Reading: Luke
4:1-13
As we begin the season of Lent our attention is brought
to Jesus’ suffering. In our Gospel reading for Sunday he suffered physically
and spiritually.
He suffered physically because he was fasting. This
passage contains one of the greatest understatements in the whole Bible. After
saying that Jesus hadn’t eaten in forty days, it reports that he was hungry.
Fasting was a normal part of the piety of the Jews as Jesus’ time. Many
religious Jews fasted at least one day a week. Jesus himself once said that his
followers would fast also. So while it is not required for us to give up
anything for Lent, we might consider and try fasting for a day to get an idea …
a bare inkling … of where Jesus was in this reading. To let our experience lead
us into prayer, gratitude, and repentance (when we see how attached to earthly
things we really are!).
Jesus also suffered spiritually. He faced three potent
temptations. The first was to turn stones into bread so he could eat. He was
being tempted to not trust his Father’s provision. The second was to avoid the
cross by worshipping the devil, because the devil would then give the world to
him. He was tempting him to turn away from his purpose. The third was to throw
himself from the pinnacle of the temple to test God’s promises of protection.
He was tempting him to prove God’s promises instead of trusting them in faith.
Also, we should notice that the devil left Jesus until an
opportune time. He does not give up easily, which means that we must always be
in prayer for God’s protection.
How are you suffering physically and/or spiritually? Have
you experienced God’s provision, his purpose, his promises in your life?
Lord Jesus, you
thwarted the temptations you faced by turning to Scripture and proclaiming God’s
Word. Thank you for the recording of your Word in the Bible, which the Holy
Spirit inspired to be written so we might believe, be guided, and be comforted.
Forgive us for the times that we have given in to temptation and sinned against
our Father’s will for us. Strengthen us to believe your Word and Promises even
more deeply so that we follow you without fear, and we resist temptations to
sin. When we do sin, however, lead us ever back to your cross and the
forgiveness you won for us there. Amen.
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