The King's Choices
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Date: 2022-01-23
Audience: Grass Valley Corps ONLINE
Title: The King’s Choices
Text: Matthew 4:1-11
Proposition: Jesus made the right choices, even when situation was challenging.
Purpose: Make the choices Jesus did
Grace and peace
Tracing story of Jesus as told by Matthew, who believed Jesus was the Messiah – King of Kings – but that he faced life as an ordinary human, same as any of us. Matt wanted everyone who reads or hears the story he wrote to understand that we can live the same way Jesus did, if we take time to think like Jesus did.
When we are tested, as Jesus was, we too can come out proven true and strengthened for what will come next.
Matthew is going to tell us about what something that happened in Jesus’ life right after he was baptized by John and there was that amazing voice from heaven and dove that floated down to land on him as a sign from God that this was his son, in whom he was pleased. And in the immediate moments after that, we hear this happened:
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.[1]
Devil = diabolos= slanderer – someone who makes accusations. Not a name, BTW. A position, perhaps. We’ll see Jesus call him satanus in a moment – the satan. That was an old Hebrew word that meant Accuser or Adversary. Think more in terms of a prosecuting attorney bringing someone to trial, using the circumstances and evidence they have to build a case which matches the narrative they are trying to prove true.
Knowing that, it may make more sense when I tell you that we probably should be reading this verse to say that Jesus was led by the Spirit to the wilderness to be put to the test – or tried – by the devil.
These seem like small things – why am I making an issue of them for us?
Because I want you to see the picture Matthew was painting for his audience, not the picture that popular culture or your Sunday School teacher might have stuck in your head. Because we’ve lost both the importance of this story as originally presented and we’ve lost the message of empowerment in here for the early Christians and for us today.
The first clue Matt gave us to know there is a bigger picture is where this story is taking place: The Wilderness.
Remember why John the Baptist was in the wilderness?
This is the place where Israel was tested.
It is where they were found wanting and so they were stuck wandering, trying to learn. They were trapped in the wilderness in the time of the Exodus and again during the Exile. Any time you hear about something happening in the wilderness, start looking for parallels to these past stories.
Matthew wants us to understand that there is something profoundly spiritual happening.
Don’t worry if you missed it – he’s got another clue to point us the right way.
2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.[2]
Well, duh, right?
I was once inspired to attempt a 40 day fast. I heard from a couple of guys who had done it that it was a deeply moving experience. I lasted almost 43 hours before I found myself deeply moved to desperately scarf down an entire box of Honey Nut Cherrios. Since then I’ve struggled to fast for more than 40 minutes at a time, which is probably indicative of a whole different problem.
My neuroses aside, if you’ve ever read any of the Bible or heard any of the stories from it, you’ve probably recognized that the number 40 shows up pretty regularly. This is intentional – it’s a kind of symbolic numerology where certain numbers are used to tell you a bigger picture story. Where the number seven is always about a completion or wholeness of something, like seven days in a week or seven years in a planting and harvest cycle or seven sets of seven years before Jubilee – the great national forgiveness of debts, the number 40 represents change or transition. Specifically, it is about a new beginning, such as in the story of Noah where the rain is said to have gone on for forty days to wash away the corruption of the old world and introduce Noah’s family to a new opportunity at life.
Jesus fasting for forty days and nights would have reminded Matthew’s audience of Moses, who spent forty days and forty nights up Mount Sinai with God without eating before he came back down with the stone tablets that had the Law written on them. The rabbis say those 40 days changed Israel from a nation of Egyptian slaves into God’s nation.
There are dozens of these examples in scripture and in the Talmudic teachings but let me share one more.
When a rabbinic court finds someone guilty of a crime and sentences them to be lashed according to the Law those lashes are to be what is called “the forty less one”. The punishment is meant to bring the offender to a point where they are at the gateway of change, atonement, and transition to new lifestyle choices.
So Jesus is in the wilderness, fasting, for forty days and nights and he’s HUNGRY.
3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”[3]
If you are the Son of God… Use your power! Help yourself! There is no need to wait on God’s provision.
In Exodus chapter 16, a month after they triumphantly marched out of Egypt, after the miracles of the plagues and the other signs from God, the pillar of flame that led them and the Red Sea that had opened to let them through, the people began to complain.
3 “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” [4]
They doubted God’s provision. Rather than wait for him to give them what they needed, they were rising up and accusing him of failing. They wanted bread.
God would respond by sending Manna, bread that would appear every day to sustain his people. This seems to have been his plan all along – Israel just got impatient.
Will Jesus be the same as those who came before, or will he do something different?
3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” [5]
Faced with a similar situation as the Israelites, starving in the wilderness, put to the test, Jesus chose to rely on God’s provision instead of acting on his own.
He quotes the perfect passage to refute the idea that he should act to bring about an end to his hunger in his own time too. Look at the whole thing:
3 Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.[6]
There was a purpose for the people’s hunger, one that God revealed to them. But they needed to be patient. Jesus was willing to wait on God and not push his own timing.
Frustrated, the Accuser tried something different.
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ”[7]
Jesus quoted scripture, so the devil pivots to use scripture in his trial. He quotes from Psalm 91 and gives Jesus the opportunity to demand God make a visible display of protecting him. The psalm says that those who declare their safety is in God’s hands will find that they are in God’s hands. And right here? From the top of the Temple? What a great place to show off the power of God for all to see and recognize Jesus as the Son! Right?
During the Exodus, not long after the incident which led to manna, Israel moved camp to Massah and this happened:
2 So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded.
“Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?”
3 But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?” [8]
Not only are they refusing AGAIN to trust in God’s provision, the people have now decided the LORD is just trying to kill them. Instead of believing in his providence – his protection – they are accusing him of abandoning them.
