“In the Wilderness of Temptation”
Matthew 4:1-11
Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, February 22, 2026
Those of you who are my age or a bit older may remember the comedian Flip Wilson. One of his stock characters was Geraldine, a pastor’s wife who was always saying, “The devil made me do it!” Once Geraldine overshot her parking space and slammed into the church wall. Her husband asked her what happened. “Well that ole devil just grabbed the steering wheel right outta my hands!” she replied. “Why didn’t you put your foot on the brake?” he asked. “I was too busy kickin’ the devil in the shins” she answered.
Another time she came home with a fancy dress that they couldn’t afford. “I thought you weren’t going to buy anymore dresses this season,” said her husband. “Well, I just went in to try it on and the devil whispered in my ear how nice it looked on me.” “Well, why didn’t you say, ‘Get behind me, Satan!’?” “I did,” she replied, “and the devil said it looked good from that side, too!”
As Waylon Jennings sang, “The Devil made me do it the first time. The second time I done it on my own.” My personal opinion is that we can get ourselves up to enough mischief without the devil’s help, but when it comes to the really big sins, maybe the devil does have a hand in it. I don’t believe in a devil dressed in red with horns and a pitchfork, but there is a force of evil in this world that can pull us away from what’s good, if we are not paying attention.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus had just been baptized by John at the Jorden River. He had just heard the voice of God affirming, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus was ready to begin his ministry, but before he could start, he needed to have some things clear in his mind. So, scripture tells us, he was “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil.”
Many saints and monks have gone into the wilderness, away from the crowds, to seek clarity, direction, and a closer communion with God. In Jesus’ day there was an entire sect of Judaism, called the Qumran Community, that lived in the desert. They lived simply as ascetics, foraging for their food. John the Baptist may have belonged to this group, as he dressed in camel hair and ate locusts and honey. So at the outset of his ministry, it would not be unusual for Jesus to seek solitude in the wilderness.
What kind of Messiah would he be? How would he carry out his ministry? Would he provide bread for the multitudes, thereby gaining their loyalty? Throughout the Roman Empire, Caesar after Caesar gave bread and grain to feed the multitudes, to prevent them from rebelling. The famous phrase, “bread and circuses” –originated in this imperial practice. But then people might follow Jesus simply for what he could do for them, not out of a sincere faith. This is what is wrong with the prosperity gospel today – people end up worshiping a God of health and wealth, but the moment they end up sick or hungry, their faith disappears.
This is why, when the tempter said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread,” he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Though hunger was a reality in 1st century Palestine, providing food for the multitudes was not to be the basis of Jesus’ ministry. Despite his feeding the 5000 with five loaves and two fish, that miracle was not to be the central focus of his message as Messiah.
The second temptation was that of fame and glory. Satan took him to the pinnacle of the temple. Church historian Diana Butler-Bass informs us that this was a platform at the top of the southwestern corner of the Temple mount. Several times a day, a priest would mount that platform and blow a trumpet to call everyone to prayer. It was a very public place, well-known and significant to practicing Jews.
If Jesus jumped from the height of the temple and survived, surely the multitudes would be persuaded he was the Messiah and follow him. Indeed, later there were many who badgered Jesus, “Show us a sign.” Remember Jesus Christ, Superstar, when Herod sings, “Prove to me that You're no fool/Walk across my swimming pool!” I don’t think that’s in the Bible, but John tells us that Herod did hope to see Jesus perform some miracle,
as if he were there to entertain him. But again, Jesus doesn’t take the bait; disciples who followed him just to see signs and wonders, would not have a deep enough faith to withstand trials when their faith was tested. They would be like the seed planted in shallow soil that springs up, but withers because it has no roots. So Jesus answers again from scripture: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Finally, the devil tempts Jesus with power and riches “All these [kingdoms of the world and their glory] I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Power and riches have derailed many from following Christ. We imagine that wealth and the power it brings can spare us from the sufferings of this world and can put us in control of our own fate. But they cannot. Some have made a “deal with the devil” so to speak, but find out too late that money and prestige cannot buy them peace or forgiveness, reconciliation with God and eternal life. Pastor and podcaster Benjamin Cremer writes, “Every avenue of life… brings with it the question, “How will I use the power given to me?”
Will we give into the temptation to use it for our own gain or for the sake of others?” “Jesus rejection of this temptation to exert power over others…is a sharp contrast to the efforts of Christian nationalism, which seeks to enforce a particular brand of morality through governmental means. Instead of seeking the common good of all others, Christian nationalism seeks power and control only for itself.” This was not Jesus’ way. He responds to this temptation with the words of the First Commandment: “‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”
As soon as he had said this, the devil left him, and angels came and waited on him. Jesus consistently uses scripture to ward off temptation. That is a good example for us to follow. If no scripture comes to mind, we can simply call on God to help us. God will be there.
Jesus was able to withstand temptation alone. Often we cannot. If we confide in a good friend, someone we can trust,
the battle is already half won. If we admit that we are tempted and ask for help, that is a big step toward resisting.
When we were married, Joe and I selected a verse from Ecclesiastes to be read: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.”
Our human need for companionship and community explains in part the popularity of Twelve-Step programs. Addictions are nearly impossible to overcome alone. People need a supportive community to encourage them and to hold them accountable. Ideally the church could provide this kind of support, too, in resisting various temptations. As Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.”
Jesus did not give in to the temptation to begin his ministry in a human way: attracting followers by giving them what they wanted, or by wowing them with spectacular feats,
or by exerting power over the nations. Instead he chose God’s way.
For Jesus, it may have looked more tempting to take control of all the kingdoms of the world, than to face suffering and death. Yet Jesus chose to follow the way of the cross. To accomplish God’s purposes, Jesus followed God’s plan, no matter how tempting the alternatives seemed.
Most of us have never encountered the devil offering us the world on a platter if we will bow down and worship him. On the other hand, we may have encountered less obvious temptations: anger, selfishness, self-pity, apathy; the temptation to make ourselves feel better by cutting down someone else or gossiping about them; the temptation to look the other way when we should do something to help; the temptation to give up trying to do what’s right and just live our lives as if we and all we have belong to us, not to God. Sometimes we have good intentions of following God, but we get distracted by our worries, or the things we enjoy, or just being busy. Before we know it, our lives are over and we have not done what it was that God put us here to do.
It is easy to live one’s whole life and never think about what God expects of us. Perhaps the biggest temptation of all, the one that covers all the others, is simply doing things our own way, without considering God – or our fellow human beings - at all.
In the words of Bible scholar N.T. Wright, “The temptations we all face, …may be very different from those of Jesus, but they have exactly the same point. They are not simply trying to entice us into committing this or that sin. They are trying to distract us, to turn us aside, from the path of servanthood to which our baptism has commissioned us. God has a costly but wonderfully glorious vocation for each one of us. The enemy will do everything possible to distract us and thwart God’s purpose. If we have heard God’s voice welcoming us as his children, we will also hear the whispered suggestions of the enemy.
But, as God’s children, we are entitled to use the same defense as the son of God himself. Store scripture in your heart, and …use it. Keep your eyes on God, and trust God for everything. Remember your calling, to bring God’s light into the world.”
With God’s help, and the help of your brothers and sisters in Christ, say “no to the voices that [try to] lure you” away from the God who loves you so much. Amen.
Sermon @Deborah Troester, 2026