A Time of Testing
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tested by the devil. 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:1-2a,13)
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus' baptism is followed immediately by a recounting of his genealogy. This lineage goes all the way back to Adam, who is listed as the son of God because God breathed life into him. Jesus is also the Son of God - both by his conception and by God claiming him at his baptism. Jesus is humanity's reboot, the second Adam. Where Adam faced the testing of the serpent, Jesus had to face the testing of the devil - considered to be the same tester who made Job his target. But where Adam failed, and Job questioned, Jesus conquered.
We can get tripped up by the same flawed thinking of Adam and Job - is God really good or is God holding out on us, keeping something from us that we deserve? Jesus, though, avoided this conundrum by maintaining a mindset of humility. When Jesus was tempted to use his power to satisfy his hunger rather than keeping his fast, Jesus chose to continue to allow God to sustain him. In response to the temptation to gain power by becoming a slave to it, Jesus refused to bow to anything other than God. Lastly, when Jesus was tempted to twist scripture to use his chosen-ness to rise above the pain of life, Jesus chose to keep his humanity even though the
price was his own suffering.
Life will offer us many opportunities to choose between God and self, trust and fear, humility and self-righteousness. May we strive to follow the way of Christ, reminded that whatever God takes us to, God will take us through - to the glory of God.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:10-13)
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