Occasionally high profile leaders make headline news. The news item does not feature their success. It highlights their failure. Their behaviour falls short of the expected norms and, because of elevated position and visibility, that failure is broadcast for all to observe.
Burned in many of our minds is the story of a leader we trusted, believed in, were willing to go to bat for, only to discover that what they stood for in public was not how they behaved when others were not watching. The disappointment goes deep. We may even feel a certain amount of despair. Is there anyone we can trust? Is there any integrity left in our world?
The Bible story tells us that the failure of leaders is not new. The temptation to step outside the boundaries of what we know is right begun with Adam and Eve. They saw. They wanted. They took. Although they had been told that to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden was not allowed they convinced themselves, with Satan’s help, to believe that it would not matter. Actually, they came to the point where they believed that to eat of the fruit would be good and beneficial. Such is the nature of temptation. The person tempted is seduced into believing that what they once thought was wrong is, in fact, not wrong. In our minds, the wrong becomes right. So if it doesn’t matter or if it is good, why not go for it?
Every one of us has followed in the footsteps of Adam and Eve. We have seen. We have wanted. We have then convinced ourselves (through some creative rationalizations on our part) that it was alright. So we acted.
At first ever thing seems good. But eventually, reality sets in. Our creative thinking, or maybe just plain impulsiveness, leads to negative consequences. We also feel guilt and sometimes shame. We wonder how we could have been so weak or so foolish. How could we have believed the lie we told ourselves. What we once rationalized seems stupid after the fact.
The good news is we have a leader who faced the same temptations all humans faced. He did not fail. That person is Jesus.
Before he began his ministry, Jesus faced a test of character. It was imperative, if he was going to accomplish God’s will, that he not be seduced by temptation. Adam and Eve’s failure plunged the world into darkness. If Jesus had failed God’s plan to reverse the devastation following Adam and Eve’s failure would have unravelled. Darkness would have prevailed. All light, all hope of a better world would have been extinguished.
So right after Jesus received the filling of the Spirit at his baptism and before he began active ministry, Jesus endured severe temptation. “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil... (Luke 4: 1-2a).”
If we pause to reflect on this verse for a moment we may find the idea and timing of Jesus’ temptation strange. We find it strange because deep down many of us believe that spiritual people – especially so called spirit-filled people – God anointed, spiritual leaders are not tempted. Today’s passage of Scripture allows us to say, “Rubbish!” Satan applies that old saying many of us heard when we were kids, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” Not only does scripture give us examples of this, so does life experience. We have seen the spiritual, God appointed leaders fall. Sometimes these individuals were leading huge ministries – even experiencing what looked like God’s blessing on their ministry. Yet over the course of several, sometimes many, years they were yielding to temptation on a regular basis.
No one is immune from temptation. The people we may think of as super-spiritual face temptation. The not-so-spiritual face temptation. The goal of Satan through temptation is to bring us down. No matter where we may find ourselves at this point in our lives Satan will attempt to reduce us to less than what we are. He is not interested in building us up. His desire is to destroy us and everyone else who is part of our lives.
Luke tells us that Jesus’ forty day experience in the wilderness was a time of temptation. Luke and Matthew speak of three temptations that Jesus faced at the end of his struggle.
The first temptation is described in Luke 4: 2b-3. “He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."
Forty days without food and Satan turns the rocky wilderness into bread bakery. Every good sized stone has the potential to become a loaf of bread. Forty days without food – you can almost begin to smell fresh baked bread. “Jesus, if you are the Son of God, the power to turn stones into bread is yours. Why deny yourself? Why wait?”
The answer to why wait, why deny yourself is found in Jesus’ reply. Quoting from Deuteronomy, Jesus says: "It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’" Or to put it another way, there are things more important than bread even when you are extremely hungry.
What can be more important than bread? The rest of the quote from Deut. 8 is given in Matthew 4:4. ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’"
God’s word and his will are more important than bread. Jesus had relinquished his power as the Son of God. He determined not to use the power that was his as God’s Son to satisfy his own needs. What he did, he would do as God’s servant in dependence upon his heavenly Father.
