It may seem like a lot to lump the baptism of Jesus, the genealogy of Jesus, and the tempting (or testing) of Jesus all into one. I assure you these scenes all fit together. Actually the scene we will look at next week – Jesus returning to his hometown – fits in too, but that’s not so major a connection.
Let’s remember something very
important that we saw a few weeks ago when we had that little scene where Jesus
was twelve years old and he stayed behind in the temple when his parents make
their annual Passover trip. There we
realized a potentially puzzling thing – Jesus is growing in both human and
divine favor. Though he is the Son of
God – and part of God’s own being – he is also fully human and experiencing
growth in faith and knowledge of God.
Logically that isn’t possible.
Yet that’s how Luke presents it.
And that growth continues in what we read today.
Jesus’ baptism is presented in a
passive offstage way. Our opening verse
was, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been
baptized…” That’s not the important
part. The important part comes next,
“…and was praying…” Prayer in Luke’s
gospel remains vitally important for Jesus.
Always remember back to his full humanity; almost a sense of separation
from God. Prayer is an essential part of
Jesus’ ongoing discernment. You’d think
he wouldn’t need it. But Luke makes sure
we realize it is key.
It is when Jesus is praying that the
Holy Spirit descends in bodily form like a dove. A voice comes from heaven, “You are my Son,
the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
This is now clear divine endorsement of who Jesus is and his standing
before God.
Let’s make a special note here. There’s something that will come up several
times in the passage and it is our key for today. That thing is, “Son of God.” Jesus is called God’s Son at his
baptism. We then move directly into the
genealogy of Jesus. Luke’s genealogy
takes Jesus all the way back to Adam.
However, don’t draw the foolhardy conclusion that Luke intends us to
take this at all literally. We’ve talked
before that not even the author of Genesis intended Adam and Eve to be
understood as literal people. Even their
names are symbolic. The point Luke is
trying to make is twofold. One, Jesus is
rooted into all of humanity. And two,
look how the genealogy plays out. Jesus
is the supposed son of Joseph, who is the son of Heli, son of… all the way back
to, “son of Seth, Son of Adam,” and then the punchline… “son of God.” Jesus is called, “Son of God.” Adam is called, “son of God.”
Now
don’t get too carried away with this.
Luke quickly shows us his point in the next scene. If Adam was the son of God, how did he work
out as the son of God?
I had us read the Adam and Eve story
because it is the ideal set up for the testing of Jesus by the devil. In the Adam and Eve story their real
temptation is to seek self-fulfillment apart from God. The serpent tells them, “God knows that when
you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.” The serpent tries to convince them that God
has somehow left them lacking, incomplete.
That God is holding out on them.
But if they take matters into their own hands, if they do what the
serpent suggests, they will find another – a better – path to self-fulfillment.
Now remember, Jesus has grown up
with the fullness of human limitations.
He knows what it is to feel created, to feel separated from God. And so the very next scene is this new Son of
God being tested by, perhaps not a serpent, but by the devil. Look at the tests that come to Jesus.
We are told that the Holy Spirit led
Jesus out into the wilderness. The
wilderness is a scary place of chaos. We
are told that he ate nothing for 40 days.
He is near starvation. Why? We are not told. All we are told is that it is God’s will that
he do so.
And so, what is the first test? What does the devil say, “If you are the Son of
God…” Actually, that Greek word that we
translate as “if” can also be translated as “since,” which is what I
prefer. The devil isn’t testing Jesus to
see if he is the Son of God. Jesus knows
that. The devil knows that full well. There’s no question as to Jesus’
identity. The question is how will he
use that identity? How will this son
of God act?
“Since you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
There’s no debate as to whether Jesus can do it or not. The test is will Jesus use his power apart
from the will of God? Whether it makes
sense or not, it is God’s will that Jesus is near starvation. Will Jesus use his power apart from God’s
will to fulfill himself? It was within
Adam and Eve’s power to eat the fruit.
