The First Sunday in Lent
Matthew 4:1-11 - The Temptation of Christ
Fr. Oliver Robinson
Matthew 4:1-11 - The Temptation of Christ
Fr. Oliver Robinson
Christ - the New Adam
You may have heard before that Matthew's Gospel sets up a parallel between Moses and Christ.
But there is another significant parallel in Christ's life and ministry which Paul highlights in our reading from Romans today. That Christ is the New Adam (v14)
In our reading from Genesis, we see how sin and death first enter our world. Adam and Eve are tested. They know the rule God has put in place but the crafty serpent whipsers in their ears “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any tree in the Garden?” (3:1). And the serpent's deception works. He erodes Adam and Eve’s trust in God’s word and motives, and they eat from the tree they have been forbidden.
Through Adam’s failure of the test, sin and death enter into the world. Everything which was once new and fresh and glorious becomes marred and broken. Plants die, animals kill each other, the earth shakes, and even our very nature as human beings becomes poisoned and predisposed towards sin. We no longer live forever, our bodies fade and decay, and we return to the dust from which we were made.
Today, all of us are descendants of Adam. And we have inherited his sin spiritually and psychologically. And we are now broken and marred before God. Imprisoned by our constant sin and bound by a mortal death. The church calls this ‘Original Sin’
This explains the state of the world today. This is why there is so much suffering and pain here on earth. It explains why human beings continue to do the most wicked things to each other, to let greed and pride reign instead of justice and worship of God. This is why no politician, political system, or ideology can ever bring us to a perfect society – we are all so broken and fallen that we just can't stop sinning. Nothing we do on our own strength can fix Adam’s sin in us.
But Paul knows the truth, as you know it, that Christ came and undid the chains of sin and death, and by taking the penalty unto Himself he enabled us all to be healed and free. That now we know we shall never truly die, and that one day we shall be freed entirely from our sinful nature:
“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:18-19)
And in our reading from Matthew’s Gospel today, Christ faces the same test that Adam faced.
The serpent slithers his way onto Christ’s shoulder and starts whispering the same lie:
Did God really say…you were the Son of God?
Tempted in the Wilderness
The first temptation
Christ has just come from His baptism where the voice from Heaven loudly proclaimed, ‘This is my Son!’
The tempter says to Christ:
‘“If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”’ (v2)
Q: When was the last time you were hungry? We don’t often experience this in our lives, because when we get hungry – we go and eat something. The worst it gets is that we get hungry without realizing and someone tells us to go and eat because we are getting cranky.
Imagine for a second what real hunger, for days on end, might feel like.
The first test involves Christ’s real physical needs.
His stomach must have ached for food at this point.
But it also goes deeper:
He is being asked to prove that he is the Son of God by performing a miracle.
God, through Moses, provided Manna in the desert. ‘Miraculous bread’ satisfying the grumbling masses.
The tempter is very clever: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.” (Gen 3:1)
He pairs Christ’s physical need with a demand for Him to prove Himself. “Do what Moses did, provide bread in the desert and everyone will finally see you are the son of God…after all you look so hungry…”
But Christ is far wiser: Adam sinned by eating, Christ, the second Adam, prevails by resisting eating.
He replies with a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3 “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
The second temptation
Then the tempter takes Him to the highest point in the holiest city on earth – The top of the Temple at Jerusalem.
He starts with the same line ‘If you are the Son of God’ but this time he adds a flourish:
Since Christ quoted scripture at him in answer to his first temptation, the tempter turns it around and quotes scripture back at Christ. Psalm 91: “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” (v6)
Can you imagine the gall?
The sickening smile that must have crossed his face as he takes Christ’s own book and tries to use it against Him? Doesn’t it make you shudder that the tempter is well-versed in scripture? Think how often he must misuse it to confuse and beguile us!
“Test God and see if what He said was really true.
If you are the Son of God” pairs so well with “Did God really say you shouldn't eat from that tree?”
Christ responds calmly, and faithfully quoting Deuteronomy 6:16
“Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (v7)
The third temptation
Now all pretenses are thrown aside. The tempter cannot cast doubt into Christ’s mind about who He is. He cannot out-debate Him with Scripture, He cannot persuade Him to doubt what God “really said” at His baptism.
