Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. – Matt 4:1,2

Before beginning his ministry, Jesus spent 40 days alone in the desert. This act is reminiscent of the Israelites who spent 40 years in the desert to establish their identity as a people before entering the Promised Land. Jesus needed to establish who he was and to discover where his calling would lead. The cross foreshadowed his role from the very beginning. He had choices to make. Would he retain his humanity and face the cross, or would he seek to complete his mission by using divine power and thus escape death?

Satan made his first proposition: "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." Jesus was hungry, not only for bread, but for feeding the hungry and aiding the poor. He wants justice so badly that he can taste it. How easy it would be to use his divine power to bring that about. But that is not the way of the cross. A Bread Messiah would use any means of power to help the poor. He would even cause others to suffer to gain these ends. Jesus rejects this path.

Satan makes his second proposition. He takes Jesus to a high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and says to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Surely what is needed is a benevolent dictator who will bring about a kingdom of righteousness by wielding divine power. But that is not the way of the cross. Many would need to suffer and die for the establishment and preservation of the empire. The emperor of the world would act as a God. Jesus rejects this path.

Now Satan makes his third proposition. He takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and suggests that Jesus throw himself to the Kidron Valley below. If he did this, the angels would save him. Such a display of religiosity would surely make him a Messiah to be followed. Even the Romans would pay attention. In this way he could establish his kingdom and escape death. But that is not the way of the cross. Jesus rejects this path.

As we read through the gospels, we learn that Jesus was tempted again and again by these three things. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, he begged to have the cup of death removed. But he finally gave up self completely and yielded to the will of God. Suffering and the way of the cross will bring forward the Kingdom of God. It cannot be done with displays of power, whether to feed the masses, to establish a benevolent empire, or by making grand displays of religiosity.

Prayer: Father, we too want justice so badly we can taste it. Yet we cannot resort to wielding power, whether it be economic power, military power, or religious power to bring about justice in this world. As we walk through the wilderness of the Lenten season, may we keep our eyes on the cross and be willing to carry our own cross even if it means our own suffering and death. Keep us strong and resolute as we journey on. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.