This is within Jesus’ power. Will
he do it?
Remember again, Jesus is not
portrayed as a superhuman in Luke’s gospel.
He is the boy who feels separated from God and is learning. Remember Adam. Being God’s son is not a sure thing. The outcome is not guaranteed. This is going to be an authentic cosmic
battle.
Jesus replies to this test with
Deuteronomy 8:3, “One does not live by bread alone.” It is a practical application of the
law. And it shows that there is more to
fullness of life than a full belly.
Undeterred the devil shows him all
the kingdoms of the earth. And then
lies. He says, “To you I will give their
glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me…” No. It
was not given to him. He stole it. He continues, “If you, then, will worship me,
it will all be yours.” I don’t believe
“worship me” means doing something obvious like literally bowing down and
paying homage. It means using Jesus’
power for himself. The devil is telling
Jesus to just live by the rules of the world.
Use your talents, your brains, your looks for what you want to do,
regardless of what God is trying to do.
Jesus replies with another scripture
quote, “Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” That’s Deuteronomy 6:13.
So the devil takes him to the center
of worship and the seat of religious power – the temple in Jerusalem. Now don’t overlook the fact that while the
Jews believed God could be present anywhere, the temple in Jerusalem was God’s
special house. It was a holy place. Only the righteous could enter. Well, perhaps the devil doesn’t take Jesus
into the Holy of Holies on the inside, but notice that the devil feels quite
comfortable being in God’s house. That’s
both bold and arrogant. It also shows
how evil easily works its way into the most religious of places.
Twice the devil has tested
Jesus. Twice Jesus has beaten the test
and quoted scripture. So now notice, the
devil being quite comfortable in God’s house, now has a little Bible study with
Jesus. The devil can quote scripture
quite well. “Since you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels
concerning you, to protect you,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so
that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” That’s Psalm 91.
Jesus is tempted to do something
spectacular. And wouldn’t it be an
effective beginning to his ministry? How
often could Jesus have made his ministry be about the miracles and his divine
power? But you know the story well. Jesus’ ministry is about obedience to God –
even when that obedience means his non-sensical death. It is not about miracles.
So Jesus again quotes from
Deuteronomy, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” In other words, don’t try to manipulate God
with righteousness. God is God. Period.
End of story.
So the testing of Jesus appears to
be at its end. But it isn’t.
Jesus has just spent 40 days in the
wilderness. He’s drained. He’s exhausted. He’s nearly starving to death. This is certainly an opportune time to get
him to mess up as the Son of God. But he
doesn’t. And so we are surprised to find
the final verse be, “When the devil had finished every test he departed from
him until an opportune time.” An
opportune time?!? Can it ever get more
opportune than this?
Yes, indeed it can. Luke’s gospel doesn’t record it, but you can
bet that the crucifixion was the opportune time. How will the Son of God act when it is God’s
will that he be arrested, humiliated, beaten, and then nailed up to a cross to
die? How will Jesus feel about his
ministry when all his followers have forsaken him, and one of them even
betraying him? How will Jesus feel when
he’s dying alongside criminals?
For
the Jews crucifixion was considered a cursed way to die. Anyone crucified was considered to have been
cursed by God. And so, how faithful will
Jesus as the Son of God when he is bearing the very curse of God? How will he be as the Son of God when God
himself has rejected Jesus after a lifetime of righteousness?
How indeed???
Luke’s gospel is one of high
drama. As Luke depicts Jesus it is a
horrific story. May none of us ever live
a life as Jesus’ life. And yet you know
the ending. Jesus stays faithful to
death. I think it is perfectly orthodox
and safe to say that when Jesus was dying on the cross he had no hope or belief
in the resurrection. It was the
end. But he stayed faithful anyway.
Jesus was the new Adam. He was the true Son of God. He earned it completely and totally. Only by that has he ever earned the right to
intercede on our behalf and truly be our Lord and Savior.
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