The mask is off, and he makes his grand and final offer:
“the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.” (v8)
Israel and the Temple, Rome and her emperors, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, The British Empire, Napoleon, The Third Reich, The West, the US, yes all the kingdoms of this world that have been and will be, and all their glory, were set out in offering before Christ.
The tempter put everything he had on the table in exchange for one thing:
“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” (v8-9)
But why would the tempter make such an offer to someone who is already the King of the Universe? What need does Jesus, author of creation, have for the glory of earthly kingdoms?
He has no need at all, but if He takes this deal, He can skip the agony of the cross. Abandon the plan, and become king the wrong way, the easy way.
At this point, Christ has had enough: “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” (10) Straight from Deuteronomy 6:13.
The test is over. The battle is won. Christ has prevailed where Adam failed.
Now you face the test
Adam faced this test, and failed. Resulting in Sin and Death for all humanity.
Christ faced this test and succeeded. Freeing us from the chains of Sin and Death, through the cross.
But there is one more extremely important person who has to face this test:
And you know this person incredibly well.
That person is YOU.
The wilderness test: That the test Adam failed, and that Christ passed, is now in front of you. And, as Christians, we walk between these two realities, our fallen natures through Adam, and our redeemed natures through Christ.
When you were baptized, you, or your parents, invited the Holy Spirit to enter you, and begin a process of transformation. That transformation was the falling away of your earthly fallen nature, and the beginning of a journey of discipleship towards the image of God within you. That day by day, God’s holy Spirit within in you, through what Christ has done on the cross, allows God to form you more and more into the image of His son Jesus Christ.
That process began at your baptism, and will end in completion one day when Christ comes again.
Until then, you are now, WALKING IN THE WILDERNESS WHERE CHRIST WALKED
The test that Adam failed, and that Christ prevailed in, is now in front of you.
Throughout your decades here on earth, you will have the serpent whispering in your ear.
Challenging your faith, casting doubt on what you know God has said, and burning with rage against you, trying to destroy you, and get you to worship him instead of God.
And goodness is he an expert at this. He is very well practiced, and in some ways, very successful at his role.
What will we choose?
Will we believe the lies the enemy whispers?
The promise of pleasures and satisfaction?
The promise of greatness and other men's praise?
That we really deserve the things we want and is it not fair of God to deny them to us?
Did God really say that about marriage, sexuality, forgiveness, hell, persecution?
But the tempter’s goal is not your earthly pleasure. For any temporary pleasure quickly fades, and turns to ash and destruction. (I can’t tell you the number of people I meet with who have had marital affairs that seemed so right to them in the moment but broke and brutalized their families, children, and everyone around them.)
He will not give you power or influence – he will put you under the influence of even wickeder people, whom you will be beholden to.
He tries to distract you from the fact that every single desire you have, even the ones that seem the worst and unholiest, can be healed, properly aligned, and fulfilled in even more wondrous ways than you could have ever imagined by coming to God:
How to pass the test (Application)
So the test is in front of us. We must “run the race well” (1 Corinthians 9:24). How do we succeed against an enemy who is so well practiced at deceit and flowery words.
Well, the first is this: You do not fight alone. Christ has promised that he will be with you “always, till the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He has given you tools to succeed in this test:
-The very word of God himself. Know and deepen your knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures. This is the defense Christ uses, and it is the defense we should use.
The scriptures are God’s word to us, set the boundaries and guidelines for right living, and teach us how to follow the way of Christ.
Sometimes people come to me and say that God told them it was okay to do this particular sin.
I, somewhat kindly, tell them plainly: ‘No God didn’t say that to you. He says the opposite in His word.”
-Know the enemy's schemes – do not trust those who question whether God really said’ what He said.
Did God really say that this is how you should live?
Did God really say this about a certain issue?
The church has believed this for thousands of years, but now I am the one whose finally discovered the real truth!
And don’t forget that you have an advantage that Adam didn’t. You have the church, the body of Christ on earth. You have an entire organization that exists to help you fight the sin within yourself and turn the world away from sin and back to Christ.
The whole point of us gathering as a church is to practice the way of Jesus together.
We are so much stronger when we are encouraging each other, receiving His body and blood together, connecting and loving one another, kneeling together in prayer and worship in God's house.
If you want to know scripture better, come to adult education
If you want a deeper sense of community, come on Wednesday evening to our service
If you want to grow closer to Christ, make coming to His altar on a Sunday morning a priority
If you feel called to start groups, build ministries, or serve quietly, come and talk to me, and I would be so happy to help navigate your deepening involvement in your church.
