Hail to Temptation’s Victor!

1st Sunday in Lent, 2/26/23 Matthew 4:1-11 Hail to Temptation’s Victor! I. The temptation to doubt God II. The temptation of use God III. The temptation to play God “Hail to the Chief” is the official anthem of the President of the United States of America. It accompanies the President at almost every public appearance. That’s because in 1954 the U.S Department of Defense made “Hail to the Chief” the official music to announce the President. And now it’s become so common that we citizens of the U.S. can’t imagine our President being introduced any other way. On the other hand, if you’re an OSU Buckeyes sports fan, there’s another song that begins with the word “Hail” that you hope you never hear again. It’s in the words of the chorus of the University of Michigan fight song. The song is officially known as “The Victors,” but it’s better known by the words of the chorus, “Hail! To the Victors’ valiant!” The music to that chorus is played every time the Michigan football team scores a touchdown or makes an interception. This First Sunday in Lent is the time to sing and shout “Hail” to another victor. Lent might sound like the wrong time of the church year to be celebrating anything. For centuries Christians have avoided joyous celebrations such we weddings during Lent as a way of observing the somber, repentant tone of the season. That’s especially true of our worship themes for the Wednesday Lenten services. But the Sunday services during Lent are all celebrations of Jesus’ victory. This morning’s text from Matthew 4 is the familiar account of the temptation of Jesus. Without a doubt, it’s the record of Jesus’ stunning victory over temptation. Thus, we join centuries of Christians this morning in shouting, “Hail to temptation’s victor!” As we ponder this account, may the Holy Spirit comfort and encourage us with the truth that Jesus’ victory is our victory. Part I. Have you ever read through the temptations of Jesus and asked yourself, “What’s so tempting about these temptations? Make bread? Why not make a feast if he’s really that hungry? And do you ever feel tempted to jump off really high places? And when is the last time you felt compelled to bow down to Satan? At first glance, these temptations don’t seem to be very tempting to us. To be honest, they seem rather petty and ridiculous. But every one of these temptations smacked at the heart of Jesus’ work as our Savior. Jesus had not come to this earth to do whatever he pleased. He made it plainly clear, “I have not come down from heaven to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (Jn. 6:38). That will didn’t only involve Jesus going to the cross for us, but every aspect of his life. Thus our text opens with the words, “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” This was the plan. His heavenly Father was putting him to the test. And thus starts the first temptation recorded for us. “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” Have you ever tried fasting? I tried it—once—for 24 hours. It’s not easy. Hunger is all you think about. It’s apparent that God the Father sustained Jesus’ life during these forty days. Exactly how, we’re not sure. But it showed that the Father would help Jesus through anything and everything. He didn’t take away the hunger, but he did sustain him. What an important lesson that was considering what Jesus would face at the cross. So, if he’s hungry and he has the power to make stones into bread, what’s wrong with a little bread? To make bread would have violated the will of his heavenly Father. The Father had made it clear that Jesus was to rely on him, not doubt him. When these temptations were ended, he sent his angels to serve Jesus’ needs. And to make stone into bread would have made the claim, “I can disregard the will of God and still be satisfied.” There is no true satisfaction apart from the will of God. That’s why Jesus quoted the passage he did in order to defeat this temptation. “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:4). This temptation was all about doubting God. Hail to temptation’s victor—the temptation to doubt God. Jesus won the victory over the temptation to doubt God. But you might respond, “Of course he did. He had no reason to doubt God. He is God.” But that reasoning fails to consider who Jesus was and why he came to this earth. He was and is God. But he was and also is true man. His hunger and dependence on God were the same as ours. He came to live as our substitute. Therefore, he had to be tempted just as we are. But where we fail time and again, Jesus won the victory. For all the times we’re worried about our own needs even if they were far more crucial than hunger, for all the times we’ve doubted our God, we have a Savior who won the victory over that temptation. Hail to temptation’s victor! Part II. The fact that Jesus was the Son of God, the Victor