Don’t Tempt Us!

Matthew 4:1-11; 6:9-13

June 4, 2023 • Mount Pleasant UMC

Four Christian men had gone away on a fishing trip together, and as these things go, one night around the fire, the conversation turned to what each of them struggled with in life. The first man said, “Guys, my biggest temptation is lust. I’m embarrassed to admit it.” The next guy said, “My struggle is with gambling. No one knows this, but I occasionally am tempted to sneak off to the casino.” The third guy piped up, saying, “Well, my temptation is alcohol. I drink way more than I should.” Finally, the fourth man stood up and said, “Guys, I hate to tell you this, but my greatest temptation is gossip, and I have a few things I need to post on social media right now” (Hamilton, The Lord’s Prayer, pg. 96).

Ah, temptation—the thing we have a love-hate relationship with. That is, we love being tempted and hate to admit it. Oscar Wilde was famous for saying, “I can resist anything except temptation.” Our culture seems to agree. In 2019, USA Network revived a series that had previously been on Fox called “Temptation Island.” The idea of the show is that several couples come to an island and live the single life to see if their relationship can hold up. Sexual temptation is, obviously, the center of the story. But you don’t have to go on a television reality show to be tempted. Temptations come in all shapes and sizes, every day. Even Jesus himself was tempted. The Gospels tell us that, after his baptism, Jesus was “led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). And I wonder if that experience wasn’t still on his mind when he taught his disciples to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (6:13).

This morning, we are continuing our journey through the Lord’s Prayer as we come to the last part of the prayer that Matthew records. Yes, there are two more parts to the prayer as we know it, and we will explore those in the next two weeks, but they are not present in the earliest texts of Matthew that exist. Either they were lost or they were added on in the earliest centuries as the church used this prayer in worship. But we’ll get to that. Today, we come to the petition, the request, about temptation. And before we dive in too deeply, I want to ask the question: does God tempt us? I mean, that’s what we’re asking God not to do in this prayer. We’re saying to him, “Please don’t tempt us!” So does God, in fact, tempt us?

I mean, if you think about that too deeply, that’s an unsettling idea. After all, James tells us that “no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (1:13). James says God doesn’t tempt us, so why does Jesus teach us to pray this prayer?  Why even ask God not to do something that he can’t do anyway? It’s a bit like praying, “God, please don’t sin,” right? God can’t sin, so why bother praying that at all? Here’s the challenge with Bible translations: the Greek word used here can either mean “test” in a good sense or “tempt” in a bad sense. A temptation, according to the Scriptures, comes from the evil one and is meant to destroy your character, while a test, which comes from God, is meant to strengthen your character. When you put this verse in the context of the whole of Scripture and what it teaches about God, it would probably be better to translate it as, “Don’t put us to the test.” Don’t put us in a place where we might fail you (Witherington, The Gospel of Matthew [OneBook], pg. 25). And, in many ways, God has already answered that prayer. Paul wrote, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13; Wright, The Lord and His Prayer, pgs. 73-74). God doesn’t tempt us; he tests us, but still we ask God to spare us from testing, because we know we aren’t always able to rise to overcome it.

Jesus included this in his model prayer because he’d been there. He is fully God and fully human, and while his divinity can’t be tempted, his human side can be. The letter to the Hebrews says Jesus “has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He’s been in the wilderness, and he knew the kinds of tests we would face. He knew how alluring the temptations can be. So let’s look a bit this morning at Jesus’ experience in the Judean desert as a model for our lives. I think his experience will give us some clues, some direction in dealing with the testing that will come in our lives.

The story of Jesus’ time in the wilderness is told just a couple of chapters before where we read this morning, in Matthew 4. Jesus is baptized, and then is “led by the Spirit” into the wilderness (4:1), probably into the mountainous hills around Jericho, where he fasts for 40 days. Then Satan comes to tempt him, to try to sway the Son of God, offering first the temptation, which is to be satisfied: “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (4:3). I can testify: there are plenty of rocks in Judea, so Jesus could have had a feast. I mean, after 40 days of fasting, he had to be really hungry. If he would do what Satan suggests, he could have eaten until bread was coming out of his nose, until his hunger was more than satisfied. But in his fasting, by giving up food, Jesus has shown his dependence on the Father, so this temptation isn’t really about bread. The real temptation here is to find his satisfaction in earthly things—bread, stones, things you can touch. Settle down, get comfortable, and look at all the good things around you. The demonic voice whispers, “This really is all there is, and nothing could possibly be better than what this world has to offer.” Like the man in one of Jesus’ parables, we hear the familiar refrain: “Eat, drink and be merry” (cf. Luke 12:19). I’m satisfied with what’s here, what I can touch and see.

