Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” (Matthew 4:5-7)
What's so bad about angels? Why would it be sinful or wicked to call on them for help?
Well, of course, there's nothing bad about angels, and there's nothing wrong with receiving their assistance. By the end of this story in Matthew's Gospel, actually, angels will in fact show up and tend to Jesus' needs--you might recall that curious little detail from hearing this story last Sunday.
So what's going on here? Asking for help from God's holy angels seems like a pious and holy thing to do, and the Tempter even has a couple of Bible verses to back up his proposal to Jesus, quoting from the psalms about the angels being there to keep Jesus from even stubbing his toe or "dashing your foot against a stone." (This, it would seem, is an important reminder to all of us that we don't settle our theological differences by resorting to a game of "Who Has The Most Bible Verses To Lob At The Other Side?" and neither do we say, "If you can rip a verse out of context to use as justification, you can do anything you like.")
Jesus is wise enough to know that this subtle suggestion from Satan is not merely about the abstract question of whether he (or any of us) can receive help in our struggles from God or the heavenly host. The point isn't, "Hypothetically speaking, couldn't you call on an angel to save your life if you were falling from a great height, like, say... the top of the Temple? Asking for a friend..." The issue is whether Jesus will abuse his status as divine Son of God to protect himself, to keep himself safe, and to insulate his privileges from outside threat. Will Jesus take advantage of his position for self-interest, self-security, and self-preservation, or will he willingly surrender those privileges... including calling in the angel armies if he does something reckless like jumping off the top of the Temple?
Well, of course, you and I know that Jesus won't take that bait. If the devil can quote from the Psalms to entice Jesus, Jesus can quote from the Torah right back to reject the offer. But this was never about just having a battle over Bible verses. Jesus understands that this gets deep down to the question of who God is and how God's Reign operates in the world. Does God intend to rule like the Roman emperors, maximizing privileges for themselves and commanding conquering armies to do their dirty work, or does God endure suffering without armor alongside us in our suffering? Does God use the status of being God in self-serving ways, or is God fundamentally self-giving? And for Jesus, who has come to embody the Reign of God for us, will he use his position for his own advantage, or will he enter into the danger of this world without angelic bodyguards? Will he be a comfortable king or a suffering servant--and what will his choice say about the character of the God whom Jesus represents?
And that's just it: Jesus understands that his vocation is to reveal the character of God in his own actions, words, and priorities. And at the heart of this temptation is the question of what God is like--does God see power and privilege as something to be exploited and milked for maximum benefit and self-interest, or does God choose selfless love that seeks the well-being of others? Is God like a human king who bends the rules to suit his own interests, make a fortune from being in power, and puff up his own insecure ego, or does God forgo special privileges and instead seek the well-being of the people in God's care? Jesus clearly chooses the second as his own way of being in the world, and rejects the first as something literally diabolical. Jesus sees--and shows us once again--that "Me and My Interests First" is not simply a bad policy; it is downright devilish and anti-Christ. This is what I mean if you've heard me say that "Me-and-My-Group-First is the national motto of hell."
When you see it play out in this scene from Matthew's gospel, it's all rather clear that this is the stand Jesus is taking. The hard part, of course, is realizing that if we have been drawn to Jesus and walk in his footsteps, then we are also called to the same posture in the world. If Jesus has refused to use his position and privilege for his own gain, then we cannot endorse that way of life or practice it, either. And in fact, the New Testament makes that very point explicit elsewhere. In Paul's letter to the Philippians, he says precisely this:
"Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:3-8)
For the apostle Paul who wrote those words to the Philippians (possibly quoting an even earlier poem or hymn they all knew), the connection was clear. Because Jesus refused to use the privileges of his status for his own interests, we are not supposed to cling to our privileges, either. Because Jesus didn't abuse his position for his own advantage, we do not take advantage of our positions in life, either. Rather, our call is to seek the good of others, because that is how Jesus used his life--and in so doing, he revealed that's the character of God.
That's our calling today, if we dare to acknowledge that we are following after Jesus and patterning our lives on his. You and I may not be dared to jump off the top of the Temple (or any other tall buildings today) but we are constantly tempted to seek our own self-interest and exploit our privileges for our own benefit. Jesus has already exposed that as an anti-Christ way of living in the world. He will give us the courage and strength to say no to those possibilities when they come, so that we can say yes to the way of Jesus.
The angels were never the problem here--the question was always about whether Jesus would take the bait of seeking his own self-interest rather than living in God's self-giving love.
Lord Jesus, enable us to give ourselves away in this day, as you have first given yourself away for us.
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