This Lent we’re using our whole bodies, including our imagination, to help us meditate on Christ’s suffering for us. Our meditation today is based on Luke’s account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Luke has arranged the material so that each temptation corresponds to one of the three parts of his book: (1) the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in the wilderness, (2) the travel account, (3) Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem.
I invite you to relax your body. You might like to sit with your arms on your lap. If you wish, at times you may even like to close your eyes.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
Think of a time you’ve been in the desert. Feel the heat beating down, the hot wind on your face. The distant horizon shimmers. It’s vast, bright, and empty. The thirsty land beneath your feet is dry and parched. Keep this wilderness place in your mind’s eye.
After being rescued from slavery in Egypt, the Israelite people wandered the wilderness for forty years. Moses reminded them of their desert experience. “Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger.” (Deuteronomy 8:2–3). Jesus has been led to this place of wilderness by the Spirit. God has brought him to this dreadful desert. He’s tired and hungry. At his weakest, the devil comes to test Jesus’ heart.
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
Hold some stones in your hand. What ‘stones’ are there in your life at the moment? What needs do you hunger for as you wander through your wilderness?
The nation of Israel, referred to as God’s firstborn son (Exodus 4:22), cried out for bread in the wilderness. God heard their cry and, as a concession, granted them manna. So it’s not an unreasonable suggestion to turn stones into bread.
But in contrast to Israel, Jesus — who is the true Son of God — rejects the miracle of bread in the desert. He will do miracles later, indeed even multiply bread (Luke 9:10–17). But these miracles will be for others, not himself. Jesus trusts in God’s divine provision, living ‘on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD’ (Deuteronomy 8:3).
Can you trust your ‘stones’ to the LORD? As you place the stones in your hand on top of a Bible, give your needs to the LORD.
This temptation corresponds to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. In the Galilean wilderness, Jesus is named the Son of God in his baptism (Luke 3:1–2,21–22). Here he proves that he is the true Son.
The devil led [Jesus] up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to [Jesus], “I will give you all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
Jesus travels with the devil up a very high mountain. Make your hand into a fist. Very very slowly trace your forefinger from your wrist toward your knuckle. Tap lightly as you trace, and imagine walking up to a high place. You’re carrying a heavy burden on your back. With each tap, with each step, the burden becomes heavier. Stop once you reach the peak of your knuckle.
The devil tempts Jesus to cast off his burden and immediately receive the glory due him. He needs only to worship the devil. Yet this is a counterfeit promise. Any power the devil has was first given to him by God. Jesus refuses any shortcuts. Instead, Jesus takes your burdens and continues on his path. As you take a deep breath, imagine a heavy weight lifting from your shoulders. Slowly trace your forefinger from your knuckle down toward your wrist. Jesus is walking toward Jerusalem carrying your burden to the cross.
This temptation corresponds to the travel account, the central portion of Luke’s gospel (Luke 9:51–19:47). As he travels, Jesus learns that his identity as the Son of God will lead to suffering. It is only after his suffering, death, and resurrection will he come with “power and great glory” (Luke 21:27).
The devil led [Jesus] 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.’ Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
The devil dresses up his greatest temptation as a Scriptural citation. He places Jesus high above the temple in Jerusalem so that he barely touches it. God and his temple are placed under foot, as if despised. Satan twists God’s word (Psalm 91). The words of Scripture are not some amulet for personal protection, used to ward off terrors, arrows and suffering. Rather, they create and grow faith that nothing can truly harm those who live by God’s word alone, those ‘who dwell in the shelter of the Most High and who rest in the shadow of the Almighty’ (Psalm 91:1).
This temptation corresponds to Jesus’ final week and days in Jerusalem. Jesus will not be rescued from suffering and death, but rather God will rescue all creation through suffering and death. He trusts that LORD is our refuge in times of trouble.
Spend some time listening to and praying Psalm 91. (You might like to use the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUZhTMZF_1I). As you allow these words to wash over you, pray that you might grow in faith and trust in the LORD, for through Jesus he is with you in times of trouble.
We pray. Heavenly Father: thank you for sending Jesus to carry our burdens to the cross. As we walk through our own wilderness, create faith and trust by your Word that you are our refuge. Amen.
