Temptations in the WildernessVinod Shah, CCIH Annual Conference, May 28, 2005

Scripture Reference

“As soon as Jesus was baptised …….was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted –Matthew 3:16

to

….….the devil left him and angels came and attended him.” Matthew 4: 1-11

Matt 3:16,17 - Identity bestowed

I

And Jesus when he was baptized, went upstraightway from the water: and lo, the heavens opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; 17 and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying,

This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Identity

• The reason why Jesus was able to overcome are in these verses Matthew:16 and 17

• He had an identity

• “Beloved Son”

• Accepted before He accomplished anything

Suicide note of a Houston teenager 1985

“This is the only thing round here which has roots”

He had hung himself from the tree

Socrates• Socrates lived

during 470 B.C. to 399 B.C

• “Know thyself” to young people

• Sentenced to death for corrupting young people

Identity not to be found in the

• Family Tree

• Occupation

• Race

• Amount of wealth

John Eldridge “Sacred Romance”

Says our identity is to be found in the phrase:• “Pursued by my beloved”

• I am my beloved and His desire is for me – (Song of Solomon 7:10)

• Menelaus, King of Greece

• Paris- Prince of Troy

• Pursuit – 1000 ships

Helen of Troy

Pursued ones

Trojan Horse

Thousand ships

Hound of Heaven- Francis Thomson

I fled Him down the nights and down the daysI fled Him down the arches of the yearsI fled Him down the labyrinthine ways

Of my own mind, and in the mist of tearsI hid from Him, and under running laughter.

Up vistaed hopes I sped; and shot precipitatedAdown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,

From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.But with unhurrying chase,

And unperturbèd pace,Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,

They beat—and a Voice beatMore instant than the Feet—

'All things betray thee, who betrayest Me'.

Hound of Heaven-Contd.

Rise, clasp My hand, and come !"

Halts by me that footfall :

Is my gloom, after all,

Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly

"Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,

I am He Whom thou seekest

Reflection

• Does our identity come only from our “occupation”?

• Can you be the “pursued one”?

1st Temptation - What does it really mean

1st Temptation

• Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. 3 And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God :

• Temptation to misuse God given gifts

• Authority given in “stewardship” cannot be misused

Pablo Piccaso 1881-1973

• Changed mistresses like people changed clothes

• Work of his last years was filled with couples kissing, copulating and suffocating each other.

• Utterly disconnected with reality; died angry and resentful

Most gifted painter of the 20th century

St. John Chrysostom (Bishop of Constantinople)

Constantly challenged the wealthy to give.

• He said: “you have to give things away because they belong to the poor.’

• Banished to die walking in the wintry wilderness.

• 1 chronicles 29: 11 to 14

• “For everything in heaven and earth is yours”…

• Challenge for us to consider about our God given gifts

What have you got that you have not received?

Stones to Bread…….

• Another way to understand this:

• As a diversion devised by the Devil

• Like a distraction

Blaise Pascal

• 1623-1662

• Brilliant physicist, mathematician & Theologian

• Pascal’s laws, Hydraulic principle & calculating machine

• What people want is not just a easy peaceful life but rather a “diversion”

• People prefer to keep hunting rather than capturing the hare

• They want to be distracted from taking life’s most important decisions

• John Bunyan’s – Pilgrim Progress

• Beelzebub set up a “vanity fair” to divert pilgrims from going to the celestial city

2nd Temptation

Next, the devil took Jesus to the holy city and had him stand on the highest part of the temple.

The devil said, “If you are God’s Son, jump off. The Scriptures say:

God will give his angel orders about you.They will catch you in their arms, and you won’t hurtyour feet on the stones.”Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Don’t try to test

the Lord your God!”*

2nd Temptation – “Just jump off”

• God will have to rescue you thro’ his angels

• Temptation to manipulate & control

• Compelling God to act in a predetermined way

Compel God to act

Lord of the Rings

• Ring had to be destroyed because it was a very controlling thing (city of doom)

• Only Frodo and Sam Gamgee could do it

Howard Hughes- the American billionaire

• He liked to hire actresses – pay them, their hotel bills and make sure they were always at his beck and call

• He never gave them work to do

• He just enjoyed the control he had over them

Reflection

• Are our relationships free from Control or manipulation-

• Spouse

• Children

• Colleagues, committees

• If you love then set him/her free…

Temptation 2 – contd.

• Also can be interpreted as a temptation to be “popular”

• Jump in front of the temple where worshippers will applaud

Magic versus Miracles

• Magic is done to attract attention to oneself; to impress that you have credentials

• Miracles are done – only to help others.

• Jesus was not a magician

Jesus’s weapon in winning people was not power but love

Reflection

• What drives our behavior?

• How conscious are we about making an impression on others?

3rd Temptation

Finally, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms on earth and their power. The devil said to him, “I will give all this to you, if you will bow down and worshipme.”

Jesus answered, “Go away Satan! The Scriptures say:‘Worship the Lord your Godand serve only him.’*

3rd Temptation- “All these things I will give you”

Faust - Johann Goethe. (1749 – 1832)

Mephistopheles

• Mephistopheles-Wealth shall be yours, beyond all fear or favour. Be pleased to take your pleasures on the wing, voluptuous beauty taste in everything. And may you flourish on the joys …

• Faust –And soothe my soul to self sufficiency and make me one of pleasure’s devotees. And then take my soul… that’s a wager.

Extract …..

Michael Foucault-1926-84

If you met him…would be impressed by his extreme intelligence and his

facility at answering the most difficult of questions clearly and logically. You would also be struck by his

punctilious but somewhat distancing politeness and his avid curiosity about

ideas and events around him.

Foucault is a philosopher who uses history to provide insight into human experience and social interaction with

a view to inviting people to change the ingrained status quo

Pact with death – for sex• Pact as follows: To exchange life in its

entirety for sex itself, for the truth and sovereignty of sex- sex is worth dying for. “Risk is its own reward”

• A model for all the young homosexuals in San Francisco

• Died of AIDS in 1984

Jesus did not make this pact

• Devil must have shown him all the kingdoms- past and present

• He had a vision of a better kingdom

• Revelation 21- A new Heaven and a new earth

No deals with God..

• Deals are made where there is mistrust

• God asks for full unconditional surrender in full trust

Angels ministering to Him

• No one can say that they have been tempted more than they are able..

•God knows when to stop