Sunday, March 10, 2019 - 9 AM

Yes, Yes, Yes! – Luke 4:1-13 Bascomb UMC / March 10, 2019 / 9AM & 11AM Focus: The response of Jesus to temptation – selfless surrender to God’s perfect will. Function: To challenge believers to follow the Holy Spirit into God’s will – say YES to God even though we have the freedom to say NO. 5 Purpose Outcomes of the Church: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Evangelism, Service Luke 4:1–13 CEB Jesus’ temptation 1 Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. 2 There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving. 3 The devil said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus replied, “It’s written, People won’t live only by bread.” 5 Next the devil led him to a high place and showed him in a single instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 The devil said, “I will give you this whole domain and the glory of all these kingdoms. It’s been entrusted to me and I can give it to anyone I want. 7 Therefore, if you will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It’s written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” 9 The devil brought him into Jerusalem and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here; 10 for it’s written: He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you 11 and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone.” 12 Jesus answered, “It’s been said, Don’t test the Lord your God.” 13 After finishing every temptation, the devil departed from him until the next opportunity. Movie Clip: “Yes, Yes, Yes! from “Yes Man” Jim Carrey is hiding from life after his divorce - for two years! The scene was Jim Carrey at a “positivity, self-improvement rally.” The power of "Yes" can transform lives. Say "yes" because saying "no" is a rut of fear of risk and change. And Jim Carrey (Carl) takes up the challenge and makes a covenant to embrace every opportunity that comes his way. The message is…“Yes” is born of trust and heals our fear because whatever happens to us… well, it becomes part of OUR story and, good or bad experiences are useful on our path. Our “yes” to the opportunities present in existence means getting on with life. We don’t ever really control how things play out, do we? These are themes in the movie “Yes Man.” Perhaps a loser can have his life is turned around by being opened to a world of wild possibilities. The only thing missing is a source and purpose for his life. But that brings religious faith into the discussion doesn’t it? So here we go! Jesus is being tempted; it is recorded in Matthew, Mark AND Luke. Even the sermon from Hebrews 4:15 hints at the event: “…we don’t have a high priest who can’t sympathize with our weaknesses but instead one who was tempted in every way that we are, except without sin.” Jesus has a total identification with all of us as human, obedient to be baptized as human and now to be tempted as human. Jesus’ temptation in Luke’s style has a relationship to OT events: Moses spent forty days on the mountain without food (Ex. 34:28; Deut. 9:9); Elijah spent forty days in flight to the mountain of God (1 Kings 19:4–8); and, of course, Israel spent forty years of struggle in the wilderness (Deut. 8:2–6). In fact, the wilderness trials of Israel, especially as recited in Deuteronomy 8, are clearly the immediate background to Luke 4:1–13, and Deuteronomy is quoted by Jesus three times (Deut. 8:3; 6:13; 6:16) in our text today. The general background is the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1–7) but wait a minute on that. Temptation is the common thread for us during the forty days of Lent – Is Jesus leading US into a wilderness of temptation? His baptism experience fills Jesus with the Holy Spirit and then leads Jesus into a wilderness of temptation. Don’t we pray “Lead us…. NOT into temptation?” What is God doing here? The word “devil” is lowercase in the text – meaning - not a personal counterpart to God, but simply a “slanderer;” not God’s enemy, but OUR enemy. In this text – the devil is actually serving God by allowing us a choice. We must experience opposition to love (like selfish lust), opposition to health (like cheeseburgers?), opposition to wholeness (inconsistent hypocrisy and prejudice), and opposition to peace (a destructive lust for power and violent oppression). If we say we are committed to the way of God here in the world we must understand the other choice and we must struggle – it’s the price of freedom. Those who are most engaged in the Christian choice seem to experience opposition more intensely. If Jesus struggled, who is exempt? And the Holy Spirit becomes for us, like it was for Jesus, the available power of God in the contest. Now back to Eden. The first temptation took the form of a conversation and here the temptation of Jesus is a conversation – almost casual. Jesus is struggling with what it really means to fulfill God’s business on earth. The best temptations are not obvious BAD choices like murder and kidnapping. TRUE temptation is more subtle……… Movie clip: “He’s the Devil” (clip #1) from Broadcast News And the best temptations look like A GREAT GOOD. This first temptation has a great social benefit: Jesus’ ministry should be one of turning stones to bread. Come on God – let Jesus just go around and feed the world - why not? The second temptation is political: Let’s have Jesus (or the church and the church’s leaders) be the ruler of this world. Won’t that achieve the greater good for the people of this world? The third temptation is