“Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.” Luke 4:1-2a (1-13)

Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Sometimes it’s hard to imagine Jesus being tempted in the same ways we are tempted but He was, and He never yielded but was perfectly obedient to God’s Word in every point that He might be our Savior.

When Jesus had been 40 days without food in the wilderness, the devil tempted Him to use His power as the Son of God to turn the stones into bread that He might eat. But Jesus trusted in God His Father to provide for all His needs and did not yield to the temptation to take matters into His own hands rather than patiently trusting in the promises of God’s Word.

Jesus came into this world to establish an eternal kingdom made up of people from all nations, and the devil offered Him an easier way than the cross to establish His rule, but Jesus refused to worship or serve anyone but the Lord His God.

And each time Jesus used the Scriptures — the Book of Deuteronomy — to answer the temptations of the devil (Deut. 8:3; 6:16). This is certainly an example for us when tempted.

Jesus came to be recognized by God’s people as the Son of God, their Messiah and Savior. So, Satan took Jesus up upon a pinnacle of the temple and tempted Him to show Himself the Son of God and prove His trust in God’s promises to send His angels to bear Him up (Ps. 91:11-12). But once again Jesus used God’s Word to refute Satan’s temptation (Deut. 6:13; 10:20). He remained obedient to God’s Word, trusting in the Lord God and His Word.

Note that in each temptation Satan offered to Jesus a shortcut — and easier way — to meet His needs and achieve His purposes than trusting in God and His Word. And He still tempts us in much the same way today. When we have needs, He tempts us to find our own solutions rather than trust in the Lord God to provide for us in His way and in His time. We may needlessly borrow money, be less than honest or even play the lottery or gamble in an attempt to meet our needs our own way.

Satan offers us glory and fame — to be accepted and liked — if we just honor him in some way, and we so easily fall. We exalt ourselves, boast, belittle others, do works to be seen by others.

He offers us shortcuts to our goals and twists the Scriptures to make them sound good in our ears. He urges us to put God to the test, to tempt God and see if He will really keep His promises to protect us, provide for us, give us blessings. He even urges us to give in to our sinful passions, saying it will be alright because God will forgive us afterward if we just ask Him.

But what does God say? “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”; “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve”; and, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

How thankful we can be that Jesus did not give in to the temptations of the devil during this time in the wilderness or ever! How thankful we can be that, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said, “Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42)! How thankful we can be that He obeyed His Father and went to the cross as a holy Sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world and then rose again! Through faith in Him, we have forgiveness (Eph. 1:7).

Dearest Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your perfect obedience and Your perfect sacrifice upon the cross that through faith in You we might have forgiveness for all sins and a place in Your eternal kingdom. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. Matthew 4:1-11 (Cf. Luke 4:1-13)

In the many times I’ve read and preached on Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, I’ve often struggled to understand the temptations. “What’s the big deal?” I’ve wondered.

Think of Jesus fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights and afterward being hungry. The devil comes to Jesus and says, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

What would be wrong with that? After all, Jesus had been fasting and was sustained by God without food or water for 40 days, much like Moses was when on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 34:28), and He was hungry. What would have been so wrong if He had commanded some stones to become bread and nourished himself? Who would have even known?

It may seem like a little thing — and the devil loves it when we think of sin as a minor and insignificant infraction, as we learned from the temptation in the Garden.

The serpent said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). And when Eve responded saying, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’ … the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Gen. 3:2-5). And we know what happened when Eve and then Adam disobeyed the LORD in this one little thing!

Jesus had, following His baptism, been led by the Spirit into the wilderness to endure temptation for us. He was fulfilling the righteous demands of God’s Law in our stead. And remember that the first part of obeying any of God’s commandments is to fear, love and trust in God above all things, as Luther explains in His explanation of the First Commandment (cf. Deut. 6:5,13; 10:12; Prov. 3:5). Would it have been trusting in His heavenly Father for Jesus to use His divine power to meet an earthly need rather than to trust that God, who led Him out into the wilderness to be tempted, would provide for Him?

