Today in the Spirit: Lent 1A
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and an abrupt shift in the church year from the Incarnation cycle (Advent through Epiphany) to the Paschal cycle (Lent through Pentecost). If, in general, the celebration of the incarnation of Christ has oriented us to wonder at the glory of Christ in the world, our worship now will take into account more the presence of opposing evil—the malignant spirits of the air, of the world, and our own sinful hearts. Against these forces, the fullness of Christ’s glory is revealed in victory by his death on the cross, his rising from the dead, his ascension to the throne of the Father, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of believers, making them a communion of saints.
Every year, the Sunday of Week One of Lent calls for our meditation as worshipers on the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness of Judea. In Year A, the church assigns the account in Matthew 4:1-11, where, as in Luke’s account, we overhear the dialogue of a fierce encounter ordered by the Holy Spirit between Jesus and “the tempter” (3) or “the devil” (11). The climax of the narrative is the Son of God’s victory over his enemy, which forces the enemy to flee the scene.
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The Old Testament reading out of Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17, 25-3:7 encapsulates the narrative of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (3:6). This is the only appearance of the story of the fall in the three-year lectionary. On this Sunday, this reading establishes the baseline tragedy of human failure against which Jesus’ overcoming of the devil’s temptation is a reversal.
After hearing the story of the fall of Adam and Eve, saying or singing the appointed Psalm 51 in the first person “I” and directing ourselves to God identifies us with “David” as those who need forgiveness because of sin: “Turn your face from my sins, and blot out all my misdeeds. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me (9-10).
It is in the assigned New Testament reading, Romans 5:12-2,1 that we receive the inspired teaching we need as worshipers to understand just how the ministry of Christ on the cross has reversed the tragic consequence of the fall at creation: “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (18-19).
We pray the assigned Collect this Sunday, confessing, even before the readings, that we are “assaulted by many temptations” like Adam and Eve, David, and Jesus of Nazareth in the Scriptures. But, as we pray to God to “come quickly and help,” we do so with confidence in him who knows us intimately and who saves us in Christ.
The Collect
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations, and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
She Took of Its Fruit and Ate (Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17, 25-3:7)
2:4 These are the generations
Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17, 25-3:7
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
2:25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
The narrative makes clear that the woman eating the fruit is acting of her own free will. Note how she turns abruptly from the serpent, considers the tree, and reasons for herself. The narrator lists Eve’s three motivations for eating the forbidden fruit: 1) “that the tree was good for food;” 2) “that it was a delight to the eyes;” and 3) “that the tree was to be desired to make one wise” (3:6). (Interestingly, these three considerations are roughly parallel with the temptations Jesus faces in the wilderness: 1) the bread to eat; 2) the delight of making a spectacle by leaping from the temple summit; and 3) the wisdom to take on his own authority over all the earth).
In response to this narrative, a devotional question to be asked is: How do you respond honestly to the weakness of the woman in eating the fruit? Do you cast blame, or do you sympathize? Do you entertain the possibility that you could have reasoned differently and avoided the temptation? Surely, beloved, the whole movement of the Scriptures is toward human beings coming to grips with the weakness of Eve residing in all of us. None, not one, of us is any stronger. The mercy of our holy God toward us in our weakness woos us into sympathy for others who are weak. We must always be, with God’s help, always the publican, and never the Pharisee. It is from a position of sympathy with Eve that we cry out with “David” in the assigned psalm: “For I acknowledge my faults and my sin is ever before me” (Ps. 51:3).
These words from a sermon by Charles Simeon late in his career as a pastor illustrate the point: “There are but two objects that I have ever desired for these forty years to behold; the one is my own vileness; and the other is, the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ: and I have always thought that they should be viewed together; just as Aaron confessed all the sins of all Israel whilst he put them on the head of the scapegoat. The disease did not keep him from applying the remedy, nor did the remedy keep him from feeling the disease. By this I seek to be, not only humble and thankful, but humbled in thankfulness, before my God and Saviour continually.”
Today, Holy Spirit, as you are in me both to convict me of sin and to reveal the glory of the Son of God in mercy, create in me a soft heart toward the sinful as I ever look to you for deliverance from my own rebellious ways.
Wisdom in the Secret Heart (Psalm 51)
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, in your great goodness; *
Psalm 51:1-12, New Coverdale Psalter (BCP 2019)
according to the multitude of your mercies wipe away my offences.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness *
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my faults, *
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you only have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight,*
so that you are justified in your sentence, and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in wickedness, *
and in sin my mother conceived me.
