“Do you renounce the devil?” “Do you renounce all his works?” “Do you renounce all his ways?” The pastor asks those questions to each person being saved through the Word in the waters of holy baptism (LSB, pg 270).
And so I ask you this day, “Do you renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways?” For that question wasn’t only for the moment the purifying waters of baptism glistened your skin. It’s a question that you and I answer every day of our lives. For every day, the world, the devil, and our sinful flesh assault us with one temptation after another. And this season of Lent simply reminds us of this truth, of this never-ending barrage of temptation and sin until God brings us to our eternal home.
At the dawn of time, in the Garden of Eden, our first parents gave in to temptation. Adam and Eve decided no longer to renounce the devil, his works, and his ways. Instead, they embraced the devil, wanting to be like God in the place of God. And the echoing shockwaves have been killing us since then-with death, decay, and destruction wreaking their chaos in our lives.
And yet, when you were baptized into Christ, the Holy Spirit made you a saint of God, a beloved child of the Father in heaven, and He planted a new heart inside you (1 Peter 3:21). Working through the Word, the Holy Spirit created a new self inside you. And that new heart and new self rejoices in the works and ways of Jesus. And this new heart renounces the works and ways of Satan.
But there’s a problem: the old sinful heart is still there, still beating and quivering inside your chest. And so the battle between the old self and the new self rages and simmers. It’s the battle the Apostle Paul was ranting about when he said: “I don’t do the good that I want to do. Instead, I do the evil I don’t want to do” (Romans 7:19).
And that is how we are to hear today’s Gospel reading, knowing that we can’t defeat the devil. For in the end, our own armor will only fail us against the slings of hell.
And so we learn that Jesus facing the devil in the wilderness some 2,000 years ago is not simply some story to serve as an example. It’s not the example for what weapons you need to employ, what courage you must muster, or tactics to use when you battle the devil and the demons that torment your heart and mind.
Today’s Gospel reading shows us the God that Jesus is–and shows us what He does! Jesus shows that He has unflinchingly faced and defeated the devil for us. He shows that His promise to be your savior is not some empty platitude or some shallow feeling that wisps as a vapor in the summer heat.
Your faith is not about your feelings. That’s the lie of Satan. Faith is about Jesus entering the wilderness of your sin, immersing Himself in the thickest thorns of your fallen misery, and defeating the devil for you. Jesus overcomes–not just some abstract, evil force–but the devil who taunts and tempts and haunts and hounds you.
The real Jesus went forward to face the assault of the devil. He was the “one who was tempted in every way that we are– yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). But that wasn’t just back then. Even today, Jesus still acts and conquers. Today for you, Jesus defeats the devil.
Yet, you may be tempted to hear the story of Jesus’ temptation as the example of what you need to do to defeat the devil. If so, then Jesus becomes for you–not so much your savior from sin, death, temptation, and hell–but instead, the Great Example. Dear saint of God, if you could do it on your own, why would Jesus have to face the devil for you? You don’t need an example. You need a savior!
Know this: Jesus is greater than the devil. You’re not. When you see Jesus fighting the devil’s temptations and then say to yourself, “Yes, that’s what I need to do. If I do what Jesus did, then I can defeat the devil and live the victorious Christian life.” If you think that, then you’ve already lost. For when you do that, you’re looking to yourself for the solution, not to Jesus. Jesus is the only true solution for temptation and sin, not you. The One who defeats the devil is Jesus, not you!
Do you think you can subdue the devil by simply quoting a Bible verse? Think again. You aren’t Jesus. The devil knows the Bible better than you do! He can deceive and twist you in so many ways that you won’t know whether you’re coming or going.
Oh, know the Bible, know it well. But don’t know the Bible as a book of living tips. Know the Bible for what it is: the cradle that brings you Christ (John 5:39). It’s the God of the Bible who slays Satan for you, not you quoting some Bible verse. Know the Bible to know the Christ within it!
The moral of the story is not to answer the devil with a Bible verse. The moral of the story is not to tell you what you need to do to defeat the devil, but show you where to turn! It’s not about you and what you have to do. It’s all about Jesus and what He has done and does for you!
When Jesus enters the wilderness to battle Satan, don’t see Him as just entering some deserted place in Judea. See Jesus as entering your wilderness. Jesus is boldly stepping into your own heart’s desolation. That’s where the Lord enters, that’s where the Lord battles, and that’s where the Lord triumphs!
Oh, the mercy of God! He doesn’t just bless you from above while refusing to get dirty. Jesus doesn’t speak hollow words of comfort from afar, to settle the mind and ease the heart. For the One who knew no sin became sin for you that you, not someone else–but you, would become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
That’s what it means that Jesus became your sin for you. That’s what it means that Jesus suffered your temptations, bore your weaknesses, and endured your grief. That’s what it means that Jesus lived your hell and died your death!
Your Lord Jesus doesn’t go into the wilderness only to play a game of war. He doesn’t go into the wilderness to show you what you need to do, or how you must defeat the devil and destroy your own demons. No, Jesus goes into the wilderness to wrestle your fears. He takes on your troubles and heartbreaks, consumes your suffering, and enters your dying. That’s the God you have!
Jesus isn’t only the God of long ago. He’s in your wilderness right now, battling your devils right now, vanquishing your demons, and forgiving your sins. Jesus, through the Spirit He has sent, is holding you so tightly that hell, death, the devil, and nothing else in heaven and earth can snatch you out of His hand (John 10:28).
Jesus goes where your fears fester and lurk and your foulest thoughts give birth to sin. And there He victors in triumph, not to show you how to do it, but to tell you that He’s already done it for you. Yes, for you, for that’s the God that you have, dear Christian.
But the trouble is, is that, many times, you only feel the struggle of faith, not the victory. The flesh wants proof; it wants some feeling, something, anything, to let you know that it’s all OK. But true faith lets God do the work. True faith realizes that Jesus died, rose from the dead, and has overcome everything for you.
In Christ, God the Father has forgiven you. You are clean, pure, and holy, whether you feel that way or not, whether it seems that way or not, whether it makes sense or not. Jesus was tempted–for you. Jesus died and rose–for you. That’s the truth. And that’s what matters. Jesus isn’t the Great Example; He’s the Great Doer. He doesn’t show you the way and leave it at that. No, He is the Way!
And that is how you should hear today’s Gospel. It’s the Lord sending His Son to have mercy on you. It’s the Lord’s Word and sure mercies having their way with your greatest fears. It is the Lord stepping between you and what threatens to undo you. It’s the Lord giving you His strength where you have none. It’s the Lord enduring and persevering even though your hopes fade and your faith falters and stumbles.
Jesus enters your wilderness. He takes on your demons and faces your fears. He consumes your grief and carries your sorrows. He brings to you the victory He won for you in the wilderness when the devil tempted Him. He brings to you His cross-earned victory when He endured your hell and died your death.
Your God is so real that He doesn’t give you fleeting emotions to uphold you. Today, He gives you Himself. Today, He gives you His body and His blood, the same body and blood that resisted the devil’s temptations for you. Today, He gives you the same body and blood that died to give you eternal life.
When you are tempted, know this. The Apostle Paul tells us: “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way of escape so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Did you get that? “God is faithful.” He provides a way out. He provides grace to help you in time of need. “God is faithful.” It’s not about you doing it or getting it right. It’s about God who’s already done it for you.
God is faithful! And that is enough. For our Lord has overcome what you and I could never endure. And today, He gives you His victory onto your tongue and into your ear, stopping the devil’s mouth and silencing his lies. Let the devil be damned, for Jesus has done it all! Amen.
