I was talking with Pastor John this week. In case you didn’t know it Pastor John was a Navy pilot- a top gun of sorts then, one of our top guns now. He verified something I’ve heard from other pilots: that often the first five minutes of a flight and the last five minutes of an airplane flight can be the most dangerous. If something goes wrong then, there is little time to make compensations or corrections. A mistake and/or error on the pilot’s part could doom the mission.

That danger in the first few moments of His mission seems to be the case in today’s lessons. Jesus is fresh from His baptism and is led into the wilderness on a mission. There He is repeatedly tempted to give up on the ministry that lies before Him.

Satan tempts Him to bail out on the anointing we saw at His baptism. If He does, we are done for. The same is true three years later in Gethsemane. Jesus is tempted to give up, to let the cup of suffering and dying for the sins of the whole world pass, to find another way. Satan must have lurked in the shadows holding his breath, just hoping Jesus would flee the cross. Then God’s plan to save you, me, and all mankind would crash and there would be no survivors. Today we hear that it all could have ended right there in that wilderness, just as it was beginning.

Fresh from His baptism, a baptism in which the Father had declared, This is My Son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased; he was anointed by the Spirit of God (Who) descended on Him like a dove. John the Baptizer declared to the crowd what had been revealed to him by God: that this Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.­­(John 1.29) From this high point Jesus is led into the wilderness where for forty tormented days and nights He is repeatedly hounded by Satan.

None of the Gospel writers tell us everything that happened, but they do tell us of three temptations, temptations that came to Jesus in His humanity. In our lessons Satan whispers to a very hungry Jesus: If you are the Son of God… He does this to plant seeds of doubt. A little over a month ago God the Father had declared from the heavens that He was The Son, but now forty hungry and weary days later, could Jesus in His humanness have come to doubt it? Did God really say it? If I am His Son then why am I suffering so?

How often is this temptation our temptation? The triune God declares us to be His children in and through the waters of baptism, yet when times get hard, the dark nights of disease, or the long days of hardship dog us, or harsh winds of unfairness batter us- we begin to doubt God’s declaration. Never will I leave you, nor will I forsake you. (Joshua 1.5) And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28.20) We hear God’s Words of forgiveness and yet Satan whispers words of doubt, and we become troubled.

If God is your Father, if He really cares then why are you so hungry? Why is He treating you so? Maybe He has forgotten you, overlooked you; maybe He has led you out here to die. But if you truly are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. After all what can it hurt if you doubt God’s provision for just a moment? What can it hurt if you take matters into your own hands for just a moment? It is this temptation that befell Eve and Adam in the Garden. And by falling for that temptation- that God hasn’t really provided all we need, that sin entered the world…and death through sin and in this way death came to all men. (Romans 5.12)

Jesus responds as we often wish we would. He responds with Scripture, Man does not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God, which comes by the way from Deuteronomy 8.3. There is something we ought to learn from how Jesus handled this temptation: All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every (good) work. (2 Tim 3.16) Maybe, just maybe, No, certainly, most certainly, we should be in God’s Word. It is by that Word we can be brought to resist temptations and the devil’s attacks. In that Word we will see time and time again that our God does not abandon nor neglect or overlook us. He is a God we can trust even if it looks to the world as though we are perishing or have been forgotten, for with Him we are not.

Then the devil took Jesus to the Holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. (That is about a 600-foot drop) “If you are the Son of God throw yourself down (from here). God has declared He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone. If God fails to keep His Word, then God’s promises to rescue You from death and the grave might be empty, as well. Can You really trust Him? The Father had a plan for Jesus. It began in a stable, living for a time as a refugee in Egypt and now three years of teaching and preaching lay ahead. It would not be easy; he would not always be accepted; ultimately it would lead to the agony of the cross. Was it the easy route, no, but it was the best - for God had ordained that this is how He would save mankind from sin.

Just as the Father had a plan for Jesus He has one for us. Is it always easy? No, but it is best. God declares, in the long run, your life will go better for you if you love God above all your things and keep at least one day of your precious time as a Sabbath day; obey your parents and other authorities; keep yourself from all kinds of temptations- be careful about what you watch and read; listen to and look after the needs of others. Will it be easier? No. As a matter of fact, it will be very frustrating. We find ourselves in need of daily confessing our shortcomings and sins to God. We will long for His Words of forgiveness- in doing so we will find ourselves at odds with the world and often be scoffed at and made fun of. Is it easy to walk this narrow road, no? But it is best, for it leads to eternal life.

“Come on Jesus, just one showy miracle,” Satan said. “One that will get them talking. You can bypass the next three years among a people who will deny You, abandon You, nail You to across. Come on, Jesus, give it up and take one little step or is your God not up to a little test or is your trust in Him a little weak?” And Jesus said, It is written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ I need not test Him for He has proven Himself to be faithful.

Jesus trusted the Father completely even more dramatically than jumping off the high point of the temple. He went to the cross and there He gave up His life trusting that God would accept His perfect sacrifice for our sins. The risen Christ turns to us and says trust in Me. If you need assurance look to the Bethlehem stable where God keeps his promise to send a Savior, the cross where sins were forgiven, and the empty Easter tomb where your resurrection was foreshadowed; look to My words and promises at your baptism, listen to My Words of absolution spoken through faithful pastors; look to the body and bread, blood and wine of communion. Read My Holy Word and know that I am with you and for you to the very end of the age.

Then the devil took Him to a very high mountain and in an instant showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘all this I will give You if you will bow down and worship me.’ Isn’t this like Satan, the one Jesus declares is the father of all lies, to offer to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. To give away something that isn’t even his. Tempting? Most certainly. Kingdoms or the cross?

That temptation is ours all the time. Only we often sell out for a lot less than a kingdom. Like Esau of Old Testament fame we often sell our birthright for the equivalent of a bowl of stew. In our sinfulness we set down the things of God to fill our hands with the things of this world. We take up momentary gain and along with it unforgiveness, jealousy, and pridefulness leaving no place for God’s peace, love, and hope. But do not despair for God has not abandoned us. Jesus came and bought back our birthright, our right to be called the children of God. He willingly did it at the cross, even though it cost Him His very life. To this last temptation Jesus said to Satan and to all of us, Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. Keep your eyes not the bowl of today’s soup but on the feast of heaven.

And the Devil left Him, and the angels came and attended Him.

We began this sermon hearing how dangerous the first few and last few minutes of an airplane’s flight can be. So to it was for Jesus. In the wilderness and climbing the hill to Golgotha He could have bailed out, saved Himself, but He didn’t. Had he bailed out we all would have perished, but He didn’t. Despite sinful mankind and the attacks of Satan He completed His mission to save mankind from sin. Because He was faithful even unto death, we are forgiven.

Now all around us are people who are in real danger. They continue to listen to Satan. Apart from the working of the Holy Spirit, we too would be listening to Satan, believing him and living lives that lead to a crash-landing in hell. But by God’s grace we have been brought to trust in Jesus, that trust will land us safely one day in heaven. There are a lot of people all around us in real danger. They need to know of Jesus and all He has done for us, but how will they hear if no one tells them? Amen.