"An Opportune Time" - March 9, 2025

 

Luke 4:1-13
March 9, 2025

 

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 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. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 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. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written,
“Worship the Lord your God,
   and serve only him.” ’

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, for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you,
   to protect you”,
and
“On their hands they will bear you up,
   so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’
Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

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Did you catch the last sentence of that Luke wrote there?

“When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” [Luke 4:13]

We have this detailed account of a time when Jesus faced a whole series of temptations, and a description of how he faced them down.  We also have a comment that tells us that this would not be the last time that he would have to resist them and – who knows? – maybe it was not the first.  And Jesus’ resistance to going down these pathways remains a model for those who would follow him; going where he goes also means not going where he refused to go.

            One major thing to keep in mind is that there is a consistency running throughout this experience where the devil constantly puts something that looks desirable in front of Jesus, and then offers him a shortcut to achieve it.

“You’re hungry?  Then change these stones into bread. …You want the whole world to honor you (you are the Son of God, after all), then bow down to me and I will hand over everyone in the world. …You want people to know on their own that you’re the Son of God?  Then here’s a simple demonstration: jump off this tower and let the angels catch you.  Then they’ll all get it.”

Jesus sees through each of these.  He knows the scriptures well enough to know what happens when somebody takes the easy way out.  He knows that when somebody is telling you to take power that belongs only to God or to put anyone or anything into God’s place, or to play around with the world and tell God what to do, that the voice telling you to do those things is not the voice of God.

            None of us will ever have the clarity of sight nor the presence of mind to be able to perceive every time that happens.  Jesus did have that.  He had it precisely because he is the Son of God, and is one with the Holy Spirit that had sent him into in the wilderness and would sustain him there.  For our part, we struggle to know when we are listening to the voice of our own desires or wishful thinking, or when there’s an element of outright evil playing on our weaknesses, or if we may be making decisions based on fear or hatred or pride or anger or the habits of our culture.

The temptation to sin is ever-present but stronger at times when uncertainty and fear are greatest.  I Peter 5:8 warns,

“Discipline yourselves; keep alert.  Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.”

If it was true of Jesus himself, it certainly will be true of us that there are those moments when we are most vulnerable and that evil knows how to find us at

“an opportune time.” [Luke 4:13]

For Jesus, I would believe, the moment of greatest temptation was not when he faced the devil directly, but on the cross when Luke tells us that Jesus heard the same phrases he had heard in the wilderness thrown at him by the people for whom he was slowly bleeding out.

“And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’” [Luke 23:25]

There is no way to compare his temptations to ours.  Yet when we face our own, it helps to keep his in mind.  Above all, when difficult choices lie before us, a good question to ask is whether we are acting with our own, short-term benefit in view or whether we are acting with the general good of others and the long-term in mind, fully recognizing that when the fear or pain or hunger is the greatest, that is when it will be hardest to look beyond the immediate moment.