Jesus Is Tempted For You - Luke 4:1-13

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Given how the word is tossed around, I suspect the idea of temptation doesn’t mean much to most people. Conventional wisdom treats temptation as if it’s no of no greater significance than any other choice: paper or plastic, regular or decaf, give in to temptation or resist. Either way, no big deal. So, we talk about being tempted by a second slice of cake, or one more beer, or beautiful and handsome bodies, or how we talk about others, but it seems as if the choice is already made that we’re not really worried about it. With hardly a thought, we toss out “I really shouldn’t, but…” If we shouldn’t, then we shouldn’t – no ifs, ands, or buts.

Even marketing has gotten into it. Products are now branded with the word “temptation” as part of a name. There is vegan Temptation Ice Cream, I guess the idea being that since it’s vegan, it’s OK to be tempted by it. There is a swim-ware line called “Temptation” that reportedly leaves little to the imagination – please know, I was not tempted to look at it. Want to smell good for the opposite sex? Men spritz Gold Temptation Axe body spray while women use a Temptation perfume. Since life often follows what we see on television, Temptation Island teaches that troubled marriages can be destroyed by adultery under the pretext of “finding happiness.” Even you’re your pets aren’t even exempt – according to the commercial, your cat will leap to a 2^nd story deck for a bite of Temptation kitty treats.

By rebranding the word, it minimizes the impact of what it means. Maybe it’s that by saying we were tempted, we think we have an excuse, or at least a pass. It’s not my fault I ate the whole box of ice cream treats. I know I shouldn’t have stared at the beach, but they were wearing those swimsuits. Yes, I was flirting, but he smelled so good. It looked like so much fun on television. I was tempted - what else could I do?

Let’s start by naming temptation for what it is: it is satan trying to lure you away from Jesus and into his own sinfully damnable, miserable, eternal existence. He’ll do it directly, or indirectly through the world around us. Sometimes, he even uses our own, sinful nature: “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies...”, Matthew 15:18-19. In the words of the cartoon character Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Satan attempts to take God’s good gifts, such as food, rest, God-blessed sexual intimacy, and the need to be loved, and disguise those things as a god themselves, things to be desired more than anything else.

You notice, I said “attempt.” Your Christian conscience recognizing that you are being tempted and arguing against acting on it is not a sin. But, satan will try to make you think that it’s one-in-the-same: “you’ve been tempted, so might as well do it.” Being tempted is not a sin – we know that because Jesus was tempted, yet remained sinless; ergo, being tempted doesn’t make one a sinner. But this isn’t a question of how much we can get away with, how hot can it get before we get burned sort of thing. As sinners, even sinners who are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, we often don’t realize we have crossed from temptation to surrender until it is too late. And, sometimes, in the heat of the moment, our Old Adam and Old Eve just doesn’t care. Don’t be tempted – see what I did there – to think that this is like the kid whose parents say don’t come out of your room and then sticks the big toe into the hallway, just to see what will happen. Surrendering to the temptation, whether just a little or a lot is still a sin. Remember, Eve only took a bite of one piece of fruit – she didn’t eat the whole tree.

According to Barna, America’s top-five self-reported temptations are anxiety or worry, procrastination, overeating/eating poorly, overuse of electronics and social media, and laziness. Be honest – not out loud, please – what are your greatest, or worst, temptations? Spending money you don’t have? Gossipping? Coveting the neighbors’ new car, house, or instagram-perfect life? Lustful desires? Sex outside marriage? Internet porn? Alcoholism? Illegal drugs? Stealing time or money from work? Lying to parents, kids, teachers, to yourself? Cheating? Human temptation has so many variables, versions, and combinations that no list could contain all of them.

 But satan’s two greatest temptation of all are reserved for Christians and only Christians, for they cut at the very core of the Baptized conscience and tempt Christians to turn your eyes from Jesus and inward to yourself. The first is that you have out-sinned God’s grace, you have sinned against God and your neighbor so greviously that you are not able to be forgiven, that you no longer deserve to be called a child of God. Jesus no longer stands as your advocate but as your judge and the verdict is guilty. The second temptation is that God doesn’t care for you or about you (and satan will use a current situation as evidence) and that you have to figure things out on your own. You are your own savior, but since the situation seems desperate and you aren’t able to fix it, you are lost and powerless and left without hope.

