Jesus the Superhero Meets the Devil

March 5, 2017, The First Sunday in Lent


GOSPEL LESSON: Matthew 4:1–11 [Temptation of Christ in the desert.]
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And 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,
“‘Man shall 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 set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said 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, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall 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 glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.



As we grow older and have new life experiences, our understanding of the Bible grows, too. I want to share this morning how my understanding of today’s Gospel Reading has changed through the years, and I suspect that others may think the same way, too.

Jesus the Superhero.

As a child I read comic books and watched cartoons. In the story of the Temptation, Jesus meets the arch-evil devil. But Jesus is smarter and stronger than the devil. And I rejoice in the victory of Jesus. He can defeat the devil and so he can save me, too. He can save me from sin and hell. This strengthens my faith and makes me proud to be a Christian with such a superhero God. How cool!

How to fight temptation: Bible verses

As I got older and learned about myown personal sin and the temptations to sin and was taught that I should not sin and should resist temptation, then I looked to the story of the Temptation to learn how I, like Jesus, might fight temptation. Superheroes in the comic books have super powers and super weapons. Jesus had the “Super Bible.” And this Bible is something we all have! How cool! Now if I can just memorize a lot of Bible verses then I, too, can have ammunition to fight the devil. Let’s start with those passages that Jesus used.

‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’

‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’

Maybe I didn’t memorize enough or enough right passages, but often the devil won. And I realized that Jesus was much stronger than I am and that I had to have him as my Savior. I realized that only Jesus could finally defeat the devil. At the cross, the devil thought he had won, but then the words of Jesus finally defeated him, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” And in those words I knew that I, too, was forgiven.

My temptations are like those of Jesus.

The three Temptations of Jesus in the wilderness are like many of my temptations. When I am hungry or need something important for life, when I am sick, lonely, confused, frustrated—the temptation is to forget the love of God and try to do things by myself. Then the temptation is to test the Love of God—I may not jump off the roof of my house, but ask God to give me a sign. Oh, and by the way, even if I do not request a sign, sometimes God does give me a sign and then the test is to see if I will follow it or not! And then there is the temptation for power or the temptation to take the easy way of sin rather than follow the cross.

The real temptation is to doubt that God is our Father.

Maybe I first heard it in a sermon or in a Bible study book, but the Temptations of Jesus were not just temptations to sin. It does not seem to be a big sin to make bread from rocks. The devil was testing the faith of Jesus. The first two Temptations begin with the same words: “If you are the Son of God.” My daily temptations are a daily test of my faith, too. “Michael, if you are a child of God.” Do I trust my Father in Heaven to give me my daily bread every day? If I strike my foot against a stone or have an accident, do I think that God has abandoned me? Does God care about the kingdoms of the world, and about all the problems of this world, or is it all meaningless chaos and chance? Is there really a god that takes care of me? I think that is the biggest test and temptation. How does the death and resurrection of Jesus give me life and salvation?

To realize that I will probably fail.

In great humility, thinking about my success rate in resisting temptation, I am a failure. And then the words of Jesus that speak to me and give me great encouragement are his first words in his public ministry. “The kingdom of heaven is near. Repent and believe the good news,” Mk.1:15. The good news is the Gospel that our sin is forgiven by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Repentance is the faith that knows that I need and want Jesus. Belief is the faith that knows that Jesus wants me to be his child in his Kingdom.

To rely on the Lord’s Prayer: “But deliver us from evil.”

In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” I know I am weak and might fail, so God, please do not test me; God, please keep temptations away from me. But if I fall into temptation, O Lord God, deliver me from evil and hell and unbelief. O Father in Heaven, even if I sin, forgive me for the sake of Jesus Christ my Savior.

To fully rely on the pardon of Jesus and not on my own power

Jesus was tempted and tested to come down from the cross. But he died and rose to forgive my sin and the sin of the world. And so I rely completely on the pardon of Jesus. That forgiveness is the power in my life. That is the power to overcome the devil even if we do sin. The forgiveness of Jesus is more powerful than my sin, more powerful than the devil.

To find relief and joy when the Holy Spirit sends angels to minister to me, too.

At the end of the Temptation in the wilderness we read, “Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.” The angels minister to us, too. The Holy Spirit gives us the comfort and joy of faith. This is the ministry of the Word of God and the Sacraments. This is the Bread of Life. This is the true worship of the Lord our God whom we serve.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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