Lenten Vespers - Week of Reminiscere (Lent 2)

(Audio)

Matthew 26:30-56; Isaiah 45:15-21

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman mythology were not very subtle. Mighty Zeus thundered from the heavens, hurling his lightning bolts to the earth. Surly Poseidon stirred up tempests upon the seas, making shipwreck of intrepid sailors who dared to traverse his waters, even as he pummeled coastal cities with raging surges and floods. Wily Ares made men’s hearts full of passion for war and violence and lust for power. They each had their temples and their statues, their cults and religious practices and liturgies. In all respects, they were believed to be very visible and terrifyingly present. And, in other cultures, their gods were no more subtle: The Hindu god Shiva is both a creator and a destroyer, as that religion’s belief in reincarnation necessitates the destruction of the old and the rebirth of the new in successive cycles. The Canaanite gods Baal and Moloch each demanded infant children as burnt sacrifices offered as their parents participated in bi-sexual orgies in order to bless the land and the people with fertile fields and wombs and with prosperity in general.

But, then there is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a God of whom the Prophet Isaiah says, “Truly, You are a God who hides Himself.” Undoubtedly, what the Prophet had in mind was the fact that other gods were depicted in images, statues, and idols; you could see them and worship before them, they were in plain sight for all to see. Anyone who asked you, “And, where is your god?” you could answer him, “He is there. See for yourself.” Not so the God of Israel. Yahweh, the LORD, is a God of His Word, and He is present and active in and through His Word. God is not worshipped through graven images. The sacrifices that please Him are a broken and contrite heart, repentance, humility, and love. The disciples of Yahweh see their God with their ears, and they worship Him in spirit and in truth. The LORD is not seen with the eyes, but He is present with His grace and mercy towards those who humble themselves in repentance and faith. However, He is also present with His wrath against sin and rebellion and idolatry for those who reject Him in unbelief, whose faith is in the works of their hands, be they deeds or idols.

“All of them [the idols, their makers and worshippers] are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together.” The reason, says the Prophet, is because it is the LORD who created the heavens and the earth and all things in them. If there truly are other gods, then the LORD is their Creator. However, there are no other gods, save those that men fashion for themselves, idols, myths, and ourselves. And, truly, the worship of any other god or idol is the worship of Satan and his demons. In the chapter prior to this evening’s lesson, Isaiah remarks on the foolishness of idolatry saying, “All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human.” And then, to demonstrate the foolishness and futility of idolatry, Isaiah provides the account of a man who cut down a tree and chopped some of the wood to make a fire and to prepare his meal. Then, with the rest of the wood, the man carved an idol, bowed down and worshipped it, thanking it for the meal he just ate. Foolishness. All of them will be put to shame and confounded; the maker of idols will go in confusion together.

“I am the LORD, and there is no other,” thus saith the LORD. The Word of the LORD was not spoken in secret, but the Word was with the LORD in the beginning, the Word was the LORD, and all things that have been made were not made apart from the Word. Truly, it is not that the LORD hides Himself, for His power, wisdom, and design are self-evident in all of creation. Rather, it is that fallen men are blind in their sin to see the LORD. Thus, St. Paul proclaims in Romans chapter one, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

In the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the invisible God, the Word of God, became a man, became visible, seeable, and  touchable in a way no idol or false god ever could. Jesus was made to be the incarnate image and of the invisible God. In Jesus, the LORD no longer hides Himself, but has made Himself visible and approachable in the midst of His people. Still, most rejected Him in unbelief because He did not come in the ways in which men, with their foolish conception of glory, and their sin-corrupted values and desires, believed that God should appear. Jesus came as a human infant, born in a scandalous manner to an unwed virgin. He was the adopted son of a lowly carpenter from the backwater village of Nazareth. His disciples were but a rag-tag bunch of fishermen, a tax collector, zealots, and other people of inconsequence, unwashed and unclean. He numbered Himself with sinners, being baptized in the Jordan by John just like countless others. As the Prophet proclaimed, “He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.” Therefore, “He was despised and rejected by men.”

