Loving God, you call us into the wilderness in order to teach us that we need you above all else. Continue to feed us with the bread from heaven, even as you strengthen us for the journey through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Way back in Deuteronomy, we read about Israel being tested in the wilderness. As you may recall, they spent 40 years there – wandering around in the desert. In Deuteronomy, the people are reminded of how God humbled them in the wilderness – allowing them to hunger and then feeding them with manna – bread from heaven (Deut. 8). This happened in order to help the people to “understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut. 8:3).

It is no accident that Jesus chooses this particular passage of Scripture in order to answer the devil’s proposal in today’s gospel (Mt. 4:1-11). Although certainly Jesus himself was hungry at the time, it seems likely that there was much more implied in this temptation than just to make some bread for himself. After all, if Jesus really could change stones into bread (and we do know that later he fed more than 5000 people), then couldn’t Jesus have used this power to feed all of the hungry people in the world? It’s almost as if the devil is saying, “Here’s a good thing that you could do, and prove to people that you are the Son of God!”

However, in the passage that Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy, there is a warning there about what will happen as soon as the people have lots of food to eat and aren’t in the wilderness any more. They are warned that they will be tempted to forget the Lord their God, and forget how God provided for them in the wilderness, and forget that all of the abundance that they will have in the promised land comes to them from God.

Don’t you think that the same thing would have happened if Jesus had started making bread out of stones? Sure, they would have been happy for a while, and they might have even believed that he was the Son of God, but they would come only for the food, and would forget about having any sort of relationship with God. In fact, there is one place in the gospel of John after the feeding of the 5000 where the people follow Jesus to the other side of the sea. Jesus tells them,

You are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life (Jn. 6:26-27).

Already they are focussed only on the food, and it is after the miraculous feeding that they try to come and make Jesus king by force (Jn. 6:15).

Making bread out of stones might seem like a good idea, but it would go against God’s purpose for Jesus here on this earth. It also points to our own temptation to put our trust in earthly things rather than in God. I came across a number of things this week that pointed out how people always seem to be enticed by food. In Genesis the temptation involves food. In the gospel the temptation involves food. Even the apostle Paul writes about how people make their belly into their god. He writes:

For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things (Phil. 3:18-19).

Surely we are tempted just as the people of Israel were. For, do we forget all about God in our abundance and only turn to God when we are in need? Do we forget how all that we have comes from God? Do we rely only on ourselves and on our earthly things and pretend that we need nothing from God? Do we neglect to give thanks and then complain to God when we feel that we are lacking?

If we do, we are certainly not the first ones! When Israel was in the wilderness, God was constantly providing for them, and Israel was constantly complaining. In fact, it wasn’t just God who was testing Israel, but Israel who was testing God (and this was not a good thing)! At Massah, the people were thirsty for water, and they complained to Moses and said, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Ex. 17:7). Of course, this was after they had already been fed with bread from heaven. And so, once again, Deuteronomy warns the people, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah” (Deut. 6:16).

As before, it is no accident that Jesus chooses this particular passage in order to respond to the devil’s challenge. In this section of Deuteronomy (ch. 6), there are warnings not to forget what God has done and to diligently keep the commandments. The devil is trying to get Jesus to prove that God will actually do what he says. In addition to the verses quoted by the devil from Psalm 91, the psalm says, “Those who love me, I will deliver” (Ps. 91:14). Does Jesus believe this even though he knows that crucifixion will await him?

Once again, the devil is proposing something that sounds on the surface like it could be good. Surely people would believe in Jesus if they saw a miraculous rescue by angels! Yet, Jesus knows that this would not accomplish God’s purpose for him here on this earth. He is here as one who serves and who teaches and who heals. He is here for the salvation of all people. He is here to show people what God is like. Jesus chooses obedience over spectacular tricks. Jesus chooses his relationship with God over testing God’s promises.

In our first reading today, Adam and Eve do just the opposite. “Hmm. We will die, will we? That seems rather harsh. I don’t think that God really meant that. Let’s try it out and see how it tastes!” They choose testing God and wanting to be God over the relationship with God that allowed them to walk and talk with him in perfect harmony. They may have been the first, but they certainly weren’t the last.

How many people are there who maybe prayed for a certain thing, didn’t get it, and thus decided to turn their back on God? How many people are there who test God all the time – quibbling over what the rules should be, and yet forgetting all about love and mercy and justice? How many people are there who dare God to take them down – strike them down with lightning – as some sort of proof of God’s power? God offers us relationship and salvation through Jesus Christ. Do we choose to test God instead?

Finally, we come to the third temptation, where once again Jesus quotes from the same section of Deuteronomy (ch. 6). The people of Israel had been warned: Don’t forget what God has done for you. Don’t forget to keep the commandments. Don’t wander off and serve other gods. To do so is idolatry, which is exactly what the devil is proposing to Jesus.

Once again, it sounds like it could be good. After all, doesn’t the world need a ruler who is just and benevolent and compassionate? Just look at all of the good that Jesus could do! Yet, this, too, is not God’s purpose for him and would not result in the salvation of all people. Not only that, Jesus is being asked to commit blatant idolatry. And so Jesus calls to mind Deuteronomy 6:13. “The Lord your God you shall fear; him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear.”

In our case, it is highly unlikely that we will be tempted to rule the world. However, temptations to idolatry – to worship false gods – are all around us. In fact, whenever a person puts anything other than God above all else, that is idolatry. The idols that people worship today are many and diverse: Money is probably the most popular idol. And how about me, myself and I? Or my career? Or my car? Or my sports? Or my kids? Or my family? Or my church? Or my video games? Or my TV? All of these are false gods which many people worship. And false gods are never life-giving, and will always ultimately fail us.

There is only one God who gives life – the Creator of the Universe – who invites us into relationship through Jesus Christ. In the same section of Deuteronomy that Jesus quotes in today’s gospel, we find these verses:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (Deut. 6:4-5).

And Jesus adds: “you shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). It is in this love for God and neighbour that we are invited to grow during this season of Lent. May God grant this growth by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lent 1(A) Matthew 4:1-11
February 10, 2008 Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore
© 2008 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved