William H. Willimon - "Jesus' Temptation" (February 12, 1989)

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	(solemn music)	0:00
-	Grace and peace to you	2:39
	and welcome to this service of worship,	2:40
	here at Duke University Chapel,	2:41
	on this first Sunday in Lent.	2:43
	We are delighted to see each of you here.	2:46
	We also extend greetings	2:48
	to those of you in our radio and television audiences.	2:49
	Our preacher for this morning's service	2:53
	is the Reverend Dr. William H. Willimon,	2:55
	minister to the University.	2:57
	Our lector is the Reverend David L. Jenkins	2:59
	the United Methodist campus minister	3:02
	for the Wesley fellowship here at Duke.	3:04
	Next Sunday afternoon, February 19th at 5 o'clock p.m.,	3:07
	we will be presenting the world premiere	3:12
	of Images of God, a sacred service	3:14
	commissioned for the chapel, and composed	3:17
	by Pulitzer Prize winning composer, Robert Ward.	3:19
	The service will feature the chapel choir,	3:23
	in addition to professional soloist, both organists,	3:25
	both organs here at the chapel, and a troupe of actors.	3:29
	The public is invited to attend without charge.	3:32
	Please note the remaining announcements	3:37
	as they are printed in your bulletins.	3:38
	And now let us continue our worship	3:40
	as we join in singing the Great Litany.	3:43
	(solemn chant music)	3:53
	♪ Oh God the father, creator of heaven and Earth ♪	5:16
	♪ Have mercy upon us ♪	5:22
	♪ Oh God the son, redeemer of the world ♪	5:26
	♪ Have mercy upon us ♪	5:31
	♪ Oh God the holy ghost, sanctifier of the faithful ♪	5:35
	♪ Have mercy upon us ♪	5:41
	♪ Oh holy blessed and glorious trinity, one God ♪	5:46
	♪ Have mercy upon us ♪	5:51
	♪ Remember not lord Christ our offenses ♪	5:55
	♪ Nor the offenses of our fore bearers, ♪	5:59
	♪ Neither reward us according to our sins, ♪	6:02
	♪ Spare us good lord, spare thy people ♪	6:06
	♪ Whom thou hast redeemeth with thy most precious blood ♪	6:10
	♪ And by thy mercy, preserve us forever ♪	6:14
	♪ Save us, oh lord ♪	6:19
	♪ From all evil and wickedness, ♪	6:23
	♪ From sin, from the crafts and assaults of the devil, ♪	6:25
	♪ And from ever lasting damnation, ♪	6:30
	♪ Good lord deliver us ♪	6:34
	♪ From our blindness of heart ♪	6:38
	♪ From pride, vainglory, and hypocrisy, ♪	6:40
	♪ From envy, hatred, and malice ♪	6:44
	♪ And from all want of charity ♪	6:48
	♪ Good lord deliver us ♪	6:51
	♪ From all inordinate and sinful affections ♪	6:55
	♪ And from all the deceits of the world ♪	6:59
	♪ The flesh and the devil ♪	7:01
	♪ Good lord deliver us ♪	7:05
	♪ From all false doctrine, heresy and sin, ♪	7:08
	♪ From hardness of heart and contempt ♪	7:13
	♪ Of the word and commandment. ♪	7:15
	♪ Good lord deliver us ♪	7:19
	♪ From lightning and tempest ♪	7:22
	♪ From earthquake fire and flood ♪	7:24
	♪ From plague, pestilence, and famine ♪	7:28
	♪ Good lord deliver us ♪	7:32
	♪ From all oppression, conspiracy ♪	7:36
	♪ And rebellion, from violence, battle ♪	7:38
	♪ And murder and from dying suddenly, and unprepared ♪	7:41
	♪ Good lord deliver us ♪	7:48
	♪ By the mystery of thy holy incarnation ♪	7:51
	♪ By thy holy nativity and submission ♪	7:54
	♪ To the law, by thy baptism, fasting, ♪	7:58
	♪ And temptation ♪	8:01
	♪ Good lord deliver us ♪	8:04
	♪ By thine agony and bloody sweat, ♪	8:07
	♪ By thy cross and passion by thy precious ♪	8:10
	♪ Death and burial, by thy glorious resurrection ♪	8:14
	♪ And ascension, and by the coming of the holy ghost ♪	8:19
	♪ Good lord deliver us ♪	8:24
	♪ In all time of our tribulation ♪	8:28
	♪ In all time of our prosperity ♪	8:31
	♪ In the hour of death and in the day of judgment ♪	8:33
	♪ Good lord deliver us ♪	8:39
	♪ We sinners do beseech thee ♪	8:42
	♪ to hear us oh lord God and that ♪	8:45
	♪ It may please thee to rule ♪	8:48
	♪ And govern thy holy church universal ♪	8:50