But, for those who received the Spirit-given eyes to see through the faithful hearing of His Word, Jesus was the invisible God made visible, the almighty and righteous LORD dwelling in the midst of His people. Throughout His Passion, Jesus’ disciples struggled with their sin and unbelief to believe and trust in Him. At times they saw clearly and made bold confessions: Peter — “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” Thomas — “My Lord, and my God!” And, at other times, they simply couldn’t grasp and they didn’t believe. They couldn’t believe that their God could be arrested, tried, convicted, and crucified and die. The women weren’t expecting to find anything but a dead body on Sunday morning. Even after His resurrection, they could only believe when the Holy Spirit opened their eyes to see clearly, which means that they truly heard and believed the Word of the LORD.

It is not that our God hides Himself. It is that, in order to see Him, you have to hear Him, to hear His Word: “Faith come by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.” It is the Holy Spirit through the Word of the LORD that opens ears to hear and eyes to see. Thanks be to God in His mercy that He cares for us and calls us to faith in Him through His Son by His most Holy Spirit.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Reminiscere - The Second Sunday In Lent (Lent 2)

(Audio)

Matthew 15:21-28; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7; Genesis 32:22-32

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

“Lord, how wonderfully You associate with Your own. You struggle with them not to conquer them but to be conquered.” Those words begin a prayer of C.F.W. Walther, the first President of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and of the synod’s first seminary. Indeed, the patriarch Jacob wrestled and struggled with God all through the night and overcame Him. Thus, the LORD changed Jacob’s name to Israel, which means one who has striven with God and has prevailed. The LORD blessed Jacob because Jacob would not let go of Him, even when the LORD Himself seemed to be against him, to be fighting with him, and even when the LORD caused Him to suffer. Indeed, Jacob walked away from that encounter with God blessed, but He also walked away permanently changed, permanently wounded and limping from the struggle.

Similarly, St. Paul complained of a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan he called it (!), with which the LORD afflicted him. Three times did Paul plead with the LORD that He might remove the thorn, but the LORD answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” – yes, in your weakness. So also, there was a man who was born blind. Jesus’ disciples asked of Him, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered them, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” And, who can forget the answer the LORD gave to Job concerning why he had to suffer so immensely? – Effectively, it was that God’s righteousness might be revealed. Truly, the LORD struggles with those He loves, He wrestles with them, He pins them down and permits them, He even causes them, to suffer, not to conquer them, but that they may conquer Him and receive His blessing.

Last Sunday we heard of the great battle between Satan and the Son of God, Jesus, and of how Jesus overcame Satan by the Word of the LORD, though He suffered mightily; He was hungry, and He was physically and emotionally weak. This Sunday we hear of Jacob’s wrestling bout with God and how the LORD wounded Jacob even as He blessed him, and also about a Gentile woman whom Jesus at first ignores and calls a dog, but who refuses to relent, accepts Jesus’ chides, and, refusing to let go and give up, is ultimately blessed and praised by Him for her great faith. Sometimes God is for you even when He seems to be against you. Truly, the LORD is always for you, but the LORD’s ways are not your ways, His thoughts are not your thoughts, and the foolishness of the LORD is wiser than your wisdom. “Oh, teach us today from Your Word,” Walther continues in his prayer, “how to struggle with You and conquer, that You can also someday gloriously crown and lead us into Your eternal kingdom.”

As Jesus arose from the waters of His baptism, only to be thrown into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, so too, upon your baptism, have you gained a relentless enemy who ceaselessly seeks to destroy and to devour you. The Canaanite woman was one of those heathen whom the LORD had instructed Joshua and the Israelites to destroy when they entered the Promised Land. Because they disobeyed the LORD and did not destroy the Canaanite women and children, in time they intermarried with them and they adopted the Canaanite gods, and fell into apostasy and the sorry, cyclical history of judgment, repentance, restoration, and apostasy again and again which comprises the bulk of the Old Testament Scriptures. However, this particular Canaanite woman was a believer of a sort. Seemingly, through the hearing of the Law and the Prophets, the Holy Spirit had created faith in her heart. And, for her faith, what did she receive, but ridicule and mockery from her countrymen, hatred and despising from the Jews and Jesus’ disciples, a demon-possessed daughter, and rejection and chiding from the Son of God Himself. As soon as faith is kindled and begins to burn and glow, Satan furiously seeks to stamp it out and destroy it. Indeed, God Himself begins to wrestle with you and pin you down and wound you that His power may be made perfect in your weakness.

