February 22, 2026
Matthew 4:1-11
Introduction
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” That’s the first line in today’s Gospel and the first words of God we get on this first Sunday of Lent. To which I say, “Wait. What?! The Spirit and the devil are in cahoots? Really?!” I mean… What…? This is just the sort of theological conspiracy and collusion biblical opponents love to seize onto in an effort to discredit and raise doubts about validity—let along sanctity—of the word of God. And it can be hard to defend if we are just taking a surfacy level and literal look at the text.
But when we go deeper into the text what we will actually find is not a conspiracy, not doubt, but rather we find an opportunity—an opportunity to reconsider the wilderness and temptation—because there is more to temptation than simply a test of our faithfulness, morality, or willpower. After all, it is as St. Anthony said, “Without temptations no one can be saved.”
So, what if we saw the wilderness as a classroom and the temptations as our teacher? What if temptations are necessary for our self-knowledge and growing into deeper faithfulness?
Now, if you’re starting to ask yourself, “Is our pastor about to tell us the path to deeper faithfulness is found within our temptations in our—the ones we resist, but ALSO the ones we don’t resist?” And the answer is yes, that is exactly what I am saying. Aren’t I the best pastor ever?!
Move 1
However… Before you start planning your next indulgences in the name of Jesus, we do need to drill down into a few matters. And we start with a pop quiz…How many temptations does Jesus undergo? The answer is three, right? Jeus is given three temptations. First, Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread. Second, he was tempted to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple into the hands of angels. And finally, he was tempted to fall down and worship the devil. Three temptations.
Ahhh…but this “pop quiz” is a trick question. Which I should known better than to ask because now I have just given even more fodder to biblical opponents who love to seize any opportunity to discredit and raise doubts about the validity—let along sanctity—of the word of God. But what are you gonna do? In the prophetic words T. Swift, “Haters gonna hate.” But I digress…
So then… How many temptations does Jesus undergo? Three is not an incorrect answer, but I do believe is an incomplete answer because I believe there is actually a fourth temptation?
What if the fourth temptation is a universal temptation that runs through and underlies the other three? And what if it’s the temptation that you and I are always struggling with? What if all the other temptations are just variations on this fourth one? And I ask this because something I’ve come to recognize in my life is that my temptations aren’t really between me and someone or something else.
My temptations are almost always a struggle between me and myself. Which means then, explicitly, the fourth temptation is the temptation to betray ourselves. I betray myself before I betray you or give in to any other temptation. The temptation to betray oneself is the fourth temptation Jesus faces.
Move 2
It’s important to note, immediately before today’s Gospel Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan River “and a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:17) And immediately after his baptism, Matthew tells us, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1)
God makes this sacred declaration, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” That’s who God declares Jesus to be—and God declares this even though Jesus hasn’t done anything to earn or prove himself to be worthy of such lofty declarations. But here is the beautiful part about what God says before anything has been earned or proven… God’s declaration of Jesus is just as true about Jesus as it is true for you and me.
God declares us, son or daughter, beloved, well pleased. That is our identity to God regardless of what we’ve done or left undone. To God… these declarations are a given for Jesus and they are a given for us. They are God’s view of Jesus, and they are God’s view of you and me.
The way Matthew tells it, Jesus goes from river water to desert sand with nothing in between. No picture taking of Jesus with matted wet hair and a clinging white robe. No receiving line or coffee fellowship with the congregation that witnessed his baptism. No lunch with family and friends celebrating his baptism. John doesn’t preach about what just happened and Jesus doesn’t perform any miracles. Instead, Jesus enters the wilderness with God’s words still ringing in his ears, going immediately from baptism to temptation with matted wet hair and a clinging robe. “The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God…’”
With those words the tempter has raised the possibility, raised a doubt, that Jesus is not the Son of God. And that temptation will actually follow Jesus to the cross where “those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, … “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” (Matthew 27:39-40)
“If you are the Son of God …” That’s not a question between Jesus and the tempter, it’s not a question between Jesus and God, nor is it a question between Jesus and those who deride him. It’s a question between Jesus and himself. It’s a question no one else can answer for him. And it’s a question to each of us, and no one but us can answer it.