	♪ In the right way ♪	8:53
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	8:56
	♪ That it may please thee to illumine ♪	9:01
	♪ All bishops, priests, and deacons ♪	9:04
	♪ With true knowledge and understanding ♪	9:06
	♪ Of thy word and that both ♪	9:08
	♪ By their preaching and living ♪	9:10
	♪ they may set it forth and show it accordingly ♪	9:13
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	9:17
	♪ That it may please thee to bless ♪	9:22
	♪ And keep all thy people ♪	9:24
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	9:27
	♪ That it may please thee to send forth ♪	9:32
	♪ Laborers into thy harvest and to draw all people ♪	9:34
	♪ Into thy kingdom ♪	9:39
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	9:42
	♪ That it may please thee to give to all people ♪	9:46
	♪ Increase of grace to hear and receive thy word ♪	9:49
	♪ And to bring forth the fruits of the spirit ♪	9:53
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	9:58
	♪ That it may please thee to bring into ♪	10:02
	♪ The way of truth all such as have earned ♪	10:04
	♪ And are deceived ♪	10:08
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	10:11
	♪ That it may please thee to give us a heart ♪	10:15
	♪ To love and fear thee and diligently ♪	10:18
	♪ To live after thy commandments ♪	10:21
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	10:25
	♪ That it may please thee so to rule the hearts ♪	10:29
	♪ Of thy servants the president of the Untied States ♪	10:32
	♪ And all others in authority ♪	10:36
	♪ That they may do justice and love mercy ♪	10:39
	♪ And walk in the ways of truth ♪	10:42
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	10:46
	♪ That it may please thee to make wars ♪	10:50
	♪ To cease in all the world ♪	10:52
	♪ To give to all nations unity, peace, and concord ♪	10:54
	♪ And to bestow freedom upon all peoples ♪	10:59
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	11:03
	♪ That it may please thee to show thy ♪	11:08
	♪ Pity upon our prisoners and captives, ♪	11:10
	♪ The homeless and hungry, ♪	11:13
	♪ And all who are desolate and oppressed ♪	11:15
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	11:19
	♪ That it may please thee to give ♪	11:23
	♪ And preserve to our youth the bountiful fruits ♪	11:25
	♪ Of the Earth so that in due time all may enjoy them ♪	11:29
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	11:34
	♪ That it may please thee to inspire us in our several ♪	11:38
	♪ Callings to do the work which thou ♪	11:41
	♪ Givest us to do with singleness of heart ♪	11:43
	♪ As they servants and for the common good. ♪	11:47
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord. ♪	11:51
	♪ That it may please thee to preserve all ♪	11:56
	♪ Who are in danger by reason of their neighbor ♪	11:58
	♪ Or their travel ♪	12:02
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	12:04
	♪ That it may please thee to preserve and provide for ♪	12:08
	♪ All women in childbirth, young women and orphans, ♪	12:12
	♪ Widowed and all whose homes ♪	12:16
	♪ Are broken or torn by strife ♪	12:18
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	12:22
	♪ That it may please thee to visit the lonely, ♪	12:26
	♪ To strengthen all who suffer in mind body ♪	12:28
	♪ And spirit and to comfort with thy presence ♪	12:32
	♪ Those who are failing and infirm ♪	12:36
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	12:39
	♪ That it may please thee to support ♪	12:44
	♪ Help and comfort all who are in danger, ♪	12:46
	♪ Necessity, and tribulation ♪	12:49
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	12:53
	♪ That it may please thee to have mercy upon all people ♪	12:57
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	13:01
	♪ That it may please thee to give us true repentance ♪	13:05
	♪ To forgive us all our sins, negligences ♪	13:09