For, it is not only Satan’s attacks upon us with which we struggle, but often God Himself struggles, wrestles, and strives with us, as He did with Job, and Jacob, and David, with Paul, and even with Jesus on the cross. Truly, as St. Luke records in The Acts of the Apostles, “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Tribulations are good for you, for they drive you into more fervent and stronger faith, dependence, and trust in the LORD alone. Indeed, when you are at your weakest, God’s power is made manifest. Job’s trust was not destroyed, though God permitted Satan to reduce him to dust and ashes. Jacob’s faith was not crushed, but he held on to the LORD even when He afflicted him and sent him away limping in pain. David’s dependence upon God was increased as he faced seemingly insurmountable enemies and trials. And, St. Paul’s thorn in the flesh was not removed, despite his pleas and prayers, even as he received the LORD’s grace to persevere and flourish in fruitful works and deeds.

We do not know exactly what the Canaanite woman believed about Jesus. The Canaanites were heterodox at best. They worshipped Baal and a host of other gods, and undoubtedly mixed a little bit of the Jewish religion in with their pantheon of gods. Nonetheless, she addressed Jesus by the Messianic title Son of David, which she had to have heard from the Law and the Prophets. Regardless of what she understood and the likely heterodoxy of her faith, it is clear that she believed that Jesus could help her, that He could exorcise the demon that oppressed her daughter. “Everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.”

We shouldn’t be surprised that there was demonic oppression and possession in Canaan, for Satan flourishes in lands and cultures where the LORD is not honored and His Commandments are not obeyed. Truly, there are no other gods, but all idolatry is the worship of demons. Foolishly does our own nation and culture believe that Satan and demons are not real, because we are an enlightened, scientific, and materialistic people. Indeed, we have fallen for the devil’s greatest deception, believing that he doesn’t exist. No, Satan and his demons are running rampant among us, perhaps even more so than in first century Canaan, for the devil does not need to make himself visible and obvious in a culture that so blindly immerses itself in all that is profane and immoral, hedonistic, wicked, and just plain evil. Today, people in our nation routinely call evil good and good evil. Demonic infestation, oppression, and possession are all too real and are regularly experienced even by Christians in their homes, churches, relations, and lives.

Why then did Jesus ignore, shun, and insult this woman of faith? Not to conquer her, but that He Himself might be conquered by her. Jesus put it another way elsewhere saying, “to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” The Canaanite woman had faith, faith that clung to Jesus even when He seemed to be against her. In fact, the more Jesus rejected her and chided her, the tighter she clung to Him, the more fervently she pleaded with Him, “Lord, have mercy on me!” “Lord, help me!” She would not let Jesus go until He blessed her. Truly, this Canaanite woman was also Israel, one who has striven with God and has prevailed. The Canaanite woman had faith, even if it was small and heterodox faith. Because she had faith, Jesus wrestled and struggled with her and even wounded her, and then He gave her even more faith, and He gave her what she pleaded for – He exorcised the demon from her daughter and He healed her saying, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” “To the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Faith trusts that what God ordains is always good, even when it seems to be bad, even when it seems like God has abandoned you, is not listening, doesn’t care, or seems to be the one who is afflicting you. “What God ordains is always good: He never will deceive me; He leads me in His righteous way, and never will He leave me. I take content what He has sent; His hand that sends me sadness will turn my tears to gladness.” “What God ordains is always good: His loving thought attends me; No poison can be in the cup that my physician sends me. My God is true; each morning new I trust His grace unending, my life to Him commending.” “What God Ordains is always good: Though I the cup am drinking which savors now of bitterness, I take it without shrinking. For after grief God gives relief, my heart with comfort filling and all my sorrow stilling.”