religious: Jesus should just reveal God NOW and win Jerusalem by the display of supernatural power. We waste too much time offering Christ to people – we should compel them for their soul’s sake - coercing faith so that the “sheep” will avoid the greater death to come. Real temptation convinces us to do great good, to act under the best of motives. Stones to bread—the hungry hope so; political stability and equal justice—the oppressed hope so; leap from the temple—those longing for proof of God’s power among us hope so. Real temptation is not an offer to fall low but to rise to great heights. The tempter in Eden did not ask, “Do you wish to be like a devil?” but, “Do you wish to be as God?” No self-respecting tempter would approach us with offers of personal, domestic, or social ruin (that’s in the small print at the bottom of the temptation). Keep in mind that temptation is an indication of strength, not of weakness. We are not tempted to do what we cannot do but instead, we are tempted with what is within our power. The greater the strength, the greater the temptation. Jesus was in a fierce battle! A very real struggle of difficult choices. I talk to students about cartoon theology: bad guys in black hats and good guys in white hats. White, hippy Jesus arm wrestling with a grotesque monster of a Satan - pitchforks, red suits, and horns. That is simplistic, childish, even………………. Movie clip: “He’s the Devil” (clip #2) from Broadcast News Temptation is so deceptively and delightfully attractive. It was not a malicious opponent but a very close friend that tempted Jesus: “Jesus began to show his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem and suffer…., and that he had to be killed and raised on the third day. Then Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him: “God forbid, Lord! This won’t happen to you.” …. “Get behind me, Satan…. you are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.” Matthew 16:21-23 (CEB). A young boy—just shy of four years old—learned something about temptation in children’s church. He pulled his mom aside later that day to ask questions. “Hey, what do you know about the devil?” Mom wondered, “should I start with Augustine? Should I explain the conservative, progressive, and liberal interpretations of this text? Is he ready for process theology?” Remember, he was three. So, she applied the great stalling tactic: “What do you know about the devil?” His response was instructive. “Well,” he began, “the devil talked to Jesus.” Good, she thought. He was paying attention. “The devil was mean,” Was the devil really mean? Well, a young audience could understand “mean” in ways they could not understand evil. He continued, “if we were at a store, and you and Dad were in one aisle, and I was in another aisle, and”—his hushed tones became downright conspiratorial at this point—“there was candy …” He paused for effect. “The devil would say, ‘You should take some!” Wow! This version of the text from Children’s church placed all the emphasis on the temptation and a personified tempter. Mom remembers that Jesus quotes a passage from Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God and serve God only.” Mom thought about telling her son that the story is more about the responses Jesus gives to the temptations than to the temptations themselves. Jesus’ responses underscore his faithfulness to God, knowing that obedience to God will bring persecution, misunderstanding, and the cross. Most disciples wanted Jesus to free Israel and restore an earthly kingdom marked by honor and glory. But to say “YES” to the world would have required Jesus to say “NO” to God; to an idea of God’s kingdom that followers had a hard time understanding. It would have required him to say “NO” to the freedom and love for humanity that are the marks of his incarnation, death and resurrection. “Father, if it’s your will, take this cup of suffering away from me. However, not my will but your will must be done.” Luke 22:42 (CEB) Did her little boy understand these very points about the story? She asked him. “Honey, if we were at a store, and Dad and I were in one aisle, and you were in another aisle, and there was candy, and the devil said, ‘You should take some!’ What would you say back to the devil?” A sweet grin lit up his entire face and without hesitation he replied,  “Oh! I would say thank you!” Well, he missed the point – does that surprise you coming from a three-year-old? But don’t we miss the same point all the time. It is far easier than not - for us to say, “Thank you,” when temptation comes calling; I get that…… however, the story is only partly about temptation. Today’s text is also about Jesus’ choice—and ours—to be obedient to God. Certainly, it is the more difficult choice for Jesus, and we disciples, to make. The way of God is a training ground for us humans before we can live completely in God’s full kingdom. It demands a tension between the way of obedience (clip: Yes, Yes, Yes) and the way of freedom – the option to say NO. Jesus has rejected the way of flaunting miracles and he will not take up the political sword. The way of God’s response to human need is joining in WITH US. So, Jesus is a “YES” man for God in every way. He leaves for Galilee to live with us, to live among us and teach us about God. Want to know a counterfeit? Then get to know the REAL thing; get to know what Jesus does and teaches. And trust me, the trials are not left in the desert; temptation always watches and waits for an “opportune time.” Let us pray…………….