	♪ And ignorances and to imbue us with the grace ♪	13:12
	♪ Of thy holy spirit to amend our lives according ♪	13:17
	♪ To thy holy word ♪	13:20
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	13:23
	♪ That it may please thee to forgive our enemies, ♪	13:27
	♪ Persecutors and slanderers and to turn their hearts, ♪	13:30
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	13:35
	♪ That it may please thee to strengthen ♪	13:39
	♪ Such as to stand, to comfort, ♪	13:42
	♪ And to help the weak hearted, ♪	13:44
	♪ And to rise up those who fail ♪	13:46
	♪ And finally to beat down Satan under our feet ♪	13:48
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	13:52
	♪ That it may please thee to grant to all ♪	13:57
	♪ The faithful departed eternal life and peace ♪	14:00
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	14:04
	♪ That it may please thee ♪	14:08
	♪ To grant that in the fellowship ♪	14:10
	♪ Of all the saints we may attain ♪	14:12
	♪ To thy heavenly kingdom ♪	14:14
	♪ We beseech thee deliver us oh lord ♪	14:17
	♪ Son of God we beseech thee to hear us ♪	14:21
	♪ Son of God we beseech thee to hear us ♪	14:26
	♪ Oh lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world ♪	14:32
	♪ Have mercy upon us ♪	14:37
	♪ Oh lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world ♪	14:40
	♪ Have mercy upon us ♪	14:45
	♪ Oh lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world ♪	14:49
	♪ Grant us our peace ♪	14:54
	♪ Oh Christ, hear us ♪	14:57
	♪ Oh Christ hear us ♪	15:00
	♪ Lord have mercy upon us ♪	15:04
	♪ Lord have mercy upon us ♪	15:07
	♪ Lord have mercy upon us ♪	15:11
	♪ Our father who art in heaven ♪	15:17
	♪ Hallowed be they name ♪	15:20
	♪ Thy kingdom come thy will be done ♪	15:23
	♪ On Earth as it is in heaven ♪	15:26
	♪ Give us this day our daily bread ♪	15:29
	♪ Forgive us our trespasses ♪	15:32
	♪ As we forgive those who trespass against us ♪	15:35
	♪ And lead us not into temptation ♪	15:38
	♪ But deliver us from evil for thine ♪	15:41
	♪ Is a kingdom and the power and the glory forever ♪	15:44
	♪ Oh lord let thy mercy be showed upon us ♪	15:49
	♪ Oh lord let thy mercy be showed upon us ♪	15:55
	♪ Let us pray ♪	16:00
	♪ Almighty God who has promised ♪	16:02
	♪ To hear the petitions of those ♪	16:04
	♪ Who ask in thy son's name ♪	16:06
	♪ We beseech thee mercifully to incline ♪	16:08
	♪ Thine ear to us who have now made ♪	16:11
	♪ Our prayers and supplications unto thee ♪	16:14
	♪ And grant that those things which ♪	16:17
	♪ We have asked faithfully according to thy will ♪	16:20
	♪ May be obtained effectually to the relief ♪	16:23
	♪ Of our necessity and to the setting forth of thy glory ♪	16:26
	♪ Through Jesus Christ our lord ♪	16:31
	♪ Amen ♪	16:34
	♪ The grace of our lord Jesus Christ ♪	16:38
	♪ And the love of God and the fellowship ♪	16:40
	♪ Of the holy ghost be with us all evermore ♪	16:42
	♪ Amen ♪	16:46
-	Let us pray.	16:51
	Open our hearts and minds oh God by the power	16:55
	of your Holy Spirit, so that as the word is read	16:58
	and proclaimed we might hear with joy	17:02
	what you say to us this first day of Lent.	17:05
	The gospel reading is taken from St. Luke	17:11
	chapter four, beginning with the first verse.	17:14
	Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan	17:19
	and was led by the Spirit for 40 days in the wilderness,	17:24
	tempted by the devil.	17:29
	He ate nothing in those days,	17:31
	and when they were ended, he was hungry.	17:34
	The devil said to him, if you are the Son of God,	17:38
	command this stone to become bread.	17:43
	Jesus answered him, it is written:	17:47
	You shall not live by bread alone.	17:50
	Then devil took him up and showed him all	17:54
	the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time	17:58
	and said to him, to you I will give you all this authority	18:02
	and their glory for it has been delivered to me,	18:08
