Hunger, Power and Influence
Matthew 4:1-11 

Introduction: 

            Have you ever fasted?  Doctors call it “fasting” when we should take nothing by mouth for 12-14 hours before blood tests.  But have you ever really fasted?  When I was the Minister to the Campus at our church related college in Texas we had a tradition of acknowledging a hunger walk and by not eating for three meals – fasting for one day, and the college food service gave half the cost of the meals not eaten to the hunger program.  We broke the fast at a late night communion service after the day of fasting.  I mention this to share with you my reaction to not eating for one day.  I became dizzy, listless, and about 2 p.m. lost all sense of humor.  I made the fatal mistake of waiting until that afternoon to write the communion meditation.  That one was a doozy! About suppertime I became angry, was focused on myself and gained a fresh sense of the hungry of the world.   

            Jesus before his temptation fasted 40 days.  He became weak, had hallucinations and he was definitely hungry.  Famished would be more like it.  Into this situation came the tempter – the devil or Satan or whatever name you prefer. 

I.                   The first temptation was bread. 

The devil came to him and suggested that Jesus turn  stones into bread.  “Since you are God’s son (with whom God is well pleased), you can do this!” Why not?  What a wonderful thing it would be if he would do it!  Every hunger program in the world would be pleased.  There were plenty of rocks and not nearly enough bread.  He would instantly become a bread king and have a great following. 

The devil can quote Scripture.  He knew about the manna in the wilderness and how they knew it was God who rained down bread from heaven and saved his people from starvation in their 40 year trek to the Promised Land.[1] 

Jesus’ response:  “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word from God.”  In a word, life is more than bread! 

II.                The power temptation. 

Since you are God’s son (with whom God is well pleased) throw yourself down from the top of the temple in Jerusalem for it is written by the Psalmist: 

            “He will give his angels charge of you.  On their hands they will bear you up lest you stump your toe (on one of those stones which you wouldn’t turn into bread.)[2]

Show ‘em your power; people understand power.  Make a big show of your power and all will obey you.  Jesus was in fact awed by the power people had over others.  “You say come and they come; you say go and they go.”  That is awesome.  (What we wouldn’t give for a touch of such power!)   

Jesus’ answer is as if he said “no shortcuts to power, Mr. Satan.  Power does not come by strength but through weakness.  The suffering servant who died on a cross, now there is power over evil Mr. Tempter – God’s power does not need this kind of testing.” 

III.               The temptation of Influence. 

The tempter took him up to a high mountain for another one of those mountain top experiences.  “All the kingdoms you will have influence over -- land and governments and people.”  Now, that is what Jesus came for -- to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, was it not?  The lure of influence is very tempting.  Politicians spend a fortune running for public office.  It couldn’t be for the money; it has to be for the influence over governments, land and people.   

            Influence was the very thing for which he came to earth; worship and honor of the Devil, however, was not. Jesus turned the Tempter away with the harsh and decisive words from Deuteronomy:

             “You shall worship the Lord your God and God only shall you serve.” 

IV.              What can we learn of our Lord’s struggle with the tempter? 

1.         That temptation is real.  Sin is real and separates us from God and God’s purpose for our lives.

2.         There are no shortcuts to Christian mission.  The bishop in T.S. Eliot’s, Murder in the Cathedral,  was tempted to save his own life by compromising God and the church, but his response was memorable: “This is the greatest treason – to do the right thing for the wrong reason.”

3.         The story gives us courage to face temptation with God’s help to resist it.

4.         Be serious students of Scripture and always remember that the devil can quote Scripture, too!  Just look at the present controversies in the post modern churches: both sides quote scripture to defend their own positions.

5.         Be reminded of our baptism:  in it we die to sin and rise to new life.  “Through baptism we already share in the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death and evil as we begin this Lent.” [3]  

Conclusion:

            Indeed, we can enter this Lent with a renewed interest in its message of Christ’s testing in temptation, in his teaching and in his passion, crucifixion, death and resurrection.  These things are critical to our life.  They make our life together possible.

While we often face temptation alone we can take comfort that God’s angels will also minister to us as well. 

A sermon preached on the first Sunday of Lent, February 13, 2005, by the Rev. Dr. E. Thomas Miller, Interim Pastor, at the Georgetown Presbyterian Church