Taking a Devilish Test—Lectionary Reflection for Lent 1C (Luke 4:1-13)

 

Luke 4:1-13 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ² where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” ⁴ Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”

⁵ Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. ⁷ If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,
    and serve only him.’ ”

⁹ Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed 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 protect you,’

¹¹ and

‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

¹² Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” ¹³ When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

                ***************

                In the Book of Hebrews, the author writes: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Jesus was tested, even as we are, but unlike us, Jesus didn’t sin. Among the tests Jesus faced took place in the desert/wilderness shortly after his baptism. The good news is that Jesus passed with flying colors. That’s good news for us.

                The forty days of Lent reflect Jesus’ sojourn in the desert where he fasted for forty days and nights. It is those forty days (Sundays not included in the number) that give the Lenten season its boundaries. We start on Ash Wednesday and end on Good Friday. It’s a time of reflection and even forms of fasting. You get to decide what that means for you!

According to Luke the Holy Spirit, who came upon Jesus at his baptism (Luke 3:21-22), led Jesus into the wilderness (Mark suggests that the Holy Spirit “drove” Jesus into the wilderness—Mark 1:12-13). James C. Howell offers a helpful description of this place where the Spirit led him and where the devil tested him:  “This wilderness is not a vast expanse of sand with the occasional cactus or tumbleweed. Instead, we see a rocky, daunting zone of cliffs and caves, the haunt of wild beasts. People avoided the place, believing demons and evil spirits ranged there, knowing that predators and brigands lurked there” [Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship: 2 (Kindle p. 37)].  

While Jesus fasted for forty days and nights, the devil tempted/tested him. This is the story that begins each Lenten Season, though we should not take this as an example story. While Jesus faces this time of temptation, that does not mean we can do so, at least not on our own. However, this time of fasting, prayer, and temptation is the reason the season lasts forty days and nights. Luke’s account is fairly detailed, especially when compared to Mark’s. Luke notes that when the time of fasting had ended Jesus was famished. Luke also gives us the impression that the testing didn’t really begin until the end of the period of fasting. In other words, the devil appeared at a moment when Jesus would have been the most vulnerable (that is unless you don’t affirm Jesus' true humanity). There would be three tests/temptations.

                Each of the three tests invites Jesus to take a path to power contrary to the paths envisioned by God. These are human forms of power that are designed to take dominion over others. These are paths many Christians have embraced over the years they represent the desires of many American Christians who embrace Christian nationalism. As we ponder this passage, with the devil serving as the tempter, we need to be careful not to embrace a dualism where God and Satan are equivalent foes. The passage does, at the very least, suggest that the devil believed that he/it was in control of the kingdoms of this world. Each of these tests offered some form of shortcut to power. However, the offer of bread and circuses suggested here, are not to be embraced, for the path ahead is a long and winding road.

                The devil began by acknowledging Jesus’ hunger and attacking Jesus’ sense of identity: “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” This temptation hearkens back to Jesus’ baptism and the affirmation given to him by God, that he was God’s son. So, if you are indeed God’s son, why not use some of that divinely rooted power to feed yourself? Jesus simply answers, “One does not live by bread alone.” That doesn’t mean Jesus didn’t need to eat, but he made it clear that he wouldn’t tap into something that would serve his needs just to show the devil who he was or prove to himself who he was.

                The next test took place on a mountaintop where the devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth in a moment of time. He offered it to Jesus, telling Jesus that all the honor and glory of these kingdoms belonged to him or was given to him, and since he had authority over these kingdoms, he was willing to give them to Jesus, as was his prerogative. However, if Jesus wanted power and dominion over these kingdoms, the devil required that Jesus bow down and worship the devil. Does that sound familiar? Is this not a constant temptation to us as Christians, as we are offered a seat at the table of power in exchange for offering God’s blessings on the powers and principalities? Again, we see this happening in the United States and elsewhere in the form of Christian or religious nationalism. This form of Christianity has little to do with the ways of Jesus, but power, authority, and glory are in the offing. Jesus responded to this offer by letting the devil know what every good Jew would know: “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” There is something here that is reflected in Revelation 13, which also seems pertinent at this time in history. Miroslav Volf speaks of the thinning of religion, which occurs when a religion’s moral vision is reduced to a “vague religiosity” that is shaped by forces other than the faith tradition itself. This thinning occurs, Volf suggests that when religions “identify too closely with a given community and the dynamics of power; and such ‘thin’ religions are most susceptible to being used as merely a political and cultural resource, and occasionally even as a weapon of war” (Volf,  Flourishing, p. 189]. When we try to take shortcuts by letting the state determine our values, and then impose them on the people, things are bound to go awry.

                The third test takes place in Jerusalem. The devil takes Jesus up to the pinnacle of the Temple. Once again, the devil attacks Jesus' sense of identity. So, if you are the Son of God, prove it by throwing yourself off this high point of the Temple. After all, doesn’t Scripture say that God will command the angels to protect you and that their hands will lift you “so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” In other words, how about creating a spectacle? Surely God will protect you, so what do you have to lose? Won’t the people be impressed? Again, Jesus is offered a shortcut to power and glory. People do like spectacles. Roman emperors knew this quite well, which is why they turned to bread and circuses to keep the people distracted while they expanded their power. It is interesting that in this case, the devil turned to scripture, twisting it to his own advantage. But Jesus wasn’t impressed. He offered a simple rebuttal: “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

                After Jesus rebutted the last of the temptations, Luke says the devil “departed from him until an opportune time.” In other words, the devil lost that day but wasn’t ready to give in. So, the temptations and tests continued and still continue. The good news is that Jesus has already defeated the devil, we just need to stay connected to him through the Spirit. The way to do this is to stay connected to others who seek to be in communion with Jesus.   

Image Attribution: Koenig, Peter. Temptation of Christ, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58516 [retrieved February 27, 2025]. Original source: Peter Winfried (Canisius) Koenig, https://www.pwkoenig.co.uk/.