Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.

Hungry indeed, these readings are some of my very favorite in the bible. They give so much insight into the way of things in heaven, vs the way of things in the world, and the difference between how the devil looks at us, and how God sees us and his eternal will for us in heaven.

First we must dispel a one thing about this readings right from the beginning. First it is possible to fast for 40 days, and I have heard from some people that have attempted it that it gets easier after you get past the first weeks of hunger pangs. But nevertheless, you will definitely be hungry when you are done but not so hungry that you would not be able to control yourself. So the point of explaining this, is because it is important for us to understand that this was not just an alegory, or a story that has a moral, it is a real story of Jesus battling with the Devil over real temptations. Jesus was fully human but He was also fully divine. And as such, we must understand that He was really and truely tempted…, not just in his human nature but also in his divine as well. And that is what we are going to explore in this reflection.

This narrative about the temptation of christ happens in two of the 4 Gospels, Matthew and Luke. The narrative is essentially the same except the last two temptations are reversed between the two versions. Matthew starts with the temptation of changing stones into bread, and then the temptation of false Worship, and finally the greed of Souls. Luke also starts with the temptation of converting stones into Bread, but then next tempts Jesus with the Greed of Souls, and then finally with False Worship

The order is not terribly important but I like the way Matthew reveals them because he shows a progression that I think escalates the temptations, as more and more difficult to resist as they go along, and that is how I am going to present them here. The temptations that Jesus encounters are not new though. They are the same 3 temptations that the serpent got Adam and Eve with, and they are the same three that he continues to hit us with today. The church fathers called this trio the three-fold concupicence. Those temptations are, simply said: Lust of the Flesh (self indulgence), Pride of power (Pride and self worship), and Lust of the Eyes (greed or avarice).

The first temptation was “lust of the flesh.” The human body has needs, we must have food and water in order to survive. But those goods are not without the associated risks of gluttony and selfishness. And those risks can put your soul in mortal peril. In a reading prior to this episode, Jesus had made promise to God, to fast for the souls of the world, and it is not time yet for Him to complete that fast. The devil is tempting Jesus’ real human need for food, but he is also to tempting Jesus’ divine nature, to trust in His own power to feed Himself, rather than trust completely in God to provide all that He needs. And so His answer is perfect. “It is written, One does not live on bread alone.” Life is about more than just the joys and pleasures that this world can offer, it is about Trusting in God that He will provide all that you will ever need. Indulgence prevents us from ever fully knowing that.

The second temptation was “pride of power” to throw himself down from the parapet, and make a spectacle of himself. Try to imagine what this moment would have looked like, all the people are looking at Jesus high on the top of the temple, and then he jumps, but right before he collides with the ground a  host of angels come and lift Him up. It would be like a magic show, or a spectacle worth of las vegas. This is simply a show of power, and not a way to truely win souls. The devil is tempting Jesus’ human nature to fly around like superman, drawing attention to himself, showing off His power and pridefully lording it over his people, instead of humbly showing people the way to the Lord. The Devil is also tempting Jesus’ divine nature by saying that you can win converts this way, if you show these people your great power, lord it over them, and make them bow down to you, you can win converts by force of your will, rather than by faith, trust, and love. And so once again Jesus’ response “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test” perfectly addresses the false human need to seek power, and the divine desire to force people to believe and love against their will.

The last temptation was “the lust of the eyes.” In my mind this was hands down the most difficult for Him to resist. Jesus’s mission was to come to the world, and through the pain and suffering of the cross, to save souls from their sin, and open the gates of heaven to all who believe. What the devil is doing here is saying that he believes himself to be the king of this world, and in many ways he is. The original sin of Adam and Eve has turned over the souls that reject God and choose themselves instead, to be lost into the clutches of the evil one. And those souls that choose this path, relegate themselves to the dominion of the devil, and are going to suffer with him in eternity in hell. The devil, in this temptation, is making a clear temptation to his human nature, to not suffer and to avoid the horrible torture of the passion and the cross. But the devil is also making a clear temptation to his divine will as well. The proposition is simple, Satan is saying that if Jesus would simply bow down, and worships him (Satan) over God, that he will release all of those souls that he has imprisoned in hell, and let them go to the father, and in-so-doing Jesus will have accomplished the same goal of saving lost souls without the pain and suffering of the cross. Jesus response again is perfect “It is written, You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.” This message is not just to the Devil, but to Himself and every human that has ever lived. There are no shortcuts, there is no easy way to heaven. We must Love, trust and obey God, everything else simply leads to damnation.

Jesus’ responses while cryptic and veiled in old testament scripture, are the only way to combat the ancient temptations of the devil and the three fold concupicence that we are all susceptible to. The answer to these temptations are simply to follow the lenten practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. This is the antidote to the temptations of lust, pride, and greed. Fasting from food overcomes the temptation of indulging in it. Prayer to God, overcomes the pride of seeking power, and self-worship, and almsgiving overcomes the greedy need to take from other to force them to submit to your will.

The symmetrical opposition here is incredible, and beautiful at the same time, but the message is clear. To over come the temptation of three fold concupiscence, you must humbly embrace the practice of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. It is easy when you see it all laid out in example, but it is really hard to actually live. But you must do it, and you should start today, It is lent after all, but more importantly your eternity depends on it. Don’t wait another moment.

Oh lord, help me today to reject the temptations of this world, and to focus directly on you. Amen.