	and I give it to whom I will.	18:12
	If you then, will worship me, it shall all be yours.	18:16
	Jesus answered him, it is written	18:22
	you shall worship the Lord your God	18:26
	and God only shall you serve.	18:28
	And the devil took him to Jerusalem	18:32
	and set him stand on the pinnacle of the temple	18:35
	and said to him, if you are the Son of God	18:37
	throw yourself down from here.	18:42
	For it is written, God will give his angels	18:46
	charge of you to guard you and on their hands	18:49
	they will bear you up lest you strike	18:53
	your foot against a stone.	18:57
	Jesus answered him, it is said	19:00
	You shall not tempt the Lord your God	19:05
	And when the devil had ended every temptation,	19:09
	he departed from Jesus until an opportune time.	19:13
	Here ends the reading of the word.	19:19
	(reverent organ music)	19:24
	(reverent choral music)	19:52
	(celebratory choral music)	22:28
-	As a young man	23:17
	Jesus was led into the wilderness	23:19
	for 40 days and there he fasted	23:24
	and at the end of his 40 days	23:30
	the devil came and tempted him.	23:32
	It is a tradition in the church	23:35
	to read the story of Jesus' temptation	23:37
	on the first Sunday of Lent	23:40
	as we begin our 40 days.	23:42
	And I think it's appropriate	23:48
	to read this story of the temptation	23:49
	particularly here in a university chapel	23:52
	because, don't you agree,	23:55
	it's often at the beginning of your life	23:59
	when you are most troubled by the who am I	24:01
	identity question, when you feel	24:06
	most pressure to walk down some path	24:11
	other than the one you feel is right for you.	24:14
	I would be willing to be this month's salary	24:20
	that there are a good number of you out there	24:22
	struggling with this who am I question.	24:25
	The folks at home want you to go to medical school,	24:30
	you have your heart set on a career in dance.	24:34
	Somebody at home wants you to go into	24:39
	the family business, you think you	24:41
	should go to graduate school in history.	24:43
	Well who are you and who tells you who you are ?	24:47
	More to the point of today's scripture	24:52
	who tells Jesus who he is?	24:55
	The voice at his baptism	25:00
	said this is my beloved son,	25:02
	here is the messiah standing before us.	25:05
	But what kind of messiah?	25:09
	What kind of God have we got here in Jesus?	25:12
	In response to that question, Luke	25:17
	relates the story of the temptation by Satan	25:21
	in the wilderness.	25:25
	If you are the son of God,	25:29
	if you are who the voice says you are,	25:33
	says Satan, let's see some sign of it.	25:38
	You're hungry after a 40 day fast,	25:43
	well Jesus lots of people spend	25:46
	their whole lifetime fasting	25:48
	they never know what it is	25:50
	to have a decent meal.	25:52
	What could be more Godly than to show	25:55
	some compassion on poor, suffering hungry people,	25:57
	turn these stones into bread.	26:01
	And Jesus responds, it is written,	26:06
	we shall not live by bread alone.	26:10
	Feeding hungry people doesn't interest you Jesus?	26:16
	Well I can see your point, you give	26:19
	a person a loaf of bread today,	26:21
	he'll only be hungry by tomorrow.	26:22
	How about a little long term compassion,	26:26
	through the only long term good we know.	26:29
	Namely, politics, here laid out before you	26:32
	are all the kingdoms of this world.	26:35
	I will give them to you	26:39
	after all politics is a particular area of Satanic concern.	26:41
	All you have to do	26:46
	is to grant me my authority over political matters.	26:49
	Don't you want to make the world a better place	26:55
	in which to live?	26:57
	Worship me.	26:59
	And Jesus responds it is written	27:03
	we shall worship only the Lord our God.	27:04
	Well Jesus,	27:11
	if you're not interested in the stones and the bread trick,	27:13
