Matthew 4,1-11 1624
Invocavit 25
Simeon, Bishop of Jerusalem, relative of the Lord, Martyr 107
Martin Luther, Doctor and Confessor, ✠ 1546
18. Februar 2024
1. ℣ He will call to Me and I will listen to him:
℟ I will be delivered when I will glorify Him (Psalm 90,15 vul mas).
О Jesus, You loved us before we even knew You. You gave Yourself up for us when we didn’t yet know anything about You. You have endured shame, ridicule, disgrace and manifold afflictions to make us happy. All this You did for us, for our benefit. Amen. (Pieper 129; English 75).
2. »Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. 2And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. 3And the Tempter arrived 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: »Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.«“ [Deuteronomy 8,3] 5Then the Devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple 6and 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 »On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.«“[Psalm 91,11-12] 7Jesus said to him: „Again it is written: »You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.«“ [Deuteronomy 6,16] 8Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9And he said to Him: „All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.“ 10Then Jesus said to him: „Be gone, Satan! For it is written: »You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.«“ [Deuteronomy 6,13-14] 11Then the Devil left Him, and behold, angels arrived and were ministering to Him.«
3. In his Gospel, the Apostle Matthew presents to the readers and hearers Jesus’ work. With his genealogy, Matthew has informed us of Jesus’ human and Messianic pedigree as God man and God.
4. It is no coincidence in the Western Church that Lent is 40 days in duration. The number 40 appears throughout the Bible: the Flood rains lasted 40 days and nights (Genesis 7,4), Moses was on Sinai twice for 40 days where He received the law (Exodus 24,18) and Goliath taunted the Israelites for 40 days before David defeated him (1. Samuel 17,16). Let’s hear some of the encounter recorded by the Prophet Samuel on David and Goliath.
5. »And the Philistine said: „I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.“ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. For 40 days the Philistine went forward and took his stand, morning and evening. And David said to the men who stood by him: „Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the Living God?“ Then David said to the Philistine: „You approach me with a sword, a spear and a javelin, but I approach you in the Name of the Yahweh sebaoth, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day Yahweh will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Yahweh’s, and He will give you into our hand.“« (1. Samuel17,10-11.16.26b.45-47).
6. We often think of Jesus’ time of wilderness as His time of preparation to begin His ministry. We might picture Him as simply minding His own business and the Devil shows up to divert and defeat Him. We should also contemplate it from the perspective of David and Goliath. David did not tolerate Goliath’s mockery of Yahweh and His people. David aimed to confront Goliath and defeat him. This was Jesus’ intent as well in Matthew 4. This is the same Devil whom Job described as: afflicting Job so that he would curse God and die (Job 2,4-9). The Devil afflicts and torments people to despair and doubt God’s love for them. The Apostle Peter tells us: »Our adversary the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour« (1. Peter 5,8).
7. Adam and Eve were created in the image and likeness of God, yet they succumbed to the Devil’s wiles and fell into sin. As descendants of Adam and Eve, we fare no better against the Devil’s temptations. Daily we yield to sin. Lent is a penitential season that reminds us of this reality.
8. In the wilderness Jesus confronted the Devil, fought him and overcame him. Jesus is Christus Victor over the devil on behalf of Israel, the nations and us as well (Gibbs 198). As Jesus’ disciples, we can learn to recognize the devil’s temptations as attacks on our identity as God’s children, and on what it means to live out that identity in the world and in our vocations (Gibbs 198). From Jesus’ temptation we learn this: Know from God’s Word who we are and how that identity as God’s baptized, adopted child is to be lived out (Gibbs 198). Jesus is our Victor. No matter how many times we fall to the Devil’s temptations, Jesus has overcome the Devil. Christ’s victory is our victory. We have it by our Baptism in God’s Triune Name. We have it by faith in Jesus. We have it by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus has justified us.
9. Jesus also sanctifies us. As we journey through Lent: „Let this be the pattern for all when they practice mercy: show mercy to others, in the same way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as you want others to show mercy to you. Therefore, let prayer, mercy and fasting be one single plea to God on our behalf, one speech in our defense, a threefold united prayer in our favor“ (Peter Chrysologus Sermon 43. Oremus 349. cf. The Fathers of the Church, Vol. 17 90-91).
10. O let Your Word with us remain
That – both, here and there –
Worthy Savior, true and plain,
Goodness and salvation You will spare. (Ach bleib mit deiner Gnade elkg 276,2 2021 Josua Stegmann 1627).
This is most certainly true.
11. Et pax Dei, quæ exuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda vestra, et intelligentias vestras in Christo Jesu. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
12. Let us pray. Grant, O Lord, that when we are tempted, we may resist the devil; that when we are worried, we may cast all our care upon Thee; that when we are weary, we may seek Thy rest; and that in all things we may live this day to Thy glory. Amen. (Invocavit, Matins Collect 2. The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.)
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.
Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Matthew 1:1 – 11:1. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.
Kind, David A. Oremus: A Lutheran Breviary. Copyright © 2015 David A. Kind.
Starck, Johann. Tägliches Hand-Buch. Copyright © 1852 Enßlin & Laiblin.
Starck, Johann. Tägliches Handbuch. Franz Pieper, tr. Copyright © 19oo Concordia Publishing House.
Starck, Johann. Starck’s Prayer Book. Copyright © 2009 Concordia Publishing House.
The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, Volume 17. Father of the Church, Inc. Copyright © 1953
https://archive.org/details/saintpeterchryso0017pete/page/90/mode/2up?view=theater
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