6 But behold, you desire truth in the inward parts *
and shall make me understand wisdom secretly.
7 You shall purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; *
you shall wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 You shall make me hear of joy and gladness, *
that the bones which you have broken may rejoice.
9 Turn your face from my sins, *
and blot out all my misdeeds.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence, *
and take not your holy Spirit from me.
12 O give me the comfort of your help again, *
and sustain me with your willing Spirit.
Notice “Behold, I…Behold, you” near the beginning of the psalm (5,6). Through his crisis of sin and repentance, “David” has gained surprising new (or renewed) insight pertaining to himself and to God:
- “Behold, I was brought forth in wickedness” reflects a fresh realization of the depth of his vileness as a sinful human being before a holy God. David has found that he has never been free of the seed of wickedness in him since the day he was born.
- “But behold, you desire truth in the inward parts and shall make me understand wisdom secretly,” speaks to his hope that, despite the painful realizations of “wickedness” within him, God, though always just, by nature leans toward mercy and shows him the way to finding it at his feet. The “but” before the second “behold” is not in the Hebrew, but it is a fair addition as the realization of God’s mercy supersedes the misery of our condition as the higher truth.
The Holy Spirit is the provider of that understanding of David’s secret wisdom. For this reason, he calls out to “take not your holy Spirit from me” (11). Our Lord promises “[the Counselor] “will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, and that “he will glorify [Jesus], for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:8,14). And, what is it from Jesus that the Spirit makes known to us? Is it not the full extent of his gentleness and mercy, the same purifying mercy that David has found again? Dane Ortlund writes: “Nothing can chain [Jesus’] affections to heaven; his heart is too swollen with endearing love.”
Today, in the Spirit, we rejoice with David that on the heels of realizing the depths of our sin, we come by grace always to the deeper truth of God’s readiness to show mercy through Jesus Christ.
That Grace Also Might Reign (Romans 5:12-21)
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:12-21
Note the repetition of the words “reigns” or “reigning” in this passage–kingdom language. Normally, the term “reign” in English and New Testament Greek refers to the authority of a person, whether human or divine. But for Paul in this passage, it is not Satan or Jesus who “reigns” but “death” and “sin” on one side and “righteousness” and “grace” on the other. The effect of the person’s reign has become personified. Paul’s teaching in this whole section of Romans is that with the initiation of the kingdom of Christ has come the enactment of a new policy: Grace cancels sin. Life expels death.
We often don’t know a ruler personally, but we know their policies well that affect our lives. We see neither Christ nor Satan, but we experience the effects of their reigns. On sin, later in Romans, Paul will claim, “For one who has died has been set free] from sin” (6:7). Regarding death, he will declare, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (8:1-2). A new king has come, and even if he is invisible, the effect of his policies is easily discerned, reigning over us. And by his life and grace, we know Jesus.
Today, Holy Spirit, grant me the faith to live under the reign of the policies of freedom and life set forth by our King Jesus.
Then… Again (Matthew 4:1-11)
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Last week, we observed how Matthew’s transfiguration account points to a narrowing of devotion toward Jesus alone among his disciples. This week in Matthew’s temptation narrative, we see the devil seeking to lead Jesus away from his complete devotion to the Father. Notice throughout this account (unlike Luke’s), the continued repetition of “then” and “again.” Even Jesus himself is quoted as saying, “Again it is written” (7). What we see there, I think, beyond just the presence of Hebrew idioms in the Greek writing, is a description of an attack of the tempter which is relentless and ruthless, one blow after another, “then” and “again,” against our Lord’s devotion to the Father God and his will. By the end, Jesus is all but spent.
We are likewise not soft-pedaled, but, as our Collect says, “assaulted by many temptations.” Devotionally, we wonder: If the trial is so hard for the Son of God, how can we expect to survive such determination by the evil one to derail our narrowing devotion to Jesus? We cannot. Just so, the apostle Peter writes that we have no more chance against the devil than we do against a “roaring lion.” But note the encouraging teaching set around that memorable image:
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’ [from Prov. 3:34]. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
1 Peter 5:5-11
Christ “himself” both in us through the Spirit and over us in glory will establish us. We battle evil temptations with his power. By humbling ourselves with single-minded devotion to Jesus, the power of temptation is broken, and the enemy flees.
Today, through the Holy Spirit, the life of Jesus in us, we pray for his own power to resist the evil one.
Today in the Spirit
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