I really had come to hate myself because no matter what I did I was unable to live up to the standards of God as I was taught to interpret them.
And that’s a terrible place to be.
So, I was walking across the college campus thinking about how much I had let God down and how God couldn’t possibly love me…
…and as I thought about these things I walked into the campus record store.
And on the speakers in the store the song “I Love You Just the Way You Are” by Billy Joel was being played.
And at that moment, I felt as if God were speaking to me through that song.
And it felt as if God was saying, “Ken, I love you just the way you are.
I created you.
I know everything about you.
There is nothing you can do to cause me not to love you.
Do we have a life-long journey together?
Yes.
Do I want you to stay where you are at 18 years old for the rest of your life?
No.
But I love you.
I love you just the way you are…just the way I created you…in all your humanness…I love you.
Just accept my love and love yourself and others because of it.”
I trusted God that day.
And it changed me.
Now, I have to remind myself of those words several times a day sometimes, because I often forget that God loves me, and so I’ll do destructive things to myself or others.
But when I remember…
…when I know I am loved…
…I am free to love myself, Love God and love others.
In 1st John 4:19 it says, “We love because God first loved us.”
That’s how it works.
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested.
Could He really believe that God loved Him as much as God said God did?
Could God be trusted?
Jesus decided that God could be trusted.
And He made that decision every day all the way to the Cross where He selflessly died for the sins of you and me and all the world.
I’ve never been tempted to turn stones into bread but I have been tempted not to trust in the love of God…not to believe I am worthy of God’s love.
In what ways is the 4th temptation active in your life today?
What are the temptations with which you struggle?
What is tempting you today to doubt that you are a beloved child of God?
With each temptation we learn a little more about ourselves.
This is important information and it offers us an opportunity for healing and wholeness, a new life and a new way of being beloved children of God.
Because that is who and what we are—everyone of us—that is our identity--we are beloved children of God and no one can take that away from us…
…not even that deceptive, evil devil!
When I am in touch with this--my deepest identity and value--I usually remain true to myself.
But when I am disconnected from my true identity and value I often betray myself.
And that’s exactly what Jesus will NOT do.
He uses His temptations to clarify Who He is.
What if that’s how we approached our temptations?
The 4th Temptation, amazingly enough, might just be the one that can save our lives.
What are your temptations teaching you about yourself?
And what will you do with this information?
Will you pray with me?
Lord God,
We are Your beloved. You created us out of the dust of the earth.
You breathed into our nostrils the breath of life.
You loved us long before we could love ourselves.
Help us to believe this.
May our Lenten journey this year be a journey to NEW LIFE.
In Jesus’ name and for His sake we pray.
Amen.
