It is Written

Matthew 4:1-11

1st Sunday in Lent

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen.  The sermon text for the 1st Sunday in Lent is the Gospel reading Matthew 4.  Satan makes an appearance in both our Old Testament reading and in our Gospel reading.  We see very clearly that Satan is clever and he is dangerous.  He lies and deceives.  He has caused all sorts of trouble for the world for centuries. Satan wanted to be like God so he was thrown down from heaven.  Satan is a fallen angel and he is very real.  God’s Word tells us that Satan does exist.  His handy work is noticeable throughout the world.  After being kicked out of heaven, Satan decided to turn his attention to God’s most important creation – human beings.  Satan tempted the first two people created, Adam and Eve to sin. Adam and Eve were created by God, they trusted in the Lord and they had the desire to live the life that God gave them, a perfect life in the Garden of Eden.  It was Satan’s desire to take their perfect life with God away from them. Satan wanted Adam and Eve to forget their identity as people of God.  He wanted them to turn away from God and instead believe his lies and trust in themselves.  He wanted to take their perfect life of peace and joy and turn it into a sinful life of pain and death.  He was successful.  Adam and Eve turned away from God and so sin entered the world.  Paul explains to us in our epistle reading that sin came into the world through Adam.  We have all inherited Adam’s sin.

God saw what happened and so He made a promise.  He made a promise that He would send a Savior into the world who would defeat Satan and save us all from sin and death.  Adam was defeated in the Garden of Eden but Jesus Christ would win the victory.  What we see in our Gospel reading today is a battle between the Son of God and Satan.  Luther wrote about this great battle in the hymn, “A Mighty Fortress”. “The old satanic foe has sworn to work us woe.  With craft and dreadful might he arms himself to fight.  On earth he has no equal.”.  Luther goes on to write.  “But now a champion comes to fight whom God Himself elected.  You ask who this may be?  The Lord of hosts is He, Christ Jesus, mighty Lord, God’s only Son adored, He holds the field victorious”.

Jesus is the Son of God who went into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.  He went into the wilderness to defeat Satan.  You may recall that God the Father declared that Jesus is His Son at our Lord’s baptism and also at the transfiguration of our Lord. Remember what God said about Jesus. “This is my Son, whom I love; with whom I am well pleased”.  Jesus, the Son of God, trusted in His Father in heaven completely.  Every promise that God made Jesus believed.  Jesus came into the world to do the will of God.  God’s will was for Him to live a perfect life in our place and to go to the cross to atone for our sins.  Jesus shows us that He is indeed the sinless Son of God in His battle with Satan.    

Satan defeated Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  He now turns his attention to Jesus in the wilderness.  If he could get Jesus to sin just once all would be lost and no one including all of us here today would be rescued from death and hell.  Satan’s tactics are the same ones he used against Adam and Eve and all other people.  He wanted Jesus to turn away from God.  He wanted Jesus to doubt God.  He wanted Jesus to stop doing the will of God. 

Satan came to Jesus when He was hungry and said these words, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread”.  Satan wanted Jesus to doubt God.  He wanted Jesus to use His Divine power to serve Himself.    Jesus’ time in the wilderness was God’s will and so He would trust His Father in heaven to provide for Him.  He would not doubt God.  Jesus also refused to use His Divine power for himself.  He would only use it for the benefit of others.  Jesus responded to Satan’s temptation by quoting the word of God.  “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every world that comes from the mouth of God”.  Jesus completely trusted His Father in heaven.

Satan brought Jesus to the top of the temple in order to tempt Him again.  Satan wanted Jesus to test the promises of God to see if they are true.  Satan cites Psalm 91 that speaks about angels protecting the righteous. The problem is that he pulls this Bible passage out of context and omits parts of it.  Satan wanted Jesus to test whether God’s power was available to save Him.  What he was saying is this.  “You can’t be sure if God’s promises are true, so you better test them to see”.  Jesus does not doubt God’s promises.  Jesus response to Satan’s temptation is to quote the Word of God in the right way. “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”.  The perfect Son trusts His Father in heaven. 

Satan took Jesus to a high mountain and tempted Him a third time.  He showed Jesus the wonders of the world and called upon him to turn away from God and to worship him.  He wanted Jesus to stop trusting God and to stop doing the will of God.  Jesus would not fall.  He responded to Satan by once again quoting the Word of God.  “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve”.  Jesus remained faithful to God and He repelled Satan’s attacks. 

Jesus did not falter like Adam.  He did not falter like the nation of Israel.  He did not falter like we do.  Jesus remained faithful to the Father in heaven all the way to the cross.  You may recall that when Jesus was hanging on the cross He was still being tempted.  People were yelling at him, “If you are the Son of God come down off the cross”.  But Jesus remained on the cross because He was the Son of God and the Savior of the world.  When Jesus hung there on the cross dying He did not come down because He trusted in God completely.  He knew that God would raise Him up again three days later.  When Jesus hung there on the cross suffering He did not come down because He was there to do the will of God.  The will of God was for him to live a perfect life in our place and to atone for our sins.

Jesus’ death on the cross gives to you the gift of salvation.  Your sins have been forgiven.  Jesus’ resurrection gives you the assurance that He is the victor over sin and death.  Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan and He obeyed the will of God perfectly for you. He fulfilled the promise that God made in Genesis.  Christ defeated Satan and made you right with God.  Jesus has given to you the life of peace and joy.  He has given you a life with God that will last forever.  It is through Christ Jesus that we are given our identity as baptized, redeemed people of God.  It is through Christ Jesus that we are given the gift of saving faith.  A faith that trusts in the Lord.  Satan has been defeated by Jesus and when our Lord visibly returns again he will be thrown into hell.  Until that time comes Satan will continue to lurk around temping all of us.  He will use the same tactics that he has always used. He will want us to forget our true identity as Christians.  He will want us to stop trusting in God.  That is why Christ comes to us and reminds us of our true identity.  It is an identity that comes from Him.  We are baptized, redeemed people of God who trust in the Lord. Our identity is in Christ Jesus.   Amen.