A sermon on Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday in Lent. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz.
One thing I used to enjoy but don’t really have much time for anymore, it can take several hours and my kids aren’t quite old enough yet, is strategy games. Growing up, I loved playing Stratego and Risk and I was never very good at chess but I liked playing it because people think you’re smart if they see you playing chess. But the thing with those games and so many others is that it’s not enough to just know the rules and mechanics. You can know how everything technically works and how all the pieces move, but you need more than that. You need to be thinking several moves ahead, how you would respond if this or that happens, you need a strategy, you need tactics.
In our Gospel lesson for the first Sunday in Lent, we see a standoff between two great princes. The prince of this world challenges the Prince of heaven. And we see their tactics, we see their strategies. Although Satan’s tactics fail on Christ, we learn and benefit from the tactics of our Savior.
I. Satan’s Tactics
Across these three temptations, we can see a certain pattern , a certain escalation. The stakes get higher and higher. The devil starts with some bread, which doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, and finishes with “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” You can see the progression, you can see the strategy. But as the stakes get higher, it’s almost like his tactics get worse.
We fall for temptation all the time, so it’s not like we’re really in a place to talk, but if Satan appeared to me and said, “I’ll give you all this if you fall down and worship me,” okay, that’s setting off some sirens, I probably shouldn’t do that, it seems a little too obvious. Why does Satan seem to be getting worse as the temptations progress?
And there’s a lot that can be said about each temptation individually and moving from one to another, but what we really see is that the devil only has one trick. There’s a scarlet thread connecting these three scenes. It’s more subtle at first, more desperate later on, but it really is the same thing, the devil only knows one move.
Satan gives Jesus these false tests, “If You are the Son of God,” and fills in the “then” with something that makes sense in his mind. The devil can’t seem to get past, “Well here’s what I would do if I was God.”
“If I was God, I would use my power to satisfy myself and my own appetites. If I was God, I would do risky things and push the boundaries and test the limits. If I was God, I’d take the easy way out, avoid all that suffering nonsense and go straight to the good part where I’m in power. If I was God…”
Satan’s temptations maybe seem a little desperate, especially when we get into the second and third scenes, and a little obvious, but these are tried and true tactics. They’ve worked before.
That’s how he got Adam and Eve. He made them doubt God and think that they knew better, that they would do things different if they were in power. He tempted them to eat what was forbidden, to surrender to their own desires. And these same tactics, as blatant as they are, so often work on us.
The devil seems to make a lot of sense. You can see his logic. He thinks like we do. What’s the point of being the Son of God if you’re left starving in the desert? What’s the point of almighty power if you can’t even use it for yourself? What’s the point of being king if you have to suffer?
The devil shows his hand in the third temptation. And it seems too obvious, but it puts our sin in perspective. Every time we sin, every time we give in to the desires of our flesh, every time we act selfishly, we dethrone God from His rightful place. We make ourselves more important than God, we share in the sin of Satan with his rebellious pride.
The devil is our enemy. And he’s so much stronger than we are. He’s been doing this for ages, he’s really good at it. On our own, we are defenseless against him, subject to the whims of our passions, condemned to hell as cellmates of our adversary.
II. Jesus’ Tactics
But the devil’s wiles only seem so strong because they are used against us. When his tactics confront Jesus, we see them for the foolishness that they are. And we see what Jesus uses to counter and disarm temptation: God’s Word.
Each time, He says, “It is written.” He counters the devil’s lies with the truth of God’s Word. He wields that mighty sword and uses it with precision, to counter the attacks of the enemy and deliver His own powerful blows.
When we are faced with temptation, we can learn from our Savior’s strategy. Read the Bible. Commit key verses to memory. Then, when you face temptation, they’ll be within arm’s reach when you need a weapon. And Jesus chose some really good ones, we can start here.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” How powerful when we are faced with the temptations of the flesh. “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” How effective when we doubt His promises and feel the need to test them just to make sure. “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” That one just works for every sin, when you get down to it.
Now, we can admire Jesus’ tactics and we can certainly learn from them and imitate Him, but we also have to recognize that’s not really the main thing that we should be taking away from this. Because if it is, then we’re left in the same spot we were before.
Because even though the Word is effective, that sword is powerful, Satan’s going to push it from our mind and attack the one who wields it. Jesus doesn’t just give us the blueprint and say, “Good luck with that.” He does so much more than just teach us His tactics. He brings us to victory alongside Him.
Christ is the Head and we are the members of His body. Head and members fight together. He was tempted just like we were. Our King doesn’t send His peasants off to do battle for Him. He’s there in the fray. He’s leading the charge. We are so easily felled, but He triumphs. Head and members are victorious together.
Jesus has defeated temptation. Disarmed the devil. His schemes have no power, his accusations have no merit. Where mankind has failed since the garden, where we have failed, Jesus is perfect. He has not failed. The standard that we must attain, He has achieved. The punishment that we must suffer, He has endured.
Christ has made up for our weakness and our failings by His perfection. He has atoned for our sin and our giving in by His death on the cross. He doesn’t just show us the way. He has accomplished it. He doesn’t just give you the tactics, He gives you the victory.
The author to the Hebrews writes, “we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (4:15)” We’ve seen the one side of this passage already. Jesus has endured temptation, atoned for our sin, but we also gain comfort from the other side, that He can sympathize with our weaknesses.
We can see and study how Jesus faces temptation, we can imitate Him, we’re still going to fail. The devil knows your weaknesses, too. But Jesus knows what it’s like.
The devil came to Him when He was at His weakest—fasting in the wilderness for forty days. He knows what it’s like to be tempted. He has sympathy, He relates to you, He’s been there. He doesn’t judge you for your sin, He knows how hard it is. But because He was without sin, He can give you forgiveness. Jesus is just like us, but He’s not like us. He knows what it’s like, but He did not give in. Because He loves you. And wants to forgive you. And share His victory with you.
Having seen this standoff, we can see the devil’s tactics more clearly. We see how he appeals to sinful desires and how every sin is a rejection of God. But no matter how much we study his tactics or how much we learn from Jesus’ example, we need something more. We need God’s help to resist temptation, we need Jesus to forgive our sins. Jesus has resisted temptation. He has defeated the devil—bested him at his own game, crushed him on the cross, and showed His victory in the resurrection. In Jesus we are victorious. Amen.
