Daily Devotion – March 3, 2022 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison

Luke 4:1-13
4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
4:2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.
4:3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4:4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.'”
4:5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
4:6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.
4:7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
4:8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'”
4:9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
4:10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’
4:11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'”
4:12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'”
4:13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

When Jesus is spending 40 days and nights in the wilderness, he is fasting and praying, we can be sure of that, and he is being led by the Holy Spirit. In the wilderness, especially while fasting, I imagine one could become disoriented, lost even, and at times confused. Jesus’s time in the wilderness seems to be given over to thinking, wondering, and praying about his mission from God his heavenly father, and maybe getting clarity about what kind of Jesus he will be while doing what God wants him to do.

I am guessing these things are true – I don’t know for sure – but I get some clues from what happens toward the end of the 40 days, which is where Luke begins his story. The devil tempts him 3 times. The first time Jesus is asked to prove he is God’s son by doing a miracle and turning stones into bread. Jesus refuses – he doesn’t need to prove he is God’s son. His time of prayer and wandering has made him sure of that. The second time Jesus is told if he worships Satan, the whole world would be his. Jesus refuses. He vows to worship and serve only his heavenly father. The third time Jesus is asked to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple in the middle of Jerusalem, knowing that angels will save him and the crowds there will see this public proof of his godhood. Jesus refuses. He will not put God to that test, and Satan must not put Jesus himself to the test any longer. Satan gives up for the moment. Jesus is ready for his mission.

Jesus is very clear about whose son he is, whom he will worship, and how he will never in his earthly mission put God to the test. That certainty will help him do amazing things. Jesus will become God’s empty vessel and God will shine God’s love out into the world through Jesus as it has never been seen before. That is Jesus’s mission, to be the pure love of God, walking around on earth, to benefit people everywhere. The tests in the wilderness demonstrate what kind of human being Jesus will be — the kind who does not need to prove his divinity or show off. The kind that will be seen to worship God. The kind that will never tempt God to prove he is God’s son.

How are we clear to those who meet us what kind of human being we are, and which god we serve?

Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us chances in our daily lives to show who and whose we are to our friends and neighbors. Help us to be faithful to this holy calling.    Amen.