	if you don't really care about making	27:17
	the world a better place	27:19
	then how about at least a little compassion	27:24
	for those people in the pews who've come here	27:26
	this morning struggling to believe but	27:30
	unable to believe.	27:33
	How about a sign for all those struggling doubters?	27:37
	Throw yourself down from the chapel tower	27:41
	and stand before them unbroken.	27:44
	How about a sign, irrefutable, conclusive proof	27:47
	you are who you say you are.	27:52
	And Jesus responds, you shall not tempt the Lord your God.	27:57
	Now what do you make of this strange story?	28:06
	An obvious response is that this story	28:10
	of Jesus' temptation is here to encourage us	28:12
	in our temptations.	28:15
	Jesus resisted temptation, we should resist as well	28:18
	and who is apt to have more temptations	28:22
	than someone about the age of a Duke sophomore.	28:25
	I was on campus late last night I know what you were up to.	28:28
	(laughter)	28:32
	Beware of the Bible being obvious.	28:34
	It's obvious that we need help in our temptation	28:37
	what might not be so obvious is how the Bible	28:40
	names temptation.	28:43
	If God really wanted to help us,	28:50
	why in God's name did God send a messiah like Jesus?	28:54
	Who when confronted by human need just stands there	28:59
	and quotes scripture.	29:04
	If God is love and if God is power,	29:09
	why in the name of heaven does God just stand there,	29:13
	why doesn't he do something?	29:17
	Now if you want a question to keep in the back	29:21
	of your mind as we ponder the scripture today,	29:22
	let it be that one.	29:25
	If you are God's messiah,	29:27
	why don't you act like it and do something?	29:31
	Now the Bible finds rather uninteresting	29:37
	our modern infatuation with	29:39
	the question is there a God.	29:42
	Rather what the Bible finds interesting	29:46
	is the question, what kind of God is there?	29:48
	Adam and Eve, the very first human beings	29:54
	were the first to trip over this question.	29:57
	They're told that they're in the image of God	30:01
	but what does that mean except God really cares about us	30:02
	we're a lot like God.	30:05
	And so they're hungry and when Genesis	30:07
	says Adam and Eve saw that this tree	30:10
	looked good to eat and that it's fruit	30:13
	was beautiful and that it was desired to make one wise,	30:15
	are not food and beauty, and wisdom	30:21
	worthy human goals?	30:24
	They ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree.	30:26
	And after liberation from Egyptian slavery,	30:33
	once free the Hebrew children's first request	30:37
	of Moses was for food.	30:41
	They said to Moses, has God brought us out here	30:43
	and delivered us from Egyptian slavery	30:46
	just so we could perish of hunger out in the wilderness?	30:49
	Let's see some tangible evidence that God is our God.	30:52
	Let's have some food.	30:57
	And so my point is that when you hear	31:01
	the devil taunt Jesus with,	31:03
	"If you are the son of God	31:07
	"command these stones to become bread,"	31:10
	remember that you've heard it before.	31:14
	Temptation seems to be a function of hunger.	31:17
	The hunger not just for food but hunger for	31:24
	an answer to the question,	31:27
	Is God there for us or no?	31:32
	Let's have bread as proof that God is our kind of God	31:39
	that is a God who responds to hungry human need.	31:45
	I mean what good is religion,	31:52
	or praying, or getting out of bed	31:55
	on a cold February morning and coming to church	31:58
	if religion isn't effective,	32:02
	if it doesn't yield results in your life,	32:06
	we've forsaken everything and followed you	32:12
	said the disciples to Jesus,	32:15
	now what's in it for us?	32:17
	Now I know that when Satan enters the Bible's	32:21
	story this seems to be his main line of argument.	32:23
	If you are really God, says Satan,	32:28
