Between the Wilderness and Jerusalem: Uncertainty, Temptation, and Salvation
by Fr. Benjamin Wall
Sermon: Between the Wilderness and Jerusalem: Uncertainty, Temptation, and Salvation
Series: Lent 2019
Reading: Luke 4:1-13
Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and tested 40 days by Satan. It is a story of light and darkness and salvation in an unexpected place full of uncertainties—the wilderness. In short, what we read in Luke’s gospel story is that Jesus gives up seemingly good things — food, power, and prominence — preferring a life with God, which results in victory over Satan, sin, and death. However, Luke's story has less to do with the things Jesus resists and much more to do with his rejection of Satan’s subtle lies concerning his true identity. Jesus knows who he is, the Son of God, God in the flesh, God’s salvation, and in, with, and to whom he belongs, Almighty God. It is because of Jesus’ rejection of Satan, sin, and death that we have life and salvation in Him. Amen.
Questions:
1) What cultural aspirations shape your life? What have you gained in this shaping? Are there any losses from what you have gained? What have you actually gained? What have you actually lost?
2) Self-Examination: In what ways do you benefit from the very things Jesus resists in the wilderness (comfort, power, influence/prestige at home, work, church, community, etc)? What might God be calling us to concerning these things?
3) Where are you most tempted? Why are you most prone toward these temptations and not others? Are they external or internal? Are they the result of the person you've allowed yourself to become through the choices you've made?
4) What might God be calling you to give up for Lent, and possibly for the remainder of your Lenten life?
