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TESTED
Matthew 4:1-11
Forest Home Chapel, Rebecca Dolch, Preacher
First Sunday in Lent, 2012
Introduction to the Gospel Lesson
The season of Lent is a time of strengthening our spiritual muscles. Generally
we don’t grow stronger unless there is some kind of challenging exercise that we
have to do.
This is true physically, mentally, and spiritually.
One of the core Bible readings for the season of Lent is the story of Jesus in the
wilderness. Traditionally it has been called the temptation of Jesus by Satan or
the Devil. We usually associate this story with a devil trying to get Jesus to do
something outside of his mission. Temptation usually implies being lured into
doing something destructive for you or others. .
The Message translation of the Bible uses a word that is closer to the original
text. Rather than the word Temptation, this translation uses the word “TEST.”-Jesus being tested in the wilderness.
During part of early history of Christianity Satan, was believed to be a fallen
angel, one God’s employees, sent to test people’s understanding of God and
commitment to God. So today we are going to change the word Devil or Satan to
the word “Tester.”
Think of the story this way: Jesus is taking his PhD oral exams, being tested by
one of God’s own faculty members who asks him tough, and in some ways trick
questions.
The purpose of the test is to help him strengthen his commitment to his mission,
his calling, his vision about teaching people the difference between the kingdom
of God and the kingdom of the world.
Matthew 4:1-11 (The Message Translation)
(Scripture): 1-3 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The
Tester was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and
forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the
Tester took advantage of in the first test:
(comments):One of the big political issues in Jesus Day was terrible poverty.
People not having enough to eat. The political hope of the day was that a
Messiah, would come in and turn around the economy and be able to feed
people and thus wield great power for his political group. So the Tester, God’s
faculty member, gives Jesus this test.
(Scripture):“Jesus, since you are God's Son-- speak the word that will turn these
stones into loaves of bread."
4Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to stay
alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth."
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(Comments) Jesus had tremendous gifts. The hungry masses loved spectacular
events. Like we love thriller action movies where evil is defeated in under 2 hours
by bionic people or by special effects, or by Brad Pitt. So the tester Gives Jesus
Test #2: Jump off the cliff and prove that the angels will catch you>
(Scripture):
5-6For the second test the Tester took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of
the Temple and said, "Since you are God's Son, jump." The Tester goaded him
by quoting Psalm 91 : "God has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch
you so that you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone."
7Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: "Don't you dare test
the Lord your God."
(Comments):
In the political arena of the day, the emperor of Rome was treated as if he were a
deity, So the Test giver asks this question of Jesus, because people wanted
Jesus to be a Messiah who was as powerful as the Roman Emperor:
(Scripture):
8-9For the third test, the Tester took him to the peak of a huge mountain. He
gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth's kingdoms, how glorious they all
were. Then he said, "They're yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on
your knees and worship me, and they're yours."
10Jesus' refusal was curt: "Beat it, Tester!" He backed his rebuke with a third
quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve
him with absolute single-heartedness."
(Comments)
If you read the passage this way, The Tester was testing Jesus’ commitment to
the path of God. Jesus passed the test. He basically said:
1. In the kingdom of this world,
It is all about the economy, the bread.
In the kingdom of God, the supply is from a deeper source.
2. In the kingdom of this world it is all about being larger than life.,
spectacular, miraculous.
In the kingdom of God, the divine path is more than enough. It is not
about people thinking you are super special. It is about the amazing
presence of God.
3. In the kingdom of this world, it is all about political and military power
In the kingdom of God, it is about the transformational, healing power of
God.
(Scripture): 11The Test was over. The Tester left. And in his place, angels!
Angels came and took care of Jesus' needs.
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SERMON
I’ve mentioned to several people that this is the first Sunday in Lent and that the
Gospel lesson is the story of the temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness.
The question that has come up three times this week is this:
Do you think God tests us or tempts us.
Some perspectives see God as a person who thinks of us as sinners, and
challenges us, even punishes us with difficult tasks, hoping we will shape up.
This perspective is more prevalent than we think.—it is one reason so many
people are cynical about the God idea or don’t believe in God at all. Or feel bad
about themselves and life.
I believe in sin—in the original language of scripture, “sin” was an archery term
which meant: missing the mark that you are aiming for. In that way we are all
sinners, much of the time.