Not for my benefit – but for yours! So that you can pass the wilderness test well.
And even better, for us as a denomination, we have an advantage that many churches don’t.
One church, or even a network of churches might have a chance at changing a neighborhood
A denomination, like Anglicanism, which spans history, borders, nations, and peoples, has a chance at changing the world. In fact, it has already. The words of our liturgy this morning come mostly from the Book of Common Prayer, which millions and millions of people have used to grow closer to Christ in this race.
So to pass this test well, the wilderness test we are all currently facing, the test that Adam failed and Christ prevailed in, we need to
A final encouragement
The devil tempts Christ with the fulfillment of his physical needs, recognition by others, and with power and authority over the whole world. But everything the devil tempts Jesus with is later provided by God.
Immediately after the devil leaves, angels come and minister to Christ, and it is heavily implied in the text that this involves food. Christ's hunger is sated – God provides for His physical needs.
Christ is now recognized and celebrated as the Son of God by the majority of the world. That work is not complete but one day “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
And of course, Christ is the author of creation, light of the world, prince of peace, Son of God, the resurrection and the life, and He sits now on a heavenly throne at the right hand of the Father. He has more than just authority and power over earthly kingdoms and empires. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, over the whole universe.
Christ prevails where Adam failed, and God gives Him far better things than the devil could ever have to offer.
And the same is true for you.
When you lay down the objects of your temptation.
You exchange them for things far better and more fulfilling than you could ever have imagined.
You exchange them for freedom from death and sin, and their ugly consequences.
You resist in order to have a life of goodness and truth rather than sin and decay.
You lay it down to receive the eternal life you have been promised. With God who loves you infinitely.
And God will provide things for you that are far better than what you sacrifice. Far better than you could ever imagine.
“Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
In our time of quiet today, think about the temptations you are struggling with. And invite God’s Holy Spirit to fill you, to fight alongside you, and to continue the transforming work in your hearts to become more like Christ Jesus. Amen.
You may have heard before that Matthew's Gospel sets up a parallel between Moses and Christ.
- Christ as a child escapes from persecution and an order for sons to be killed – just like Moses.
- Christ enters the waters of baptism just as Moses lead his people through the Red sea
- And now, just as the Israelites spent 40 years wandering in the desert before entering the promised land, Christ enters the wilderness for 40 days to be tested.
But there is another significant parallel in Christ's life and ministry which Paul highlights in our reading from Romans today. That Christ is the New Adam (v14)
In our reading from Genesis, we see how sin and death first enter our world. Adam and Eve are tested. They know the rule God has put in place but the crafty serpent whipsers in their ears “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any tree in the Garden?” (3:1). And the serpent's deception works. He erodes Adam and Eve’s trust in God’s word and motives, and they eat from the tree they have been forbidden.
Through Adam’s failure of the test, sin and death enter into the world. Everything which was once new and fresh and glorious becomes marred and broken. Plants die, animals kill each other, the earth shakes, and even our very nature as human beings becomes poisoned and predisposed towards sin. We no longer live forever, our bodies fade and decay, and we return to the dust from which we were made.
Today, all of us are descendants of Adam. And we have inherited his sin spiritually and psychologically. And we are now broken and marred before God. Imprisoned by our constant sin and bound by a mortal death. The church calls this ‘Original Sin’
This explains the state of the world today. This is why there is so much suffering and pain here on earth. It explains why human beings continue to do the most wicked things to each other, to let greed and pride reign instead of justice and worship of God. This is why no politician, political system, or ideology can ever bring us to a perfect society – we are all so broken and fallen that we just can't stop sinning. Nothing we do on our own strength can fix Adam’s sin in us.
But Paul knows the truth, as you know it, that Christ came and undid the chains of sin and death, and by taking the penalty unto Himself he enabled us all to be healed and free. That now we know we shall never truly die, and that one day we shall be freed entirely from our sinful nature:
“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:18-19)
And in our reading from Matthew’s Gospel today, Christ faces the same test that Adam faced.
The serpent slithers his way onto Christ’s shoulder and starts whispering the same lie:
Did God really say…you were the Son of God?
Tempted in the Wilderness
The first temptation
Christ has just come from His baptism where the voice from Heaven loudly proclaimed, ‘This is my Son!’
