Image: The Temptation of Christ by Tobias Verhaecht
March 9, 2025: Lent 1C
Luke 4:1-13
I’ve been a pastor long enough to have started several sermons with references to the Star Wars film franchise. And to have heard many more. Sometimes, I think it’s a mark of laziness for a pastor to begin his sermon with a Star Wars reference. Kind of like using one’s family members for a sermon illustration. So with that qualification in mind, here’s an illustration from The Empire Strikes Back.
Quick points of reference for anyone unaware: Luke Skywalker, our hero, is a nobody from an insignificant planet, who fights the evil Empire through the power of the Force, which animates and flows through all life. Yoda, an ancient, wise teacher of the nearly-extinct Jedi order, is in exile on the jungle planet Dagobah. After his first Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi dies, Luke flies to the Dagobah system to continue his Jedi training under Yoda. During this training, Yoda constantly warns Luke to embrace the Light Side of the Force (fueled by peace and harmony) and beware the Dark Side (fueled by anger and hate). Yoda says, “If once you start down the Dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.” At one point, Luke stops and asks Yoda, “Is the Dark Side stronger?” Yoda replies, “No. Quicker, easier, more seductive.”
And in a way, that is what the devil tempts Jesus with in our reading from Luke’s gospel—the quicker, easier, more seductive path, which ultimately leads to destruction.
We might think of these temptations as rather strange ones. On the surface, they seem eminently reasonable. Jesus has been fasting in the desert for forty days and forty nights, which is Bible-speak for “a fair length of time”. Jesus is famished at the end of this extreme fast. Why not make some bread for himself to keep his strength up? In fact, why not become a bread factory to feed all the hungry children of the world? Let’s go farther. Why not take direct control of the kingdoms of the world? The world was just as messy then as it is now. Wars, oppression, random violence, loss of home or livelihood, crop failure—all those things threatened residents of the Roman Empire, as they threaten people around the world today. Jesus could just fix things, right? He could take the struggle out of being human. And while throwing oneself from the Temple is a little weird, it makes sense. Jesus is an unknown. Why not do something dramatic to become known? Why not give the people a good show, so they know that he has authority and power from heaven? Fame can translate to power, and if Jesus uses that power for good, what’s wrong with doing it?
The problem is that these three temptations—to accumulation of resources, to control, and to spectacle—represent the quick, easy, and seductive path. And that path inevitably and invariably leads to accumulation of those things merely for the sake of accumulating them. And ultimately, that becomes one’s idol. We put our trust in resources, in control, and in self-authorizing fame (which can be taken away at any time) instead of the one true God: the Father of us all, His Son, and their Spirit.
And Jesus knows this. Jesus will not be a quick-fix messiah, solving all humanity’s problems with the snap of a finger (kind of like Thanos from the Marvel series). Jesus knows that his path to Lordship, which he already possesses, doesn’t lie in being the emperor of the world after the manner of Augustus or Tiberius. It doesn’t lead to a palace, silk robes, or to courtiers currying favor. And it doesn’t require an army or a bureaucracy. The path of Jesus Christ leads to a cross outside Jerusalem, where he will expose the death-dealing powers of the world for what they are. And then he will shock the world by defeating those powers in his resurrection, blunting death’s sting forever. Jesus’s path is not the quick and easy path. It is the slow path that leads through suffering and death to life on the other side.
And that is the path Jesus calls us to take with him. Yet, throughout history, governments, organizations, individual human beings, and even the church have taken the devil up on his offer. After all, we might think, if I just accumulate more, won’t I be able to do more good with what I have? If we just put on a good show, make a name for ourselves, won’t we be able to do more good with the folks who come through the door? (I remember a pastor who once told me, “We need a good gimmick to get some new folks.”) If we can just control things better, wouldn’t the world be a better place? We love the quick and easy fix, otherwise the lottery wouldn’t be so popular.
It seems reasonable. But the mindset on control, accumulation, and spectacle takes us away from our purpose as disciples of Jesus Christ. We follow Jesus Christ, who suffered, died, and rose again to win back this world for its creator, redeemer, and sustainer, not the lure of getting more for ourselves in a cheap, easy way. We follow Jesus Christ not because his way is easy. We follow him because he is trustworthy and faithful to us, even when we are not faithful to him. We follow Jesus even, as the song goes, when the road is marked with suffering, when there’s pain in the offering. We follow Jesus in spite of all the would-be messianic pretenders out there, falsely promising happiness and peace if only we buy their product. If only we go on this self-improvement program. If only we make church more entertaining. If only we can get our families to do x, y, or z. If only we vote for the right person. In contrast, Jesus’s path doesn’t shy away from the difficulty. There is suffering on the way. But his way is the only way that leads to life on the other side. And he is faithful—even when the devil is besetting us, tormenting us, tempting us, shoving our failures in our face—Jesus the Living Word of God is there, encouraging us and gently leading us onward.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, your Son Jesus Christ confronted the devil’s lies, choosing the path of the cross over the path of destruction. Help us when we are tempted or tormented to trust what you say about us rather than what the devil says. Save us always from trials that are too great for us, and keep our faith strong whatever comes. In Jesus’s name with the Holy Spirit we pray. Amen.
© 2025, David M. Fleener. Permission granted to copy and adapt original material herein for non-commercial purposes with appropriate credit given.