Scripture/Sermon of the Day.  March 9, 2025

Luke 4:1-13

The Testing of Jesus

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”

5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,
    and serve only him.’ ”

9 Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’

11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,  so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” (Psalm 91:12)

12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Reflection/Sermon:

I.      It’s no accident that this was THE temptation in three of the four gospels.  All temptations come down to this one:  do we live as if we were the only one that matters in the world — or do we live to be a blessing to others.

II.     The devil tells Jesus the purpose of his life is to have power and make people his servants.  God tells Jesus the opposite— be a servant to everyone.  Our spiritual work is determined by which voice we listen to.  They are both spiritual options.  The devil and God are both spirits — and both speak to us from the spirit world — which is inside us.

III.    At the Hamden Ash Wednesday service last week, I heard something interesting in Pastor Jack Davidson’s sermon.  During the time in our country when slavery was legal, there was a Church in New Haven that held secret meetings in their basement.  They were attended by a group that called themselves Abolitionists — people who believed slavery was evil because it violated the teachings of the Old Testament prophets and Jesus, and it should be outlawed in the United States.  These Abolitionists were church people, like us.  They listened to the word of God in scripture and in their minds, they reached this insight. 

IV.     But there was another group in that church, who also listened to the word of God in scripture and their minds and they came to the opposite conclusion.  They accused the other group of mixing politics with religion.  And they believed it was not their place to involve themselves with such unspiritual matters as slavery.  They felt so strongly about this that they broke away from the church and started their own church — where others like them could come and worship and not be bothered by these Abolitionist people.  They just wanted the focus of their worship to be Jesus without being inconvenienced by issues like slavery and how they were responsible for perpetuating it.

V.      Both these groups were spiritual. Both listened to scripture in worship, and as they read the Bible in their homes.  But each group heard a different spirit?  We see in our reading this morning — the devil likes to quote and interpret scripture too.  Jesus studied it to know God’s will, and the devil uses it to oppose God — the same Bible can help us do Jesus’ or the devil’s work!  (Isn’t this amazing!)

VI.     THE QUESTION FOR THIS SUNDAY IS — which of these churches followed the voice of God, and which was followed the spirits opposed to God?  More than a hundred fifty years later — people still don’t agree about this.

VII.    How can we know if our thoughts and the voices we hear in our heads all day long are from God? 

Paul said there are “FRUITS” that are only from God — like love , joy, peace, humility, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, patience, self-control.     

VIII.   Lent is about the struggle for a “clean heart” that can hear God’s voice so we may cultivate these fruits, more and more, in our lives.

At Cana, Mary told the servants at the wedding to

"Do Whatever Jesus tells you."

These five words of Mary reveal the purpose of our lives.