That’s the fourth temptation. It’s the temptation for Jesus to doubt he is the Son of God and prove himself by turning stones into bread. It’s the temptation to doubt he is God’s Beloved and prove it by throwing himself off the pinnacle of the temple into the hands of angels. It’s the temptation to doubt God is well pleased with him and seek approval and recognition from some other source by falling down and worshipping Satan, the deceiver. The temptation to doubt who we are and whose we are is the biggest temptation we will ever face.
Move 3
I’ve never been tempted to turn stones into bread, but I have often been tempted (and tried) to prove myself. I bet you have too. And haven’t there been times when you did something to remind yourself you are beloved? But how often have we betrayed ourselves by trying to seek another’s approval?
This fourth temptation is the one we have to start with and find out how it presents itself in our lives. What is tempting you today to doubt you are a beloved child of God with whom God is well pleased? Our responses to these temptations tell us something about ourselves. They offer insight and perspective about who and whose we believe ourselves to be. They reveal where we place our trust, how we see the world, and our way of being towards others.
In facing these temptations, we find out where it hurts and see the ways in which we act out of our wounds. We discover our weaknesses and our deepest longings. With this temptation we learn more about ourselves. It’s diagnostic and it offers an opportunity to move toward and find healing and wholeness; a new life, and a new way of being beloved children of God.
When I am in touch with my deepest identity, I can remain true to myself—no matter the temptations. But when I’m disconnected from my true identity—when I doubt it, give up on it, listen to the voices of others and not the voice of God— I will inevitably betray myself. And that’s exactly what Jesus will not do. He stays true to himself. He doesn’t magically overcome his temptations; he uses them to clarify himself to himself. The temptations are less a choice about what he will or will not do, and more a choice about who he is and how he will be.
And that is how Jesus shows us to find faithfulness through temptations.
Conclusion
What if we approached our temptations like Jesus did? It would certainly be tempting to say, “Well he’s Jesus, and I’m me. He’s got an advantage I don’t have.” But to disqualify ourselves like that is just another betrayal of ourselves.
Jesus doesn’t give in to his temptations because he’s smarter, better, or more holy than us. He doesn’t give in because he refuses to violate or betray himself. He refuses to turn away from himself or run from his life. He makes a choice about who he wants to be, he makes a choice about what matters most to him, and he makes a choice about how he wants to live. And he shows us those choices.
In the face of the three temptations, and in the far more tempting fourth temptation, Jesus shows us how we can face any and all our temptations and use them to decide who we are and decide how we will live out our call.
When you think about it—and I hope you will throughout this Lenten season—the fourth temptation just may be the one that can change your life, refocus your life, and maybe even save your life.
So what are your temptations teaching you about yourself? Go deeper into that question during this season of Lent, and beyond, and you will undoubtedly find faithfulness through temptations. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, February 22, 2026, Lent 1
Gracious and Loving God, we gather this morning at the threshold of Lent, following the Spirit into the quiet and searching spaces of the wilderness, aiming to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, who was led into the desert not to be abandoned, but to be tempered and prepared for the ministry ahead of him.
Holy God, we confess that like the tempter in the wilderness, the voices of this world often begin with “If.” If we are successful enough… If we are holy enough… If we are useful enough—then, perhaps, we belong to You.
We admit how easily we forget the voice from the waters of baptism that has already declared us your sons and daughters, who are beloved, and with whom you are well pleased.
Forgive us when we allow our hunger—hunger for approval, for security, or for power—to make us forget whose we are.
Forgive us for our propensity to so often disqualify ourselves, believing our shadows are too dim for your light, our stumbles too frequent for your grace.
Forgive us and then strengthen our faith in this holy season.
When we are tempted to believe we must prove our worth, remind us that Jesus answered not with his own credentials, but with your enduring word.
Empower us to stand on the truth that your love is not a reward for our victory, but the ground upon which we face and fight through every temptation.
And as we traverse through these forty days, may we face our temptations not with fear, but with the faith and confidence of those who are already loved without condition.
And may we emerge from this wilderness wandering time of facing our temptations as those who are more deeply and faithfully rooted in the identity you have given us—sons, daughters, beloved, and with whom you are well pleased.
We ask that you would receive and hear and act upon the prayers we share with you now, in this time of Holy Silence.
All this we pray in the name of the one who faced and overcame all temptations so that we would know and have forgiveness and grace, Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray, saying, “Our…”