The art of the compromise – of give and take – is valued by many people. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Watch the consummate politician on campaign trail – they live by give and take. Whey even a good football game starts out as a battle of give and take. One team will fight and scratch for 10 or 15 yards and then punt the ball. Then they’ll fight and scratch to keep the other team from moving the ball so that they can get it back just a bit closer. Then they’ll fight for another 10 or 15 yards – just a little give and take - until they can capitalize on good field position. Most of the time engaging in ‘give and take’ is ok. It’s the way things are done.
But there are times when engaging in ‘give and take’ is absolutely the wrong thing to do. The Gospel Lesson today talks about such a situation. Jesus and satan were at odds. The stakes were incredibly high. Life and death only begins to describe what was at play. Jesus had been fasting for forty days, and so He was physically weak. He’d been in the desert. But He was at the beginning of another journey - a tough journey - and He knew that it would only get tougher. A Cross was waiting down the road a piece.
What was at stake in this confrontation in the desert? This may surprise you, but it was Jesus’ death. Oh, I don’t mean that the devil was trying to kill Jesus. He wanted to stop Him from dying! He was trying to keep Jesus from reaching the Cross. He was trying to prevent Jesus from redeeming you and me and all of humanity from our sin. And the devil used every dirty trick in the book to do this. His desire was to waylay the salvation of humanity and so satan tried to get Jesus to just engage in a little give and take – like haggling over the price of something:
“Aw, common, Jesus! You know that I’m right about this. You don’t have to suffer. Just work with me here. Just listen, listen for a bit – and I’ll save You a whole lot of trouble.” That’s the way the evil one works, doesn’t he? The devil has been shading the truth for centuries – getting us to give in a little here a little there. The things the devil offers Jesus seem, at least on the surface, harmless enough. A little food; an excellent promotion; an opportunity to find out if God really cares. There sure doesn’t seem to be much wrong in just hearing out the old snake - but there is. Jesus knows that satan is a master at setting traps - collecting victims in his web.
“Look here, Jesus,” says the evil one, “Just command this stone to become a loaf of bread and the hunger ends. And who knows, you might be able to start a new ministry out of this. Really! I mean, think about it. A lot of good could come from it. Why Jesus, if you give in just this once – You would be able to use this ‘stone to bread’ maneuver to get places. It could become your special gig - the calling card of your church. Changing stones to bread could be the way that your church could feed all the hungry. After all, isn’t God concerned with the hungry? With You?”
“What’s that you say? ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ I can’t believe that You, Jesus, would think there are more important things than feeding the hungry. What could be more important? Why aren’t you willing to just go with me on this one – just a little ‘give and take.”
“All right… well then, listen to this, you’re gonna love it. I’ve a got such a deal for you. I’m willing to give You – everything. You heard me, Yeshua – everything! Why look at all the engineering marvels – the pyramids, the Inca and Aztec cities; why I’ll even throw in Las Vegas and Cancun for good measure. All this is yours just for the taking. Plus more – the authority and glory that goes with it. You want dancing girls? No problem. A new BM’er – piece of cake! You’ll be the talk of all the towns – that Caesar guy – no match for You. Ghengis Khan – he’ll be your shoe shine boy.”
“I’ll give You all this, if You do just one little itsy, bitsy thing for me. Just, worship me. Now, now – don’t make any hasty decisions. I mean there are some real possibilities here. Think about what it would mean if You really were in charge around here. No more weapons of mass destruction. Wealth could be distributed equitably. Lion would lay with the lamb, child would play with asp – You could make all of that really good stuff happen. After all, Jesus, You would be the boss. You would have the power to make it happen. And you know how much the world needs to be at peace. Just give in a little bit here.”
“Err, ehh – what? You mean to tell me that you’re not interested in this either? You mean to tell me that God really meant that? ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and only Him shall you serve?’ That isn’t just some old fuddy – duddy’s idea? Common, Jesus, loosen up here – take control of your life – after all, you only go ’round once. Think of all the good You could do if You were the King of the World… That First Commandment is not negotiable? Got other plans? A trip to Jerusalem to meet with the Sanhedrin, you say? You don’t know what your missing.”
“Ok, but listen, just one more thing, Jesus. You’re looking mighty run down. How do you know that God really cares about You? I mean you look like a Bedouin – abandoned, wandering, alone. Now if You were to do something dramatic, God would have to come and help you. And listen, if that happened – why then, everybody would know that You are the Son of God! There now – we’re at the highest point on the temple. Just throw yourself down from here. Go on, You know that God won’t permit harm to come to You. Just let your Father perform a dramatic rescue. When He saves You, You’ll know for sure that God really is on your side.”
“And think of all the good press you could get out of this, Jesus. When folks hear about the big rescue, why - people will be beating down your door. Just think of the crush of people that will come to know God! If He comes to your rescue, everybody will know that God can be trusted. All these people would know that God is the real deal. They’ll know that God is just ready and willing to be their shield and very great reward. It would show everybody once and for all that He really is there for them.”
“Wow can you think of a better marketing strategy for your church. You could come up with a catchy logo like: ‘You fall – just call;’ or maybe, ‘You trip – we grip.’ We can work out the details later. Now are You willing to give in on this one, Jesus? It’s a no-brainer. And I’m not even asking You for anything in return. I know how You don’t like to compromise…so no strings attached here.”
“Huh? What? I don’t believe You! ‘Don’t put the Lord your God to the test?’ Hey, that isn’t even one of the commandments. I can’t work with You anymore. You just keep coming up with all these Bible verses. Why You aren’t even willing to do just a little bit of give and take with me here.”
And so the devil left Jesus. Jesus wouldn’t give in. These “harmless” little compromises seemed to hold promises of a greater good: No more hunger; power and glory as King of the World; assurances of God’s love and protection. But then, there would be no Cross. No Resurrection. No forgiveness. All of us would still be in our sins. And so out of love; in order to fulfill the law; in order to be our Savior, there would be no give and take.
We, too, have been tempted. We’ve been tempted to take the easy way out. We’ve been tempted to indulge in the thing that would satisfy our physical desires. We’ve been tempted with money and power. We’ve been tempted to think that God has all but abandoned us. And we’ve given in to these temptations and permitted them to lead us into sin.
But you see, beloved, that is why Jesus had to win the battle of give and take. You see, Jesus is the One Who came to give. Himself as a ransom for sin; Himself as the body and blood to strengthen his people; Himself as the way, the truth and the life; and Himself revealed as God’s beloved Son when He rose from the dead.
The temptation of Jesus was to choose a way other than the Cross. But there would be no keeping Jesus from Golgotha. You see, mankind’s greatest need was not bread. It wasn’t power or kingdoms or even having God at the end of a leash. Our greatest need was and is forgiveness of sins. And that is what Jesus was not willing to compromise on. He went to the Cross and won our salvation. That is what He freely gives to us in the Gospel, in our Baptism and at the Lord’s Table. Amen.