In later years, when Psalm 91 was written, the author would say this about God’s protection:
9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
11 For he will order his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. [9]
That’s providence – God watching over you in ways you can’t watch out for yourself.
Not what the Israelites in the Exodus were thinking, is it?
Despite their crass demands, the LORD provided, having Moses strike a rock, causing water to come gushing out from the ground.
7 Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?”[10]
The devil takes Jesus up to the pinnacle of the Temple, the very seat of the presence of God, and says he could announce himself as the Son of God by displaying God’s presence in an undeniable way.
But Jesus isn’t about demanding his way or his protection or, in fact, anything for himself other than what God has provided. And so:
7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” [11]
And the scripture Jesus is quoting here is Deuteronomy 6:16, which says:
16 You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah.[12]
And so, rather than choosing his way like the Israelites did when they were clamoring for water, Jesus continues to follow God’s way.
8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”[13]
Now, stay with me here, because many people think this is simply an offer of power over the world, but it’s so much more than that.
Albert Schweizer said that this was a standoff between the ruler of this world and the ruler intended for this world.
The word “worship” doesn’t even necessarily mean religious worship. It seems to mean just a show of honor or respect, one ruler to another.
Among ancient Israelites there was a belief that the nations were controlled by different powers and principalities. Perhaps this exchange is one where the devil is saying, “Acknowledge me and I’ll turn over all the world to you right here and now.” Kind of a shortcut to success for Jesus.
I have often heard the comment in religious circles that this is Satan’s world. Those folks generally look forward to a day and time when God will destroy and remake creation. If that’s your view, then this might even seem like a good trade. If Jesus says, “Okay, Satan, this has been your world, but it’s time for you to give it to me,” isn’t that going to accomplish everything we hope for? A world ruled by Christ?
No.
That view misses something.
The world doesn’t belong to the devil.
Not at all.
10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’” [14]
I love that he doesn’t argue about it or even discuss it. He just says, “Get out of here,” and he quotes Deuteronomy 6 again.
Deuteronomy 6 is all about God being the only one who should be honored – the only one to worship. There is no other person or being with any superiority over the rest. Only the LORD is God.
People, be they kings or paupers, are all God’s beloved children, bearers of his image, subject to his rule.
Supernatural beings, powers, principalities, whatever else – they are God’s creations, subject to his rule. They are not better or superior to you or I either.
This world doesn’t belong to them or to us. This is God’s world, God’s solar system, God’s galaxy, God’s cosmos. This is my Father’s world, as the old hymn goes. Only God is to be worshipped and honored as ruler, as king, as owner.
Get out of here, Satan!
Notice what happens when Jesus says that?
11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus. [15]
And if you’re wondering if this third temptation links back to the Exodus, it does.
Sadly.
The tendency of the Israelites to compromise, either a little or a lot, with the ways and powers of the world, rather than sticking to the instructions of God were disturbingly frequent.
And it started with that golden calf.
God spoke to everyone directly from Mount Sinai, giving them the Ten Commandments, including one about not making images to try to capture or reflect God. The Creator cannot be known or reflected in any real way by a statue.
And yet…
Moses went up on the mountain to get the Law, and before those forty days had passed the people were already asking Aaron to make them a statue.
They weren’t trying to worship a different God – but they weren’t trusting that this God could be known without an image for them to come to. They were compromising, just a bit. I’m sure they thought the other nine commandments were important. At least until something might cause them to change their mind about those too…
But following God isn’t a part time occupation. It’s not something you do partway. He is either the Creator, the only one to worship and the only one to serve, or he’s not.
And each one of us chooses what we do with that information. Do we give him our allegiance or don’t we?
Jesus told the devil to go away. The devil went away.
For now.
I think Luke’s description sums up how this works in a more clear manner.
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came. [16]
Life is full of choices, isn’t it? And each choice we make is an opportunity to serve God. Or not.
But did you see what Jesus did?
He chose to serve God.
He showed us that it can be done.
It can be done every time.
In Hebrews chapter 4 we are told that Jesus is our high priest, which is a way of saying that he shows us how to approach God properly. And it says this:
15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.[17]
Jesus faced every temptation we face. And he made the Godly choice every time. So we know we can do it. And we know that he knows how hard that can be. And he’s always willing to help us make the choice to do things God’s way. We just have to remember to ask. It’s part of his gift to us.
16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.[18]
Life is lived forward. None of us can fix anything that has come before NOW. Every one of us can fix our eyes on Jesus and ask him to help lead us to make the choice to always move towards God and do his things.
We can make the same choices Jesus did.
We can make the same choices Jesus would.
We can live a life of holiness – set apart from the things of the world for the things of God.
Are you with me?
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 4:1). Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 4:2). Tyndale House Publishers.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 4:3). Tyndale House Publishers.
[4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ex 16:3). Tyndale House Publishers.
[5] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 4:3–4). Tyndale House Publishers.
[6] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Dt 8:3). Tyndale House Publishers.
[7] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 4:5–6). Tyndale House Publishers.
[8] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ex 17:2–3). Tyndale House Publishers.
[9] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ps 91:9–12). Tyndale House Publishers.
[10] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ex 17:7). Tyndale House Publishers.
[11] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 4:7). Tyndale House Publishers.
[12] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Dt 6:16). Tyndale House Publishers.
[13] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 4:8–9). Tyndale House Publishers.
[14] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 4:10). Tyndale House Publishers.
[15] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 4:11). Tyndale House Publishers.
[16] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Lk 4:13). Tyndale House Publishers.
[17] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Heb 4:15). Tyndale House Publishers.
[18] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Heb 4:16). Tyndale House Publishers.