Note Jesus’ answer in Matt. 4:4, a reference to Deut. 8:3: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Rather than stepping out of His state of humiliation, Jesus humbly trusted in His heavenly Father to provide. The children of Israel failed, again and again, to trust God to provide for their needs during their 40 years in the wilderness, but Jesus placed His confidence and faith in the truthfulness of God’s Word.

The devil then attacked Jesus based on His trust in the Word of God.

“Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: “He shall give His angels charge over you,” and, “In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”’”

Yes, the devil knows Scripture (cf. Ps. 91:11-12), probably better than you or me. And we shouldn’t be surprised that he has raised up all sorts of Bible-thumping preachers who quote the Scriptures but advance falsehood and lies in God’s name, saying things which are contrary to the true message of the Bible. As Jeremiah writes, they “use their tongues and say, ‘He says’” (Jer. 28:31).

And what would have been wrong with Jesus proving His deity by casting Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and riding on the wings of angels to the earth? His answer, quoting from Deut. 6:16, reveals it: “Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”’”

Are we to put God to the test, to intentionally place ourselves in harm’s way in an attempt to test God’s faithfulness to His Word? If so, perhaps we should drink poison and practice venomous snake handling in our services next week (cf. Mark 16:17-18) — the devil would love to have us do so!

In the third temptation, “the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Jesus came into this world to establish an everlasting kingdom, and the devil here offers to Jesus an easy way to get it done — certainly much easier than going to the cross and bearing Himself, in His body, the just punishment for our sins and the sins of the entire world.

And think of the many ways the devil still uses this same temptation today. If we bowed to Satan and his lies and compromised the truth just a little, we could avoid all the pain and heartache which goes with holding fast to Christ and His Word. If we just kept quiet about such things as abortion, sex outside of marriage, pornography, homosexual lifestyles, drunkenness, dishonest business practices, etc., etc., life would be so much easier. The world and compromising churches would accept us.

And Satan offers us the kingdoms of this world — more profits, a wealthier lifestyle, acceptance by the world, a larger church, etc. All we have to do is bow down to Satan in one area of our life or in one article of Biblical doctrine!

How did Jesus respond? Based on Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20, “Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”’”

To worship and serve the LORD God is to continue in His Word, to repent of our sins and look in faith to Christ and His cross for pardon and forgiveness; it is to continue in all things which Christ has commanded us (John 6:29; 17:3; Luke 24:46-47; Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Tim. 3:14-17).

What is so important about Jesus’ temptation? Why do we consider it each year?

Had Jesus failed this test and yielded to Satan in even the smallest point, our hope of salvation would be lost. If Jesus had failed, He would not have fulfilled all righteousness for us and we could not be counted righteous through faith in Him.

But Jesus did not fail. “We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). We were redeemed … “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18, 19). He “committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22).

And, it is for that reason that “Jesus Christ the righteous … is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2). He paid the price for the sins of all. In Him — through faith in His name — “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).

In Adam’s fall, we fell, and we continue to fall, giving in to the temptations of the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. Jesus, God the Son in human flesh, was tempted like we are, but He did not yield and He did not fall. Using Scriptures from the Book of Deuteronomy, He resisted the temptations of the devil and rebuked Him, and He held fast to the Word of His Father in heaven.

And, following Jesus’ temptation, “the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.” Jesus submitted to God, and resisted the devil, and the devil fled from Him. He endured the temptation, and God met His needs through the care and service of His holy angels.

So also, the Bible tells us: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

The Bible warns us in 1 Pet. 5:8-9: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” He knows our weaknesses and he seeks to separate us from Christ, our Savior, by urging us to take matters into our own hands, by putting God to the test, or by compromising and bowing to him just a little.

