During a televised debate, the famous atheist, Madeline Murry O’Hare was once quoted as saying it’s easy to be an atheist because even the Bible says ‘There is no God’.  Providentially, the person with whom she debated knew the rest of the verse which is taken from Psalm 53:1: ‘The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’’

            It has always been easy for someone with an ulterior motive to mis-use and mis-quote scripture in an attempt to deceive the unwary and ill-informed.  In our scripture portion of scripture from the gospel of Luke we see just that as Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. 

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In first century Judea, the wilderness was a place where people just didn’t go if they could avoid it.  It was a place where robber bands lived and a good place to be separated from your money – like the man who was rescued by the Good Samaritan.  But it was more than bands of thieves that kept people out of the wilderness. 

Nothing grows there and there is rarely any water to be found.  If you are going to survive there, you will not be doing it on your own.  The dryness of the air makes for perfect conditions for seeing mirages.  The wind whistles through the sandy mountains making lonely, haunting melodies.  In the first century people believed that this was where demons lived – which is in fact why so many of the early aesthetics – the desert fathers and mothers - went out to the desert – to get away from the distractions of the world, surely, but also to do battle face to face with Satan.

            It is to this lonely place that the Spirit of God leads Jesus to be tempted.  It’s almost a rite of passage – a time for Jesus to show – or perhaps to find out - what he’s made of – a time to see if he will rely on God and be obedient to the will of God – a time for the devil to do his best to win him over to the ‘dark side’.

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            When the tempter comes there will be three temptations for Jesus to face.  The first test will appeal to his humanity – his hunger – and Jesus will quote scripture in his reply.  The second will appeal to Jesus’ pride, and again Jesus will respond with words of scripture.     

            But there will be one more test for Jesus this day.  This time the devil himself will use scripture – this morning’s scripture from the Psalms - to tempt Jesus to take matters into his own hands instead of relying on the love and graciousness of God.

The tempter takes Jesus to Jerusalem to the highest pinnacle of the temple and says, ‘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.’  After all, you claim to be on a mission from God – you claim to be the Son of God – well if you are, then surely, God will keep you safe no matter what you do – so why don’t you just try him? Dare God to save you!

Yes, Jesus knew these verses that Satan had tried to use to tempt him, but he also knew the verses that preceded it:

‘Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
            the Most High your dwelling place,
            no evil shall befall you,
            no scourge come near your tent’ (verses 9-10).

It is clear from these verses that God will help the one in need, and God’s power is sufficient to do so.  But that help and that power come to those who put their trust in the God who makes those promises.

We humans like to put our trust in all kinds of things – and usually that thing we put our trust in first is us.  We rely on our brains or our brawns, our bank accounts or our contacts.  Stubbornly, we prefer to think that we can manage everything ourselves, that if we just continue on stoically everything will be well - and too often the last thing we think about relying on is God.

When the devil chose this scripture in an effort to keep Jesus from his Holy mission, he made a big mistake.  He chose a psalm that promised the protection of God yes, but one that spoke of the importance of relying on God above all else.

Jesus has his answer about how to be sure of his ministry – it rests entirely with God.  It is a matter of faith, trust and love.

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In the centuries of the early church, when membership might mean risking your life and being ready to face persecution and death, becoming a member of your local congregation was a serious thing and many spent three years in their preparations.  The sacrament of baptism and membership in the church came with the celebration of Easter.  Lent, then, became that final time of preparation, a time to recall the graciousness of God, the wonder of redemption, the glory of the resurrection – and the power of God to protect and care for those who put their trust in him.

Jesus put his trust in God as both refuge and fortress – and it was in the Lord God that Jesus put his trust and love – not in things or people, power of fame.

In the last of our scripture portion we read:    

‘Those who love me, I will deliver;

I will protect those who know my name.

When they call to me, I will answer them;

I will be with them in trouble,

I will rescue them and (will) honor them.

With long life I will satisfy them, and (will) show them my salvation.’

(verses 14-17)

            Life may seem uncertain, the future may appear dark – and life may not be the easy street and primrose path we might hope for -  but we who follow the leading of Jesus, who choose to love God and put our trust in God instead of ourselves will also find that the promises of God are sure and certain.  We will find answers.  We will be rescued.  We will be satisfied and we will have God’s salvation.