The temptation to be satisfied has another side as well, and that is this continual desire for more. If I just had one more thing, or a just few more dollars, or a bigger house or car or bank account—then I would be satisfied—except the trouble is, we never are. The advertisers know this; they play to this temptation all the time. How many times have you had the experience of watching a commercial or seeing an ad on the internet and when it’s over, you have no idea why you want what they were talking about, you just do. They prey on this desire for more, you deserve it, you’re worth it—and so on? You see an ad for pizza late at night and think how good that would taste. Or you’re told how much fun gambling would be but no one talks about the addiction side of things. The temptation to be satisfied takes many forms. Satan told Jesus, “Just turn these stones to bread, take control of your own provision, and then you can be satisfied.” We say, “If I could just have a little more than what God has given, then I will be satisfied.” In contrast to that attitude, Paul says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11). Can we be satisfied by what God gives us? If we are satisfied with anything else, we become slaves to that thing (Mulholland, Praying Like Jesus, pg. 119).

Jesus next faces the temptation to be spectacular. Satan places him on the highest point of the most public building in the capital city. “If you are the Son of God,” [Satan] said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ (4:6). The “highest point of the Temple” overlooked the Kidron Valley, and while a fall from there today would hurt you greatly, in Jesus’ day it was even higher because of the buildings that were there. A fall from the pinnacle would have been about 450 feet. So Satan says, “Do something spectacular, Jesus, so that people will look at you, will notice you. Jump off the Temple, Jesus, and you won’t have to preach another sermon the rest of your life! Kickstart your ministry! Be spectacular! Get noticed!” This temptation rears its head in our world every time we want recognition for the things we have done. But Jesus says, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). If I read that Scripture right, it says that when we draw attention to ourselves for the acts of service that we do, that is all the recognition we will ever get. The temptation to be spectacular is a desire to have all the attention focused on us rather than on God. For Jesus to have jumped off the Temple would have meant that no one would ever have heard his message of the kingdom of God. All Jesus would have been known for was “The Jump,” and when he died, when the “spectacular” was gone, the following that grew up around him would have died with him as it has with so many spectacular people throughout history.

The temptation to be satisfied. The temptation to be spectacular. The third test that Jesus faces is the temptation to be significant. Satan takes Jesus to a “very high mountain,” a place that today is marked by a monastery towering over Jericho, and Satan shows Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.” “All this I will give you,” Satan whispers, “if you will bow down and worship me” (4:8-9). Incredible power, prestige, wealth and honor. Your name will be recorded in everyone’s history books! All it takes a simple bend of the knee. How many “greats” have given into this particular temptation? Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Adolph Hitler—just a few of the names we could list. What current politicians and leaders have failed this particular test? Too many to list! But maybe you’ve not heard that voice; maybe you’ve heard a different yet related voice: “You won’t be worth anything if people don’t know your name.” “Make sure everyone in the community knows who you are.” “You’ve got to work harder, longer, be the best, sacrifice whatever you must to be at the top of your field.” It filters down into every crack and crevice of life, from homes to jobs, from leisure to religion. “You’ve got to be the best dad or mom or grandparent, you’ve got to be better than anyone else, if your life is going to matter.” “Your kids or grandkids have to do everything that’s offered to them in order to matter.” So we stress ourselves out and wear ourselves out trying to be somehow significant. We may not be tempted with the kingdoms of the world like Jesus was, but the temptation to be significant, to really matter, is the same for him and all of us.

