Dismantling Evil
Matthew 4:1-11[1]
Our culture has an
almost irrational fascination with evil. When I was in college, I read Bram
Stoker’s Dracula for one of my English classes. It’s a gruesome and
horrific story, one meant to inspire fear of the unknown powers of evil in this
world. But the ultimate point of the horror genre, at least in that modern era,
was to provide the assurance that no matter how frightening the powers of evil
in this world may be, they can and will be overcome by good. Of course, in our postmodern
day, those lines have been blurred in popular culture. Novels and films
intentionally play up the “good bad guy” over against the “bad good guy.” And
the fascination with evil persists. Whether it’s demons, or vampires, or
zombies, people seem to think that if they can understand evil, then it’s not
such a threat.
I’m not sure that’s
the best way to try to deal with the reality of evil in the world. We only have
to turn on the evening news to see all kinds of evil run rampant, seemingly
unchecked. And way too many people take comfort in being able to say that all
this is the work of a “devil.” Somehow, giving credit to a “devil” who is
behind all the evil in the world helps people feel better. I think that’s
partly because it gives them a ready explanation for where all this evil comes
from. I think it’s also because it “confines” evil to one particular figure. In
a strange way, that provides reassurance. But in my mind, the popular myths
around a “devil” who is everywhere at all times, who is all-knowing and
all-seeing, and who has the power to tempt anyone anywhere only increases fear.
And it gives any “devil” there may be in this world way too much credit.
I think one of the
purposes of our Gospel lesson from Matthew is to demonstrate that whatever evil
powers there may be in this world have been decisively defeated by Jesus. Of
course, that’s one of themes surrounding the cross and the resurrection in the
NT. As the writer of the letter to the Hebrews puts it, Jesus “destroyed the
Devil’s hold on death and freed all who cower through life” (Heb 2:14-15, MSG).
In our Gospel lesson for today, we find that the “devil” held no power over
Jesus from the very start. Although Jesus was weakened by his forty-day fast,
which means that the temptations he faced were real, he was able to dismiss
every one of them simply by reciting Scripture. And this wasn’t the last
temptation he would face.
Part of the reason for
Jesus’ ability to dismiss the “devil” so easily is because he had already
declared at his baptism that he was determined to “fulfill all righteousness”
(Mt 3:15). This is a theme that Matthew’s Gospel develops, and it includes Jesus’
teaching in the Sermon on the Mount about what it truly meant to follow him in
discipleship: responding to the demand of grace by loving God and loving
others. It also includes Jesus’ obedience to the Father’s will, seen ultimately
in his willingness to go to the cross. But here, we see Jesus’ determination to
“fulfill all righteousness” in his unwavering commitment to remain true to God in
the face of every temptation.
Every one of the
temptations in this story had to do with how Jesus would fulfill his role as
God’s “beloved son,” as the voice from the heavens had identified him at his
baptism immediately before the temptation (Mt 3:17). Although it seems harmless
for Jesus to have fed himself by turning a stone into bread, the temptation
went deeper than hunger. The question was whether he would trust in and rely on
God to meet all his needs, or whether he would take matters into his own hands.
In response to Jesus’ faithful obedience to Scripture, the second temptation
(mis)quotes scripture regarding his trust in God. The misuse of the scripture
can be seen in that the “tempter” twisted a passage affirming God’s unfailing
care into a challenge to put God to the test. Each time, Jesus demonstrated his
commitment to “fulfill all righteousness” by remaining true to God.
I think in Matthew’s
Gospel we’re meant to see the fact that, despite Jesus’ weakened condition, the
“temptation” was really no contest. All he had to do to ward off every
temptation was to recite scripture. And the scriptures he used were among the
most basic in the Bible: they are related to the call to stay true to one true
God from the Shema, the verse that pious Jewish people still recite
every day (Dt 6:4-5). Even the final temptation, the offer of “all authority” if
Jesus would turn from his loyalty to God and worship the “devil,” was an almost
pathetic attempt that failed spectacularly. Again, all Jesus had to do was
recite the most basic scripture, which he likely had known all his life: “Worship
the Lord your God, and serve only him” (Dt 6:13).
One aspect of
Matthew’s story of the temptation may be hard for us to see. In that final
temptation, the “devil” falsely offered Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world
and their glory” on a “high mountain.” As if the “devil” would have been able
to give what belongs to God! At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, meeting his
disciples on another mountain, Jesus declared that God had given him “all
authority in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18). As a result of Jesus’ commitment
to “fulfill all righteousness,” even when it meant going to the cross, God
raised him to his own right hand, far above all the powers of evil there may be
in this world. Jesus our Savior dismantled the power of evil by his willingness
to remain true to God in the face of every temptation.
When we buy into the
popular mythology surrounding the “devil,” we may give it far too much credit.
Any “devil” there may be is a created being. It cannot be everywhere at all
times, it is not all-knowing or all-seeing, and it does not have the power to
tempt anyone anywhere. Only God has the power to be everywhere at all times, to
be all-knowing and all-seeing! More than that, any “devil” there may be is a
defeated being. It could not even stand up to Jesus after he was weakened by
forty days of fasting. It certainly cannot rival the power of the risen Christ
reigning as Lord from the right hand of God. That means that ultimately, we
don’t have to fear evil in this world. Jesus’ death and resurrection broke the
power of evil forever. Of course, we still face the reality of evil in this
world, but because Jesus is the one who is with us, he helps us face every
temptation. And more than that he gives us the power to join with him in
dismantling whatever evil there may be in our world in the same way as he did:
by remaining true to God.
[1] ©2023 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm PhD on 2/26/2023 for
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
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