Backwards [Lent I; St. Matthew 4:1-11]

Jesus speaks today, saying:

“And the tempter came…”

St. Matthew calls him the Tempter and St. Mark calls him Satan. In both cases, it is the devil being drawn to Jesus, fulfilling what Jesus said about Himself, that He will draw everyone to Himself (Zech. 8:22).

On Ash Wednesday, we heard that it is directly our responsibility in teaching our children, not just right and wrong, but all of the catechism (Preface to the Large Catechism, Par. 1-6). This is so that when you are confronted with satan, you and your children will be able to not just repel him, but recognize him in the first place.

St. Paul states that satan is not the black-horned, scary demon Hollywood wants us to believe he is. He is an angel; an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). This means that he walks around looking good to us and feeling good to us. He is so tricksy, that he fools you today.

There is an example you need to follow in the gospel reading today. There is someone who follows Jesus. There is someone who hears God’s Word, believes what it says, and does what it says. He is understanding what God is saying and talking to Him. The Word of God is on his lips and he knows its power.

In fact, just as you have been charged with handing down correct teaching to your children, he wants to make sure that he is teaching things correctly as well. So much so, that he makes sure he is exactly where God says to be in order that he get things right.

Of course, the person I’m talking about is the devil, but you were able to tell, right? I mean, just because you are called to do all those same things, doesn’t mean you do them the same way he does, does it?

Jesus speaks of the zeal of God of the Jews (Rom.10), but they were ignorant of the righteousness of God. But to you and me, any action made by such a person would look just as godly. You would not be able to tell the difference.

In today’s epistle (2 Cor. 6:1-10), Jesus describes it as “working together”, but to do so “not receiving the grace of God in vain” . How do you not receive it in vain? How do you know your zeal is different from the devil’s?

An act of volunteering is an act of volunteering. An act of charity is an act of charity. Regardless of the belief of a person, each and every action looks just like all of yours that you say are godly, yet here, everyone else is doing them as well, even the prince of this world.

Jesus being tempted in the wilderness is not just Him versus satan, it is also Jesus versus you. Your works and your thoughts are indistinguishable from the sinful world. You, like Peter, do not wish for Jesus to suffer and die. You would rather find another way.

But, there is no other way. Jesus must fast for 40 days and 40 nights. Jesus must be in an extremely weak state before he faces Satan’s temptation. Jesus must hear His own Word and works used against Him and He must endure.

Jesus must endure underneath the works of satan and the works of men. He must place Himself underneath His own law in order to redeem those under this law of condemnation. And endure He does.

You do not see Jesus stumble at any point. You see Him fasting perfectly. You see Him refusing angelic rescue. You see Him refusing to tap into His divine power. And yet, you see Him using every drop of power to become weak and hungry; to become spit upon and beaten, and to suffer and remain on the cross until death.

This is no small thing that Jesus does. He does not want you going out into deserts, starving yourself to death, and thinking you can beat satan. He does not suffer and die in order for you to believe that your works are what makes your zeal for God righteous.

In order for your zeal to be real and in the true knowledge of the righteousness of God, you need just one thing: faith alone.

We’ve said before that we have nothing God wants, not even our good works and we can see why. They are too similar to evil. Much more to the point, they are not Christ’s works. Only the Son and everything He does pleases the Father. Therefore, in order to please the Father, you must find yourself in the Son.

In Baptism, you are baptized into Christ. This, your catechism tells you all about. This is also a point of departure between you and satan. This is also the point of departure between your works and the world’s works. For in baptism, you are given faith for free.

It is Faith alone that hears and believes that Christ is the righteousness of God. It is Faith alone that despairs of works and instead rests upon the works of Jesus. It is Faith alone that orders mortal flesh to be silent in the face of a serving God. It is Faith alone that saves.

The devil is revealed in all works and his black robes put on, through the same eyes of faith that see Jesus baptizing each and every saint at this font. To satan, the salvation of the world is accomplished apart from the promise of God to accomplish everything.

Faith knows that weakness produces strength, that suffering produces hope, and that a dying God produces the salvation of the world. In that Faith, you go about your works. In the Faith that will confess every act and thought as sinful, you can do the same works as unbelievers and yet be saved.

You don’t need to look for a battle with satan. You don’t have to engage him in any sort of conflict or combat, because your Lord does it for you. Fleeing to Christ means you confess your sins in order to be forgiven again. Our victory has been won. Satan has lost. There is now no more condemnation left for you, because Jesus took it all upon Himself.

Now, in Christ, you are no longer an impostor, but true; you are no longer unknown, but known; you are dying, but behold you live; you are punished, but are not killed; you are sorrowful and yet always rejoicing; you are poor, but make many rich.

You have nothing, but Christ has given you everything, in Him.