Palm Sunday

March 16
Palm/Passion Sunday

Matthew 21:1-11

¹When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” ⁴This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

⁵ “Tell the daughter of Zion,

Look, your king is coming to you,

humble, and mounted on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” ¹¹The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Notes on Matthew 21:1-22

Matthew describes the event as the deliberate attempt by Jesus to reveal himself as the peaceful Messiah. He does this by quoting the prophet directly as he so often does. Matthew also alludes to it by reporting that Jesus sends two of his disciples into Bethphage to bring him the humblest of beasts of burden. Zechariah’s prophecy symbolized the peaceful choice of a victorious monarch selecting a donkey as his mount instead of a conqueror’s proud steed for his triumphal entry into his capital city. Inevitably the prophecy became attached to the messianic vision of both Jews and Christians.

One can presume that Jesus had friends in the village nearby. If this was Bethany, as some manuscripts of Mark’s text attests, the friends referred to could have been Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. But there was also a small village a little further east named Bethphage. The name refers to a late-season olive that never appears to ripen, but still are quite edible. That too could have symbolic meaning as an allusion to this being the opening of the Passion narrative. Today there is a Christian church and a mosque on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives marking the presumed place of this village, long since disappeared. The spires of both can be seen from a lookout along the road entering Jerusalem from the west.

Though he had no intention of being king, Jesus’ disciples and others thwarted him by throwing their garments and branches before him just as Jehu had been hailed as king in 2 Kings 9:13. According to the Mishnah of the 2^nd century CE, the custom had precedents in the celebration of the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) when pilgrims collected twigs or branches of myrtle, willow or palm to be bound together in a festal plume, called a lulab to symbolize rejoicing. Waving these lulabs aloft, the pilgrims paraded into the courts of the temple singing the Hallel (Pss. 113-118). It is entirely possible that narratives of the earliest apostolic tradition reflected this practice. The early Christians drew many of the narratives about the life and ministry of Jesus from their Jewish background, no matter whether the events so reported were historical or not.

Literally, “Hosanna!” means “Save now!” or “Help, I pray!” But “Hosanna in the highest” doesn’t really make sense unless it means, “Up with your hosannas!” signaling the moment the pilgrims should wave their lulabs. Matthew may have had Ps. 118:26 in mind, but may also have used it to reflect Ps. 148:1. The New English version reads as if the latter was the intent:

“Hosanna in the heavens!” Did strewing the ground with garments and branches refer to Isaiah’s hailing the returning exiles with “a voice that cries: prepare a road for the Lord through the wilderness?” (Isa. 40:3)? Or was it no more than a sign of honor and spontaneous enthusiasm by those caught up in the excitement of the moment?

According to Luke, only the disciples participated in the celebration, but the text also suggests that the crowd remained silent while the Pharisees complained. Matthew and Mark imply that the crowd turned the incident into a messianic demonstration, which may have been precisely the opposite of Jesus’ intention. Could it also have been Matthew’s sense of the drama about to unfold with tragic consequences?

Reflection Questions

1. Of all the towns to march into so “triumphally,” why do you suppose Jesus chose Jerusalem?
2. Why was there such a large crowd in Jerusalem at this time of the year? What were they shouting as he marched by? What kind of King were the people (and the political authorities) thinking of when they saw Jesus?
3. What difference does it make in your own life that Jesus came as such a “gentle” king?
4. How would you have responded to the coming of Jesus into Jerusalem that day? Would you have understood who he was? Would you have been able to recognize the Son of God through all of the other busy and commercial activities that were happening?

Prayer

Dear Gracious and still-coming God,

You sent Jesus to us to be one of us and to lead us.

Sometimes we recognize Jesus among all of the busyness of life, and sometimes we get caught up and just don’t.

Help us to hear his voice and see his face in the loving connections we have with others around us.

Help us to share his voice with people we know who are lonely and in need of his peace.

