The Devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”

We live in a time of identity theft. I talked with several of you who have had their credit card numbers stolen and misused. Many of us worry about the bad people out there who might take from us all that we have, even who we are, and leave us with nothing. In our sermon today Jesus is facing identity theft.

Led by the Spirit, Jesus goes out into the desert beyond the Jordan River where for forty days the God/man sought communion and fellowship with the Father and the Spirit. After forty days of not eating because of his humanness He was hungry. At this time of weakness Satan came to steal His identity. The first recorded temptation of Christ, which I believe is representative of a series of temptations, came with the words, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Remember just before going into the desert, Jesus had been baptized and a voice from heaven belonging to the Father had declared, This is my Son who I love, with Him I am well pleased. (Matt 3.22) The trap is set. If you can’t change these stones into bread then maybe you really aren’t God in flesh appearing, God’s eternal Son. And if you are God’s Son, whom He loves, then why is He treating you this way? Why is He not providing better for You than this? “Now come on, if you are the Son of God turn these stones into bread.”

How often are we tempted to sin for our own comforts? How often do we sin thinking that our Father has abandoned us, turned His face from us, or treated us less than He ought to treat us? How often do we grumble against God saying, “Is this how you ought to treat your beloved children?” How often do we seek to give up our identity as God’s children for worldly bread? How often are we willing to trade our eternal inheritance for short term gain? All too often I fear.

Even in His humanness Jesus takes a different course. Jesus maintains His identity and overcomes the devil’s temptation with scripture. He uses, as St. Paul writes in Ephesians, the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Jesus uses the Word of God to overcome the schemes of the devil. It is written: man does not live on bread alone but on every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt 4.4) Jesus believed and said what we ought to believe and say. Maybe it would be a good thing for us to spend time learning the weight and balance of such an awesome weapon as the Word of God.

In our lesson we hear that the self-declared prince of this world, “the prince of darkness”, continued his attacks against the king of heaven the “king of light”, Jesus. Satan continues his efforts to steal Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. Satan leads Jesus up a high mountain and in an instant deems to give away that which he claims is his to give away. Remember Satan is the father of lies. (Jn 8.44) He once promised Eve and Adam that they would be like God if they only tasted the fruit from that one tree in the garden. To Jesus he says, I will give You all these kingdoms with all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me and I give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours.

It is interesting to note that God gives unconditionally. Satan gives with strings attached. God gives grace, mercy, and peace and because of that giving we are brought to worship Him. Satan demands our worship and then He promises to give. His promises are often not kept, but why should he keep his promises, when he has what he wants. 

We applaud Jesus standing tough against this temptation, but how often do we not stand? How often do we give in to the lies of worldly pleasure and power? How often are we willingly to make a little deal with the devil because it seems as though God isn’t doing what we know ought to be done? How often do we seek to excuse our misbehavior with the words, “the devil made me do it”?

Again for all of us Jesus tramples Satan under foot. When brought before Pilate Jesus responded to the question asking if He were a king. To this question Jesus said “Yes”. But My kingdom is not of this world. If it were of this world, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest but now my kingdom is from another place. (Jn 18.36) Do you not think I cannot call on my Father and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (Matt 26.56) Satan, you claim to give away that which is not yours. You are a liar and have been since the beginning. You seek to deceive Me and all that would follow after me. I pray that the Spirit would constantly remind them as it does me that heaven is our home. As to worship, it is written Worship the Lord and serve Him only. With these words He defeats Satan and shows us how we ought to live each day: giving thanks to God from whom all blessings flow, to whom we ought to trust even in the midst of hardship and calamity, and to whom we ought to bow down before, declaring Him to be our Lord.

And again! Satan didn’t give up. He took Jesus to the highest point of the temple with the intent of stealing His identity. Again he said, If you are the Son of God throw yourself down from here. Throw yourself down from here in dramatic fashion. Again the trap is set: If you don’t throw yourself down then maybe you aren’t really the Son of God. If you do throw yourself down to prove who you are, then you will be doing the will of the devil.

How many times do we put God to the test? We might not do it consciously but how often do we whisper from our hearts, “Do this or that or I might not continue believing in You. I might follow after some other god.” How often do we look for peals of thunder and flashes of lightning, partings of the Red Sea, and dramatic displays of God’s power that we might believe? How often do we look passed the miracle of baptism: those that were spiritually dead are raised to life? How often do we overlook the cross, thinking today our forgiveness must be supplemented by our good works or that some of our sins are too great to be forgiven? How often do we look at other words holding them above the words of Holy Scripture? How often do we want more Jesus than the Jesus of communion? I fear in our sinfulness we look for more drama, as if God has not provided enough.

But Jesus, the One declared to be the Son of God, responded as we should have Do not put the Lord your God to the test. The plans of God are unfolding as they should. The grace, mercy, and provisions of God are enough to sustain us for this day. The protection afforded us by God’s Word is enough to thwart the schemes of the devil.

Does this mean we will not experience hard times, no. Does this mean that we will always understand how God is working in our lives, no. Does it mean we might at times feel some how God has forgotten us or overlooked us, maybe so. We need only look to the stable, the cross, and the empty tomb to know how much God thinks of and about us. We need only listen to His Words recorded in Scripture to hear His voice and of His love for us. We need only look at His sacraments to see His desire to give us a new identity as one who belongs to God.

Jesus left that place, walked out of desert and into Galilee. Time and time again He would have His identity challenged. But He was confident as to who He was and why He came. He came to save sinners like you and me. He did it by being our substitute: He lived the life we ought to have led. He died the death our sins deserved. By His death He earned the forgiveness for all the temptations we give in to. He was laid in a grave that should have been ours, He was raised again to life to certify that the forgiveness and eternal life He promises are certain and trustworthy.

Just as Jesus walked out of the desert and in among the people He now sends us to tell others about our Jesus. He sends us to those who have been and are having their identities stolen by Satan. He sends us to tell others of a new identity that is there for all of us in Christ, one that cannot be tarnish, stolen or taken from us, one that gives us an eternal inheritance.