Pastor Slaughter
First Sunday of Lent
2-26-23
Theme: A Champion for the Defeated
Text: Matthew 4: 1-11
Lines are drawn, armies are gathered. People are sharpening their weapons, mending their armor getting ready for war. There is a hush in the air as the two opposing sides draw near. They each chose their strongest warrior, their champion to go out and fight on their behalf. A Champion wasn’t just a strong warrior. He was a special warrior— a single combat warrior. When armies gather to fight, sometimes as the prelude to the battle, and sometimes in place of the battle— they would have two men fight each other. The two champions met in the middle of the two armies, fighting to the death. Each fighting for their king, for their people, for glory.
When we look at the first lesson, we see humanities Champion, Adam, go out to battle. No, it wasn’t with swords and shields, or bow and arrows. It was a battle of temptation. Adam’s opponent was Satan, the devil, the father of lies whose tongue can craft twist something evil and bad and make it sound like the best thing in the world. The battle ground was at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree was there to give Adam and Eve and opportunity to worship God by not eating from it. But the Devil is good at what he does. His words sound so good…so appealing. “You won’t die!” The Devil hisses, “You will be like God! God doesn’t have your best interest withholding this from you. Just one bite and everything will be better.”
Adam, our champion succumbed to the temptation and lost that battled and plunged the world into sin and death followed as a result. We are now made in the image of Adam. We inherited his sin. Not only by sins we inherit but by the sins we commit, we deserved to be wiped out. But our God is a God of grace and love. He was going to send a Champion who would defeat the devil and save his people. A Champion who would do what our first champion couldn’t (the second lesson). God sent a champion for the defeated.
God made known who this champion was. It was at Jesus’ baptism when God the Father spoke from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him” (Mt 3:17). It is almost like God is saying this is my champion! I am sending him out on behalf of humanity, to do what others could not, to win the battle over sin, death, and the devil.
So the Holy Spirit led Jesus, humanities champion, out into the wilderness to do battle with the devil the father of lies. Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, and the Bible says he was hungry. The Tempter came, with his cunning words to create subtle doubts, says, “If you are the Son of God, common these stones to become bread.”
It’s almost like the devil is saying, “If you are the Son of God… should you really be hungry? If you are the Son of God, shouldn’t it look just a little bit different? Should you really have to suffer with hunger?” The devil is trying to plant the seeds of doubt. Maybe God doesn’t have my best interest in mind. Just do this little thing and turn these stones into bread instead of listening to God’s will.
Sound familiar? Just one little bite and you would be like God. Why would he withhold this from you. He must not have your best interest in mind. Haven’t we heard these temptations in our life as well? Don’t you deserve better than this/ Shouldn’t things be going better? Just give in, one little bite, one click, one more drink, one act indulging the flesh but in reality, it just leaves us wanting more. That fundamental doubt that tempter plants; God’s will is not what is best for us, a distrust in God. We have given into that lie whenever we willfully have sinned. We stand defeated
But our Champion saw through the lies and the deceptions and used his greatest weapon…God’s Word. Jesus answered, “It is written: man shall not live by bread alone but by every word the come out of the mouth of God.” Jesus didn’t need to prove he was the Son of God, God already showed that at Jesus’ baptism. He wasn’t going too use his divine powers for his personal benefit. The God who sustained him the wilderness for those 40 will continue to provide for him. With those words: It is written the devil was pushed back, but he wasn’t done.
So the devil changes his tactics a bit. He knows God’s Word and can use God’s word but twisting it and using it to encourage a sin. So he took Jesus to the highest point on the temple, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: 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.”
The subtle shift but deadly attack, essentially saying, “You say you trust God, then prove it. He says in his word that his angels will protect you. If you don’t jump, then you are showing a lack of trust in God.” He takes an assurance of the Lord’s protection from the Psalms as people go about their days to day lives and twits it to try to get Jesus to prove his trust in God but to tempt God in such a way is not an act of faith but a demonstration of doubt.
Has the thought ever crossed your mind, “God if you love me, then you would heal my loved one, cure my disease. God if you love me you would change my current situation. God if you love me, you would______.” You know those questions where we have doubts but want God to prove something to us. I don’t know about you but I would suffered a devastating blow by Satan’s temptation.
But our Champion continued to fight to on with his greatest weapon… God’s word, “It is written: You shall not test the Lord your God.” Jesus continued to perfectly trust his heavenly Father. Even though he was hungry he didn’t doubt God’s will. He didn’t need God to prove anything and continued to perfectly trust him.
Now the Devil pulled out the big guns. A temptation that has caused all people to stumble and fall. It was an appeal to the desire of hearts of men. He showed our Champion all the kingdom son the world and their glory. And he said, “I will give you all these things, if you will bow down and worship me.” Imagine the temptation before Jesus. “I won’t have to suffer the physical pains associated with crucifixion. I won’t have to suffer hell for everyone’s sins. I just need to bow down when no one is looking.”
What is it that you love? What good thing do you love too much? What is it that the devil offers to you that you bow down and worship? Money, people, pleasures, things, sports, grades. What are we tempted to secretly bow down to and worship? I would be know knocked out along with the rest of humanity.
Yet Jesus is our Champion and said (what he said to Peter years later), “Go away, Satan!” For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” Then the Devil left him. Our Champion won the battle against the Devil and overcame temptation, but the war continued until Jesus won the victory over sin and death and the devil by dying in our place and rising again.
The beautiful thing of this passage that God gives us isn’t how to resist temptation by using God’s word, but rather the beauty of this section is that our Champion used God’s word to overcome temptation for us. Jesus continued the struggle and fight against his life throughout his ministry. And he overcame each temptation for you, for me, for the world. Our champion went to the cross, to suffer the torments of hell deserved for every sin and every temptation we have given into. He has freed us from slavery to that sin. He has freed from the power of the devil, and he has freed us from the eternal death that we deserved. Our Champion did what Adam could not. He crushed the serpents head under his heel. Your sins are forgiven. Eternal life is yours. Because our Champion fought on our behalf and won.
My family in Christ. The point of this sermon is simple. I pray that you appreciate that Jesus was your Champion who fought on your behalf and his victory counts for your victory. The season of lent we will see Jesus continue to be our champion. He will make that difficult journey to the cross that involved suffering and pain. But always remember, our Champion was victorious! Amen.