	then make bread, minister to their hunger.	32:32
	Because you see, says Satan, that's really the	32:37
	object of their worship, the real	32:40
	reason that they fall on their knees	32:43
	in prayer, they finger their rosaries	32:44
	or they put their dollar in the plate or wear a gold cross	32:46
	around their neck, bread.	32:49
	In the book of Job Satan puts it to God,	32:53
	you're proud of your man Job aren't you God?	32:59
	But do you really believe that Job serves you for nothing?	33:03
	Allow Job to suffer some pain and tragedy in his life	33:08
	and you'll find out how much he loves you.	33:13
	He loves you because	33:18
	he thinks that you were the source of his prosperity.	33:20
	Destroy his prosperity and he will curse you to your face.	33:24
	Satan as it turns out was right.	33:31
	Few chapters later Job raves, he howls,	33:35
	he curses God, he says he wish he were dead.	33:39
	I was a good man says Job, I played the game	33:44
	I kept my nose clean, why didn't God	33:46
	keep up his side of the bargain?	33:50
	Satan knows	33:56
	nobody serves God for nothing.	33:59
	Now I think that you're all probably	34:05
	big boys and girls, you weren't born yesterday.	34:07
	You know that there's no cause/effect	34:11
	relationship between being a good person	34:12
	and being obedient to God and getting	34:16
	material blessings in life. You know	34:18
	that bad things do happen to good people	34:21
	and vice versa.	34:23
	You know how crude it would be	34:26
	for us to gather here today as a crude	34:27
	materialistic means of putting the make on God,	34:30
	turning God into some errand boy for us,	34:33
	some cosmic Santa Claus to get the good things	34:36
	that we want in life, okay.	34:40
	No bread, and no power but	34:43
	if God can't lower himself to give us always	34:49
	what our hearts desire,	34:53
	can't God at least give us a sign.	34:57
	What's the harm in a sign?	35:01
	Anything but this silent, closed-fisted,	35:05
	sign-less, two-faced universe.	35:10
	I mean what's wrong with a sign, why would that be so hard?	35:14
	A believer sees a butterfly emerging	35:19
	from a cocoon and says, see see there's your	35:22
	proof of God in this miraculous world.	35:25
	A non believer looks at the same butterfly	35:30
	coming out of the same cocoon and says	35:32
	see there's your universe working quite	35:34
	nicely thank you without any of your	35:38
	fairy tales about God.	35:40
	And you known the world really does seem	35:42
	to be put together just that way.	35:44
	You can look at the world and you can read it as	35:47
	this is my Father's world,	35:51
	or you can read it as this year's commencement	35:53
	speaker biologist Stephen J. Gould,	35:56
	see, what an amazing series of cosmic accidents.	35:59
	Why not	36:06
	a clear, unambiguous sign?	36:09
	This shall be a sign unto you,	36:17
	we read that here in the chapel	36:19
	just a couple of weeks before Christmas.	36:21
	This shall be a sign unto you	36:23
	you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes	36:25
	lying in a manger.	36:27
	The babe at Bethlehem is our incontrovertible	36:29
	sign that God is with us, Emmanuel.	36:33
	A couple of days later, nearly 300 people perished	36:41
	in a horrible, unjust death over	36:47
	a little town called Lockerbie.	36:50
	There's your Christmas sign.	36:56
	Yes, God is with us.	36:59
	No, God is gone.	37:03
	We're not asking for anything crude	37:10
	like mana from heaven, water from the rock just a sign.	37:11
	I know someone right now who's been dealt	37:18
	such a blow by life,	37:20
	that she says she cannot go on unless	37:24
	she has some sign that God is not against her.	37:26
	And can you blame her?	37:34
	Remember we're not speaking selfishly here.	37:39
	It's not for our sakes that we ask God for a sign.	37:43
	It's for God's sake.	37:45