In the name of the one who donned death to give life,

Amen

The Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 2, 2008

The blind man: “I Once Was Blind But Now I See”

John 9:1-41

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, ⁷saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. ⁸The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” ¹⁰But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” ¹¹He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” ¹²They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

¹³They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. ¹⁴Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ¹⁵Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” ¹⁶Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. ¹⁷So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

¹⁸The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” ²⁰His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” ²²His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. ²³Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” ²⁵He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” ²⁶They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” ²⁸Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” ³⁰The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. ³²Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” ³⁴They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” ³⁷Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” ³⁸He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. ³⁹Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” ⁴⁰Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” ⁴¹Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Notes on John 9:1-41

Perhaps Jesus encounters the blind man in the outer courts of the Temple, where beggars habitually gathered. Illness and physical disability were attributed to sin; in this case, either of the man (prenatally) or of “his parents” (v. 2). Jesus dismisses the link between sin and illness; rather he says that this man’s impairment provides opportunity to do the works of God.

Jesus and his followers (“we,” v. 4) must do his mission while they can. A time is coming (from his crucifixion to his resurrection) when he, “the light of the world” (v. 5) will not be in the world, so he will be unable to “work” (v. 4, and the disciples will desert him).

Jesus takes earth (the substance from which human, Adam, was made), makes a “mud” (v. 6) poultice, and applies it to the man’s eyes. If he has trust enough to go to the “pool” (v. 7) and wash it off, he will have sight. He does; thus Jesus completes one of “God’s works” (v. 3). John draws attention to “Siloam” (v. 7) as meaning “Sent,” thereby alluding to Jesus as sent for the salvation of humankind – so washing symbolizes baptism.

Despite the man’s claim to be the one who was a beggar, those who know him are divided: some say “it is he” (v. 9) but others doubt: he only looks like the beggar. In vv. 10-22, the man confirms his cure as genuine. The Pharisees consider making mud on the Sabbath as breaking the Law (v. 14) so they examine the man. They too are divided (v. 16): between those who say Jesus can’t be from God (for he breaks the Law) and those who wonder how a Sabbath-breaker can perform miracles (which only one approved by God can do). So they question the man further, hoping that the dilemma can be resolved by discrediting the cure (v. 17). They ask: What do you say about his opening of your eyes? He insists that Jesus’ power is from God (“a prophet”).

The man’s parents swear that their son was blind from birth but say no more, for fear of being cast out of the community (vv. 18-23). The Pharisees invite the man to confess that he has deceived them in claiming to be cured (v. 24). (“Give glory to God” is an Old Testament formula inviting confession.) The man boldly asserts the fact of the cure and adds, ironically, if you listen to my story you may admit that Jesus is right! (v. 27)

They question Jesus’ authority: “we know” (v. 29) that the Law is from God, but Jesus is an upstart! The man ridicules their expert opinion (v. 30). God only listens to sinners who are penitent (v. 31). Jesus must be “from God” (v. 33) for no one has ever before performed such a cure (v. 32). For trying to teach the Pharisees a lesson, the man is evicted from the synagogue (“drove him out,” v. 34). Jesus invites him to express his faith shown by his conduct (vv. 35-38). He says he became human for two purposes: to give understanding, sight, of ultimate reality, and to punish those who think they “see” (v. 39) but don’t. The Pharisees are incredulous (v. 40). Jesus says: if you were ignorant of God’s ways (“blind,” v. 41) you would be considered sinless, but you make the unfounded assumption that you do “see,” so you are liable to be punished.

Reflection Questions

1. What lies behind the disciples’ question in v. 1? Curiosity? A trap? Compassion? How does Jesus’ answer address the man’s pain?
2. When you encounter someone who is physically damaged, how do you respond? Like Jesus or like the disciples?
3. When the Pharisees question the man, the crowd, his family etc. what are they truly looking for? What are they afraid to find out? Do they have an ulterior motive?
4. What does the man who was healed of his blindness “see” about Jesus that the investigators were unable to see (cc. 12, 17, 25, 27, 30-33)?
5. The blind man tried to explain his new faith by saying “I once was blind, but now I see.” How does that statement relate to your own religious faith? Who is the toughest person you know to explain your faith to? Why?
6. Do you find it hard to explain your faith to anybody? Everybody? Why?
7. When you invite someone to come with you to church this coming Easter, do you think they will come? Will they want you to explain your faith to them? What would you say if they asked?
8. Who have you thought about inviting who does not regularly go to this or any other church? (Hint: to give you courage, one idea is to write the person’s name on a piece of paper and stick it on your bathroom mirror so that you can look at it and silently pray for that person every morning. Eventually you will receive the courage to invite him or her to church.)

Prayer

O dear God, Redeemer and sustainer of all that is.

