"Counterfeit Christianity" (Luke 4:1-13)

Luke 4:1-13

Listen to Sermon

“Counterfeit Christianity,” Luke 4:1-13
Pastor Tom Johnson, March 10, 2019

"The Temptation of Christ" by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510)

The Holy Spirit led Jesus out into the wilderness. He ate nothing for forty days. He was famished. He was exhausted and hungry. This is when the devil strikes—when we are weak, tired, and vulnerable. The devil tries to lure Jesus into sin. He challenges him three times.

The first temptation is for Jesus to satisfy his hunger. He tells Jesus to turn a stone into a loaf of bread. Satan masterfully turns Jesus’ own words against him. Just before this Jesus says that “God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Luke 3:8). The lie is that Jesus should satisfy his needs by any means necessary. He should go against the Holy Spirit who led him there. He should use his strengths and power to advance his own cause. “No,” Jesus quotes Scripture, “One does not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” What truly will give us the strength of body and soul is the Word of God.

The second temptation is for Jesus to worship the devil. And if he does bow down before Satan, he will receive all the kingdoms of the world, their glory, and their authority. He is also mocking the Scripture that came before, when John the Baptist said he is not worthy to bow down before Jesus and untie the straps of his sandals. The lie is that the devil had received control over people. He stole it. He stole the glory and worship that people should give to the true and living God. And now he wants God the Son—the second Person of the Holy Trinity to bow down and worship him who is a mere creature and who is living on borrowed time. “No,” Jesus quote Scripture, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” The only Person we owe thanks and praise is the Lord of heaven and earth—the One who created us. He alone is worthy of our worship.

The third temptation is for Jesus to perform a stunt. He tells Jesus to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple. And when he does, God will send angels to swoop down, catch Jesus before he hits the ground. Satan is making fun of Jesus again—this time how Jesus quotes Scripture. “For it is written,” the devil says. The lie to twist the meaning of Scripture—even from the metaphorical to the literal sense—as if God will reward recklessness with salvation just because he can find a passage of Scripture that seems to match the situation.

Each of these temptations follow the same pattern. The devil mocks God’s Word. He wants us to see God’s wisdom as foolishness. He wants us to believe that Scripture is absurd. Each temptation is a counterfeit. Satan takes God’s truth and introduces doubt and twists the truth of Scripture ever so slightly. This is what he did even from the very beginning with Adam and Even when he said to them, “Did God really say...?” Each temptation is a manipulation of God. Each lie is to promote self. And, even more importantly, all three deceptions try to get Jesus to bypass the Cross. He tries to get Jesus to find away out of his death by crucifixion and rising from the dead.

That is what we are up against every day—just as we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread...and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Each time we sin—every time we go against God’s Word by our thoughts, our words, and our deeds, we are believing a lie. When I was at Stateville a few weeks ago, one of the inmates, Martin, told the class that it took more than two years of sitting in his cell to realize he is there because he believed a lie—the lie of gangs—the promise of money and power. We believe we have the right to something or to do something. So we cut corners, do bodily and emotional harm, cheat, steal, lie, and covet. We fashion a god in our own image—one that we can barter with, wager, and manipulate. We believe a lie.

The only way we can escape these temptations is by the Word and Holy Spirit—just as Jesus who is perfect God and human does. He shows us how Scripture is the sword of the Spirit—our best and only defense and strength in time of need. We cannot by our own strength believe or come to God. It’s only by the power of the Holy Spirit and Scripture. Jesus quotes Scripture to draws strength to fulfill his mission. So we also should learn and grow in our knowledge and dependence on the Word of God. And, even more importantly, we should see the truth that is no way around the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The devil has convinced the world that it is foolishness. But as Scripture says, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor 1:25).

Jesus will turn each temptation to sin into a miracle in the Gospel. He will not turn stone to bread. It is by the Cross of Christ and the empty tomb that Jesus will take our hearts of stone and transform them into hearts of flesh—lives that look to God and his Word for our strength, healing, and eternal life. He will not bow down and worship the devil. It is at the name of Jesus that every knee will bow and tongue will confess that he is Lord. For there is no other name under heaven or on earth by which we can be saved. He alone is worthy. To him be all the glory and praise. He will not perform a stunt. Jesus does not need angels to catch him or deliver him from his crucifixion. His Kingdom is not of this world. Death cannot hold him. He will rise victoriously from the dead to bring light and life to the world.