And so, God’s Word for you today is about faith and prayer: Faith that clings to the LORD come what may, and prayer that never wavers, even when it seems to go unanswered, or that God Himself is against you. Prayer is good for you, always. You don’t pray to get what you want. You don’t pray to change God’s mind. But, you pray because prayer is good for you. It’s a First Commandment thing. It is good for you to have no other gods but the LORD. You pray that God might change you, and He will, and He does. God will change you, God is changing you, through sorrow and suffering, through trial and tribulation, and ultimately through death – God is changing you back into the image in which He first made you, His image, the image of Jesus who is the express image and icon of God. Day by day, year by year, bit by bit, blow by blow, trial after trial, tribulation after tribulation – The LORD is chiseling you, carving you, shaping you, pruning you, forming you back into His image. It is a good thing! The LORD struggles with you, not to conquer you, but that He may be conquered by you. The LORD teaches you this day from His Word how to struggle with Him and conquer, that You may also one day, in His way, and in His time, be gloriously crowned and lead into His eternal kingdom. But a crumb from His table bestows forgiveness and life, and yet He gives loaves to those who trust in Him and do not let go. Come and eat the children’s bread from the Master’s table. Come and drink His precious blood of forgiveness and live. Let this be your desire. And, it will be done for you as you believe.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Lenten Vespers - Week of Invocabit (Lent 1)

(Audio)

Matthew 26:1-29; Isaiah 42:1-9

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

“Behold My Servant,” declares the LORD. The LORD has set Jesus upon a pedestal, so to speak, as an object for you to behold, wholly outside of yourself, that you may behold His will and His work for your salvation: “Behold My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen, in whom My Soul delights; I have put my Spirit on Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.”

You see, the Prophet Isaiah is a mouthpiece for the LORD, proclaiming the Word of the LORD absolutely, intentionally, and with certainty – Thus saith the LORD; it shall be. This is the LORD’s Servant, and this is what the LORD’s Servant will do: He will bring forth justice. He will be humble and mild. He will protect and nurture new and growing faith. He will not be discouraged or grow weary when only one quarter of what He sows bears fruit, nor when He is rejected, despised, and murdered because men love the darkness and hate the light which exposes their evil, wicked, and sinful thoughts, words, and deeds.

Then, the LORD, through His Prophet, speaks directly to His Servant saying, “I have called You in righteousness; I will take You by the hand and keep You; I will give You as a covenant for the people.” Now, a covenant is made in blood, the word literally means “to cut.” Animals, lambs and bulls, were the typical animals that would be cut when a covenant was made. The two parties in the covenant would pass between the cut two halves of the sacrificed beasts lying to their left and to their right, signifying that, symbolically, the same should happen to the one who breaks the covenant by failing to uphold their end. The LORD gave His Son, His Servant Jesus, as a covenant for the people, the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the men of the world who repeatedly broke, and continue to break, the covenant.

Jesus is the LORD’s Servant, the LORD’s sacrificial Lamb of the Covenant. He goes forth willingly to the cross in love for His Father and for you. Jesus told His disciples exactly what would happen: “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” Indeed, everything that happened to Jesus during His Passion was according to the will and the design of God the Father: “A woman with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment” anointed Jesus for burial. One of His own, a close friend and disciple, betrayed Him for a bag of silver coins. Jesus ate one last Passover meal with His disciples in which He offered Himself as the sacrificial Passover Lamb of God whose blood causes the deathly wrath of God against our sins to pass over us so that we are spared and live.

Behold and see what the LORD has done, and what the LORD is doing! He has brought light into our world of darkness. He has opened our eyes, which were darkened in the blindness of sin, to see. He has released us from the prison house of sin and death in which we were held captive in our sins and He has brought us prisoners out from Satan’s dungeon and set us free. And, the LORD foretold these things before they happened that His people might be comforted, have hope, and persevere. So too has He raised up His Servant from death, destroying that final enemy, that you might be comforted, have hope, and persevere.

“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” The victory over sin, death, and Satan has already been won by the LORD’s Champion, Redeemer, Son, and sacrificial Covenant Jesus Christ. Truly, the Christian faith and life has become a pilgrimage of wonder, even through the dark and dangerous valley of the shadow of sin and death, as we are given to see how the LORD will work all things for the good of those He has called according to His purpose. In the LORD’s Covenant kept and fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we have nothing to fear, for we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Jesus will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when He drinks it new with you in His Father’s kingdom, but He will drink it with you again. Indeed, before His Passion began, it was finished.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Invocabit - The First Sunday In Lent (Lent 1)

(Audio)

