I'll Do It My Way!

During this Lenten season I am proclaiming God's Word at a small congregation of Lutherans in an area village. Today I invite you to join me as I work on that meditation. The series of sermons I'm developing is based upon the temptations of Jesus by the 'god of this world,' the devil, as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11. This week we'll focus on the first lie of the tempter, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."

Note that our Lord spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness. This points back to the 40 days and nights Moses originally spent on the mountain when he wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone (Exodus 24:12-18). The people of Israel rebelled against the Lord while he was up there, forcing Aaron to create a calf of gold, an idol they began to worship as the god who had delivered them from slavery. The LORD was so angry He wanted to destroy them all, including Moses' brother Aaron. But Moses returned to the mountain to pray for these stubborn, stiff-necked people for 40 days and nights (Deut.9:8-29). Now Jesus has just completed 40 days of fasting and prayer for all of mankind, including you and me.

Jesus is the LORD of the Covenant who has come among us to pray for us and to give battle to the tempter. The devil tempted Jesus in the same manner he tempted Israel when the LORD brought them out of bondage and slavery in Egypt. No sooner had they escaped than they began to complain, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger" (Exodus 16:3). That was when the LORD, in His abundant grace and forgiveness, covered the camp with quail and began to give them their strange daily bread they called Manna—which means, "What is it?"(Exodus 16:4-36).

I find the adjective 'stiff-necked' to be an apt description of us all. It originally referred to an ox or a donkey that would not yield to the directions of its driver. The animal that insisted on going its own way would stiffen his neck. So do we all. Should the LORD test our faith by causing us any difficulties, we are inclined to stiffen our necks. This is not my way of doing things. Why has God brought these problems into my life? It isn't fair. It's not right.

And yet the LORD gives us our daily bread and provides us abundantly with all we need for this body and this life, even though we grumble, complain and gripe about what we do not have. In his explanation of the Lord's prayer petition, "Give us this day our daily bread," Dr. Luther urges us to receive this bread with thanksgiving and praise. We do not deserve it—in the least since we are stiff-necked sinners to the core. And yet He gives us spouses, homes, family, children, parents, work to do, good government and a land filled with blessings.

Back to the temptation, "If you are the Son of God . . . "

Jesus had been baptized in the Jordan and the Spirit had descended upon Him. The Father had spoken from heaven to declare, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." But now comes the tempter to plant doubts in Jesus' heart. After all, He had not eaten in 40 days and He was hungry, to say the very least. Why should He hunger any longer? He was, after all, the Son of God and that must imply that He had the power to turn stones into bread. So get on with it, Jesus. Do it. Carpe diem, seize the day. You have within you the power. Do what you need and want. I'm reminded of Frank Sinatra's famous song, "My Way."

And now, the end is near, 

And so I face the final curtain. 

My friends, I'll say it clear; 

I'll state my case of which I'm certain. 

I've lived a life that's full - 

I've travelled each and every highway. 

And more, much more than this, 

I did it my way. 

Regrets? I've had a few, 

But then again, too few to mention. 

I did what I had to do 

And saw it through without exemption. 

I planned each charted course - 

Each careful step along the byway, 

And more, much more than this, 

I did it my way. 

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew, 

When I bit off more than I could chew, 

But through it all, when there was doubt, 

I ate it up and spit it out. 

I faced it all and I stood tall 

And did it my way. 

I've loved, I've laughed and cried, 

I've had my fill - my share of losing. 

But now, as tears subside, 

I find it all so amusing. 

To think I did all that, 

And may I say, not in a shy way - 

Oh no. Oh no, not me. 

I did it my way. 

For what is a man? What has he got? 

If not himself - Then he has naught. 

To say the things he truly feels 

And not the words of one who kneels. 

The record shows I took the blows 

And did it my way. 

Yes, it was my way. 

LORD Jesus, in our baptism you have taken us into Your death and out of death into Your life. Truly, we are Your children by Your undeserved grace and mercy. So Lord, teach us humility and give us the power of Your Spirit. Help us, we pray, to humble ourselves before You and accept with praise and thanksgiving all the You give us, even those times when You allow our faith in You to be tested. In the moment of trials and temptations teach us to pray as did you, "Not my will, but Yours be done." For we have learned from Your most holy Word that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from Your mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3).