We are weak but our Savior is strong. He overcame the devil for us. He resisted the temptations, held fast to God’s Word and then went to the cross and suffered for our sins that we might look to Him in faith and be pardoned and forgiven. By His holy life and innocent suffering and death, He won for us forgiveness and life everlasting. He overcame the devil for us and won for us the victory.

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:14-18).

How thankful we can be that Jesus did not give in to the temptations of the devil, during this time in the wilderness or ever! How thankful we can be that, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said, “Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42)! How thankful we can be that He obeyed His Father and went to the cross as a holy Sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world and then rose again! In Him, we have forgiveness (Eph. 1:7).

In the words of Jude 24, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”

“And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom. 16:20).

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:31

Why is it that we who are Christians are saved? Can we boast of our goodness, our worthiness to be chosen, of our wisdom, our decision, or of our faith? What does the Bible say? “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

The apostle Paul points out to his readers in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:26-31): “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption — that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

The fact that you and I have heard God’s Word and come to know the Lord God who created the heavens and the earth and all things, and to know and trust in His mercy toward us in Christ Jesus who died for our sins and rose again, is not because of anything good in us. Indeed, we were dead in our trespasses and sins until God graciously saved us by bringing us to faith in the Son and His atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world through the preaching of the Gospel (cf. Eph. 1:3ff.; 2:1ff.; Titus 3:3ff.). His election and calling are entirely of His grace and mercy toward us in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 1:9-10).

Thus the apostle points out how God used the foolishness of the cross and the foolishness of preaching forgiveness of sins and life eternal through the shed blood of Jesus to save us. To the world, it remains foolish. But to us, He has revealed it as the wisdom and power of God unto salvation. To us, who are counted fools by this world, has God revealed His wisdom. And Jesus Christ, the only-begotten of God the Father and born of the Virgin Mary, “is made unto us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”

So, in what can we brag and boast? Only in the Lord! As it is written in the prophet Jeremiah (9:23-24): “‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord.”

And how is it we can know these things and trust in the Lord? Entirely of His grace and mercy in Christ Jesus!

Therefore, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord”!

We praise You, O Lord God, and give You the glory for providing salvation for us in Your Son, Jesus Christ, and bringing us to know Him and trust Him as our God and Savior through the preaching of the Gospel. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

The Lenten season begins today, Ash Wednesday, and continues until Easter. Lent is 40 days long, corresponding to the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness, but extends over a period of 46 days because Sundays are not counted as part of the traditional Lenten season.

Since the date for Easter is set based on the lunar calendar — the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox — the season of Lent begins on different calendar dates each year. Though it began on March 6 last year, with Easter on April 21, it is earlier this year — Easter is April 12 and Lent begins today.

The first full moon after the vernal equinox is April 7, making Sunday, April 12, the date of Easter in most Western Churches.

On most years, the date for Easter or Pascha falls later in the Eastern Churches. Easter dates were the same in 2017, but this year the date is April 19 in the East (Eastern Churches use the same formula to determine the date for Easter but use the Julian Calendar, while Western Churches and most of the world use the Gregorian Calendar).

Some churches do not observe the season of Lent at all. It is not specifically commanded or forbidden in the Bible, so churches that do not observe the special season cannot be faulted, and anyone who insists it must be strictly observed goes beyond the teaching of the Bible. Nevertheless, the observance of Lent can be a good thing if it is observed with the purpose and intent of considering Christ’s sufferings and death for the sins of the world (often called His passion) and as a special time of self-examination and repentance.

While many would simply go through the outward forms of repentance — including ashes on the forehead and fasting during the season — the Bible calls for true contrition and sorrow over our own sinfulness and faith in the shed blood of Christ Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Joel 2:13 says, “Rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”

Psalm 34:18 says: “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

Psalm 51:16-17 says: “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

John, in his first epistle (1 John 1:8-9; 2:1-2), writes: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness … If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

God desires that we live in continual repentance — acknowledging our sinfulness and the judgment we justly deserve but then looking in faith to Christ Jesus and His death on the cross for our sins and trusting that in Jesus we are forgiven and accepted of God. Therefore, as we contemplate the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ bitter sufferings and death for the sins of all, it is certainly also a fitting time to examine ourselves and see that it was for our sin that He suffered and died such an agonizing death.

