The Grand Tempter
Rev. Michael Thompson
Woodhaven Presbyterian Church
February 21, 2010 — First Sunday in Lent
Deuteronomy 26: 1-11, Luke 4: 1-13
Jesus is about thirty years old when he begins his ministry. Now, as we gather from Luke, Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit. He turns from the Jordan River where he has been baptized, and is led by the spirit into the wilderness and there for forty days he will be tested and tempted by the devil. You know it is not always easy to spot the devil. He doesn’t always look like that little picture that used to be on the deviled ham can; you remember that little picture, he was all in red and had the long tail and pitchfork and little horns. Pretty easy to spot. He appears in Revelation as a lamb. He appears in Matthew’s gospel as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Genesis tells us that of all the creatures God created, that Satan was the most crafty of all God’s creatures. And now, while Jesus is in the wilderness, the devil will use scripture in order to try to prove his point with Jesus.
(…excerpt from podcast)