	It's not for our sake that we're asking	37:49
	God to take a bit stronger hand in the world,	37:50
	to show a sign, it's for God's sake.	37:54
	Oh that thou would rend the heavens and come down	37:59
	cries the psalmist, but God didn't come, the Assyrians did.	38:02
	Deliver us, prayed Israel.	38:08
	They got delivered alright, right into the hands	38:11
	of Babylonian captivity.	38:13
	Teacher, we want a sign said the disciples.	38:18
	It is an evil and adulterous generation	38:23
	that lusts for a sign said Rabbi Jesus.	38:26
	Well who do we say that he is?	38:34
	The heavenly voice at his baptism	38:38
	repeated again last week at his transfiguration	38:40
	said this is my son.	38:43
	But what do we make of this messiah	38:49
	as he just stands there quoting scripture,	38:50
	giving us neither bread nor a sign?	38:57
	Grasping neither political power	39:01
	to change the world to make it a better place	39:04
	or even making bread to feed the world.	39:07
	If you are the son of God,	39:11
	it's a big if that Satan puts to Jesus.	39:16
	And he does so little to remove it.	39:20
	If you are the son of God...	39:24
	Well who do you say that he is?	39:30
	One day Jesus put that question to his disciples,	39:34
	who do you say that I am?	39:38
	Peter's hand was the first to go up,	39:39
	you're the Christ, you're the messiah,	39:44
	unfurl the banners, beat the drums	39:47
	let's get this Jesus messianic movement rolling at last,	39:50
	run out those Romans, work justice,	39:54
	don't you tell anybody Jesus commanded.	39:57
	And then he taught them that the son of man	40:03
	must be rejected and suffer and be killed.	40:07
	Matthew has Peter, who, by the way,	40:15
	is always there for us, the church	40:17
	our spokesperson, Matthew has Peter	40:19
	blurt out, God forbid Lord!	40:22
	God forbid that you should	40:26
	be the sort of God who is rejected	40:29
	and suffered and killed and finally	40:30
	just like us.	40:35
	I mean what good is a God like that,	40:39
	no bread, no power, no glory, no sign?	40:41
	God forbid, says Peter.	40:44
	And Matthew says that Jesus turned to Peter,	40:48
	who is the lead disciple, who is there	40:51
	for the rest of us, Matthew says	40:53
	Jesus turned around to Peter and said	40:56
	get behind me, Satan.	41:02
	Do you see?	41:08
	We've been asking, have we not,	41:11
	who is this messiah?	41:12
	And Jesus turns our question back upon us	41:19
	and asks, who is this Satan?	41:21
	The demonic tempter so bent on tripping me up,	41:28
	deterring me so that I won't be on a path	41:33
	other than the one God has commanded.	41:36
	Don't you see?	41:40
	The Satan, the greatest tempter	41:43
	that Jesus must face, is us,	41:46
	his own disciples.	41:51
	The ones who offer him the greatest temptation	41:56
	are his people.	41:58
	The temptation he resists is us.	42:03
	From the crafts and the assaults of the devil	42:08
	good Lord deliver us we prayed	42:10
	at the beginning of this service.	42:12
	The crafts and assaults are our very own	42:16
	diabolic wish to have God on our terms	42:19
	rather than God's terms.	42:23
	If we want to look first for the devil,	42:28
	we must look first among ourselves.	42:31
	Jesus' own people who rather than	42:35
	follow him on his terms try to have him on our terms.	42:39
	Who try to make him over into a God more likable	42:48
	to our need rather than the God whom	42:52
	the scriptures say that he is.	42:54
	But the good news for today is	43:00
	that he is able to resist temptation	43:05
	whether it occurs in the wilderness	43:08
	or right here in Duke Chapel.	43:10
	Get behind me, Satan.	43:14
	Later we tempted him even as he hung	43:19
	in agony on the cross, you remember	43:21
	another if question, if you are	43:23
	the son of God, save yourself.	43:26
	And on that last occasion he didn't curse us	43:29