Because we’ve stripped temptation of it’s real danger, fifty percent of Americans struggle with the guilt, shame, pain, frustration, dysfunction and destruction of surrendering to sin. Psychiatrists, psychologists, barbers, hair dressers, and bar tenders make careers out of trying to help people deal with their temptations and the guilt they feel for surrendering to them.

Only the Church, armed with the Gospel – the Good News – of Jesus Christ has the cure for helping deal with temptation and the guilt of sinful surrender.

The Church tells us what yielding to temptation does. Adam and Eve brought the consequences of surrender to temptation into the world. They did something to us. Through their surrender, sin, death, condemnation, loss, guilt and shame entered into the world. The once perfect and intimate relationship with God now became one of separation. They started a chain of events that lead to death. Death, once only an unknown word, was wholly understood – first, as animals lives were taken so the skins could provide protection; second, as Adam and Eve also died.

The Church tells us of how temptation is defeated. The Scriptures tell us of a Second Adam, Jesus, the Christ, who does something for us. He reverses what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. Jesus brings life, righteousness, and forgiveness. He brings a new chain of events that lead through death to resurrection and life. Where Adam surrendered to temptation; Christ overcomes temptation. Three times, satan tempts Jesus – once with food for a hungry stomach, once with the empty promise of power and authority, once for faith in the Father’s protection. Beneath each temptation lurked an even deeper temptation. Immediately prior to being tempted, Jesus was baptized and the Father spoke, “You are my beloved Son.” The hidden desert temptation is this: do you trust in the Father’s great love for You, His Beloved Son? You know what’s in store, Jesus, heading to Your death on the cross. Do you trust the Father will care for you, Jesus? First, He sends you out into the wilderness alone. It's but a foretaste of what will come at the cross, Jesus. Do you trust Him, or would you rather have the easy way out? It's just a bite of bread; it’s just a bowed knee; it’s just a little leap of faith, albeit misplaced faith.” Each time, with each temptation, Jesus answers with a resounding, “Yes – I trust my Father completely,” while turning to the eternal Word of God.

Know this: Christ not only overcame temptation for Himself, He overcame temptation for us. We often say Jesus entered into humanity to become one of us. That is true. But He also entered into humanity to do what we cannot do for and by ourselves. Even though we are baptized children of God, we are also sinners, sons of Adam. If you need proof of this, Luther said, pinch yourself. Because we are still sons of Adam, we cannot overcome temptation by ourselves. Like Adam, we face temptation, thinking we can manage it by reason of our own strength, only to have our strength broken as we yield to the temptations. But because Jesus has done for us what we cannot do, we share in Christ’s conquering of satan for us.

A moment ago, I said yielding to temptation leads to death. It lead to Jesus’ death, too – for our failures to resist and the willingness to yield to temptation. Jesus’ conquering of Satan didn’t end in the wilderness. Satan wanted to tempt Him from going where He had to go: the cross. He wanted to keep Jesus from going to the place where He would die for the sins of the world, for all of the times where mankind yielded and surrendered to temptation’s alluring siren song. The cross would be the place where satan’s defeat would be announced: It is finished.

So, what does the child of God do when tempted? "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it," (1 Cor 10:13). He will provide a way – and sometimes that means you walk away from a friend, close or turn your eyes away from pictures, shut your mouth to gossip, or even say “no.” What do you do when you realize satan is tempting you? When he does that, follow the footsteps of Jesus as the Spirit led Him into the wilderness. Do what Jesus did: turn back to the Word – that’s part of the reason why memorizing Bible passages is so helpful. And then pray. What should you pray? The Lord’s Prayer. In the 6th Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, we pray “Lead us not into temptation.” I used to think this was praying God would protect us from being tempted to steal a car or worshipping Buddah. While that’s true, if that’s all we think when we pray this, we’re missing the greater meaning behind it. Immediately before this, in the Fifth Petition, we prayed “Forgive us our trespasses.” The longer I serve as a pastor, and the more I care for hurting souls, the more I believe that these two petitions go together like this: “Don’t let us be tempted that our sins aren’t forgiven.”

Temptation is sneaky. Salvation is certain. The devil knows your name and he calls you by your sin. God knows your sins, yes; but in Christ, He calls you by name: His Son, His Daughter.