Tests – Matthew 4:1-11

A text – Matthew 4:1-11

4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. ² He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. ³ The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, ⁹ and he said to him, “All these 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, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ” ¹¹ Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

A reflection:

Three tests face Jesus, immediately after he is baptized and the words of God the Father have poured down upon him: “You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” The tempter, also called the devil twice later in the passage, begins taunting him slyly. “If you are the Son of God,” he says in his first two temptations. I imagine it happening in an oily kind of voice. His first two proposals to Jesus sound like tests – “Here, Jesus. Test-drive your powers. Then you’ll know for sure what you can do, what you can get away with.” But Jesus doesn’t have to test-drive his powers. He believes God is trustworthy and nothing will be denied him as he brings the the Kingdom of God near to humans on earth.

The third test is blatant: if Jesus will switch allegiances, the devil will give him everything. But of course it is a big lie. The world isn’t the devil’s to give (even though sometimes it might seem as though more people follow him than follow the Lord God). Jesus knows who created the heavens and the earth and who is the Lord. He probably says it aloud every morning and evening: “Blessed are you, oh Lord, our God, ruler of the universe, who brings sleep to my eyes…” Jesus knows he is the beloved son of the Lord God. Resisting this temptation is second nature to Jesus, and the devil knows he won’t win with this man.

Jesus had recently heard a voice from heaven tell him, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” We are all beloved children of God. God wants us to pay attention to that fact every single day. As we do, temptations will be easier to resist because we know whose we are. Never forget it: you, too, are God’s beloved child, in whom God is well pleased.

A prayer:

Lord God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for reassuring us of your love in so many ways. Help us to pay attention to that fact, especially when we are beset by fear or temptations. You will never leave our side and we will always belong to you. Amen