Sermon Illustrations For Lent 1 (2023)
Illustration
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
The serpent may be diabolical, but it is not the diabolos, which is how the devil is referred to in Matthew 4:1-11. The creature is described, depending on your translation, as cunning, craft, or intelligent, these terms translate the Hebrew word ‘arum, and a deliberate play on words is made with “árumim, in the previous verse, the Hebrew word for “naked.” The serpent promises Eve that after they eat from the forbidden fruit their eyes will be opened and they will see clearly, but all they see clearly is the fact they are naked.
Eve’s response to the serpent’s leading question, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” calls for a response characteristic of most of us. God said no such thing, of course, but by inviting Eve to engage in the dialogue and answer his question, Eve did what we tend to do – not repeat what we’d been told exactly, but enlarge upon it. There’s only one tree that is forbidden, she replies, then adds the phrase “nor shall you touch it.” God said nothing about touching the fruit. I’m not condemning Eve at all. I’m reminding all of us how hard it is to pass along what we heard, saw, and remembered in an exact fashion.
Frank R.
* * *
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
You may not have heard of George C. Parker. I hadn’t until I came across his story. Parker is remembered as one of the most successful and daring con-artists in American history. He set up an office in New York City and “sold” some of the city’s most famous attractions to tourists. His favorite was the Brooklyn Bridge, but he also sold the Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden, and Grant’s Tomb. He produced elaborately forged documents to convince his targets that he was the rightful owner of the landmarks he was selling. Parker was so persuasive that many times police had to come and explain why the new “owners” of the Brooklyn Bridge couldn’t put up tollbooths to collect money from those who tried to cross.
Parker was a notorious con artist who went to jail for his lies. As good as Parker was at lying, there is someone even better. The “father of lies,” Satan, makes his first appearance in Genesis 3. Like Parker, he promises things that are not his to give, and he tells lies. Eve succumbed to his lying tongue and sin tainted the creation. Satan is still in the lying business today. The question is, will we?
Bill T.
* * *
Romans 5:12-19
We do not want to hear about our sin. Radio missionary to Asia, John Broger, neatly describes how we try to dodge our sin:
Man, in his own wisdom, has developed a vast number of philosophies and theories seeking to explain one’s thoughts, words, and actions. In doing so, man has pridefully sought to deny his own’s sinfulness and has confused any clear definition of God’s standards of right and wrong.
In so doing, soft-peddling sin in our ministries, we do great harm. It is like modern South African Baptist pastor author Erroll Hulse once put it:
A ministry which is weak and flabby on the subject of sin is a useless ministry. A preaching ministry that does not result in conviction of sin is useless. If it does not wound, how can it heal? The Good News is only for sinners. (What Are the Puritans?, p.172)
Martin Luther commented on the benefits of this text for us, the assurance it brings when we are no longer trying to justify ourselves and our good works:
It follows, then, that a Christian must not believe that we are justified by another righteousness. Let all works by which we aim to gain righteousness and all our own merits depart, because we are built upon the foundation not by doing works but by believing. Therefore let every godly man terrified by sin, run to Christ as mediator and propitiator, and let him leave all his own works behind. (Luther’s Works, Vol.16, pp.230-231)
Mark E.
* * *
Romans 5:12-19
Proclaimed by Paul is the shift from our death in sin through the actions of human beings from the time of creation to eternal life through the actions of Jesus. This is the root of our faith – that Jesus came and changed our relationships with each other and with God, that we gain, through our faith, eternal life. I have sat at many death beds as a pastor. In each case, I assure the dying that Jesus is with them, that they are a beloved child of God. Many confess their insecurities about their faithfulness, and their redemption. I assure them, as I assure you, that God knows your struggles. Jesus knows the efforts human being make to repent, to avoid sin altogether. God is merciful, steadfast in love. That is one of the lessons that Jesus came to teach us – that God loves us, sees as part of the family, recognized our frailties and flaws and loves us anyway. That is the assurance of our faith. That is the “guarantee” from a loving God shared through our beloved brother and Savior. Rest in that certainty.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Matthew 4:1-11
I came across an interesting description of the alligator snapping turtle. The National Wildlife Federation notes the dietary habits of this unusual animal. Their specially adapted tongue allows them to catch prey with little work—a lure-like projection of the tongue attracts curious fish that swim right into the turtle’s mouth. To attract an unsuspecting victim, this turtle will lay on the bottom of the riverbed and open his jaws to reveal what looks like a delicious bright red wriggling worm, luring prey by fiendishly twitching this appendage back and forth. A fish that gets duped by the turtle’s tongue will swim right into the range of the hungry predator’s jaws.
