Luke 4:5-13

     This is being posted a day early, due to commitments on Saturday.
      The first temptation Jesus faced was bread – or you could broaden and symbolize that to material advancement. This first temptation isn’t for something dreadful. Everyone needs food. Under normal conditions, Jesus would eat and drink. In fact, he’d be criticized for doing so by people who couldn’t be satisfied that John abstained and that Jesus enjoyed the pleasures of the earth.
     But Jesus knew there is a time and place for everything. He was tempted to use his unique identity for personal enrichment and declined the temptation.
     The second temptation is for power. Worship evil or simply worship power, neither one merits the devotion. Jesus understood that only God deserves that central place and service in our lives.
      Finally, Jesus is offered the temptation to throw himself from the temple for God to rescue. Wouldn’t that have created a stir? Hollywood producers would be panting at the opportunity to get that kind of notoriety.
      It would have been tempting to think of the good that could come of such an event. Surely people would really pay attention to someone who could pull off such a feat. Yet, Jesus declined, saying it was wrong to “test” God.
     Throughout his ministry, Jesus would try to minimize the spectacular. He asked people who were healed to refrain from sharing the news. And it’s undeniable that miracles didn’t seem to be producers of faith. If they had been, then the disciples would have been paragons in that arena and they certainly weren’t. The efforts of Jesus were bent toward changing hearts.
     This story would also seem to indicate that acts of faith are not the same as engaging in reckless behavior in order to prove either human faith or God’s power. The student who fails to study for a test and then asks God to take care of it could be one example. What about medical care? What of risk taking even for good causes? At what point is it faith or bravado? Only the individual can sort that out on his or her own faith journey.
     In summary, it could be said that the temptations Jesus faced were three that are common to many humans: material advancement, power and fame. Jesus didn’t say these were necessarily wrong in themselves. But he was clear that they could not be central priorities, nor could they be acceptable if pursued in the wrong manner or for the wrong reasons.
     The thirteenth verse says that Satan departed to wait for a more opportune time. In essence then, we hear that temptation was not over. Few temptations are dealt with and never faced again. While we hear little about the further temptation that Jesus faced, it is a reminder of his humanity.  He was like us and we can become more like him - humanity not distorted by wrong choices.  As Holy Week begins in a few days, it seems especially important to remember his humanity, that he suffered and died on our behalf.


Where in your life do you experience the types of temptations that Jesus faced?
Can you apply some of the wisdom of Jesus to those temptations?
How easy would it be to rationalize giving into temptation?
How do you recognize the rationalizations?