1.
In
the name of Jesus. Amen. On this 1st Sunday in Lent we look
toward Jesus our champion who has
overcome the temptations of the evil one on our behalf and was obedient to His
Heavenly Father’s will, even unto death, death on the cross for the forgiveness
of our sins, the message is entitled, “Behold
our Champion,” and it’s taken from Matthew 4:1-11.
2.
The Bible TV miniseries,
created and produced by husband and wife duo Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, was
a 2013 sensation, raking in more
than 100 million views. It was nominated for 3 Emmy awards, and a sequel title, A.D.: Beyond the Bible,
was also made for NBC. But amid the hype
came controversy. The same episode that debuted Jesus also included scenes with
the devil. Downey was disappointed to find the media fixated on the devil
rather than Jesus: some were claiming that the actor who played Satan looked
like President Obama. In order to avoid
further controversy, the producers decided to remove Satan from the Son of God movie rereleased on Friday Feb. 28th,
2014. "I want the name of Jesus to
be on the lips of everyone who sees this movie, so I cast Satan out," said
Downey. As a matter of fact, a large
number of people in America deny the devil's existence. Recent polls suggest a large number of
Americans don't believe the devil exists. A
2009 Barna survey reported that
nearly 60 percent of Christians in America view the devil as only a symbol of
evil. Only one quarter of participants strongly affirmed the devil's personal
existence, though this figure more than doubles among "born again" Christians.
3.
What
are we to make of this? When nearly 60
percent of Christians in America question the reality of the devil, or see him
merely as a symbol for evil. In our
Gospel lesson today we see Jesus our
champion do battle with Satan and overcome him. Jesus
is our champion and we look to Him who has overcome the devil for us. But, is there a problem with Christians who
don’t believe that the devil is real? I
would say yes. After all, to quote GI
Joe, “knowing is half the battle.” If Satan is real and at work to tempt and
deceive us to sin against God our Heavenly Father, then it would be wise for us
to know his schemes and look to our Lord Jesus to help us overcome his
temptations. If people don’t believe in the
existence of Satan, especially Christians, then it seems that his work of
deception and craftiness is alive and well.
4.
In
the Garden of Eden, Adam as the first man exalts himself to be a god in place
of God (Gen. 3:1–21 ). He gives in to the temptation of the devil, and eating
of the forbidden fruit, he receives death. But in the sin-cursed wilderness,
God humbles Himself in His Son Jesus to become man in place of man (Mt. 4:1–11
). He doesn’t eat but fasts and bears the attacks of the devil for us that we
may be restored to life. Jesus our
champion stands as David in our place to do battle against the Goliath,
Satan (1 Samuel 17:40–51 ). Though Jesus appears weak, yet He comes in the name
of the Lord of armies. He draws from the five smooth stones of the books of
Moses and slings the Word of God. The stone sinks into the forehead, and the
enemy falls. In Jesus our champion we’re
victorious over the devil. Seeing that we have a great High Priest, let us
come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain help in time of need
(Heb 4:14–16 ).
5.
Every
temptation is a test, and the person being tested will either pass or fail. Temptations
come to us in many different forms. We think first of anything that tries to
lead us into sin, such as opportunities for immoral conduct or to steal. But we
must also include unpleasant experiences like pain, suffering, illness,
disappointment, poverty, and grief. Such experiences may cause us to question
God’s wisdom or love. Sometimes success, good health, physical strength,
intelligence, talent, or good looks may be even more serious temptations
because we’re not likely to recognize them as tests that we may not be able to
handle without falling into serious sin of one kind or another. If we meet all
kinds of temptations properly, humbly trusting in God’s promises and relying on
his mercy, God will surely enable us to endure them through Jesus our champion. And he will do even
more; he will cause them to result in blessings for us.
6.
The
temptations Jesus our champion faced were
serious efforts by the devil to rob the world of its Redeemer. Satan had been
successful in leading the first Adam into sin so that a Redeemer was necessary.
Now he attacked the second Adam, Jesus Christ, in an effort to frustrate his
work of redemption.
7.
The
Greek word used for the devil here is diabolos
(from which we get the word diabolical).
The meaning of this word is slanderer or liar. The devil isn’t just a clever
liar; he’s a constant liar. He’s the father of lies. He invented the very idea
of lying and told the very first lie. He makes wonderful promises, as he did to
Eve (“You will not surely die”
[Genesis 3:4]), but he’s never kept a single one of them, and he never will. If
he does occasionally speak a few words of truth, he distorts them or takes them
out of context or immediately proceeds to contradict them.
8.
We
know these things about the devil, but we keep on falling for his lies. He
tells us that life will be so much more enjoyable if we disobey God’s
commandments. So he persuades us to lie and cheat and steal and commit adultery,
and he tells us there’s nothing wrong with coveting and lust and filthy speech
and misusing God’s name—as long as we don’t actually do something to harm
someone else. His lies lead to all kinds of trouble and sorrow and grief and
regrets. Yet he convinces people that in their
case it will be different. But in every single case the devil’s promises aren’t
intended for our good or benefit. The devil’s one and only goal is to make or
keep people separate from God and to draw them into the eternal torments of
hell with himself.
9.
It’s
interesting to note the contrast between the temptation of Adam in Eden and the
temptation of Jesus our champion in
the desert. In both cases Satan used something to eat in his efforts to awaken
distrust in God. He succeeded in Eden,
a land of plenty, where there was no hunger. But he failed in the barren wilderness when Jesus was
extremely hungry. The temptations and sufferings that Jesus endured throughout
his earthly life were greatly magnified versions of the trials we endure. But Jesus our champion never faltered,
though we keep on falling into sin. Jesus willingly suffered the punishment we
deserved for all our failures, and he gave us the credit and the blessings for
all his successes. He was wounded for our
transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. With his stripes we are healed
(Isaiah 53). Jesus died so that we may live.
10.
What
a tragedy it is that people still fall for Satan’s lies. He misleads all of us
from time to time. In spite of our better knowledge, he convinces us that we’ll
be better off, wealthier, happier, more successful, if we disobey God’s
commandments and follow his suggestions. He loves to call our attention to
people who have openly done exactly that and appear to have prospered, but he
wants us to forget about their eternal fate. We need to remember that Satan
will try to deceive us as long as we live and especially in the hour of our
death, but with the power of the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit, we can
drive him off and remain safe with Jesus
our champion for eternity
11.
Remember
that when you enter the darkness of the devil, when you give into his
temptations, Jesus your champion is
there overcoming the darkness because his light is always with you. As the
author of Hebrews said, “For because he
himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being
tempted. . . . For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize
with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are,
yet without sin” (Heb 2:18; 4:15). Those
who suffer through the darkness know that there’s nowhere to go but to Jesus,
just as Jesus knew there was nowhere to go but to the Word of God during those
forty dark days of hunger and temptation in the wilderness. When you enter a great darkness, know that Jesus your champion went into the
wilderness for you.
12.
Jesus your
champion
knows you’re battling the evil one. So he gives you a song to sing: the
soldier’s psalm, Psalm 91, on which is based today’s Introit. Your Baptism has
enlisted you as foot soldiers on the frontline of the war against Satan, and
though the battle is waging all around you, though you are surrounded by
darkness, you fear nothing. Covered by God’s angels, Jesus’ Lenten greeting to
you is this: “When he calls to me, I will
answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation” (Ps 91:15–16). Look to
Jesus your champion when the
devil attacks and He will help you.
Amen.
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