The Temptations of Christ

Homily
FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT
13 FEBRUARY 2005

Mt 4:1-11

[Mat 4:1] Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
[Mat 4:2] He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.
[Mat 4:3] The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread."
[Mat 4:4] He said in reply, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'"
[Mat 4:5] Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
[Mat 4:6] and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you and 'with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"
[Mat 4:7] Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'"
[Mat 4:8] Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
[Mat 4:9] and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me."
[Mat 4:10] At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'"
[Mat 4:11] Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.
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1. Introduction

In today's Gospel, we see Jesus confronting and defeating Satan. Jesus endured and resisted temptation, paving the way for grace to be restored to the world. As the new Adam, he resisted that temptation to which the first Adam had been subject, and by which had been defeated, bringing sin into the world.

In the words of St. John Chrysostom regarding today's Gospel:

Jesus' temptation was for our instruction. Jesus did whatever was necessary for our salvation by both acting and being acted upon.

Jesus, true God and true Man, permitted Himself to be tempted by Satan for our instruction and edification. He permitted Satan to act on His person by transporting Him first to the pinnacle of the Temple, and then to the peak of a high mountain.

Imitating Jesus in our Christian walk, we grow in virtue in this twofold manner: by the good we do and by the evil we endure.

2. The Temptations of Christ

St. Gregory the Great says, a father of the church, says regarding today's Gospel:

Jesus dealt with three temptations---to gluttony, vainglory, and avarice. All three recapitulated the (one) temptation of Adam. By this we are taught to answer all temptation with Scripture.

In today's first reading from Genesis, we read that Eve saw that the tree was good for food; she experienced the temptation of gluttony: she wanted to eat something forbidden to her, beyond the plenty already supplied to her by the Lord.

Moreover, she saw that the tree was pleasing to the eyes; she experienced the temptation of avarice: she wanted to possess something over and above the plenitude of that which she already possessed.

Finally, she saw that the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom: she experienced the temptation of vainglory, believing the serpent's lie that she would be like gods who know what is good and what is evil.

Adam, who was with her, also experienced and succumbed to these temptations.

Jesus experienced and resisted these same temptations, winning grace where sin had abounded. As it says in today's second reading:

[Rom 5:17] For if, by the transgression of one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus Christ.

2.1 The Temptation to Gluttony

Adam succumbed to the temptation of gluttony. Satan presents this temptation to Jesus, saying, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." Not that Jesus, after a forty-day fast, would consider eating bread gluttonous. The temptation he resisted was to satisfy His hunger by means of a miracle.

Jesus, the new Adam, resists this temptation by quoting scripture: "'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." This scripture is found in Chapter 8 of the Book of Deuteronomy:

[Deu 8:1] "Be careful to observe all the commandments I enjoin on you today, that you may live and increase, and may enter in and possess the land which the LORD promised on oath to your fathers.
[Deu 8:2] Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments.
[Deu 8:3] He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.

2.2 The Temptation to Vainglory

Adam succumbed to the temptation to vainglory. Satan presents this temptation to Jesus, saying, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down (from the parapet of the temple). For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you and 'with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus, the new Adam, resists this temptation by again quoting scripture: "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'" This scripture is found in Chapter 6 of the Book of Deuteronomy:

[Deu 6:16] "You shall not put the LORD, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah.
[Deu 6:17] But keep the commandments of the LORD, your God, and the ordinances and statutes he has enjoined on you.

2.3 The Temptation to Avarice

Adam succumbed to the temptation to avarice. Satan presents this temptation to Jesus, taking him up to a very high mountain, and showing him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
saying, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me."

Jesus, the new Adam, resists this temptation, saying, "Get away, Satan!" Again quoting scripture, Jesus says, "It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'" This scripture is also found in Chapter 6 of the Book of Deuteronomy:

[Deu 6:13] The LORD, your God, shall you fear; him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear.
[Deu 6:14] You shall not follow other gods, such as those of the surrounding nations,
[Deu 6:15] lest the wrath of the LORD, your God, flare up against you and he destroy you from the face of the land; for the LORD, your God, who is in your midst, is a jealous God.

3. Jesus Resists the Temptations by Quoting Scripture

Jesus resisted each of Satan's temptations by quoting scripture. He did not manifest his divinity to Satan. Rather than His divinity, what He did manifest was Himself as the new Adam who would defeat Satan's cunning. As it says in the second chapter of Philippians:

[Phil 2:5] Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
[Phil 2:6] Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
[Phil 2:7] Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,
[Phil 2:8] he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

He did not manifest His divinity to Satan; that is, He performed no miracle in resisting Satan's temptations. Instead, He quoted scripture. He did so, so that WE WOULD BE ABLE TO IMITATE HIM. He gives us a share in His victory over Satan, by permitting our participation in spiritual warfare, and by showing us how we are to behave while undergoing temptation that is from the evil one.

Are we then, to quote scripture when tempted? The answer is yes--and it can be simply done. The entire New Testament has a terse recapitulation in the Second Chapter of Philippians: "JESUS CHRIST IS LORD". This four-word scriptural quotation is eminently suitable as a weapon in spiritual warfare.

JESUS: Yeshua; Yah-schwa: "Yaweh is savior".
CHRIST: Messiah; the anointed one; the bearer of the Holy Spirit.
IS LORD: Adonai, the God of Israel: of both the old Israel and the New Israel, the Church.

When tempted, stand firm in the power of the quotation "JESUS CHRIST IS LORD". It is not a mantra; it is a witness to the truth of the New Covenant revealed in the New Testament. Recite this quotation in a sober and attentive manner, and then turn to prayer, using the "Our Father" and the "Hail Mary", or better yet, recite the rosary.

Our Lord has won the war against evil, but has permitted each of us to share in his victory through our battles against sin and Satan. Satan is a defeated foe who cannot touch our wills. In resisting his temptations, we follow in the footsteps of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ Who does not say "go on", but "come, follow me". To Him be praise, honor, and glory now and forever. Amen.