First Sunday of Lent
I find the account of the temptation of Jesus in the desert both very intriguing and fascinating. Forty days and three temptations are packed into mere eleven verses. I wish there was more we could know. For example, what did he do for forty days and forty nights beside fast and pray. Were there more than three temptations? Did each temptation just come and go, or did they last for several days? For the second and third temptations, did he leave the desert for Jerusalem and later to a high mountain or was he led there in his mind?
We can only speculate about these questions. To reflect on Jesus' temptation an isolated event in his life is to miss it full meaning. I think that the temptations are a window into the rest of Jesus’ life. I would like to focus on each of the three temptations from this perspective.
The First Temptation
The first temptation was to change stone into bread. To think that the temptation was merely about food is to limit the meaning of Jesus’ resistance. Rather, by refusing to turn stone into bread Jesus was setting God’s plan for him and for human redemption above his own needs. Self-centered choices could ruin God’s plan just like the first man and woman did in the garden. Beginning in the desert, and from then on throughout his life, Jesus resisted the temptation to put his will above God’s will. Throughout his ministry he refused to put his needs above the needs of the people. Even though it was possible, he refused to use his divine powers to his own advantage. His entire life and all his choices were never about the self. And it all began in the desert.
Today, as a practical implication, to focus on our relationship with food or drink or even all the pleasures of life would be to diminish the meaning of Jesus’ actions. Bread is only symbolic. The issue rather is the conflict of our egos with God’s plan. Are there choices in our lives that conflict with our following of Christ? Or again, at home, at work, in the community, does our ego put us at odds with others and the people we love? Where in our lives do we put our individual needs over the common good? How often do we choose to turn stone into bread?
The Second Temptation
The second temptation finds Jesus in Jerusalem on the parapet of the Temple. It is significant that the temptation happens in Temple because the temptation is to test God. The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down” (Mt 4:6). The devil was clever. He first made Jesus question his identity. He began with, “If you are the Son of God.” Then the devil tempts Jesus to test God’s protection.
Jesus resisted the temptation to test God or prove his identity. This was different than what our first parents did in the garden. God had told them not to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden. The serpent enticed by saying that if they ate of the tree, they would become like gods. They tested God and succumbed. The rest is history.
Once again, to look at the temptation as an isolated event is to miss its full meaning. In his lifetime Jesus worked many miracles and brought about life, hope, and healing to people. He raised the dead to life, he cleansed lepers, made the lame walk, the blind see, the mute speak, the deaf hear. But on the cross, when he was taunted, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Mt 27:40), he refused to work a miracle and test God. He used his divine power to save people, but he would not test God to save himself. His faith in God was beyond testing. It all began in the desert.
As a practical implication, we ask ourselves, do we test God? Have we said, “If only this prayer is answered, I promise to…?” Do we put conditions on God? Do we bargain with God? Do we express frustration with God when things don’t go our way?
The Third Temptation
For the third temptation, we find Jesus on a high mountain. In the Bible, the mountain is place for divine encounter. It was here that the devil tempted Jesus to pay homage to him in exchange for all the kingdom of the world and all the power and glory that comes with it. Jesus resisted the temptation. To give in would be idolatry.
This was different than our first parents in the garden. They saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. And they took of its fruit and ate it.
Numerous times during Jesus’ ministry the people attempted to make him king. Especially when he had multiplied loaves and fish, he could have yeilded to the people’s attempt to crown him (Jn 6:15). But he refused to let human desire for power and glory overcome him. To Pilate’s Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (Jn 18:36). He would not allow any earthly reality to displace God.
As people who live in the world, wealth, power, and fame are not mere temptations. They have to power to displace God in our lives. The biggest danger is not that we intentionally displace God. None of us are blatant idolators. The temptation is subtle. We love God but often we love ourselves just a much. We believe in God but often it is easier to trust our own ability. We are a people of faith, but often we let wealth, power, and fame do the talking. We pray “Thy will be done,” but often it is our will that triumphs. Today, it would be worth entering into the desert with Jesus and take an honest look at life.
Jesus did not just overcome temptations; he overcame life. For us too, our life is not merely about overcoming temptations. It is about taking our life and living it radically for God and genuinely for one another. Let us bring our lives and lay it on the altar with the bread and wine. May Christ be the only one that has any power over it. In this lies salvation itself.
- Fr. Satish Joseph