With our service tonight, we have a little change in focus from what we have been talking about, for the past eight weeks. This is the first weekend of the Season of Lent. Again, that focus shifts just a little bit. For the last few weeks or so, we have been talking about who Jesus is. And most of the Gospel Lessons that we have been looking at focus on the miracles Jesus performed. Every time Jesus performed a miracle, it was to show who He is. He is not just a simple, mere man, but He is true God. God, Himself, come in the flesh.

Well, today, as we enter the Season of Lent, we touch base on a different topic and that is really the theme for our service. Instead of focusing on who Jesus is, we focus on:

What Jesus has done for our salvation.

Really there are two things that Jesus has done for our salvation. If I were to ask you, "What is it that Jesus has done for you, to win for you the forgiveness of all of your sin?" You would probably say, "He died on the cross to pay for my sin."

And you would be correct. But, there is one other thing that Jesus has done for our salvation.

He also lived a perfect life for us.

In theological terms, these two things are known as ‘the active obedience of Christ’ and ‘the passive obedience of Christ.’ Let me explain those two terms, starting with ‘the passive obedience of Christ.’ The word ‘passive’ simply means ‘to stand still.’ The word ‘obedience’ is a derivative of the verb, ‘to obey.’ Jesus, when He died on the cross, was passive. He didn't move. He was ‘passively obedient’ for you and for me. Being true God, He had the power and could have come down from the cross. He had the power to do so, because He is almighty, but He did not. He was ‘passively obedient.’

But, not only was Jesus ‘passively obedient’ for you and for me, and not only did Jesus die on the cross to forgive us of all of our sin, but He was also ‘actively obedient’ for you and for me. The word ‘active’ simply means ‘to move around,’ and again, ‘obedience’ is just a derivative of ‘to obey.’ Throughout His life, Jesus was actively obedient. Throughout the course of His life in everything that He did, Jesus lived a perfect life. He was ‘actively obedient’ for you and for me. He never sinned, not even once.

Which gets us to our Gospel reading. The temptation of Jesus, by the devil, is really an example of Jesus living that perfect life for us, and being actively obedient. It talks about one of the two things that Jesus did to win salvation for us. And reads as follows in Luke 4:1-13.

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them, He was hungry. The devil said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

Jesus answered, "It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’"

The devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to Him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So, if you worship me, it will all be yours."

Jesus answered, "It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’"

The devil led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’"

Jesus answered, "It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’"

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Him until an opportune time."

This is God's Word.

It is not a sin, when you are tempted. The sin comes when you give in to that temptation. Martin Luther once put it this way. "I can't stop the birds from flying over my head, but I can prevent them from building a nest in my hair."

Today, we have an example in our text of ‘those birds flying around Jesus,’ as the devil comes to Him. Jesus is not going to let ‘those birds build a nest in His hair.’ And notice what Jesus uses every time the devil comes to Him.

The very first temptation that the devil presents Jesus with is a temptation of doubt. The devil comes to Jesus and says, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

The devil was planting a seed of doubt. Now, Jesus obviously was hungry. It had been forty days since He had eaten anything. He had the power to turn that stone into bread. After all, He is God. And yet, Jesus was not called to serve Himself, when God sent Him in the flesh. God sent Jesus in the flesh to serve you and me. If Jesus would have given into that temptation, He would have been a false Son, not serving the will of the Father, but His own will.

Notice here what it is that Jesus uses to overcome the devil and his temptation. He could have told the devil to get out of his sight. He had the power to do so, because He is God. He could have told him to leave. After all, He has the power to do so. But, He didn't. Jesus used the Word of God and quoted the Old Testament scriptures when He said, "Man does not live on bread alone."

Jesus uses the very tool that you and I have been given, every time we are tempted.

In Jesus' second temptation, the devil came to Him with an outright lie. He said, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to."

What Satan said there is false, because it was not given to him. What Jesus was looking at was His. He had created it, all the way back in the beginning.

The First Commandment says, "You shall have no other gods." In a sense, the devil was tempting Jesus into Satanism, to bow down and to worship him.

Jesus overcame that again by going back to the Old Testament scriptures and saying, "Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only."

As the devil came to Jesus, he also comes to us and tempts us to put something or someone in place of God. Maybe it is a spouse, or maybe it is a superstar, or maybe it is something in our lives that takes us away from a study of God's Word. And we also, just as Jesus did, are able to come back to the devil and say, "Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only."
In the last temptation that Jesus received from the devil, (and this is probably the sliest of them all, the most deceptive of them all), the devil took God's Word and he twisted it just a little bit. He told Jesus to throw Himself down from a high point in the temple and God will come and rescue Him, because the devil said, "For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you carefully.’"

But that is not what the psalm says. It says, "He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways." Jesus properly said, "The scriptures say, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’"

It is not for us to throw ourselves off of a high point, or to throw ourselves in front of a bus, or a fast moving train, and then say, "God save me. You now help me physically." We are not to put ourselves in risk’s way. That is not what God has called us to do.

But, the devil is sly. He comes to us and sows the seeds of doubt in our mind. The devil comes to us and tries to sow seeds, which are outright lies. The devil may come to us and tries to take scripture and twist it just a little bit, and deceive us.

In all three instances, Jesus overcame all of those temptations, perfectly. He was ‘actively obedient,’ so He could take His perfect life to the cross for you and for me, to win eternal life for us.

It should be of great comfort for us, to know that even though we have given into temptation, Jesus has not. Our Savior and our Brother has not. Jesus lived a perfect life. And, He took that perfect life to the cross.

Yes, if someone were to ask, "What Has Jesus Done for Our Salvation?" We would probably say, ‘He died on the cross to pay for our sin.’ And you would be correct. But, Jesus also lived a perfect life for us.

Jesus has done two things to win salvation for us. He was ‘actively obedient,’ living a perfect life for us. And, He was also ‘passively obedient,’ taking His perfect life, and dying for us on the cross to win for us eternal life in Heaven.

As we continue our journey through this Lenten Season, our focus shifts just a little bit. We no longer focus in on who Jesus is, but we focus in on what He has done for our salvation.

May that be of great comfort to you, as we continue to follow Jesus on His journey to the cross.

Amen.