Matthew 4:1-11; 2 Corinthians 6:1-10; Genesis 3:1-21

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Immediately following His baptism in the Jordan, Jesus “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Or, if you prefer St. Mark’s treatment, the Spirit “drove Him,” or literally, “threw Him,” out into the wilderness, into the devil’s jaws. Suffice it to say, Jesus was baptized for this purpose, to be tempted by the devil and overcome. Thus, you must be careful not to minimize what Jesus suffered, endured, and overcame in His temptation. This was a one-on-one personal assault of the enemy of God, the father of lies, he who was a murderer from the beginning, upon the Son of God, freshly consecrated as the Son of Man. The Spirit came upon the man Jesus in His Baptism, and the same Spirit immediately drove Him into His work of redeeming you and me and all people. Jesus was baptized for you. Jesus faced Satan’s temptations in the wilderness and overcame them for you. Jesus fulfilled God’s Law for you. And, Jesus suffered, died, and was raised for you that you may live with Him and His Father and Spirit forevermore.

Thus, we can, and indeed we must, relate the consecration of the young and unassuming shepherd-boy David as king over Israel and the consecration of Jesus in His baptism, for neither man was the seeming chosen one of the LORD according to the reckoning, wisdom, and judgment of men, and yet each was anointed with the Holy Spirit, consecrated and set apart as the Holy One of the LORD, and then was immediately thrust into conflict with the devil – David with the Philistine champion Goliath, and Jesus with Satan himself. Neither man’s kingship nor consecration was visible or apparent to the eyes and wisdom of men, and yet, they were each the LORD’s Chosen One, and each were truly King – David, the King of Israel, and Jesus, the King of Heaven and Earth. Therefore, do not kid yourself, for, in your Holy Baptism, you too were consecrated for a life of continual battle with the devil, the world, and your own sin-corrupted flesh. Truly, as soon as the water hit your forehead and the Name of the Holy Triune God was spoken upon you, Satan set his sights upon you to destroy you. Satan hates you because he hates God who loves you so much that He would become a man in Jesus Christ and die for you to redeem you from sin and death. Before you were baptized, you belonged to the devil, but now that you have been cleansed and claimed and named in Jesus’ innocent, holy, and righteous blood, you belong to the LORD. Thus, you have a sworn enemy in Satan for the entirety of your life this side of heaven.

Further, just as David did not choose his battle with Goliath, and Jesus did not chose His battle with the devil or His cross, so neither do you or I choose the temptations, battles, and crosses that we must bear, but the Holy Spirit chooses them for each of us as He knows to be best. And, Jesus did not face temptation by the devil and overcome it by the Word of the LORD in order to show you how to do it. No, you must not think that, for Satan knows the Word of the LORD much better than either your or I, than did Martin Luther, or any theologian of the Church or pope, and, as were our First Parents in the Garden, you are defeated before you utter a single word. But, in fighting against the temptations of the devil, the best offense is a good defense. Indeed, you are to “take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

Now, I know that it may sound like the sword of the Spirit is an offensive weapon, but it is not. The sword of the Spirit, that is, the Word of God, is a defensive weapon meant to ward off the attack of Satan. You are not an onward Christian soldier going off to war, but Satan will bring the war to you. Indeed, Satan’s attacks are more like terrorism and guerilla warfare in your neighborhood, your backyard, and your bedroom than they are like soldiers going off to fight conventional battles in foreign lands. No, you are not on the offense, you are not on the attack, but your vocation is to stand firm and resolute, trusting, not in yourself, your wisdom, or even in your faith, but in the Word of the LORD alone, in Jesus, the Word made flesh. You do not attack the devil with the Word of the God. Do that, and you will lose. In fact, you must not enter into a conversation with him, neither in word or thought. If you do, then he has already won – again, take the example of our First Parents in the Garden. No, but the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, is a defensive weapon. Remember it. Take shelter in it. Speak it alone in defense against Satan’s attacks, for it is a mighty fortress and a trusty shield and weapon.

Satan used the Word of God against Jesus, because he knew that was the only thing that might persuade Him. However, Satan is an angel of light. He makes evil things look good in order to deceive you. He uses the Word of God, but he twists it, he misinterprets it, he misapplies it, and he takes it out of context in order to deceive you. Thus, you cannot trust a word even from a Christian, even within the Church, unless you are able to check it against God’s Word. Even this congregation was once at risk of being lead astray by well-intentioned believers into charismatic heresy. Indeed, the devil’s most dangerous deceptions come from within Christ’s Church, as wolves in sheep’s clothing. And so, you must always be on guard, watching, immersing yourselves in the Word and Sacraments, that you may be protected and be able to recognize Satan’s attacks when they are upon you.

