~Matthew 4.1-2 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted(or tested) by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Putting aside the discussion of Jesus being led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, I want to think about the fasting. Jesus fasted for well over five weeks! And I doubt he had protein drinks as a supplement. We have no clear word of why Jesus fasted. Why would the Holy Spirit want him to stop the normal, natural daily intake of food? Does voluntary physical hunger have a spiritual benefit? It teaches dependence on God? It dials up our sensitivity to other realms of life? It humbles? Ah. Sacrifice releases power. I remember. Jesus was going to need plenty of power to accomplish his mission.
~Matthew 4.3-4 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Deut 8.3).”
Of course people want to eat when they are hungry. Of course, Jesus was hungry after such a long fast. What would have been wrong with turning the stones to bread? Maybe nothing except that the idea came from Satan. The devil was trying to make eating a priority over getting God’s word. Peterson says, “Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: ‘It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth.’" But hadn’t Jesus just spent forty days in steady-stream communion with the father? Isn’t that what the whole wilderness/fasting experience was about?* Since he’d been without food for that entire time, his hunger seems a reasonable normal biological need, not just human appetite. So I’m left wondering why turning stones to bread would have been on the list of the big three temptations.
*But maybe Jesus wasn’t in communion with the Father for that time. Maybe it was what we might call an authentic God-where-are-you wilderness experience. We fast to get closer and more in tune with God. But maybe Jesus’ entire fasting period was actually an experience of not being so in tune. Whereas in Matthew this temptation is said to be at the end of the forty days; in both Mark and Luke it sounds like the temptation continued all during the forty days. It would make sense coming out of a long dry period that Jesus should look for restoration with God before merely eating. (This raises more questions. Worship first. But wasn't he able to worship in the dessert? I dunno.)
Mark (1.12-13) says nothing about the temptations themselves, but adds details that “Jesus was with the wild animals and angels attended to him.” Here’s a sentence full of interesting images and conjecture. If not feeding him, how would angels attend to a man gone so long without food?
Maybe the thing wrong with turning stones to bread is that God’s miracles are for needs that cannot be met in natural ways. Probably Jesus could have gone into town and made his own bread. Or more likely, he’d have gone into town and some friends or family would see him and say, ‘You look awful! Come on over and let me fix you something to eat.” So maybe turning the stones to bread would have been short circuiting some building of community that God wanted to do. I think of Anthony Campolo’s story: “No, we’re not going to pray for the money to meet this need. You and I are going to open our wallets right now and meet this need!” Maybe that’s why turning the stones to bread was not in God’s will and thus called a temptation.
The other thing I notice here is that the first, most basic thing our Lord thinks of when he is hungry is bread. Not locusts. Not wild honey, like his cousin John. Not a cheeseburger and apple pie like a modern man might envision. Just bread. It’s been called the staff of life—a staple or necessary food. He wanted bread and he was tempted by bread. Bread is good and desirable, but at the wrong time, place, amount, or kind, we can be tempted to sin by it.
~Luke 2.37 [The prophetic widow Anna] never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
More release of power by her fasting?
No comments:
Post a Comment