Be Gone, Satan!

Matthew 4: 1-11

First Sunday in Lent

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen.  The sermon text for the first Sunday in Lent is the Gospel reading Matthew 4.  In both our Old Testament reading from Genesis and our Gospel reading from Matthew we hear about Satan the great deceiver. There are many people that don’t believe that Satan exists.  There are many churches that don’t mention anything about Satan at all.  Yet we see very clearly in our readings for today that Satan is real.  We see that he is dangerous and that he is evil.  Throughout the Bible we see that Satan is in open conflict with God.  It is Satan’ desire to deceive each of us. It is God’s desire that we know the truth.  Satan wants us to be a slave to sin.  God wants us to receive His grace and be freed from sin.  Satan wants us in hell, separated from God forever.  God wants us to be in the kingdom of heaven and for us to be in His full presence forever.  The stakes are very high.  Knowing the truth is what is most important.

In our Old Testament reading from Genesis we see Satan appear in the garden of Eden in order to deceive Adam and Eve.  He succeeded.  Our first parents lived in a perfect world, yet they lost it all because they did not trust God.  The Lord provided everything that they needed but instead of staying faithful to the Lord they listened to Satan’s lies.  It was tragic.  Satan tempted them by casting doubt on the Word of God.  God gave Adam and Eve the command that they were not to eat from the tree in the midst of the garden and if they did, they would die.  Satan questioned the clear word of God.  “Did God actually say, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”    Once he created doubt in their minds, he then denied the clear word of God.  “You will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  What Satan was asking is this.  Can God be trusted?  The temptation that he used to lure them was to suggest that there was something better than what God provided.  We are also tempted in the same way.  We sometimes think that there is something better than what we have.  If only I was more wealthy, or healthy, or attractive, then everything would be wonderful.  Satan told Adam and Eve that if they ate the fruit they would be like God. It is the ultimate temptation of Satan to all people.  He lures us into thinking that we are the center of the universe.  That we should be able to control all things.  That our desires are what is most important.  That we should always win over others.  That our will should always be done.

God’s Word is clear and it is always true.  God is to be trusted.  But Satan succeeded in casting doubt in Adam and Eve’s mind.  They didn’t trust God and so they ate the fruit.  In doing so they plunged the world into sin and darkness. As Paul explains to us in our epistle reading from Romans we have all inherited sin from Adam.  It is called original sin.  It leads to actual sin that is committed by all of us.  And as the Scripture says, the wages of sin is death. What happened in the garden of Eden was a complete tragedy.  I have a book that lists the world’s worst disasters in all of history.  Ranked number one is Adam and Eve eating the fruit. This is true.  The fall into sin means separation from God.  It means death and darkness.  It means being in the dominion of Satan. 

All would be lost for you and everyone else except for the fact that God made a promise in Genesis 3:15 that He would send a Savior into the world to redeem us from sin and death and bring us into right relation with God.  The seed of the woman that God promised was of course Jesus Christ the Lord. 

That takes us to our Gospel reading.  After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river He was moved by the Spirit to go into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.  It was a colossal battle between Jesus, the Son of God, and Satan the great deceiver.  There was much at stake.  Jesus went into the wilderness as Israel reduced to one.  You may recall that the people of Israel were in the wilderness for forty years.  During that time they very rarely trusted God even though He provide for them.  Jesus now went into the wilderness for forty days but unlike Adam and Eve, Israel, and all of humanity, He remained faithful to His heavenly Father.  Jesus went into the wilderness on behalf of all people.  He went into the wilderness on behalf of all of us.  It is called His active obedience.  Jesus lived a perfect life in our place. 

It is in the wilderness that Satan went on the attack.  If he could get Jesus to sin just once, then all would be lost. Jesus would no longer be sinless and would not be able to atone for our sins.  Satan used the same tactics that he always does.  “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”  “If you are the Son of God” sounds like “did God really say.”  Of course Jesus is the Son of God.  The Father in heaven declared to all of us at His baptism. The Lord Jesus could have turned stones into bread.  Our Lord used His divine power many times, but it was always in the service to other people.  The Lord never used His divine power for Himself.  Satan wanted Jesus to only focus on self.  Our Lord responded with these words.  “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  Jesus would continue to trust in His heavenly Father as He carried out His plan to win our salvation.

The second temptation revolves around trusting God.  Satan brings Jesus to the top of the temple and says these words. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command His angels concerning you, and on their hands, they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” Satan was taking God’s Word out of its original context and twisting it in order to deceive.  Satan was telling Jesus that no one can really be certain of God’s provision unless God is tested.  Jesus responded with the Word of God in its proper context.  “Again it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”  Jesus responded by saying that He would fully trust the Word of God and that He would never doubt His Father in heaven. 

The third temptation was designed to get Jesus to worship Satan, and the idols of this world rather than worshipping God.  Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. He was temping Jesus to abandon God’s plan to bring salvation to the world.  To continue God’s plan would require Jesus to suffer.  Satan was saying that Jesus could turn away from the cross and instead enjoy the glory of earthly power.  Jesus responded with these words.  “Be gone, Satan!  For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.” Jesus told Satan that He did not come for earthly glory, but He came to bring salvation to the world.  He would continue to follow the will of His heavenly Father and go to the cross.

Jesus resisted all of Satan’s temptations and continued to live a perfect life in our place.  And when the time was right, He did indeed go to the cross.  Jesus defeated Satan and won the victory on behalf of all of us. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus we are saved from sin, death, and hell and are brought into God’s eternal kingdom. 

As Christians we will face temptation and struggle against sin in this life.  But as we live out our life honoring God’s name and serving our neighbor, we know that Jesus is with us.  Our identity is in Christ Jesus.  We are redeemed children of God.  As we face the temptations of Satan and struggle with our sins let us always look to the Lord and trust in Him.  Jesus is the one who has won the victory over sin, Satan, and death.  And He is the one who has given us that victory. Amen.