Keep us in your care. Open our eyes that we may see your face and never be afraid again. Open our mouths that we might tell others of the joy we feel in your presence and in the presence of your church. In the name of the Christ who healed blindness and created oneness,

Amen.

The Third Sunday of Lent

February 24

Living Water, Woman at the Well

John 4:5-42

⁵So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

⁷A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” ⁸(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) ⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) ¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? ¹²Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” ¹³Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” ¹⁵The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” ¹⁷The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” ¹⁹The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” ²⁶Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

²⁷Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” ²⁸Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ²⁹”Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” ³⁰They left the city and were on their way to him.

³¹Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” ³²But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” ³⁴Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. ³⁵Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. ³⁶The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. ³⁷For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

³⁹Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” ⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. ⁴¹And many more believed because of his word. ⁴²They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

Notes on John 4:5-42

Note that Rabbis were not supposed to speak to strange women in public and Jews considered Samaritans ritually unclean, so the woman is surprised by Jesus’ request (v. 9). Jesus answers her: if you knew that God gives to those who ask (“‘the gift of God’,” v. 10) and that I am his agent, you would be the one asking for a drink, “‘and he would have given you living water’.” She misunderstands, thinking that he asks for spring water. (A legend about Jacob: for him water rose to the top of this well and overflowed.) Are you counting on such a miracle, for “you have no bucket” (v. 11). This water was good enough for Jacob, so are you greater than him? Jesus contrasts the well water with “water gushing up to eternal life” (v. 14). (In John, living water is the vehicle of the gift of the Spirit in baptism.) While she still doesn’t understand, she at least now asks (v. 15).

Vv. 16-18 are difficult to follow, but they do show that Jesus has insight, so she believes he must be “a prophet” (v. 19), and can therefore resolve a religious dispute: the common ancestors of the two peoples worshiped on Mount Gerizim (“this mountain,” v. 20) but Jews claim that the only proper worship site is Jerusalem.

Jesus replies (v. 21): “the hour” of God’s intervention in the world “is coming”; then cultic sites will be irrelevant. Samaritans, by accepting only part of the Bible, denied themselves access to the part of God’s end-time plans given through the prophets (“what you do not know,” v. 22); “Jews” are at least on the right track.

The time is both “coming, and ... now here” (v. 23) to worship God spiritually, discerning “truth,” the reality revealed in Jesus. God is “spirit” (v. 24, life-giving power). She decides to wait to understand until the “Messiah” (v. 25) comes, but Jesus tells her: “‘I am he’” (v. 26). In her haste to tell others about this amazing man, she leaves her “water jar” (v. 28) behind. Come, she says, judge for yourselves! Jesus tells his disciples that the real food that sustains his life is obeying God and completion of his task (v. 34). There is no time to delay (v. 35a) God’s harvest, “Gathering fruit for eternal life” (v. 36, conversion to Christ) is ready now. Others have already begun to sow, and preach the good news. Meanwhile, after hearing the woman’s witness, many hear for themselves and come to believe in Christ. Jesus is “truly the Savior of the world” (v. 42).

Reflection Questions

1. If you were raised to believe that Samaritans were despicable people, how would you feel about Jesus for making a special effort to wander through a Samaritan town talking to people? If you were raised to believe that men were not supposed to talk to women in the streets, how would you feel toward him for talking to a woman? (See 4:27 for his disciples reaction.)
2. How would you describe the woman’s response to Jesus’ questions?
3. Is there something significant in the fact that Jesus chose a woman to be the first person to whom he revealed his true nature?
4. What social, ethnic, racial, political, religious barriers do you have difficulty overcoming? What aspects of Jesus’ conversation could help you in your own growth and development as a Christian?

Prayer

God of life and breath,

Jesus reached out to the woman at the well,

do we have the courage to reach out to others as well?

Jesus broke the barriers of custom and prejudice of his day to share your love with the loveless, do we have the courage to do the same today?

All around us are people who are hurting, lost, or lonely. With your “living Water” within us we could be agents of your grace and invite them into your family.

Help us to find the courage, the strength, the wisdom, to reach out to those in the world who are lonely and share with them your love. “The fields,” as Jesus said, “are ripe for harvesting.”

We pray that we might strengthen our church and your kingdom by sharing your love.

