Luke 4:1-13.
Last Wednesday all the historic churches began the celebration of Lent. These are the last forty days of Jesus’ ministry on earth. Christianity has done this ever since 325. And just as we set aside time to spiritually preparing for other celebrations such as Christmas, we do set aside time to prepare for two important days of the Christian year – Good Friday and Easter. The death and resurrection of our Lord. Lent is a time that offers us an opportunity to come to terms with our human condition, we are dust and to dust we shall return. This reality leads us to think about the need for a Savior.
Lent is a time – as we do with others Christian’s celebrations- to open our hearts a little wider to understand the suffering of our Lord a little deeper, so, when Good Friday and Easter come, they will not be just another day at church, but an opportunity to receive and celebrate the salvation God has to offer.
Lent is traditionally a time to practice abstinence, a time of giving something up. Lent is the season we take time to prepare our minds and hearts for remembering the reason of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Therefore, my sisters and brothers I invite you during these forty days of Lent to take more time than usual to pray more, to take more time than usual to read the word of God a little more and allow God to fill you with his spirit and lead you where he wants to take you.
There is another aspect of Lent that I would like to talk about this Sunday, Lent is an opportunity to remember and claim our identity. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, a day when millions of Christians around the world displayed a cross made of ashes on their foreheads and by doing so, we identify ourselves as Christians; we tell the world, “I believe in Jesus.” This symbol is about making a bold proclamation to the world about our devotion, faith and commitment to Christ. Wearing the ashes publicly can naturally serve as a statement, inviting conversations and perhaps encouraging others to reflect on their own spiritual path.
The temptations that the devil presented Jesus were targeting Jesus’ identity. Two of the three temptations the devil did begin by calling into question Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. “If you are the Son of God” and then is followed by a challenge to prove this identity with some miraculous display. Turn these stones into bread or throw yourself from the top of the building and God will send angels to rescue you from death. Now, let us remember that before being led to the wilderness, Jesus was baptized… and during his baptism, “As he was praying, -Luke says- heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit -the same Holy Spirit that led him to the wilderness- descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven and said: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
After his baptism, God the Father reminded Jesus his identity as the Son of God and not only that. In the first 3 chapters of the gospel according to Luke, Jesus’ identity was confirmed even before he was born by Mary and Elizabeth and after he was born his identity was also confirmed by Simeon, Anna, John the Baptist, and his genealogy in Luke 3. Therefore, Jesus did not have to do anything to prove his identity. He knew without any doubt who he was. He was the Son of God; He was declared to be the one who will bring salvation to his people. This is who he is, Son of God, our Savior.
The devil is cunning. The temptations targeting Jesus’ identity were tricky, if Jesus did not do it, he shows he was not the Son of God; if Jesus did it, he was obeying the devil and he was going to use his power in a greedy way. Meanwhile, Jesus’s defense to all temptations was responding quoting the Old Testament, that show Jesus’ awareness of the true source of his identity. Jesus told the devil that life is more than food, he learned that from Deuteronomy 8:3. “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
Jesus told the devil hat God is the only one worthy of true worship and service, as Deuteronomy 6:13 say, “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only…” And when the devil asked to put God to test by jumping from the highest point of the temple, Jesus’ answer was, we must not test God as again Deuteronomy 6:16 says, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.” Jesus’ responses were rooted in the assurance of who he was, who he is. The Word made flesh. The devil offered Jesus, self-satisfaction, power and glory. He did not take that from him. However, later in his ministry he received all these but from the hand of God his Father.
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. What gave Jesus the victory over the devil was the certainty of who he was, and this certainty came from God.
Luke 4:1 say, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” Now, after he won this identity battle, verse 14 says, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.” He went to battle full of the spirit and he came out in the power of the spirit.
Church, let us take time during Lent to meditate on who we are, let us take time to think about our identity. And, where can we learn about who we are? Same place Jesus did, the written Word of God. Let us begin with 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” This means that anyone who is “in Christ”—meaning all of us who have embraced the faith in Jesus Christ have become a “new creation.” We have had a spiritual rebirth where our old life with all our sins is left behind, and we are given a fresh start, living in alignment with God’s will. The “old” represents our previous life, characterized by separation from God, while the “new” represents a life of grace, forgiveness, and spiritual renewal.
This is a powerful reminder of the transformative power of God and how his presence can bring hope, change, and a new purpose in life. Now, if the enemy of our souls come to you and reminds you what you did in your past life, you can tell him, I am in Christ, I am a new creation, the old has gone. I have been forgiven.
Besides being a new creation, we are God’s children. Listen to John 1:12, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Now, as a Father, God is loving, protective, and he deeply cares for His children. As Father he loves Unconditionally: God’s love for His children is constant and unwavering, regardless of our flaws or failures. Paul in Romans 8:38–39 say that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God.
As a Father he provides for our needs: God promises to take care of all our needs weather physical, emotional or spiritual. Matthew 6:31–33, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?…But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Besides new creation and God’s children, we are his people, his nation. 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
To be God’s people means we live in a close relationship of love, trust, and obedience with God, the head of our nation. To be God’s people is about belonging, not just as individuals, but as part of a community He has called and set apart for His purposes.
As God’s people, we are called to reflect His character in our actions and choices; we are called to share His love with the world, and to live for His glory. As Jesus did. As God’s Holy Nation we have a mission and we live with a sense of being sent into the world to serve, to love, and to be a light in the darkness. In essence, being God’s people is a gift and a calling—it’s about living in a way that honors Him and points others to His goodness. As Jesus did.
Let us embark on the journey of Lent, reading, praying and meditating following the example of Jesus, who entered the wilderness “full of and led by the Spirit.” During this sacred season, may we pause to reflect on who we are, and, on the identity, God has lovingly bestowed upon us. And at the end of this celebration after praying, reading and meditate, when we celebrate Easter, we will rejoice in the power of the Spirit, just as Jesus did when He continue his ministry in Galilee.
The Swedish psychiatrist (sai kai tris) Carl Jung once said, “The world will ask who you are, and if you do not know, the world will tell you.” Let us resist letting the world define us, for our Creator has already told us who we are. As Jesus’ our identity is firmly rooted in His Word; In what God says. No the world.