over temptation, could have gone to his head. That’s exactly the next temptation Satan used against him. Have you ever endured what seemed like endless doubt and criticism? It’s unbearable! Finally you want to lash out, to silence your oppressors. Jesus knows what that’s like. The four Gospels contain account after account of Jesus’ enemies attacking him, first verbally and then finally physically. They looked night and day for ways to trap him. And they weren’t alone. Satan was looking to do the same thing to him. Satan wanted to drive Jesus one of two ways: either to despair after convincing him he wasn’t up to the task of being the world’s Savior, or to sinful pride over the act that he was the world’s Savior. Don’t you think Jesus felt like he wanted to prove to the world and to Satan that he was who he said he was? Don’t you think he wanted to silence his critics once and for all? Satan wanted him to think that here was his chance. “The devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down.’” And his reason? “God has promised to send his angels to catch you.” Since the temple was built on a hill, some Bible scholars think this could have been a drop of nearly 450 feet. It sounds like an absurd temptation to us, but note Satan’s thinking. God has promised to care for his creatures. You claim to be the Son of God. If he will do this for his creatures, surely he’ll do it for you, the Son of God, if that’s really who you are.” But Jesus correctly saw this temptation for what it was—an attempt to use God. It was telling God, “I’m going to put myself in harm’s way and make you take care of me so that I can prove who I am.” Jesus would have none of it. Hail to temptation’s victor—the temptation to use God. Have you ever been tempted to use God? I’ll bet you have, more often that you think. It happens when we find that our lives have become a mess. Nothing is working out for us. So, we go to God for help. But what’s our attitude? Do we come to him with repentant hearts, hearts that are sorry for the sins that are responsible for our mess, or do we come to God with hearts that are convinced we’re done the best we can and God owes it to us to help us? Do we tell God that, since we are his children, he must do something for us? If so, we’ve fallen into the temptation to use God. Thank God that we have a Savior who defeated that temptation! Hail to temptation’s victor—the temptation to use God. Part III. Whether it’s the temptation to doubt God or use God, each temptation has a deeper evil at its very core—the temptation to take the place of God. It’s the temptation to tell God that we know better than he does. That was the essence of the third and final temptation. But of all the temptations, doesn’t this one sound the most absurd? The devil said, “All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me.” Bow down to Satan?! How was that a temptation for Christ? Well, have you ever been tempted to take a shortcut in life? I’m talking about the shortcuts that are dishonest or forbidden. Maybe it’s plagiarizing in a report for school or work. You got the project done, but took a short-cut. Maybe it’s submitting inferior materials without the buyer’s consent in order to maximized profits. It’s dishonest; it’s cutting corners. Satan offered Jesus a shortcut to glory. He promised Jesus a way to eternal glory that didn’t involve the cross. In fact, it didn’t involve suffering at all. Just bow down to Satan and it will all be over. Had Jesus done that, the only thing that would have been over would have been his work as our Savior. The way to glory was through the cross of Calvary and only through the cross of Calvary. To bow down to anyone other than his Father would have been telling his Father, “I know a better way; an easier way. I’m going to do it my way.” And that’s nothing other than playing God. Jesus wouldn’t do it. Hail to temptation’s victor—the temptation to play God. But wasn’t Jesus God? If so, he didn’t have to play God. He was God. That’s true. But he had come to do his Father’s will. His Father made it clear to him that the only way to save all sinners was by his death on the cross. Any shortcut was absolutely unacceptable. While doing his work as our Savior, Jesus always placed himself under his heavenly Father. Because no shortcut was acceptable to his Father, no shortcut was acceptable to him. And that’s exactly the Savior need, because each one of our sins is actually an attack on the authority of our God. Each sin makes the bold claim, “Who are you to tell me what to do?” We have a Savior who never fell into the temptation to play God. Hail to temptation’s victor! While it’s good to walk with our Savior to his cross this Lenten season, it’s also good to view his victories over Satan along the way. What a blessing to know that his victory is our victory by faith in him! Hail to temptation’s victor! Amen.