Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl: Quasimodo Geniti - Luke 4:1-15

Quasimodo Geniti (Second Sunday of Easter)

Daily Lectionary Readings: Exodus 20:1-24; Luke 4:1-15; (Sirach 39)

Luke 4:1–15

[1] And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness [2] for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. [3] The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” [4] And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” [5] And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, [6] and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. [7] If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” [8] And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,

and him only shall you serve.’”

[9] And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, [10] for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,

to guard you,’

[11] and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

[12] And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” [13] And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

[14] And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. [15] And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. (ESV)

For forty years the ancient Israelites wandered the desert. They were tempted to complain and grumble to Moses about God. All too frequently, the people gave in to this temptation. Among other things, they complained about the food which God provided for them. But at least they had food. Jesus had nothing to eat during His wilderness experience. Jesus is the one faithful Israelite who doesn’t grumble or complain.

At Jesus’ baptism. The Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father called out “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Immediately after this, the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness without food for forty days. Jesus became very hungry, as you could imagine. Jesus is God, but he is also one-hundred percent true man, with a man’s flesh and blood body, which becomes hungry and worn out. At the end of Jesus’ fasting, the devil comes to Him to tempt him.

This is how the devil works against us. He waits until we are weak or vulnerable and then he strikes. This is what he does to Jesus. The devil says to Him “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” This is very interesting. The word translated for us as “if” can also be interpreted in this context to men “since.” So, “Since you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” He is not denying Jesus’ divinity, but rather he is questioning how Jesus will use His divinity in this situation. The devil knows God the Father claims Jesus as His beloved Son, and that Jesus pleases Him. So the devil gets crafty. He says “well, if You are so beloved, why has Your Father driven You into the wilderness to slowly starve to death. Don’t you think as God’s son you deserve better than this situation?

The devil operates in indirect assaults. He comes at you not head on but obliquely from the sides. He wants to convince you that your perception of God is all wrong. He wants you to doubt that God loves or even cares about you. It’s the same old trick from back in Eden. God’s holding out on you, eat this, and you’ll become like Him, you’ll know what He knows. Take control of your life, become your own god.

That’s how the devil influences you and me as well. Doubt God’s word. Make your own decisions about what’s best for your soul. Look out for me, myself and I alone. You deserve everything, go out and get it. Adam and Eve fell for the devil’s scheme, and sin entered the world. With the falling of this curse, death has now entered the world. Death is our inheritance – but Jesus came to reverse the curse of sin, the cause if misery and want. So today the devil tries the same trick he used on Adam and Eve with Jesus. He’s trying to stop Jesus before His ministry even gets started.

The tempter’s scheme begins with one little word. If. He treats Jesus like an entitled snowflake. God doesn’t care about you. You’re hungry, go and do something about it. The devil sets the same trap for us. If God loves you, why do you suffer? Maybe He doesn’t love you. If God says He forgives your sins, why don’t you just continue on sinning? If He’s going to forgive you anyway, what is the harm in that? The devil always couches his deception with a little speck of the truth. He subsequently twists it to his advantage to sow the seeds of doubt and disobedience. He invited you to stroll down the easy path without warning you that the bridge is out up ahead.

Jesus responds to the devil’s one little word with a little word of His own. “It is written.” Jesus doesn’t entertain the devil’s temptation, He stops it cold in its tracks. “It is written.” God’s word stands on its own. The word of God is the word of truth, and you can take a stand upon it. God’s word is a certain, sure thing. Jesus has no need to listen to Satan’s lies barely hidden under a film of truth. The word of God is reliable and trustworthy in the face of temptation. Jesus shuts the devil down. “It is written ‘man shall not live by bread alone.’” Jesus shows us that there is more to life than just a full belly. There more than satisfying the desires of our human bodies. Simply doing these things independently of God’s word would be to fall into the devil’s scheme. But Jesus does not fall for it.

We all do fall for the devil’s plots, however. We chase after worldly comforts, looking out for ourselves, trying to fulfill our every desire without too much fault for our neighbor. Perhaps not all the time, but for sure sometimes. We want what we want whether it is good for us or bad for us. And we want it immediately. And we go on and continue to fall for Satan’s scheme. He never changes the play because the same play keeps on working on us.

This is why Jesus came, why He put on our human nature. Jesus does the things we are unable to do ourselves, the things we fail at. Christ is our champion, taking to the battlefield to fight for us. He doesn’t listen to the devil. He instead tells him “No.” He refuses the devil’s temptation. Like Adam didn’t. Like we don’t. He “holds the field victorious” for us.

Jesus will not be diverted from carrying out God’s plan. The plan to reverse the curse of sin and death, to remove the devil’s power over us. The plan to save each and every one of us. The devil doesn’t like that one bit and continues to try to ensnare Jesus.

So the devil once again twists the facts. He now plays on Jesus’ status as the Son of God to try to outmaneuver Him. “Since you are the Son of God,” he says and offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world if only Jesus will bend the knee to him. The devil offers Jesus quick and easy power and popularity as opposed to the road leading to the cross, and the suffering all that entails. Jesus withstands temptation yet again and continues putting God’s will and words above preventing any personal discomforts. He retorts “It is written” you will worship no one but God Himself, no exceptions.

We too often succumb to the enticements of the world. We are trapped in the in-between. We know we are forgiven children of God and exist to help others and teach them about Jesus, yet we are also still sinners in need of our Savior. Despite our shortcomings, Jesus went to the cross to be your sin-bearer and defeat death itself.

The devil still isn’t done. Once again “if you are the Son of God” throw yourself down from the top of the temple. The angels will catch you, and the world will see you are the Son of God right away! Isn’t that what you want, Jesus? He tries to use “it is written” against Jesus. Jesus counters with more Scripture. “You shall not put the Lord thy God to the test.” No shortcuts. No side journeys. Only a crooked path made straight leading to Calvary and the tomb. Jesus will not be diverted from His mission to save us all, to call us to Him in repentant joy and thanksgiving for His work on the cross on our behalf and His empty tomb proclaiming victory over death.

Jesus withstood temptation in the wilderness by the power of the word of God. He extends to you the same. He invites us to cry out “Jesus, you are my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. I stand on the foundation of your word, and with Your sacrifice, I cannot be moved,

The devil may come at us in all directions, telling us things we like the sound of, whispering “if God loves you so much then why...” But Jesus stands firm and offers to us “It is written.” It is written that we can make our stand because Jesus bears our burdens. God’s word is true. “This world’s prince may still scowl fierce as he will, he can harm us none, he’s judged; the deed is done; one little word can fell him.” That word is the Name of Jesus.