Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 4:1-11 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 4Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Verse 2He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. Verse 3The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." Verse 4But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Verse 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, Verse 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.'" Verse 7Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Verse 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; Verse 9and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Verse 10Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" Verse 11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Devotion
How do we use the words of scripture? When we call on the power vested in the words of the Bible, is it to build up or to tear down? Do we seek to bring life or death? Are we doing God's work, or our own? Shakespeare wrote that "the devil can cite scripture for his own purposes," and in today's reading we see the devil using the words of Psalm 91 to try to convince Jesus to defy God. In so doing Satan turns scripture into an idol. He thinks he can trick Jesus into mistaking a few words of scripture for the will of God.
The forty days of Lent parallel Jesus' forty days in the wilderness. During this season of self-examination, we are challenged to face our temptations and confess, like Jesus, that we have nothing but God alone on whom to rely. We must fearlessly tear down our idols—even if those idols are built from the very words of scripture.
Prayer
Sovereign God, smash our idols, and fill our mouths with the truth of your holy Word. Amen.