That sounds like a horrible trick for a fish or small gator, and a great tool for the turtle. Reading how the alligator snapping turtle gets food reminded me of this passage. Jesus fasted forty days and nights. Afterward, he was famished. Satan chose that time to press the attack. He came at Jesus with three specific and appealing temptations. He lured food, prestige, and power to Jesus. Jesus, unlike the unsuspecting fish, did not succumb to those temptations. He resisted the devil so he would flee (James 4:7). Will we?
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 4:1-11
It seems difficult to accept that Christ was tempted like we are in this lesson. Martin Luther offered some thoughts on this matter. As he put it:
So, first, we want to note and learn from the example of our dear Lord Christ that every Christian as soon as he’s baptized, is marshaled into an army in confrontation with the devil who harasses him as long as he lives. (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.313)
We also learn from Christ, Luther claims, how to resist these temptations:
It is the bounden duty, therefore, of every Christian to earnestly hear God’s Word and its preaching, diligently learn and become well-versed therein. We should also persevere in earnest prayer that God would let his kingdom come among us... (Ibid.)
John Calvin advises us to use God’s means in our struggles, for to neglect them is to tempt God (v.7; Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVI/1, pp.217, 219). The Genevan reformer advises looking to baptism as a means of learning on Christ in the struggles with temptation:
Lastly, our faith receives from baptism the advantage of its sure testimony to us that we are not only engrafted into the death and life of Christ, but so united to Christ himself that we become sharers in all his blessings. (Institutes [Westminster Press ed.], p.1307)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 4:1-11
“The devil” is the usual translation of the Greek word diabolos. While the word is used in the New Testament to specifically identify this individual with “the satan” (Hebrew ha-satan) that appears in the Hebrew scriptures, it also refers to people “making malicious accusations, slanderous”, and to a “slanderous” person. Another form of the word, diabole, is defined as “slander, false accusation, misrepresentation.” (Source: The Cambridge Greek Lexicon). These characterizations seem especially appropriate considering the malicious and slanderous nature of the misrepresentations made by the devil in Matthew’s version of the temptation of Jesus. (Adapted from the author’s book No Room for The Inn, CSS 2022)
Frank R.
The serpent may be diabolical, but it is not the diabolos, which is how the devil is referred to in Matthew 4:1-11. The creature is described, depending on your translation, as cunning, craft, or intelligent, these terms translate the Hebrew word ‘arum, and a deliberate play on words is made with “árumim, in the previous verse, the Hebrew word for “naked.” The serpent promises Eve that after they eat from the forbidden fruit their eyes will be opened and they will see clearly, but all they see clearly is the fact they are naked.
Eve’s response to the serpent’s leading question, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” calls for a response characteristic of most of us. God said no such thing, of course, but by inviting Eve to engage in the dialogue and answer his question, Eve did what we tend to do – not repeat what we’d been told exactly, but enlarge upon it. There’s only one tree that is forbidden, she replies, then adds the phrase “nor shall you touch it.” God said nothing about touching the fruit. I’m not condemning Eve at all. I’m reminding all of us how hard it is to pass along what we heard, saw, and remembered in an exact fashion.
Frank R.
* * *
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
You may not have heard of George C. Parker. I hadn’t until I came across his story. Parker is remembered as one of the most successful and daring con-artists in American history. He set up an office in New York City and “sold” some of the city’s most famous attractions to tourists. His favorite was the Brooklyn Bridge, but he also sold the Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden, and Grant’s Tomb. He produced elaborately forged documents to convince his targets that he was the rightful owner of the landmarks he was selling. Parker was so persuasive that many times police had to come and explain why the new “owners” of the Brooklyn Bridge couldn’t put up tollbooths to collect money from those who tried to cross.
Parker was a notorious con artist who went to jail for his lies. As good as Parker was at lying, there is someone even better. The “father of lies,” Satan, makes his first appearance in Genesis 3. Like Parker, he promises things that are not his to give, and he tells lies. Eve succumbed to his lying tongue and sin tainted the creation. Satan is still in the lying business today. The question is, will we?
Bill T.
* * *
Romans 5:12-19
We do not want to hear about our sin. Radio missionary to Asia, John Broger, neatly describes how we try to dodge our sin:
Man, in his own wisdom, has developed a vast number of philosophies and theories seeking to explain one’s thoughts, words, and actions. In doing so, man has pridefully sought to deny his own’s sinfulness and has confused any clear definition of God’s standards of right and wrong.