	or quote scripture, he just hung there	43:34
	in silence.	43:40
	Sometimes the most loving thing	43:44
	Jesus does for us is just to hang there	43:45
	in silence against our assaults.	43:51
	It's tough to hear our Lord curse us	44:00
	and call us bad names, demand that we	44:02
	get behind him as he goes to walk	44:06
	down that dark narrow way to Calvary.	44:08
	But the good news is you see	44:13
	he walks that way for us, despite us.	44:15
	And the good news arising out of this	44:24
	story of his triumph over temptation	44:25
	is that he's going to go ahead and be God.	44:29
	Here is a messiah who is neither	44:34
	inclusive nor pliable.	44:36
	If he would go on down that road and save us	44:39
	he must first be able to hold out against us.	44:43
	And so the best prayer we can pray this day is,	44:50
	not our will but thine be done.	44:56
	Oh Jesus don't just do something,	45:01
	stand there.	45:05
	Stand there for us, faithful even	45:09
	when we are unfaithful.	45:14
	Be the God that we didn't deserve	45:17
	and never asked for.	45:20
	Despite us, Jesus, don't just do something.	45:23
	Stand there.	45:27
	And when the devil had ended every temptation,	45:32
	he departed and left him until a more opportune time.	45:36
	Amen.	45:42
	(solemn organ music)	45:46
	(reverent choral music)	46:24
-	Let us present the offerings	49:23
	and oblations of our life and labor to the lord	49:25
	with thanksgiving.	49:29
	(solemn organ music)	49:32
	(solemn choral music)	51:21
	(reverent organ music)	55:08
	(joyful choral music)	56:07
	Accept, oh lord our thanks and praise	56:52
	for all that you have done for us.	56:55
	We give you thanks for the beauty	56:57
	and the wonder of your creation for minds to think,	56:59
	for hearts to love and for hands to serve.	57:03
	Most of all we thank you for your son	57:06
	Jesus Christ for his steadfast obedience	57:08
	by which he overcame temptation	57:12
	for his dying through which he overcame death	57:14
	and for his rising to life again	57:17
	in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.	57:20
	Grant us the gift of your spirit	57:23
	that we may know him and make him known	57:25
	and that in all times and all places	57:28
	we may give thanks to you in all things, amen.	57:31
	(reverent organ music)	57:37
	(joyful choral music)	58:02
	And now may the lord bless you and keep you	1:00:54
	may the lord make his face to shine upon you	1:00:57
	and be gracious unto you,	1:01:00
	may the lord lift up his countenance upon you	1:01:02
	and give you peace, amen.	1:01:05
	(joyful organ music)	1:01:34

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "Jesus' Temptation" (February 12, 1989)

Description:

Sermon start time: 23:17. Sermon end time: 45:43.
The preacher understands biblical temptation as a function of people’s hunger. He argues that Christians can ‘tempt’ Jesus to be the God and Messiah based on their desires and needs for blessings and miraculous signs. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “The Satan, the greatest tempter that Jesus must face, is us, his own disciples. The ones who offer him the greatest temptation are his people. The temptation he resists is us.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r42b8vt1r

Date:

February 12, 1989

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Lent

Biblical Book:

Luke

Chapter and Verse:

Luke 4:1-13

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0121
ref8575_uqd
uachapelsermaud
duke:321638
dcrmv001117
ark:/87924/r42b8vt1r
aad249e0-c18f-4fc0-af8c-c88e46dbbaa2

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Related Resources:

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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William H. Willimon - "Jesus' Temptation" (February 12, 1989)

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Duke University Archives