First Sunday in Lent
February 21, 2010
Testing
Luke 4:1-13
Is God Testing You?
Testing...testing...testing
Do you ever feel that God is testing you? I once lived with a community of believers during a time of tremendous struggle in the church. Families were being divided. People were losing their jobs and homes. All because of struggles over biblical interpretation. It is a lousy way to be the church. I do not recommend it.
And we were all gathered in a large field house, a gym, trying to figure out what to do next. About 500 people. And down on the floor some tech was setting up the sound system and putting up a mike on a stand so that the wise old saints among us could give us guidance and direction. And the tech bent over the microphone and said, “Testing, testing, testing.” And the room became hushed
First up was old “Doc” Caemerer, the oldest preacher in the bunch. Shaky, thin and frail, and yet as spirited as ever. He came to put in words the anxiety we all were feeling.
And the first thing that came out of his mouth was to say that that young tech had already said it all. “God was testing…testing… testing us.” And the crowd broke into thunderous applause because old “Doc” had put his finger on our malady with just one word. God was “testing” us. Do you ever feel that way? Do you ever feel that God is testing you?
Lent Begins with the Temptation of Jesus
The Sundays of Lent always begin with the temptation of Jesus. Right after Jesus was baptized around the age of 30, Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Spirit. And there he was tempted by the devil for 40 days. Not just one day. But 40 days. Each and every day. And do you get that equation: to be baptized is to be tempted, “tested” daily?
And I have always found great comfort in that Jesus as tested too. God doesn’t place a protective bubble around his Son. God doesn’t a make special exception for Jesus just because he is God’s chosen one.
Rather God sends Jesus into the most extreme hostile environment we humans ever have to face. Jesus too is tested, in every way that we are: food, wealth, power, status, religious furor. You name it. Jesus has been there too.
Life in the Wilderness
A Place of Death Becomes a Place of Life
Jesus’ stay in the wilderness for 40 days makes us think of Israel in the wilderness for 40 years. Back in the days of Moses, God led Israel out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land.
But, in between those two places there was a long, wilderness stay. And at first, the wilderness seems to be a God-forsaken place. A place of death. A place of curse. There is no water, no food, no plants, no growth. Only dangerous and threatening things live there…including Satan.
But it is not a place of death. Strangely, almost miraculously, the terrifying desert becomes a “place of life” because God himself is there and God is leading them.
Maybe God didn’t lead them as fast as they wanted to go. And maybe didn’t always lead them in the same direction they wanted to go. Haven’t we all learned the hard way like Israel did that God’s interests do not always match our own? God doesn’t always think like you or me.
But God comes through. God always comes through with help and full provision. Bread from heaven–manna. And water out of a rock.
God Provides
And in a way, any wilderness experience is as much about “testing” God as it is about “testing” us. And have you ever thought of that? Times of temptation don’t just tempt us but they also “test” God. Will God come through? Will God be faithful to his promises?
And take any wilderness experience you want. The answer is always “Yes!” “Yes!” “Yes!” God is faithful. God comes through on every promise. God will always, always pass the test! Maybe not in our way and our timetable. But certainly on his.
Out of its experience in the wilderness, Israel learned something about its God. That the God of Israel was indeed a very present help in time of trouble. And that this God is always able to do the life-giving thing even when it seems to be so impossible.
And Israel learned something about the wilderness. That even though it seemed so empty and so hopeless it was a place of nourishment because God was there.
And Israel also learned something about itself. That it had to live in a complete dependence on a God who in his own way and in his own time would provide.
Jesus Remains the Faithful Son of God
Which brings us now to Jesus and his own 40 days in the wilderness. Another act of God’s provision.
Last Temptation of Christ
In the wilderness, Jesus faces all of the same temptations we have to face. That same sense of hunger and frustration, short-cuts to power, glory and the easy way. Jesus is tested…tested… tested… every way that we are.
And yet, Jesus remains the faithful Son of God. Jesus becomes the only human being in history who does not give into temptation. He remains the obedient Son of God. A true Israelite. And through his love and grace, his obedience becomes our own.
Obviously, the story is not over yet. The temptation of Jesus is only our Lord’s first round with Satan. Clearly, there will be more. The devil leaves for a more “opportune time” the bible tells—which means that this battle will ultimately go to the cross.
On the cross, Jesus will be tempted again, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. He saved others but he cannot save himself.” That will be the tempting taunt. And that is true. He cannot save himself, not if he would save us. (And don’t you ever for a moment think that it wasn’t tempting for Jesus to use his power and come down.)
We Know the Final Outcome
And yet, already now on this First Sunday in Lent we know the final outcome. Jesus will resist the temptation to save himself. And in the process, he will save us.
And that in turn changes the wilderness for us. It changes our wilderness times and our wilderness places. For Jesus is God’s proof that God is with us and that God is for us in the wilderness moments of our life. A very present help in time of trouble.
Life is a test. It’s all a test. Of God, as much as it is of us. Will God be faithful to God’s promises? Will God come through? And the cross of Jesus Christ gives us the answer. The answer is “Yes!” It’s always “Yes!” It’s always “Yes!” when Jesus is around.
© 2010 Pastor Paul Jaster