Thus, Satan’s first temptation of Jesus seemed reasonable enough. Jesus was hungry after fasting forty days; why not turn stones into bread? He could feed Himself, and He could feed others who were hungry. What could be wrong with that? Didn’t David feed his hungry soldiers on the showbread? Doesn’t Jesus Himself teach us to give to those who ask and care for the poor, for orphans, and for widows? Ah, but the devil’s temptation was not merely to feed the belly, but for Jesus to do so in order to prove that He was the Son of God. To prove it to the devil? Maybe. Or, perhaps, Satan was tempting Jesus to doubt His Sonship Himself. It was a challenge, an attack, and the temptation was to strike back, for Jesus to defend Himself by taking offensive action and to go against the will of His Father and the Holy Spirit, to take matters into His own hands and not trust in the LORD but in Himself. “Did God really say that you are the Son of God?” Do you see how Satan seeks to get into your brain and into your heart and cause you to doubt? Soon you are justifying yourself saying, “The fruit looks good to eat, and it is useful for gaining knowledge; what harm could it do?” No, the best offense is a good defense. Jesus stood firm and He answered the devil with the sword of the Spirit, with the Word of the LORD: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.” The hunger was real, and no doubt it remained. But, let God be true and every man, and devil, be a liar.

Seeing that getting Jesus to doubt the truth and faithfulness of God’s Word wasn’t going to work, Satan had to change his tactic: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’.” Jesus trusts in the Word of God, let Him put that Word, and God, to the test. This was not a temptation to doubt the Word of God, but to use it in an ungodly, faithless, and manipulative way. Jesus was tempted to take what was not His, according to His human nature and God’s plan of salvation, and be as God the Father Himself. It is God the Father who commands His angels, not Jesus. At His arrest in Gethsemane the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus rebuked one of His disciples who drew his sword and cut of the ear of a servant of the high priest saying, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” The temptation here is a temptation we all face, but particularly spiritual leaders in Christ’s Church, to seize upon glory now, and bypass suffering and the crosses the Spirit has chosen for us to bear. It is the temptation to a theology of glory instead of the theology of the cross. Jesus answered the devil saying, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the LORD your God to the test’.” You and I test the LORD, we literally tempt the LORD, when we attempt to bargain with Him saying or thinking, “God, you do this for me, and I’ll do this for you,” and its many variations: “God, heal my daughter, and I’ll be in church every Sunday.” “God, let me get this job, and I’ll give 10% of all I earn to Your Church.” Etc. All to which God says, “Get behind me Satan.”

Truly, already Satan has been defeated. Each of his temptations, Jesus withstood and overcame by the Word of the LORD alone. Frustrated and desperate, Satan dropped his charade and got down to brass tacks: “All these [kingdoms of the world and their glory] I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” This is what he wanted all along, but subtly and deceivingly covered up. There was nothing left for Jesus to answer except, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God and Him only shall you serve’.”

No, Jesus does not teach you how to fight the devil with the Word of God, but He does give you an example of what Christian faith, and the Christian dressed in the defensive armor of God, looks like in defense against Satan’s attacks. And so, what you must take away from Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is a greater awareness of the subtle craft that Satan uses in his attacks upon you, that he is an angel of light who makes evil appear good and wise in order to deceive you. He uses the Word of God, but he twists it, he misinterprets it, he misapplies it, and he takes it out of context in order to deceive you. Your vocation is not to take on Satan in hand-to-hand or word-to-word combat, but your vocation is to stand firm on the Word of God and to withstand and persevere through Satan’s attacks. Resist the devil and he will flee from you, for a time. And, do not be deceived by those Christians who claim personal victory over Satan. There is no victory over Satan save the victory Christ won on the cross. Thus, when you are tempted and attacked by Satan, stand firm in God’s Word, clothed in Christ in your Holy Baptism, a mighty fortress, and you need not fear the devil and his evil horde. For, take they your life, goods, fame, child and wife, let these all be gone, the victory has been won for you by Jesus. Thus, the kingdom yours remaineth.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.