I mentioned politics a few moments ago, and since I’ve already opened that can of worms, let me meddle a little bit. It’s easy to point fingers at “them” and wag our fingers in shame at them. But actually with the rise of social media and politicized media, we all have this sort of test in front of us every day. One author describes the current situation this way: “The polarization of America leaves us ripe for what Paul calls the ‘devil’s tricks.’ I’d suggest the devil has us precisely where he wants us. We tune in to news sources that confirm our biases. We find it easy to believe the worst about the political other. We dismiss news and information that is counter to our biases as ‘fake news.’ Conspiracy theories abound” (Hamilton 117). We want to be right, we want to be heard, and we want people to see things our way. It’s just a variation of the temptation to be significant, to have great influence. And Jesus says only God is truly significant: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (6:10).

Besides that, my significance is already established. So is yours. I am a child of God, and so are you. That’s all the significance we really need. We are people whom God loved so much that he would rather die than live without us. It doesn’t matter whether the world knows or remembers our name or not. Our names are written in heaven. John put it this way: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:1-2). Our significance is found in the person of Jesus Christ and in the love that took him to the cross.

You see, Jesus takes every temptation that is thrown at him—the temptation to be satisfied, the temptation to be spectacular, and the temptation to be significant—and he turns those temptations around. He changes the focus every time and puts it back on God the Father. When we’re tempted to be satisfied by the things of this world, Jesus says, “Remember that it is God’s word that sustains you.” When we are tempted to be spectacular, Jesus says, “It’s not you who should be the focus; it’s God.” And when we are tempted to be significant, Jesus says, “Turn to worship and remember where your significance really lies.” Can you name your temptation today? For some, it’s over consuming, and for others (like the man in the story I began with today) it’s gossip. You might be tempted not to care, or tempted by the desire for more, or tempted by the need for affirmation. Others are tempted to want what is not theirs, or tempted to blow up at other people, to tear them down, and some even are tempted to believe the world revolves around them. “The question is not whether we will be tempted, but how will we respond when temptation comes” (cf. Hamilton 99-100). Jesus’ answer is to respond with the word of God and prayer. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (6:13).

The early Methodists lived by what are called today the “three simple rules,” which some of you may remember because I’ve preached on them before. Three “General Rules,” sort of like our three-pronged vision statement. But the Methodist rules went like this: Do no harm, do good—and the modern version of the third is, “Stay in love with God,” but in John Wesley’s language, it went like this: “Attend upon all the ordinances of God.” Wesley taught the early Methodists that there were certain practices that would especially help us experience the grace of God, and even more practically, if we’re busy doing these things and connecting with God, then we won’t really have time or energy left over to fall into temptation. There’s nothing unusual or strange about these six practices; they’re things we ought to be doing anyway as followers of Jesus. The first is: “the public worship of God.” Come together as believers and worship the Lord. Number two: “the ministry of the Word.” That refers to listening to the Scriptures read and explained, sort of like we’re doing right now. (Amazingly, God uses even preachers to connect us with himself.) Or it might be the study you engage in during Sunday School or your LifeGroup. We’ll come back to the third one on Wesley’s list in a moment, but the fourth is, “Family and private prayer.” Praying on our own. Praying with those in our household. Praying with your LifeGroup or other small group. Prayer gives us spiritual strength to battle temptation. Fifth: "Searching the Scriptures.” Studying the Bible, and more than just the verse at the top of a devotional page. Reading the Scriptures, seeking to understand them on your own. Maybe you could use the suggested readings we give you every week. Sixth: “Fasting or abstinence.” The discipline everyone loves! Fasting typically refers to giving up food, but some might not be able to do that medically. So giving up something that takes up time in order to spend that time with God. It might be TV or Facebook time. Whatever hinders your spiritual growth, or maybe it’s whatever causes you to be end in places of temptation.

Now, I jumped over number three because we’re going to give you the opportunity to practice that one today; it’s simply this: “the supper of the Lord.” Communion, the Eucharist. Whatever you call it, there is something about this simple practice of bread and grape juice, of blessing it and taking into ourselves, that connects us with Jesus. He told us to “do this in remembrance” of him” (Luke 22:19). And he promised through this practice, this sacrament, that in some way he would be with us. Through the bread, through the cup, he gives us strength to resist the temptations that will come at us. So I invite you to his table, in the name of Jesus, to receive this meal that will connect you with him and allow you to stand when everything around you falls. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (6:13). Let’s prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate Holy Communion. Will you pray with me?