The tempter says to Christ:
‘“If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”’ (v2)
Q: When was the last time you were hungry? We don’t often experience this in our lives, because when we get hungry – we go and eat something. The worst it gets is that we get hungry without realizing and someone tells us to go and eat because we are getting cranky.
Imagine for a second what real hunger, for days on end, might feel like.
The first test involves Christ’s real physical needs.
His stomach must have ached for food at this point.
But it also goes deeper:
He is being asked to prove that he is the Son of God by performing a miracle.
God, through Moses, provided Manna in the desert. ‘Miraculous bread’ satisfying the grumbling masses.
The tempter is very clever: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.” (Gen 3:1)
He pairs Christ’s physical need with a demand for Him to prove Himself. “Do what Moses did, provide bread in the desert and everyone will finally see you are the son of God…after all you look so hungry…”
But Christ is far wiser: Adam sinned by eating, Christ, the second Adam, prevails by resisting eating.
He replies with a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3 “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
The second temptation
Then the tempter takes Him to the highest point in the holiest city on earth – The top of the Temple at Jerusalem.
He starts with the same line ‘If you are the Son of God’ but this time he adds a flourish:
Since Christ quoted scripture at him in answer to his first temptation, the tempter turns it around and quotes scripture back at Christ. Psalm 91: “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” (v6)
Can you imagine the gall?
The sickening smile that must have crossed his face as he takes Christ’s own book and tries to use it against Him? Doesn’t it make you shudder that the tempter is well-versed in scripture? Think how often he must misuse it to confuse and beguile us!
“Test God and see if what He said was really true.
If you are the Son of God” pairs so well with “Did God really say you shouldn't eat from that tree?”
Christ responds calmly, and faithfully quoting Deuteronomy 6:16
“Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (v7)
The third temptation
Now all pretenses are thrown aside. The tempter cannot cast doubt into Christ’s mind about who He is. He cannot out-debate Him with Scripture, He cannot persuade Him to doubt what God “really said” at His baptism.
The mask is off, and he makes his grand and final offer:
“the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.” (v8)
Israel and the Temple, Rome and her emperors, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, The British Empire, Napoleon, The Third Reich, The West, the US, yes all the kingdoms of this world that have been and will be, and all their glory, were set out in offering before Christ.
The tempter put everything he had on the table in exchange for one thing:
“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” (v8-9)
But why would the tempter make such an offer to someone who is already the King of the Universe? What need does Jesus, author of creation, have for the glory of earthly kingdoms?
He has no need at all, but if He takes this deal, He can skip the agony of the cross. Abandon the plan, and become king the wrong way, the easy way.
At this point, Christ has had enough: “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” (10) Straight from Deuteronomy 6:13.
The test is over. The battle is won. Christ has prevailed where Adam failed.
Now you face the test
Adam faced this test, and failed. Resulting in Sin and Death for all humanity.
Christ faced this test and succeeded. Freeing us from the chains of Sin and Death, through the cross.
But there is one more extremely important person who has to face this test:
And you know this person incredibly well.
That person is YOU.
The wilderness test: That the test Adam failed, and that Christ passed, is now in front of you. And, as Christians, we walk between these two realities, our fallen natures through Adam, and our redeemed natures through Christ.
When you were baptized, you, or your parents, invited the Holy Spirit to enter you, and begin a process of transformation. That transformation was the falling away of your earthly fallen nature, and the beginning of a journey of discipleship towards the image of God within you. That day by day, God’s holy Spirit within in you, through what Christ has done on the cross, allows God to form you more and more into the image of His son Jesus Christ.
That process began at your baptism, and will end in completion one day when Christ comes again.
Until then, you are now, WALKING IN THE WILDERNESS WHERE CHRIST WALKED
The test that Adam failed, and that Christ prevailed in, is now in front of you.
Throughout your decades here on earth, you will have the serpent whispering in your ear.
Challenging your faith, casting doubt on what you know God has said, and burning with rage against you, trying to destroy you, and get you to worship him instead of God.
And goodness is he an expert at this. He is very well practiced, and in some ways, very successful at his role.
What will we choose?
Will we believe the lies the enemy whispers?
The promise of pleasures and satisfaction?
The promise of greatness and other men's praise?
That we really deserve the things we want and is it not fair of God to deny them to us?
