Into Temptation... Into the Wilderness with Jesus

​Into Temptation... Into the Wilderness with Jesus (Matthew 4:1–11)

On Wednesday, many Christians all over the world marked Ash Wednesday. Some may associate it mainly with Roman Catholics, yet for many Protestants too it has become a deeply meaningful doorway into Lent, especially those within the Lutheran and Anglican tradition, but also many ecumenically minded Methodists and Reformed Christians. On Wednesday as ashes were traced on foreheads, of Protestant and Catholic people, they would have heard these ancient words from Genesis 3:19:

“From dust you have come, and to dust you shall return.”

Ash Wednesday is therefore a reminder of our physical mortality. Physically speaking we are fragile. We are finite. And yet it is not a morbid day. It is an honest day. It clears away illusion. It invites participants into a season of preparation — a journey toward the cross, and beyond the cross, toward resurrection and a deeper awakening to our truer and deeper spiritual identity.

Lent has traditionally been a time of repentance, of self-examination, of facing temptations, and of learning again to walk more steadfastly in the way of Jesus.

And that brings us to our passage today.

Matthew tells us that immediately after his baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted.

Now if we consider the Gospel of Mark, which most scholars believe was written first, Mark’s account is brief and stark. Mark simply says that Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan, surrounded by wild animals, and attended by angels.

But Matthew expands that shorter narrative into something far more elaborate and dramatic. Why?

Because Matthew is writing primarily for a Jewish audience. He wants his readers to see Jesus as the fulfilment of Israel’s story, the fulfilment of Israel’s hopes, the true embodiment of what Israel was always meant to be.

And so Matthew deliberately shapes this story to echo Israel’s forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

Israel passed through the waters of the Red Sea, and then entered the wilderness.
Jesus passes through the waters of baptism, and then enters the wilderness.

Israel wandered for forty years.
Jesus fasts for forty days.

Israel was tested in the wilderness.
Jesus is tested in the wilderness.

But here is the crucial point: where Israel failed, Jesus stands firm.

Each of the three temptations deliberately echoes Israel’s wilderness experience.

1. Firstly, Stones into Bread

After forty days of fasting, Jesus is hungry. The tempter says:

“If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

This is not a trivial temptation. Israel too was hungry in the wilderness. According to Israel’s epic story, they grumbled against God. They longed to return to Egypt. They doubted God’s provision.

Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy:

“One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

That quotation comes from Deuteronomy 8, which is a reflection on Israel’s wilderness hunger. According to the story, Israel learned, slowly and painfully, that life depends on trusting God.

Where Israel grumbled, Jesus trusts.
Where Israel demanded bread on their own terms, Jesus entrusts himself to the Father.

This first temptation is about more than food. It is about using power to meet legitimate needs in illegitimate ways. It is about self-sufficiency rather than trust. It is also a story of Jesus discerning what kind of leader he would be.  Would he try and win people over by providing all their physical needs for them, or would he teach them that there is a deeper spiritual dimension to life that needs to be satisfied to live a truly satisfying life. 

2. Secondly, Throw Yourself Down

In the story, the tempter takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and says:

“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.”

This echoes another moment in Israel’s story, at Massah in the desert, when they tested God, demanding proof of God’s presence: “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Jesus again quotes Deuteronomy: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Israel demanded signs. Israel tested God. Jesus refuses to manipulate God into proving himself. He will not build his mission on spectacle. He will not coerce belief through dramatic displays.

3. Thirdly, All the Kingdoms of the World

Finally, the tempter shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory:

“All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.”

In this last temptation we hear echoes of Israel’s repeated temptation toward idolatry, the golden calf, the worship of Baal, the desire to be “like the nations.”

Again Jesus quotes Deuteronomy:

“Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”

This is the deepest temptation of all: the temptation to achieve good ends by compromised means. The temptation to gain the kingdoms of the world through allegiance to the spirit of domination.

Israel longed for political security, military triumph, visible glory. Would Jesus fall into the trap and seek to fulfil these hopes? 

And here we must pause.

What Kind of Messiah would Jesus be?

In Jesus’ day, many longed for a Messiah. But they longed for a particular kind of Messiah: A strong man. A big man. A warrior king.

One who would raise an army, defeat Rome, restore national sovereignty, echo the conquest stories of old, crushing the Amalekites, Gideon routing enemies, David defeating the Philistines.

For many, “Kingdom of God” meant the political restoration of Israel.

But in these temptations, something profound is happening. Jesus is not only resisting the inner temptations we all must face. He is discerning what kind of Messiah he will be.

Will he use power to dominate and to force his own way?
Will he seize political control forcing others to submit to him?
Will he rule like the kingdoms and rulers of this world, lording it over those beneath him?

Or will he embody something radically different?

The Kingdom of God, as Jesus proclaims it, is not a political nation-state. It is not built on military might. It is not secured by violence.

For Jesus, the Kingdom of God is the reign of love.

It is like yeast working invisibly through dough.
It is like a mustard seed growing quietly into a tree.
It transcends tribal boundaries.
It embraces every tribe and tongue.
It heals the nations.

The inspiration for Jesus’ Messiahship is not the warrior stories of conquest in the Old Testament, but the vision of Isaiah’s suffering servant, the one who bears wounds in order to bring healing.

Here, in the wilderness, Jesus chooses the path of the servant.

And the season of Lent invites us into this same wilderness.

We may not be tempted to turn stones into bread, but we are tempted to trust our own resources more than God.

We may not stand on the temple pinnacle, but we are tempted to demand signs, to manipulate outcomes, to seek spectacle.

We may not be offered “all the kingdoms of the world,” but we are tempted to compromise our integrity and our humanity by power, influence, recognition, security.

And perhaps most subtly, we are tempted to reshape Jesus into our preferred image: 
A nationalist Jesus.  A partisan Jesus. A triumphant strongman Jesus.

But the Jesus of the wilderness chooses another way.   Matthew ends this passage quietly:

“Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.”

The wilderness is not the final word. Temptation is not the final word. Even mortality, those ashes on our foreheads, is not the final word.

The one who refuses domination will walk toward a cross. The one who refuses spectacle will suffer humiliation. The one who refuses worldly power will be crowned with thorns. And yet beyond the cross lies resurrection.

Lent is a season of preparation. It is a season of repentance, not as shame, but as realignment. A season of choosing again what kind of kingdom we belong to.  Will we build lives around control, fear, and domination?  Or will we yield to the slow, transforming reign of love?

In the wilderness, Jesus chooses love. He chooses trust. He chooses the servant path. And because he does, angels attend him.

May this Lent be for us a wilderness not of despair, but of clarity.  A place where illusions fall away.
A place where we rediscover who we are, dust, yes, but dust breathed upon by God.

And may we walk with Christ, through temptation toward the cross, and through it, into the dawn of resurrection.

Amen.