Reading Luke Together #16 – Temptation in the Wilderness

After Jesus was baptized, what happened next? No celebration luncheon, or a return home to rest up for a few days before his ministry began. Straightaway, he is led into the wilderness to be tempted / tested. I’d not noticed it until today, but as Luke tells us about this, he’s just finished Jesus’ genealogy – which runs unusually in reverse order! – by the mention of Adam, Jesus’ (and our!) ancestor. Adam was tempted / tested in the Garden of Eden, and failed miserably. Jesus will not just do better. His whole mission will be to rectify what Adam (and the rest of us) got wrong – to save those of us who think we know better than God. Jesus will redeem Adam and his billions of descendants.

The locale is daunting. I’ve visited a monastery making the place – perched on the side of a cliff high above the Judean wilderness. It’s dangerously hot, and jackals and other predators roam where people rarely go. Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit” (which only Luke mentions) – and he’ll need it! He’s also “led” there by the Spirit. We think the Spirit only leads us to comfortable, pleasant places; but the Spirit wants us to grow up and mature and have our mettle tested to build spiritual strength inside.

Yet I don’t want to say Here’s how Jesus resisted temptation; you can do the same. You and I wouldn’t survive an hour out there being lured by Satan, much less 40 days – which is the point. Jesus is amazing. He does what we could never do – and he does is for us, in our place, to save us. His contest with Satan is cosmic: it’s not one man’s struggle, but Good vs. Evil. The message isn’t so much Be like Jesus, but Trust Jesus.

Jesus’ testing is from outside; our temptations are often more internal. Thoughts flit around in your head and you get tricked into thinking what is not of God must be good. I love C.S. Lewis’s witty Screwtape Letters, which envisions the devil and his henchmen getting inside your head to plant thoughts that are appealing but yank us unwittingly away from God and a healthier life.

Since Jesus won this skirmish for us, we then ask humbly how sin, evil, or just plain dumbness can hook us. In the spiritual classic My Utmost for His Highest, we read “Many of us suffer from temptations from which we have no business to suffer, simply because we have refused to let God lift us to a higher plane.” A life of regular spiritual discipline not only enables you to be holier and less worldly; it also keeps you from drifting into spiritually perilous situations.

Bible reading is huge for the spiritual life. But this text reminds us that knowing some Bible can itself spell trouble. The devil quotes Scripture! Just because somebody rattles off a verse doesn’t mean he’s speaking truth, or goodness. Scripture isn’t there to be used to prop up your cravings or ideology. It’s a big question mark, leading you where you’d not go on your own.

Jesus responds by alluding to Scripture – precisely Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:13 and 6:16, all referring to moments when Israel was tested in the wilderness and failed miserably! Jesus again is rectifying things, redeeming the lost people – and showing us a better way.

Notice that Luke places the pinnacle of the temple after the high mountain, reversing Luke’s order. There’s no right or wrong order. Jesus was tested many times over 40 days, and in the weeks and months to come. Luke tips us off that the climax for Jesus will be in Jerusalem – where his final temptation is to shrink from the cross, or crush his foes, instead of giving himself for us.

Turning stones to bread? I’d do it. There are so many hungry people. But Jesus shows us that God asks us not just to do the good we think would be good, but to do God’s will – which might be harder and even puzzling to others.

The devil offers Jesus power over the nations – which I’d seize! I’d be a benevolent ruler and fix everything! Actually, Luke is reminding us that Power-Over is never God’s way, and is toxic for us. The devil couldn’t give what he didn’t own! Isn’t there in Jesus’ refusal a critique of political power and political ideology – which I warn you constantly is our idolatry today? Jesus doesn’t launch his own campaign of political ideology but nixes the whole enterprise.

The 40 days finally end. But notice (verse 13) that the devil slinks off to plot how to go after Jesus another day. Stay tuned…