Lent 1

Jesus didn’t follow any kind of road in the wilderness, instead He built a road - the Road To Truth.

After He was baptized, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. This was to be a time of fasting and preparation for His mission. This was a time to establish His identity as Son of God and Savior of the world. It was a time to bear witness to the truth.

Unlike the temptation story in the other Gospels, Luke indicates that Jesus experienced temptation the entire forty days. Every step he took along the path he trod in the wilderness he was confronted with choices. These choices at their core were whether to follow the human road of sin as his ancestors did or follow the road that God had laid out.

The three temptations as recorded in Luke represent both common human needs and elements of the popular Messianic hope.

First, the devil tells Jesus to change a stone into bread. Now, I don’t know about you, but it wouldn’t take too many days without food for me to do almost anything for a loaf of bread (or something else to eat).

Aside though from His own hunger, doing as the devil said would confirm for Jesus that He could feed the hungry. This was a major part of the Messiah’s work in the minds of people. The Messiah would give them finally their land of milk and honey - a lifestyle which would not include arduous labor to feed one’s family.

With a word, even a thought, Jesus could both satisfy His physical need and prove His identity as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Chosen One who would take care of all His people’s needs.

Later in His ministry, Jesus will perform a similar miracle and it will show Him to be the Chosen One. But then, He will be living out His true identity and the act will further define the truth of God.

So, Jesus refuses and in so doing declares the Truth that there is more to life than just satisfying physical human need. This road leads to the truth that we have a deeper need, a need to connect with and obey God. This is what we were created to be and to do.

Next, the devil offers Jesus rule over all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will just bow down to the devil. There’s an irony here and I can’t help wonder if the devil was being a little stupid. Jesus is the Son of God, the ruler of the universe. In completing His mission He will be declared ruler, not just of some piddly little kingdoms of the ancient world, but Ruler of all that was, is and will yet be.

But, this temptation would have appeal to a human Jesus who sees his identity as a popular Messiah. Humans tend to be fixed on the here and now, on immediate (or near immediate) gratification. As a very real human, Jesus could be tempted to seek the quick road to Messiahship. He could choose this this road and give the people what they dream of - the restoration of their nation as the powerful one.

And all He would have to do is reject the will of this God who wants Him to suffer and die. Why not take the easy road and acknowledge the devil’s rule?

But again, Jesus asserts His true identity and takes the road to truth. He declares that God, and only God, is to be worshipped and served. By so doing, Jesus confirms His identity as Son of God.

Finally, the devil takes Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple and asks Him to prove His identity by throwing Himself down four hundred feet to the Kidron Valley below. This could have been so enticing. After all, it would prove not only who Jesus was, it would prove that God keeps His promises. Note that the devil is smart enough to even use Scripture against the one being tempted.

If Jesus did this He would establish His identity as Messiah in a most spectacular way. What a feeling of triumph it would bring. What a message it would give to those Jesus had come to save. What a statement of trust in God’s promises He would make.

This time, Jesus asserts His identity as obedient Son of God who will not try to manipulate God the way sinners do. He won’t test God’s promises. He will trust in them.

And the devil leaves Him “until an opportune time”. We, the readers, know when Jesus will be this vulnerable again. We know when Jesus ability to stand firm in His identity, and follow the road to truth will make the difference for His people, for humanity, for us.

Just establishing His own identity as Son of God and Savior would be enough. This time of following the road to truth makes it possible for us to have hope for the future. It tells us we are not captive to our present. We can follow the road that Jesus built right to the throne of God.

We were given identity as children of God in our baptisms. We need to explore the truth of this for ourselves. What does it mean for how we see ourselves, how we deal with others and how we relate to God? Seeking the truth about our identity gives us the resources we need to resist the temptations that assail us everyday.

Through our baptisms we received the Holy Spirit who Jesus promised will lead us to all truth. God’s Spirit will never leave us and as live out our identity as God’s children, as we learn to consult the Spirit in prayer and in all circumstances, as we learn to seek the Spirit’s council on all our choices, we will be enabled to reject the devil’s attempts to bend our wills to His.

Baptism gives us the gift of community. It makes us members of the church and through the church helps us grow in our knowledge of the truth of God’s love. This is not just something for children. The road to truth may begin with “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” but it needs to be nurtured with ever deepening understanding of who we are in relation to God.

Knowing who we are, knowing whose we are and know why we are gives worth and meaning to every choice we make. It also makes it possible to seek the devil and his temptation for what they are. And since, as with Jesus, the devil will return to attack again as we continue on our roads through the wilderness, and will do so when we are most vulnerable, knowing the truth will help us cling to the truth.