I never think that punishment, harshness, or withholding praise helps us
overcome sin.
Unfortunately, the Lord’s Prayer which we say every week reinforces this belief in
a God who puts the tough things in our path: “Lead us not into temptation,” I
always thought that was such a weird prayer. Why would God lead us into
temptation and tests? And why would we need to ask him not to?
I read another translation which is totally different:.
“Thank you for not leaving us during our times of being tested and tempted.”
I like that translation and perspective a lot better. It shifts God’s role from being
the source of testing, to being the source of encouragement and empowerment.
Maybe they are the same thing, but to me they feel very different.
DOES GOD TEST US?
I think that is an important question.
Another important question is: What is the purpose of tests?
I believe that our purpose on this earth is to grow towards the infinite mind and
heart of God; and that God uses our circumstances and our choices, good and
bad, as curriculum to help us evolve into our highest selves.
Our friend Norm Kerr is a design engineer for Toyota . He says that when his
team designs a car or truck, the design has to be tested in very complex ways.
He says the purpose of testing is answering the questions:
Will this truck function to its fullest potential?
 Be safe?
 Be mechanically functional?
 Is the overall aesthetic pleasing?
 Is it as efficient, as green as it can possibly be?
 Is it sellable?
If not, it needs to be tweaked.
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For example, he was on the design team of the Toyota Tundra truck. The tailgate
of the truck was held in place by steel cables which were very strong. But in
testing, they discovered that the cables rusted and corroded. So they changed
the material after the first round of production. Very expensive, but they did it
because they wanted the truck to be the best it could be.
I believe that tests and temptations are opportunities to be tweaked so that we
can live to our fullest potential. God’s will for us is not that we get sick or get rich
or anything like that. God’s will is for us to live to our fullest, and learn from all
our tests.
This true for individuals and also true for groups.
In some ways, we wake up each morning and face a test question!
For example the test question which we have before us right now is “What does it
mean for a small church to live its fullest life?” Our parsonage visioning team
which meets today asks: “How does the parsonage fit into our fullest life, now
that it is empty for the first time in 22 years?”
Within the next few weeks we are launching the spiritual life Team. Their test
question is “How do we plan the spiritual content and activities of the church in a
way that helps move us towards our fullest life?”
Test questions are not about tripping us up. Rather they call forth our greatest
potential in ways that do not over burden us with tasks and “should’s.”
The challenges, tests and temptations we face have another important purpose:
They wear us down so that we give up and ask God for help. As Jesus said: “We
can’t live by earthly bread, we need the word of God.” (In the New Testament
Greek “word” is “logos”: the wisdom of God, the vibration of God.)
Story: Famous tennis player Arthur Ashe was playing in a Master’s tournament in
1975 with a Romanian player known for his antics on the court.
Ashe was winning, but the other player started stalling, cursing, and taunting
Ashe. So Ashe put down his racket and walked off the court, saying: “I’ve had
enough, I’m going to lose control of myself.”
The umpire said: “If you leave, you’ll forfeit the match and lose the tournament.”
Ashe said: “I rather lose the tournament than lose my self-respect.”
The next day the tournament committee surprised everyone:
They declared that Ashe had won the game. The unsportsmanlike conduct of his
opponent created a forfeit.
Ashe won the game by putting down his racket and letting his integrity—his
Higher Self—we would call it his Divine Self --be in charge of the outcome.
My favorite verse in the story of Jesus in the wilderness is verse 11:
The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and
took care of Jesus' needs.
I don’t know if God is testing us, or if God is simply allowing all things to be used
for our unfolding, our awakening, our journey towards wholeness and completion.
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Maybe tests are simply for the purpose of wearing down our ego so that we
become FULLY, RELIANT ON GOD. Acronym is FROG
What I have experienced is that life is full of tests. But tests don’t last forever.
Temptation and challenges leave. They’ll be back, in other forms, but if we’ve
met them, the next time we are stronger, wiser, and more capable of dealing with
them.
What I love is the image the scriptures use: Test over. Devil leaves. That angels
come and take care of all our needs. That is the positive intent of God. For us to
hold that vision. To look for it.
To believe that the true desire of God is that all our needs be met, and that we
know that the source of this fulfillment is God.
And that is the good news of the gospel on this first Sunday of Lent.
When we are invited to put down our racket and allow our higher self, our divine
angels to be in charge of the outcome. Amen.