Matthew 4:1-11

First Sunday of Lent

February 26, 2023

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

Matthew 4:1-11

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

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 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.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” 

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

| Centering Prayer |

Imagine a time and a place far beyond here and now.

Imagine you and I are living in Seville, Spain.

Imagine we are living amid the Spanish Inquisition.

Now, imagine Jesus returned.

Jesus heals.

He performs miracles.

The people recognize and adore Jesus …

Which draws the attention of the Church and its’ inquisitors. 

Imagine Jesus being arrested.

Jesus is tried and sentenced inside an hour

To be burned to death tomorrow morning.

Into our Lord’s cell

Steps the Grand Inquisitor.

Imagine the pregnancy of this moment.

The Grand Inquisitor informs Jesus

That the Church no longer needs him.

In fact, the return of Jesus would do nothing more than

Interfere with the mission of the Church.

Citing our Lord’s decisions not to capitulate to the Devil’s temptations in the wilderness,

The Grand Inquisitor tells Jesus that

While he is capable of wielding the freedom of choice wisely,

The people cannot.

The masses cannot be trusted with freedom.

This is why we have the Church,

The Grand Inquisitor informs Jesus,

For the Church is an institution where

Only a few are strong enough to

Bear the burden of freedom.

Let humankind live and die happy in ignorance.

…

Imagine the Grand Inquisitor telling Jesus that he was wrong

To reject each temptation by Satan.

Turn the stones to bread,

As men always follow those who feed their bellies.

Cast yourself down from the temple and be caught by your angels.

That would cement your divinity in the minds of people

And they would follow you forever.

Take control over every kingdom of the Earth

And the salvation of all people would be ensured for eternity.

Jesus, you were so, so wrong, the Inquisitor scorns.

Imagine, for a moment, the silence that follows.

Instead of answering,

Imagine Jesus rising,

Stepping forward, and

Kissing the Grand Inquisitor.

The cell door opens

Imagine Jesus walking away.  

This scene I’ve asked you to imagine

Is the Cliff notes version of the Russian poem

Titled “The Grand Inquisitor”

By Fyodor Dostoyevsky,

As found in his novel, “The Brothers Karamazov.”

…

When we experience Jesus being tempted in the wilderness

The first Sunday of each-and-every Lent,

We tend to romanticize our Lord’s experience.

Experiencing “The Grand Inquisitor” strips us of all romanticism.

We are denuded of all allusions that

Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness by the Devil

Was a one-and-done item to be checked off

From his list of earthly accomplishments

That needed completed before his Passion and Death.

Forty days and forty nights in the Judean wilderness

Isn’t some sort of naked and afraid reality television show

Where Jesus is competing for daily immunity

Or facing nightly elimination.

Jesus is confronting issues of power and presumption;

Temptations you and I routinely fail.

The experience of Israel wondering in the wilderness

For forty years was a time of testing,

A humbling time for the people Israel,

allowing hunger

To teach them t

hat one does not live

by bread alone.

(Thanks to Preaching the New Common Lectionary, Craddock, Hayes, Holladay, and Tucker, 1986)

…

Likewise, Jesus is fasting

And being tested.

Jesus is fasting.

How has your Lenten fast been going?

Oh, you’ve failed already?

Good for you

You’re in good company.

I’m right there with you.

I attempted to fast from anger.

I, too, have already failed.

Turn to your left and right.

They’ve already failed, too.

We’ve all failed

And taken a bite of the Grand Inquisitor’s bread.

Unlike you and me,

Temptation is not some minor morality challenge.

Temptation for Jesus is a high stakes game of life or death.

Temptation is a testimony to his strength.

The greater the strength, the greater the temptation.

Temptation for Jesus

Is between our God of absolute,

Cosmically creative power,

To which all other gods are subordinate,

And the Devil personified himself.

The Devil is unable to even hold a candle

To Jesus Christ,

The Light of the World.

Great temptations are a sign of great power;

Powers and presumptions that must be addressed

In Christ’s Passion journey to the cross.

How does Jesus speak truth to power?

How does he respond to the Devil

Who “took him to a very high mountain

and showed him

all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor”?

– Matthew 4:8

How does Jesus answer the charges of the Council,

The accusations of the high priest, all the chief priests, the elders and the scribes?

– Matthew 14:53

How does Jesus answer Pontius Pilot who asks him

“Are you the King of the Jews?”

– Matthew 15:2

To the Grand Inquisitor,

Jesus responds with a kiss.

To Pilate, Jesus’ silence is deafening.

All of which begs us to ask,

What is our relationship with power?

How do you and I speak truth to power?

And, what does this say about our faith and belief?

…

Faith is something more than

Believing the right things,

Reciting the approved creeds,

Or falling in line with official Church teaching.

Faith is more than believing in an unseen God.

The temptations of Jesus in the wilderness

Leads us to view a life of faith

From an entirely different point of view.

Like Jesus

Lead with your strengths.

Your strength is your time.

Prioritize your time and make God your highest priority.

Your strength is your treasure.

Spend wisely, intentionally, deliberately, conservatively, extravagantly.

Spend what God has given you for the glory of God.

Your strength is prayer.

Spend time in prayer.

Listen.

Wait.

And listen some more.

Prayer is your great strength,

As it was a great strength of Jesus.

…

Living a life of faith,

Placing trust in God,

That God will see you through every temptation and trial in life,

Will sometimes make us look foolish.

We will be mocked by great thinkers of logic.

We will be mocked by those who don’t believe in miracles.

We will be mocked by Grand Inquisitors,

And we will be mocked by the Devil himself.

Even still,

We must speak truth to power,

Leading with the strength God gives us,

Leaning on the support of our collective selves

And on the everlasting arms of Jesus.

If Lent teaches us anything,

It is that it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Jesus is in for a hard landing when he returns from the wilderness.

He’s soon to discover that John the Baptist has been arrested and jailed.

Jesus is going to be arrested himself,

Accused, held, beaten, and eventually killed.

Jesus will lead with his strength,

His love for you and me.

His desire for our forgiveness

And for the redemption of all of Creation.

It is going to get worse before it gets better.

The Church is in for a hard landing

If we don’t repent of our exclusive and dehumanizing ways,

If we don’t cleanse the money changers from our temples and churches,

If we continue to undermine our love of God and our love of neighbors,

If we don’t wholly surrender our will

To the will of Jesus Christ.

Beloved members and friends,

Beloved disciples of Jesus Christ,

Speak truth to power;

Because the greatest power of this earth

Remains subordinate to the absolute power of God, Almighty.

The tests and trials of this world come

In proportion to the strength Christ has already given you.

Stand strong.

Stand proud.

Stand together.

And let us speak of Jesus,

The truth of this world.

Let us speak truth to power.

Truth always wins.

At the conclusion of Lent,

The tomb will be emptied,

Jesus always wins.

Amen.