If Jesus had used his power as the Son of God to satisfy his own needs, how could he have addressed our fears and worries about our own well being and ability to survive? These words of Jesus to us would have lost their meaning.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they (Matt 6: 25, 26)? ”
We already find these words upsetting when we are feeling fearful and anxious. So can you imagine what we would be saying if Jesus had turned the stones into bread in order to satisfy his own hunger. “Yeah, it was all right for him to talk about faith when he could turn stones into bread. But what about us? We don’t have that kind of power. Faith is easy for the powerful who can control their own destiny but it is not the same for us. Jesus, you are being unfair. Just leave me alone and let me worry. Let me work myself to exhaustion so that I can be sure I will have enough.”
But Jesus did set the example. When in a position of dire need, he waited upon his Father. He recognized that to wait in faith was better than using his power and position to satisfy his own needs.
The second temptation is outlined in verses 5-7 “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.” And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours."
Jesus came to save the world. Salvation would come through his death on the cross. Satan offered to Jesus the splendour and fame of the material world. Pain would not be necessary, just a change in priorities, a change in loyalties, a change in focus. Jesus said “no” when he answered with these words: "It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’"
You and I face similar temptations. One expression is the lottery ticket. What is the appeal of the lottery ticket – or even the casino? Instant wealth! We see the world before us with all its splendour. All we need to do is to win one grand prize and it is ours. How inviting! Some have spent enough money on gambling to have saved thousands of dollars in RSP’s.
We face a similar temptation every time we allow greed to cause us to set aside what we know is right. A while back I was at a place of business. I was offered two prices. One price was for cash and no receipt. The other price was a receipt and pay taxes. I choose to pay taxes. I have no desire to save money and end up with a guilty conscience.
When you see dollar signs flashing before your eyes and all you have to do is compromise just a little, think of this temptation. To compromise, to take the short cut, it is to worship the prince of this world. It is to have before you a false god.
Jesus would have none of it. And we need to say “Thank you.” His decision to choose the agony of the cross over the splendour of the world means our salvation.
The third temptation we find in verses 9 – 11. The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: "‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’
"Sounds pretty spiritual, eh? Wouldn’t it be nice to have such a good relationship with God you could do foolish things to your health, take crazy risks and expect no bad things to happen because you belong to God and he will look after you. Ignore all the rules of health. Ignore the rules of physics. Assume God will let nothing bad happen to you.
Jesus said such an approach is presumptuous. It is a testing of God. He refused Satan’s proposal and replied: "It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’"
Are there some areas in your life where you are refusing to acknowledge the relationship between cause and effect, believing that, because you are a Christian, God will bail you out? “Don’t put the Lord your God to the test.”
Temptation comes at us in many forms and shapes. The three temptations faced by Jesus have relevance for our own lives. But whether you can relate directly or not, here is a question to consider: What shape does temptation take in your life? What are you doing to resist temptation?
All of us function as important people within our sphere of influence. When you give in to temptation you not only hurt yourself, you affect those who are closest to you.
Jesus resisted temptation. He proved to be a man of integrity. Because he was a man of integrity he is a person worth following. Through his example of overcoming temptation he became a model for us. He wants his success to become our success.
How can we succeed? First we need to recognize temptation. Jesus recognized temptation because he had a clear view of mission –what he was on earth to do. He came to do the will of his Father in Heaven not his own will. He tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Any time we stray from what God desires for our lives, we are being tempted. But if we are not clear about what God desires, we will fail to even know when we are tempted.
After recognizing temptation, we are called to follow the example of Jesus by resisting temptation. Jesus resisted by staying grounded in the word of God. All of his responses were a statement of God’s will for him—and for us based on God’s word to his people.
Finally, we need to remember that the outcome of our success or failure has consequences for us and for everyone around us. When we resist, we stay centred in God. He will use us to make a positive difference in the world around us. If we fail, we negatively affect the people around us. Instead of being a positive influence we become part of the problem.
People admire a person of integrity – a person who is able to resist temptation. Lent is a time for self examination – a time to be honest with God and ourselves. It is a time to align ourselves to his will and be people of positive influence in a broken world. God is looking for men and women of integrity who will seek first the Kingdom of God. He invites you to follow his Son. Jesus is a leader worth following.