Hope Held in Holy Hands
Matthew 4
Lent 1 February 22, 2026
Pastor Horton
Are you familiar with Edward Martin Grylls, better known as Bear Grylls? Born in northern Ireland he served in the British Special Forces and has made a name for himself as a tv reality show host and outdoor adventure enthusiast. By that I mean he puts himself into crazy survival situations….often taking a famous person along with him. You may remember him scaling a cliff with Shaquille O’Neil, hunting wild boar with Marshawn Lynch, or dodging bear while exploring a glacier with the then-sitting President Barak Obama. Most times these famous people find themselves looking to Bear as a guide through all the dangers of the wild. They have high hopes in his survivalist skills to get them safely out of the wilderness. Admittedly, much of that show was made for tv with the danger perhaps more imagined than real.
When we find Jesus out in the wilderness, it is a very different scenario. He is going alone. In fact, the interaction he does have is only problematic. It’s with the devil, described in unflattering words, “the diabolic one”, the “one who slanders God by slandering God’s truth”, and the one “who constantly tempts”. This is who he is. And his sights are set on Jesus. Why? Because of these exceptionally high stakes. If Jesus, the chosen one of God, appointed to be our sacrificial substitute, and live under the law perfectly, and carry our sins to his cross for full payment, if this Jesus were to be tempted to sin just once, he would be disqualified as our needed Savior and we, along with every soul that’s ever lived, would be lost to hell forever. The stakes were exceptionally high.
And yet, did you notice that into the wilderness Jesus will go! “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.” He wasn’t lost or in this situation by accident. This is a divine strategy to guide him into battle. Jesus is going to face and to overcome temptation. The Second Adam is going to go into the arena of the First Adam…and win. Jesus is more than a really good example. He is our Substitute. He has told us as much in the gospels that he is here to “Finish the work of his Father who sent him.” During this battle our hope for heaven is held in his holy hands.
And here comes the temptor, “After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” But Jesus answered, “It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” It’s hard for me to wrap my head around exactly how weak, weary, and worn Jesus is during these 40 days of temptation – especially hearing that he had been fasting. I know that I get hangry in the late afternoon if I’m not eating that day, add in a headache, and it doesn’t take long before I am in a miserable mindset. Jesus is focused and determined in spite of the devil targeting his mission to be our perfect substitute.
What is at the heart of the first temptation we have listed? “Prove that God is who he says he is: both you, Jesus, and your heavenly Father who provides for all your needs.” Especially during this time when Jesus was operating without, the temptation was to take matters into his own hands and fix the problem. This temptation is a call back to the Garden of Eden, to imply Jesus is not given enough from his Father, and to act out of line with the Father’s will.
Jesus’ response? He quotes Deuteronomy 8:3, proving that God’s Word fills more fully than any earthly bread. And that he has complete trust in his Father to extend his earthly life – even if it meant a bit more suffering in the moment by way of human hunger. His Father would see him through. And the Father would make a far better wilderness companion than Bear Grylls.
The next temptation? To the top of the temple they went – either to the tippy top of the main structure, or some have speculated to the southeastern corner with its 450 foot drop into the Kidron valley – we don’t know. We do know the challenge, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you. And they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written: You shall not test the Lord your God.” And so moving from the temptation of distrust, Satan twists God’s Word to the other extreme that he might incite false trust. “Oh you have this wonderful relationship with your Father? Let’s see it in action. You want to quote the Scripture? Here’s one from the psalms.” Only if you know Psalm 91 by heart, you know that the devil purposely left out “concerning you…in all your ways.” But again, our Savior properly responds using the great gift of God’s Word. This temptation would not push him over the edge, so to speak, and he would continue to embrace, not exploit, his day of grace with God. He would not test God, but be a caretaker of the blessings that were his – including that gift of his life and breath.
Then the final temptation we have listed (out of the countless ones Jesus faced during these days of testing), verses 8-10, “Again the Devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will bow down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” I don’t know how the devil did this, but God permitted him to present before Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. And what would he have seen? Those Chinese dynasties and their armies? The grandeur of Rome? The freedoms earned and found here in the United States? “Look, Jesus, you came to win the world – here it is!” And with an alluring shortcut! Why go through all that suffering, agony, and death? Here is a far easier way!
And yet Jesus recognized that the devil’s promises – glimmering and shining as they so often do – are empty and on the inside reek of sin and death. Ultimate glory, comfort, and control are not the devil’s to give. Jesus returns again to God’s Word, that full of armour of God, (which is yours and mine as well!). He goes to the top of the list and quotes the first commandment. Jesus would remain faithful to his heavenly Father and committed to his heavenly Father’s plan for our salvation. This Lent we find Jesus remaining on that gruesome path to fix the fall of Adam, to pay for all our sin, and to resolve that echoing chorus of death brought about by Adam in our lesson moments ago from Genesis.
And we needed such a Savior. Think for a moment if our salvation was left up to us! Imagine if it was you out there in the desert! We so often act like we can walk in step with our perfect Savior – as if his work maybe isn’t all that important – as if we could do something too. But what would that look like if your salvation was left in your hands? How quickly would you fall into temptation? There have been plenty of times when we face immediate challenges in the physical world and do what? Despair, complain, worry, fear and doubt our Father in heaven. Even if you are a life-long believer, how often do you stand at the edge and break to the temptations to play loose and free with sin? Maybe jumping off the temple isn’t something you face, but being reckless with God’s grace and jumping headfirst into various evil wants – that is our regular problem! And then I probably don’t have to ask how often, how constantly do our hearts bow to other things of this world and we find ourselves so often chasing the deep desire for glory, for comfort, and for control? Sadly if our salvation was left in our hands we would quickly fumble it all away.
But this Lent, behold again the Lamb of God, once again in Christ Jesus! He is out there in the wilderness for you and for me. His holiness and his heart are on display. He goes forward to cross and through the grave for you. He holds us in his hands through Word and Sacrament. There we are reassured of our personal forgiveness with God. And Jesus remains committed to us, helping guide us through our many constant daily temptations. Jesus is with you in the wilderness of this world and he will bring you home to heaven – he has made you that promise. Because Jesus stands, we stand. Because Jesus wins, we win. Because Jesus holds our salvation in his holy hands, we have heaven forever with him. Amen.