In so doing, soft-peddling sin in our ministries, we do great harm. It is like modern South African Baptist pastor author Erroll Hulse once put it:
A ministry which is weak and flabby on the subject of sin is a useless ministry. A preaching ministry that does not result in conviction of sin is useless. If it does not wound, how can it heal? The Good News is only for sinners. (What Are the Puritans?, p.172)
Martin Luther commented on the benefits of this text for us, the assurance it brings when we are no longer trying to justify ourselves and our good works:
It follows, then, that a Christian must not believe that we are justified by another righteousness. Let all works by which we aim to gain righteousness and all our own merits depart, because we are built upon the foundation not by doing works but by believing. Therefore let every godly man terrified by sin, run to Christ as mediator and propitiator, and let him leave all his own works behind. (Luther’s Works, Vol.16, pp.230-231)
Mark E.
* * *
Romans 5:12-19
Proclaimed by Paul is the shift from our death in sin through the actions of human beings from the time of creation to eternal life through the actions of Jesus. This is the root of our faith – that Jesus came and changed our relationships with each other and with God, that we gain, through our faith, eternal life. I have sat at many death beds as a pastor. In each case, I assure the dying that Jesus is with them, that they are a beloved child of God. Many confess their insecurities about their faithfulness, and their redemption. I assure them, as I assure you, that God knows your struggles. Jesus knows the efforts human being make to repent, to avoid sin altogether. God is merciful, steadfast in love. That is one of the lessons that Jesus came to teach us – that God loves us, sees as part of the family, recognized our frailties and flaws and loves us anyway. That is the assurance of our faith. That is the “guarantee” from a loving God shared through our beloved brother and Savior. Rest in that certainty.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Matthew 4:1-11
I came across an interesting description of the alligator snapping turtle. The National Wildlife Federation notes the dietary habits of this unusual animal. Their specially adapted tongue allows them to catch prey with little work—a lure-like projection of the tongue attracts curious fish that swim right into the turtle’s mouth. To attract an unsuspecting victim, this turtle will lay on the bottom of the riverbed and open his jaws to reveal what looks like a delicious bright red wriggling worm, luring prey by fiendishly twitching this appendage back and forth. A fish that gets duped by the turtle’s tongue will swim right into the range of the hungry predator’s jaws.
That sounds like a horrible trick for a fish or small gator, and a great tool for the turtle. Reading how the alligator snapping turtle gets food reminded me of this passage. Jesus fasted forty days and nights. Afterward, he was famished. Satan chose that time to press the attack. He came at Jesus with three specific and appealing temptations. He lured food, prestige, and power to Jesus. Jesus, unlike the unsuspecting fish, did not succumb to those temptations. He resisted the devil so he would flee (James 4:7). Will we?
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 4:1-11
It seems difficult to accept that Christ was tempted like we are in this lesson. Martin Luther offered some thoughts on this matter. As he put it:
So, first, we want to note and learn from the example of our dear Lord Christ that every Christian as soon as he’s baptized, is marshaled into an army in confrontation with the devil who harasses him as long as he lives. (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.313)
We also learn from Christ, Luther claims, how to resist these temptations:
It is the bounden duty, therefore, of every Christian to earnestly hear God’s Word and its preaching, diligently learn and become well-versed therein. We should also persevere in earnest prayer that God would let his kingdom come among us... (Ibid.)
John Calvin advises us to use God’s means in our struggles, for to neglect them is to tempt God (v.7; Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVI/1, pp.217, 219). The Genevan reformer advises looking to baptism as a means of learning on Christ in the struggles with temptation:
Lastly, our faith receives from baptism the advantage of its sure testimony to us that we are not only engrafted into the death and life of Christ, but so united to Christ himself that we become sharers in all his blessings. (Institutes [Westminster Press ed.], p.1307)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 4:1-11
“The devil” is the usual translation of the Greek word diabolos. While the word is used in the New Testament to specifically identify this individual with “the satan” (Hebrew ha-satan) that appears in the Hebrew scriptures, it also refers to people “making malicious accusations, slanderous”, and to a “slanderous” person. Another form of the word, diabole, is defined as “slander, false accusation, misrepresentation.” (Source: The Cambridge Greek Lexicon). These characterizations seem especially appropriate considering the malicious and slanderous nature of the misrepresentations made by the devil in Matthew’s version of the temptation of Jesus. (Adapted from the author’s book No Room for The Inn, CSS 2022)
Frank R.
