Fasting empties one of the desire and focus on physical satisfaction while enhancing one's spiritual focus, discipline and value, ideally. After His baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to focus spiritually, leaving worldly pleasure and satisfaction behind.
Jesus, who identifies with us, emptied Himself of worldly satisfaction and was tempted. What we have in Matthew's Gospel here is the juxtaposition of worldly empire values and Kingdom values, presented as choices with a clear message on what is the Will of God. Jesus here demonstrates how we are to face worldly empire values as those who are called to live Kingdom values.
Self-centeredness is a worldly empire value. It seems reasonable to feed the body when hungry, but not when one is fasting, for it is all about focus. Self-indulgence, self-satisfaction, self-promotion above other values leads people to put self above others and God's Will. The indulgence of self most often comes at the expense of someone else. We use people to please ourselves. We exploit others for financial gain, sexual satisfaction, social status and gaining social or political power. When pleasing and satisfying self is our primary value, it is impossible to live the Kingdom values that require selflessness for the sake of other in Agape Love, lifting up "the least" and building healthy community based on love. We do not live by worldly self-satisfaction alone, if we are people of God, but by the values that God calls us to live. The Agape Love that Jesus would teach, command and model for us does not allow for self-satisfaction as our primary value, as Jesus demonstrates in His temptation so that those who read Matthew understand a faithful way with God in the face of this very popular worldly empire value. Jesus gives us an example in Matthew's Gospel, of true Kingdom values and how to fight the temptation to throw them out for self-satisfaction.
Power over others is not a Kingdom value, especially regarding power over God. God is not like other Gods, as knew Moses and those after him. To call on a god's name meant power over that god for some in the days of old. In Roman culture the gods were meant to be praised and appeased, solicited for one's own promotion and given extreme signs of devotion, because their worldly empire value was for the use of power for personal gain. Here we have a lesson in the Kingdom value of honest, respectful, guileless relationship with God beyond using God for personal power or gain. Testing God was about testing to see if God was on one's side, if God would bless one more than others for favor one more than others. The extreme praise, devotion and acts of piety and bold trust were meant to PROVE God's loyalty to a person, thus making others take note so that one could gain favor, status, power and wealth from them. Praise and devotion are meant to be given to God for what God has already given, and who God is with us, and not a sign of a childish need for personal elevation or of proof of God's love for an individual above others. Kingdom values a loving, trusting, agenda-less relationship with God. Jesus stayed faithful to God with integrity.
Power and wealth are the big temptation. This is saved for last because it comes out of the first two, to some degree, but also is saved for the climax of the teaching. Who gives power and wealth? Worldly empire values dictate that it doesn't matter, and that if one will be great or greater, one will give devotion to whoever or whatever can give power and wealth. Kingdom values do not see power and wealth as a goal in life. Kingdom values hold loving relationship as the epitome of life with God. Giving devotion to whoever or whatever gets us more power or wealth for ourselves flies contrary to that value. Jesus would in His first sermon, right after this temptation, make strong statements about what we treasure and where our hearts are (6:19-21) and very clearly that we cannot split our devotion, specifically regarding wealth (6:24). If our goal is more power and wealth for ourselves, our own people or those just like us, we are living worldly empire values and not Kingdom values. In business, in politics and in human interaction, followers of Jesus are called to put relationship with God and Neighbor above the personal gain of power and wealth. This is STILL, perhaps our biggest temptation, and though Jesus modeled for us how to face it, we still fall to this temptation as people who would be followers of Jesus.
We are faced with the same temptations today that Jesus faced in Matthew's Gospel. As followers of Jesus who see His examples of how to fight those temptations, we still stumble regarding worldly empire values and Kingdom values. Self-centeredness, self-indulgence and self-satisfaction, even self-promotion above all else is very tempting, even for those of us who profess to follow the Jesus who commands Agape Love as the center of life with God and Neighbor (active commitment on behalf of the other). Testing God by looking for signs of God's favor and proof that God is blessing us more than others or more highly favoring us, rather than trusting God and being thankful and truly valuing what God has already given us and is to us is all over T-shirts, carry bags, coffee mugs, bible covers and bumper stickers. Giving our devotion to whoever or whatever will get us more power and wealth, even prestige and status in the world is a way of life for many, while claiming devotion to God. Seeing God as a mere formula for quid pro quo personal gain, like a cosmic ATM or Slot machine ready to take our deposits of devotion (in tithes and praise) and then pour out the (monetary, status, power) blessings upon us is not a faithful relationship with God. What we are truly tempted to do is confuse worldly empire values for Kingdom of God values, thus being duplicitous in our devotion and relationship with God and Neighbor for personal gain and actually making "self" our god in the process. Though the temptations of Jesus (and those who follow Jesus) culminate in the climactic big one of wealth and power, temptations all start with focusing on and indulging self as if that is our primary focus on life, as if that is to be our true devotion, and as if we can do that AND be faithful to God. Jesus taught us that it is not faithful, and taught us that like Him, we can embrace Kingdom of God values over worldly empire values in the midst of temptation.
With you being tempted in the wilderness,
Pastor Jamie
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