As Isaiah 53:5-6 says, “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Many, of course, speak of giving things up for Lent, and giving up things that we might focus on Christ and what He has done for us can certainly be a good thing. But, we need to always remember that our giving up something, whether it be through fasting or some other form of self-denial, can never merit God’s favor or blessing. Our observance of Lenten self-sacrifice will not somehow atone for our sins and make us acceptable to God. It is only through faith in the shed blood of Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), that we receive God’s pardon and forgiveness and are acceptable in His sight.

It is God who makes “us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:6,7).

It’s really too bad that more people do not observe Lent in a Biblical and Scriptural way — not just giving up some item for 40 days but, rather, repenting of sin and evil and looking to Christ and His cross for pardon, forgiveness and life eternal. In fact, it’s sad that true Lenten contrition and repentance are not observed by more people year-round!

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]

“Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.’ But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.” Luke 18:31-34

This was now the third time in the Gospels that Jesus clearly told His disciples that He would be handed over to the Gentiles, cruelly treated and crucified (Matt. 16:21-23; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34; Luke 9:51). But they still did not understand. In fact, it was not until after His resurrection that Jesus’ disciples finally came to understand why it was necessary for Jesus to suffer and to die and then rise again on the third day (cf. Luke 24:44-49).

And so it is with those around us in the world today. They hear that Jesus was betrayed, tortured and crucified, and they hear the accounts of His resurrection, but none of it makes sense to them. It appears only as a great injustice against the prophet Jesus of Nazareth.

And so, in their preaching and teaching about Jesus, the significance of the cross is overlooked and Jesus is held up as a mere example of loving one’s enemies and serving the needs of mankind. To many, Jesus is no more than a prophet who was ahead of His time, a prophet who sought to teach love and acceptance for all, regardless of nationality, race, sex or lifestyle.

But they miss the point! They miss what the Old Testament prophets said of the coming Messiah and Savior. They fail to understand that all the Old Testament sacrifices pointed ahead to one perfect sacrifice which the LORD Himself would provide (Gen. 22:13-14; Exo. 12:1ff.; Lev. 1:3-4).

They fail to see what the prophets said of the Messiah when they described how He would “redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (Ps. 130:8; Cf. Psalm 22 and Isa. 53).

St. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, calls the cross of Christ a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks (1 Cor. 1:23). But to those of us who have been brought to faith in Christ through the preaching of the Gospel, Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross are “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24).

What if Jesus had not gone to the cross? What if He had not passively obeyed the will of the Heavenly Father and permitted Himself to be arrested, mocked, scourged, beaten and crucified? What if He had demonstrated His divine power and come down from the cross? As St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:17-19, our faith would be futile, we would still be dead in our sins, we would have no hope of the resurrection, all who died in the faith would be lost forever, and all that we suffer in life as Christians would be for naught.

As Jesus said after His resurrection, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47).

It was necessary that the Christ be true God and true man that He might take our place under God’s law and fulfill it for all men. It was necessary that Jesus, true God and true man, go to the cross and suffer and die in our stead to make full atonement for the sins of all mankind. And it was necessary that He rise again in victory that we might repent of our sinful ways, place our faith in Him and be justified, forgiven and absolved of all our sins and be given the sure hope of life everlasting (cf. 1 Cor. 15:1-4, 20-23; 1 Pet. 1:3-9).

Because Jesus went to Jerusalem to fulfill the Scriptures and suffer and die for our sins, we have through faith in Him forgiveness and life everlasting. God grant us saving faith in Him!

Dear Lord Jesus, open our hearts and minds to understand Your Word and to trust in Your atoning sacrifice on the cross as the only means of our salvation. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]