Did God really say that about marriage, sexuality, forgiveness, hell, persecution?
But the tempter’s goal is not your earthly pleasure. For any temporary pleasure quickly fades, and turns to ash and destruction. (I can’t tell you the number of people I meet with who have had marital affairs that seemed so right to them in the moment but broke and brutalized their families, children, and everyone around them.)
He will not give you power or influence – he will put you under the influence of even wickeder people, whom you will be beholden to.
He tries to distract you from the fact that every single desire you have, even the ones that seem the worst and unholiest, can be healed, properly aligned, and fulfilled in even more wondrous ways than you could have ever imagined by coming to God:
How to pass the test (Application)
So the test is in front of us. We must “run the race well” (1 Corinthians 9:24). How do we succeed against an enemy who is so well practiced at deceit and flowery words.
Well, the first is this: You do not fight alone. Christ has promised that he will be with you “always, till the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He has given you tools to succeed in this test:
-The very word of God himself. Know and deepen your knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures. This is the defense Christ uses, and it is the defense we should use.
The scriptures are God’s word to us, set the boundaries and guidelines for right living, and teach us how to follow the way of Christ.
Sometimes people come to me and say that God told them it was okay to do this particular sin.
I, somewhat kindly, tell them plainly: ‘No God didn’t say that to you. He says the opposite in His word.”
-Know the enemy's schemes – do not trust those who question whether God really said’ what He said.
Did God really say that this is how you should live?
Did God really say this about a certain issue?
The church has believed this for thousands of years, but now I am the one whose finally discovered the real truth!
And don’t forget that you have an advantage that Adam didn’t. You have the church, the body of Christ on earth. You have an entire organization that exists to help you fight the sin within yourself and turn the world away from sin and back to Christ.
The whole point of us gathering as a church is to practice the way of Jesus together.
We are so much stronger when we are encouraging each other, receiving His body and blood together, connecting and loving one another, kneeling together in prayer and worship in God's house.
If you want to know scripture better, come to adult education
If you want a deeper sense of community, come on Wednesday evening to our service
If you want to grow closer to Christ, make coming to His altar on a Sunday morning a priority
If you feel called to start groups, build ministries, or serve quietly, come and talk to me, and I would be so happy to help navigate your deepening involvement in your church.
Not for my benefit – but for yours! So that you can pass the wilderness test well.
And even better, for us as a denomination, we have an advantage that many churches don’t.
One church, or even a network of churches might have a chance at changing a neighborhood
A denomination, like Anglicanism, which spans history, borders, nations, and peoples, has a chance at changing the world. In fact, it has already. The words of our liturgy this morning come mostly from the Book of Common Prayer, which millions and millions of people have used to grow closer to Christ in this race.
So to pass this test well, the wilderness test we are all currently facing, the test that Adam failed and Christ prevailed in, we need to
- Know the scriptures
- Recognize the voice of the enemy (even when it presents itself in sheep's clothing)
- Get deeply involved in your church and denomination.
A final encouragement
The devil tempts Christ with the fulfillment of his physical needs, recognition by others, and with power and authority over the whole world. But everything the devil tempts Jesus with is later provided by God.
Immediately after the devil leaves, angels come and minister to Christ, and it is heavily implied in the text that this involves food. Christ's hunger is sated – God provides for His physical needs.
Christ is now recognized and celebrated as the Son of God by the majority of the world. That work is not complete but one day “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
And of course, Christ is the author of creation, light of the world, prince of peace, Son of God, the resurrection and the life, and He sits now on a heavenly throne at the right hand of the Father. He has more than just authority and power over earthly kingdoms and empires. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, over the whole universe.
Christ prevails where Adam failed, and God gives Him far better things than the devil could ever have to offer.
And the same is true for you.
When you lay down the objects of your temptation.
You exchange them for things far better and more fulfilling than you could ever have imagined.
You exchange them for freedom from death and sin, and their ugly consequences.
You resist in order to have a life of goodness and truth rather than sin and decay.
You lay it down to receive the eternal life you have been promised. With God who loves you infinitely.
And God will provide things for you that are far better than what you sacrifice. Far better than you could ever imagine.
“Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
In our time of quiet today, think about the temptations you are struggling with. And invite God’s Holy Spirit to fill you, to fight alongside you, and to continue the transforming work in your hearts to become more like Christ Jesus. Amen.
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