[Sermon Archive] - [Weekly Devotional Guide]

This Week's Sermon THE FIRST SUNDAY in LENT 21 February 2010 "God's Ways Are Not Our Ways" Luke 4:1-13 LSB Series C Vicar Jeffrey M. Dock Soli Deo Gloria!

"And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil."

In the name of Jesus + Amen.

Today's Gospel reading comes immediately after Jesus' Baptism. There the Father declared Jesus His beloved Son, and now the Holy Spirit leads Christ into the wilderness. The wilderness was not a good place to be. Christ was alone, without food- amongst the wild animals and facing Satan himself. And so, the stage is set. If Satan wins here it's all over before it even begins. The Devil knows the prophecies in the Old Testament. He knew that Jesus needed to be sinless, had to die on the cross and be raised again. But all of that becomes meaningless if the Devil can just cause Jesus to sin here. One little slip-up will be all it takes. And he's pretty confident. After all, Satan can do it. He made Eve eat the fruit God told her not to. He made the Israelites fear man more than God, and saw them wander in the wilderness for 40 years. He tempted the great king David to fall for Bathsheba- and led him to murder her husband. The Devil has caused wars, ripped families apart, sown sickness and disease, and has been lying to God's saints since the beginning of the world. Why shouldn't he be able to do this? He rules this world- why should this Jesus be any different than everyone who came before?

But Jesus was different. We know the story. Where Adam failed, where all mankind failed- where each and every one of us who have sinned failed- Jesus succeeded. He stood in our place and did what we could not do. Standing face-to-face with Satan, Jesus turned down everything the Devil had to offer.

• First, He passed on unlimited food- the option to turn stones into bread. And in our struggling economy where hunger abounds across the world and even in our own communities- that sounds pretty good.

• Then, He was then offered the entire world- to rule all kingdoms as He saw fit. The option to end all wars, to protect the weak, to abolish hunger, to do away with poverty. The chance to be treated to a life a whole lot better than the scourging, mocking, and crucifixion which awaited Him. Even this Jesus says no to.

• Finally He turns down divine protection- angels who would keep Him from every harm. And again in our age of wars and rumors of wars- of crime and terrorism- this divine protection sounds pretty tempting.

Jesus turns it all down. Why? Imagine all the good He could have done! He could have fixed this world. Ruling this world, with food and protection for all mankind sounds pretty good to me. But Jesus does not give into Satan. For you see, Christ has all this already- but not in the ways we'd think. He is the true ruler of this world. He created this world! And He has bread to give. Not perishable bread that will feed people for awhile before they become hungry again- but eternal bread. The bread of life. Bread which men would eat and never hunger again. In addition to being God, He has the protection of the entire celestial army at His call. Jesus has everything. More than we can even imagine.

And so we see that God's ways are not our ways. They're certainly not Satan's ways. Jesus' kingdom does not involve Satan giving Him this world and wearing a golden crown, while surrounded by important kings and rules. Jesus' kingdom is instead calling lowly broken sinners from all corners of this earth. His kingdom does not consist of a jewel-adorned golden crown- but instead a crown of thorns. It is not the seemingly righteous and important people of this world that Jesus wants- but it is you and me. Gold, palaces, famous people- these things sound good to us, but God desired something else. He desires the lowly and the broken. Not the righteous people who have no need for a physician- but the sick. The weak. The poor. God desires to save sinners. This is where you find His kingdom.

The sustenance which Jesus wants for His people is not unlimited earthly bread (the ultimate 'free lunch' as it were)- but He wants instead to feed them (to feed us) with Himself. To give us His true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. Heavenly food. True food. Eternal food which grants us eternal life. Rather than take stones and make them into normal bread- Jesus takes man. Man, who was molded from the dust of the ground- and He makes us into His people. He feeds us with Himself that we might become members of His body. A much greater miracle than turning stones into bread, God makes mankind into His holy people.

Rather than having angels on command to save us from foolishly leaping off buildings- Jesus protects us with our baptism. He covers us with a shield made of His own blood which repels all Satan's attacks. The apostle Paul compares our salvation to a suit of armor. This is true defense. This is protection for our souls. That font is where we're marked with the name of the Lord, a strong tower and fortress. It's the ever present reminder that even when something does harm our bodies, our salvation is secured. No matter what happens- Christ will raise this flesh. Baptism is protection from death itself.

I doubt any of us would choose the way that Jesus chose. The world tells us what's really important. Having money. A good security system to protect your money. Having important people respect you. Friends in high places. Wise financial investments. Dressing well, a big house, exotic foods, the newest technological gadgets, and the list goes on. These are what the world cares about. (Pause) Things like a body crucified, shed blood, water, wine- they really don't enter into it. Satan still prowls the wilderness of this world telling us these things aren't that great. You want to keep your money, not give it to church. You want people to respect you- not to follow God, God's simply not that popular anymore. You want to be tolerant and loving- supporting Homosexual marriage is a good start, but don't you dare speak against abortion. How judgmental! What will people think of you? Satan is still here. Still lying. He lied to Adam, he lied to Jesus- and now he lies to us.

The old saying is "God's ways are not our ways." That's true. But what's left off is that God's ways are better. God's ways lead to life. They lead us to rely on our savior, and not on ourselves. They are the ways of truth. Everything Jesus chose to do here was not for His benefit, but for your benefit. Christ was tempted not so that these words would eventually be written down and we could all talk about how well He did. He did it instead for you. For you He fasted. For you He hungered. For you He faced Satan. For you He died. For you He rose again.

God's ways are not our ways. Here's another example. Earlier in Jesus' life, the king Herod tried to kill the infant Jesus. When Herod dies, he is laid upon a stand made of solid gold. It is studded with precious stones and draped with the richest purple embroidered with various colors. On it lay Herod's body wrapped in a crimson robe, with a golden crown resting on his head. His funeral train consisted of his entire standing army- all his relatives, hundreds of slaves, much of Jerusalem- and the list goes on. His tomb had taken years to build and was an incredible sight to behold. This is how the one who killed innocent children was buried.

Now look at Jesus- He deserved all of that, and indeed- much more. Instead He is abandoned by His disciples, but not by His Father. His thorny crown is pounded into his head, while His Father offers Him the crown of Heaven. As He pays the price for the sins of the entire world on the cross- the world does not honor Him, but the Father and all the angels rejoice over His saving work. He is buried in someone else's tomb with little fanfare. Few mourn His passing. Even in light of His resurrection, the world does not honor Him, but the Father says to Him to sit at His right hand. It's odd. It's not what we would expect. Just because we've heard the story so many times doesn't mean we shouldn't recognize the injustice of it. Yet take heart for this is true justice from the hand of the Father. It was in this despised life and strange death that your sins are forgiven. God's ways are not our ways. His ways seems strange, but they give us life. Jesus turned down everything Satan had to offer because He was doing His Father's will. He did not seek to choose the easier way, or the way that was best for Himself. For Jesus trusted in His Father- and knew that the Father's will is always good. Always for the best. His Father's will gives us forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

Jesus was tempted in every way we are, or will be. He knows what it's like. In becoming man, in His temptation, and in His Crucifixion- He bore our sin. He is the Word of God and He is constantly with you. When you find yourself confronted by temptation and can't remember an exact bible passage to resist it- take heart. Jesus, the true Word of God, stands with you. He knows our weaknesses. He has experienced what troubles you. He is with you in your temptations. He has defeated Satan. God's ways are not our ways. God's ways are better. Cast your cares and anxieties on the Lord- for He cares for you. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you are able to bear. He will deliver you from this wilderness into eternal life. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.