Past Sermon

Sermon Title: "Away With You, Satan!"
Date: February 10, 2008
Minister: Rev. Charles E. Ensley, Jr.

Lesson:  Matthew 4:1-11

I am certain that even if you had not heard it in the introduction to today’s lesson, many of you would know and expect to hear of Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness on this first Sunday in Lent.  And certain ones among you might even know from memory the three temptations offered to Jesus by the devil:  1) to turn stones into bread; 2) to throw himself from the pinnacle of the temple; and 3) to fall down and worship the devil.  Yet a closer reading may reveal something you didn’t remember from before.

Did you ever realize that the tempter throughout the story is simply referred to as “the devil”?  It is not until the end that Jesus addresses him by name, Satan.  So, who is “the devil”?

In the New Testament, this evil cosmic being who opposes God is called “the devil” 37 times; “Satan” 36 times, and twice “the tempter.”  All three of these epithets are used in Matthew’s version of the temptation scene.  Yet in the Old Testament, the Hebrew noun “satan” is best translated “adversary” or sometimes “slanderer.”  The Satan of Jewish culture is quite unlike the one found in Christian scriptures and contemporary culture.  Rabbi Adam Morris, an editorial consultant for Christian education curricula, says the Hebrew Satan “possesses power and status greater than human beings, but does not possess power and status that approaches that of God.  Satan’s role is the same as that of the friend who egged you on by asking questions that no one else would ask.  Or who pushed you to do something or think something that may be out of your comfort zone.  Satan is a troublemaker par excellence who stirs things up.  His intent in the context of Jewish tradition is not of pure evil, but of that energy and exuberance of the rebellious spirit.”

So it is out of that sort of interpretation that we have adopted the phrase “devil’s advocate.”  Sometimes someone will play that role to get you to think of another side of the issue, something that may be better in the long run.

Yet by the time the New Testament was written in the first century of the Common Era, the concept of Satan had evolved into a single supernatural being who is at cross-purposes with God in the world.

Many people go on retreats, often silent or solitary, to meditate, to get their thoughts together, to get closer to nature, to get closer to God.  After his baptism, Jesus departs into the wilderness for forty days, where he fasts, meditates and prays.  Afterwards, he is famished:  the perfect time for Satan to come by and test, tempt and wheedle him into demonstrating his power as the Son of God.  First, the devil tempts Jesus with food—stones into bread; then great power—jump and let the angels bear him up. 

In the first two temptations, Jesus responds with a reference to the Word; “It is written.”  Logos.  From an early age, Jesus demonstrated his knowledge of Hebrew scriptures.  So Jesus uses this as an appeal to reason.  He uses rational argumentation to hold the tempter and temptation at bay.  His response to the third temptation is similar, although this time Jesus loses his temper and commands the tempter to leave.  For the first time he calls him by name—Satan—and in anger lashes out, “Away with you, Satan!”

How similar this is in our lives whenever we are tempted, tested, invited or enticed into stepping out of the realm of what we understand to be acceptable, moral, ethically right.  We reason, we rationalize, we argue, we write, we use words.  The advice columns are full of illustrations of people who give in to these temptations, and either want to get out of it, or want affirmation that it is okay to keep on doing that which we really think isn’t right, or why else would we seek advice?  There comes a time when we’ve got to say, with Jesus, ‘Get away from me!’  That’s when you give it up, turn around, walk away, and that’s okay.

What happens then is you stop rationalizing, you even stop proof-texting scriptures to prove your point.  The power of Scripture lies not in the words on a page.  That’s just ink.  We can’t expect to use the Bible as some sort of garlic to ward off Dracula.  You can quote the Bible all day long and not live by it.  Rather, the power lies in the person for whom the written word has become a living, breathing thing.

Columnist Andy Crouch has written, “On the cruel edges of the world, there is no need for elaborate explanations to bring a distant biblical text closer to our lives.  Rather, when we go the cruel edges of the world, we bring our lives closer to the text.”  (Christianity Today, June 2004)

Jesus turned to Scripture in his hour of temptation only because he was familiar with it and accustomed to turning to Scripture in his hours of prayer.  It wasn’t the Scripture that saved him in his wilderness battle against the devil.  Quoting Scripture is no big deal; it is evident from today’s passage that the devil can do it quite well.

Rather, it was Jesus’ grounding in the faith; it was the forty days of prayer prior to the battle that enabled him to survive.   So, too, may prayer, meditation and a daily walk with God help us to have the peace, the courage, the comfort and the strength we need, both in our times of ease and in our times of temptation.

We are all faced with temptations, myself included, in our daily lives.  They may be small—succumbing to the dessert, cigarette or cocktail you vowed to give up for Lent.  They may be large—entering an illicit relationship, discovering a way to embezzle from your employer, cheating on your taxes.  How do we respond?  Do we seek to rationalize, talk them away?  Or do we have the faith, the courage to shout angrily with Jesus, “Away with you, Satan!”?  And, by doing so, change the course of our lives for the better.