Excerpted from 2025 Lenten Guide: The Year of the Lord, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year C from the North Carolina Council of Churches.
Luke 4:1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
The setup for the sermon on which our Lenten devotions are based occurs when the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, today’s Gospel reading. We shouldn’t get hung up on the supporting actor in these scenes. That character’s role is to verbalize the temptations and serve as a foil for the righteousness Jesus displays. The temptations and Jesus’ responses are the main act. As we know so well, Jesus is offered bread when he’s been fasting for forty days, fame when he’s been alone for forty days, and safety when he’s been unhoused for forty days. The hunger and homelessness—suffering—and loneliness—sorrow, Jesus experiences during these days set the tone for his ministry. He will always point to God’s call to serve the least of these. He will always take the side of the vulnerable. He will never use violence to further his goals.
Jesus has blazed a clear path for all of us who encounter suffering and sorrow with his response to the offers presented to him. By deciding how he would alleviate suffering and sorrow, he showed us what kind of community we will be—people who serve; what kind of life we will live—people who care; and what kind of faith we will possess—people who pursue peace. Because Jesus faced down the temptations, the difficult choices have already been made. The only decision we have to make is whether or not to join a community eagerly pursuing the Year of the Lord.
Today’s scene ends when Jesus goes home. But where Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness forty days earlier, he is now entering his public ministry “filled with the power of the Spirit” (v. 14). May we all be so filled with the power of the Spirit that the Year of the Lord rings through all our actions.
