Preaching Paths 9 March 2025  Lent 1 Yr C

Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary

Luke’s version of the wilderness temptations of Jesus (Lk 4:1-13) follows Mt closely, yet with variations. Luke brackets the wilderness experience with statements that Jesus is “full of [the] Holy Spirit” (vv 1, 14; the definite article is missing in the Greek text). While Mt tells us that the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness purposely–“to be” tempted (Mt 4:1), and Mk declares that the Spirit “drove” Jesus “out into the wilderness” (Mk 1:12), Luke says Jesus simply “was led in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted.” The Spirit accompanies Jesus, rather than somehow forcing the ordeal. It is noteworthy, too, that Luke reverses the order of the second and third tests.

Two translation details shape our reading and preaching of this text. Many scholars suggest that “test” is to be preferred over “tempt” in this scene. Jesus is accosted by the “devil” (Greek diabolos or Hebrew satan).In Jewish tradition, the “satan” sometimes appears as a roaming tester of souls who carries reports to the heavenly court (see Job 1:6-12, 2:1-7). Several English translations have chosen “if” as the conditional conjunction in vv 3 and 9. This suggests that what is at stake in Jesus’ confrontations with the devil is Jesus’ identity. But Jesus has only recently heard at his baptism the divine voice bearing witness: “You are my Son, in whom I am pleased” (3:21-22). Further, the verb that follows is indicative (“are”). This makes “since you are God’s son” a better choice in vv 3 and 9.

Instead of questioning Jesus’ identity, the devil assumes it. Satan’s propositions seem to prod for any inclination on Jesus’ part to take the timing and strategy of his ministry into his own hands. Satan insinuates that Jesus need not be so subservient to his Father. The devil’s three tests focus on three kinds of power for which humans yearn, and which are more or less within Jesus’ reach. First, there is the power to ensure that that the needs and wishes of the body will always be met (changing a stone to bread). Second, humans yearn for power to orchestrate the conditions of their existence such that their will is always done. Third, history attests that humans yearn to transcend the natural limits of human finitude.  It is only in the second temptation (in Luke’s sequence) that the devil requests Jesus’ “worship.” Jesus responds to each proposal by quoting or paraphrasing teachings from the OT—specifically, Deuteronomy. Each is a precept about what it means to be fully human before the one true God. Jesus is a worshiper of God alone; God alone will direct his life’s path.

The wilderness narrative, then, is more about Jesus’ embrace of his humanity before God, than a prod for him to flex his prerogatives as divine Son. This makes it a profoundly relevant story for our listeners. Many long to be free from anxiety about food, shelter, and long-term security in our unstable world. A desire to organize the world around one’s specific vision of what is good for us personally, expecting others to fall in line, is with us almost before we take our first steps. (I was recently in the company of a five-year-old who declared herself “queen of everything” and began, with impressive vocal capacity and a plastic sceptre, to reorganize everyone, including the dog.) Finally, our yearning to challenge the physical boundaries of our existence has led us to over-consume our earth’s resources in the name of our aspirations – so much so that some resources are nearly spent, and habitats we have exhausted may be irrecoverable. A sermon exploring our yearnings to wield power so as to escape our human vulnerability and dependency, spiritual and physical, on the Creator, would be for our congregants a powerful and timely entrée into Lent.