Amen

The Second Sunday of Lent

February 17, 2008

Nicodemus Born Again

John 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ²He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” ³Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. ⁷Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⁹Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

¹¹”Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶”For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

¹⁷”Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Notes on John 3:1-17

Nicodemus, a prominent Pharisee and teacher, comes to Jesus to ask him questions. He comes secretly (“by night,” v. 2) because a man of his stature could not be seen consulting Jesus. He has understood from Jesus’ miracles (“signs”) that Jesus is “from God.” But Jesus (in v. 3) tells him that he has not yet understood the main point: to “see the kingdom of God,” spiritual rebirth is required. Nicodemus misunderstands: he thinks Jesus is speaking of biological rebirth (v. 5). Being “born from above” (v. 3) requires being baptized (v. 6).

“Flesh” and “spirit” were seen as constituents of life, of which spirit (breath, wind, pneuma) was the life-giving force. Many things can be seen only in their effect; such is birth in the Spirit (v. 8). Still Nicodemus doesn’t understand: in order for him to do so, he needs to have faith (“receive our testimony,” v. 11). Then, in v. 12, Jesus says: you, Nicodemus, don’t comprehend what can be told in analogies (“earthly things,” i.e. “wind,” v. 8), so how can you possibly believe mysteries?

Vv. 13-17 are a monologue. Only Christ has descended and ascended. The “serpent” (v. 14) is mentioned in Numbers 21:9-11: the people were bitten by poisonous snakes; some died; others became gravely ill. Instructed by God, Moses mounted (“lifted up”) a bronze snake on a pole. Those who looked at this emblem (trusting in God) were healed, lifted up, given life. God in his love provides eternal life to all who believe (v. 16). If you willfully do not believe, you will perish. There is no third alternative! God’s intention is that you believe, rather than be condemned (v. 17).

Reflection Questions:

1. The term “born from above” (3:3) was translated in the old King James Version as “born again” and became a frequently used phrase for understanding what it means to be a Christian. What does the phrase “born again” or “born from above” mean to you? Do the two different translations have different meanings?
2. John 3:16 is also a famous passage in the Bible. What does believing in Christ mean to you?
3. “Eternal Life” is a hard concept for our small minds to fathom. Jesus seemed to be saying that eternity did not begin at death, but right now in our life in relation with Jesus. What do you need to do to in your own life to begin feeling eternity within you?

Prayer

Dear God,

You have birthed us into physical life and now you give birth to us in spiritual life. We are baptized physically in water and spiritually in the Holy Spirit. Never let us fall away from your care.

Never let us take your grace for granted.

Never let us succeed in our belief that we can live without you.

In the name of your only begotten Son in whom we believe,

Amen.

The First Sunday of Lent

February 10

Temptation of Jesus

Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. ³The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶saying to him, “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,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

⁷Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,

and serve only him.’”

¹¹Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Notes on Matthew 4:1-11

“Forty days” (v. 2) reminds us of Moses and Elijah, both of whom also fasted for forty days as they prepared for their roles as God’s agents to Israel – as does Jesus. All three of the temptations the Devil (“the tempter,” v. 3, “Satan,” v. 10) presents to Jesus are ways of sinning against the great commandment in Deuteronomy 6:5: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, ... soul, and ... might..” The “heart” was the seat of will, of moral choice; “soul” means life; “might” means possessions. (All Jesus’ answers are from Deuteronomy 6-8.)

To change “stones” (v. 3) into bread would be rebellion against divine will: God made stones stones and bread bread. Jesus says that the “word” (v. 4) of God is the chief nourishment.

The “holy city” (v. 5) is Jerusalem; a “pinnacle” probably overlooked the temple courts and the deep Kidron Valley. Jesus answers: testing God’s protection by unnecessarily risking life is a mockery of real martyrdom – and of his sacrifice to come (v. 7).

The Devil, evil forces personified, invites Jesus to prefer personal wealth and power over love of God (vv. 8-9). Jesus answers: God is the only god to be worshipped and served (v. 10). The details make the point that Jesus is the perfect lover of God, the ideal Israelite, the founder of a new way of being human.

Reflection Questions

1. Ask yourself, for each of the three temptations: What is the nature of the temptation, Why might it appeal to Jesus? How does Jesus respond?
2. What human need is at the heart of each temptation? How are these same needs evident in your own life? What is your greatest temptation right now? How can others help you with it?

Prayer

Jesus,

who knew temptation and hunger for our sake: Free us from all covetousness, and wake us from indifference to evil. For the life of the world, we pray;

Amen.