SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2026 | FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT YEAR A
Genesis 3:1–21 | Matthew 4:1–11
Jesus Sinners Doth Receive: Two Temptations
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Grace, Mercy and Peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today, on the first Sunday in Lent we read the accounts of two temptations.
The first temptation is the temptation of Adam and Eve. And the second is the temptation of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
There’s a lot to notice about each of these temptations. But today we will focus on the common thread in these temptations. That common thread is the Word of God.
When Adam and Eve were first tempted in the Garden, how did the Devil begin? With a simple question: “Did God actually say…?” The tempter’s immediate purpose is to cast doubt on the Word of God. To twist it. To question it. To remove its power to guide and direct the lives of God’s people.
And the first question we should ask ourselves as we come together in God’s house is this:
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Do we know what God actually said? Do we know His Word?
Adam and Eve knew. Sort of.
The serpent asks,
“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)
Of course not. God didn’t say that. But what did God say?
Eve’s response is mostly correct. She responds that God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ (Genesis 3:3)
But many people have noticed that Eve seems to add to God’s Word here. Back in Genesis 2:16-17, what did God actually say?
the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
He told Adam, don’t eat of the true of the knowledge of Good and Evil….He did not command them not to touch it. Now, I wouldn’t make too much of this. If the command is don’t eat the fruit, then it’s probably a good idea not to touch it either. That’s an appropriate boundary. But still, is it possible that Eve is playing fast and loose with God’s Word? Maybe.
Also it’s worth noting that God gives this command to Adam, BEFORE the creation of Eve.
So whatever Eve knows of God’s Word on the matter, probably came from Adam. Oh and by the way, Adam is standing right there next to Eve, the WHOLE TIME! Not saying a work. But Adam, weren’t you the one who God gave this command to in the first place? Don’t you suppose you should say something, Adam? Crickets. Adam has shirked his responsibility here.
And things get worse: The serpent slanders God, calling Him a liar. The devil says to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)
First there is doubt about what God’s Word actually says.
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Do you know what God’s Word says?
But then, even what God actually says is made out to be a lie. And God is made a liar who does not want the best for you, who does not truly love you.
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Do you trust God to tell the truth and to do what’s best for you?
Eve and Adam do not trust God. They believe a lie. And They take and eat. They are enticed by their own desires, they reject God’s Word and reject His goodness and love. And corruption and death take over their family. Our family. And so it is to this very day.
We should notice how little the devil changes his tactics. Even today, he eagerly casts doubt on the authority of the Scripture to guide and direct our lives.
And it begins with encouraging ignorance. The devil is perfectly happy if you don’t know the answer to the question…Did God really say that? The devil is perfectly happy if you are ignorant of God’s Word. Because then you are powerless to stand against his temptations.
And, failing that, the devil will be perfectly satisfied if you know God’s Word, but don’t trust Him. That’s idolatry, by the way…
Oh, it doesn’t seem like idolatry. I’m not worshipping another god. Yes you are.
Do you need proof? Well, then it’s time for that test I warned you about…
Dear people of God, What is the The First Commandment?
You shall have no other gods.
And what does this mean?
We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.
Good job.
Now did you notice what the commandment and it’s meaning teach us…that our god is that which we fear, love and trust, most of all.
When you love money more than you love God — you’re worshipping a false god. When you have better things to do than worship on a Sunday morning — you’re worshipping a false god. When you let your selfish desires control you, instead of listening to God and following His commands…you’re worshipping a false god.
James the brother of our Lord, describes this idolatry in his epistle. He says, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)
Each person. Each person faces this, struggles with this. Each person is both passively a sinner, by birth into our corrupt human family, and also actively a sinner, as we choose to reject the Word of God and His good and perfect will for our lives.
Either we don’t know God’s word at all…that’s ignorance.
Or we know it but we trust Him above all things…that’s idolatry.
That’s you. And that’s me. That’s each person, James says. Each member of Adam’s family. Each one, except Jesus.
You see, as it was with Adam and Even, so also in the temptation of Jesus, the Word of God is front and center.
The devil came to our Lord, Christ not once as He did with Adam and Eve, but three times. First in the midst of his great hunger, the devil says:
“If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” (Matthew 4:3)
You’re hungry Jesus. You desire food. That’s what it’s like to be human. So take and eat. End this fast, this struggle. Abandon this fools quest of suffering for these people. Serve yourself and not others. After all, you are the Son of God, right?
Again the tempter comes to Him, taking Him to the pinnacle of the temple. He says:
“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, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” (Matthew 4:6)
Cast yourself down from the temple. Come to this people in triumph and glory. Show off, show your power. Forget about this humility nonsense! After all, you are the Son of God, right?
Here, by the way the tempter misuses God’s name and his word as a temptation and as a justification for rejecting God’s will. Wow
Which commandment does that break?
The Second Commandment! What is the second commandment?
You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.
One last time, the devil comes. He shows off the kingdoms of the world and their glory and says to Jesus: “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:9)
We can go straight to the end, Jesus. Straight to the glory. Join me, worship me. We’ll rule our way, no suffering necessary. It’s all yours if you just bow to me.
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By the way, we know that the temptation to avoid the cross has teeth. The temptation for the Son of God to reject the shame and suffering of one forsaken by God…and to instead embrace His right: glory and honor…that’s a real temptation.
We know this is a real temptation that cuts to the heart of things because it is reflected again in the Garden of Gethsemane. There this temptation id reflected in Jesus’ own prayer: He begs God, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)
Our Lord does not shrug off the cross as though it is no big deal. Matthew and Mark say that He was sorrowful and troubled, to the point of death. Luke tells us that He was in agony, with sweat like great drops of blood falling to the ground. He is in anguish as the hour draws near, and prays for another way. And He prays, listen! that His own will, the will that is born of the temptation to reject the Word and Will of God, would NOT be done.
Not as my will He says, but your will be done, dear Father.
The temptation to avoid the cross is real and powerful.
But thanks be to God that it is not more powerful than our Lord’s steadfastness and trust in the Word and the Good and Perfect Will of God, His Father — even though that Good and Perfect Will required so much suffering from Christ. He bears it. He endures is. All of it, for you and for me.
Notice how our Lord responds to each temptation. How He stands firm in the truth. Each time He says the same words: It is Written.
It is Written. It is Written. It is Written.
Consider these two temptations once more. Adam and Eve fell because they doubted God’s Word and the doubted the goodness of the Will of God. The believed the devil’s lie, and they ran after his false promise.
But Jesus resisted the devil and all his empty promises. He did this because He knew God’s Word. And He trusted God’s good and perfect will. Even when it was hard.
Now what does this teach us? That the Word of God must guide and direct our lives. That begins here in Worship.
You know it’s true that I am weak and selfish and afraid. Sometimes I don’t trust God. I, like you, am a poor miserable sinner. And the only hope I have is in the Word and the Will of God. If I turn aside from God’s Word one way or the other I lose all hope and make a mess of my life, just like Adam and Eve did. No, I need God, I need His Word. Constantly.
And we come here to the Divine Service to receive God’s gifts in Word and Sacrament. We come to hear His voice and believe it when He says, I love you and I forgive you all of your sins.
I need God’s Word to give me peace. And I need God’s Word to stand firm under temptation and to avoid the painful consequences of embracing more and more sin. The only way I have any hope of walking by faith is by knowing the Word of God and trusting that His will is always best, and doing what He says, following His commands.
Did you notice what finally happens when Jesus says to the Devil, “It is written, it is written, it is written.” What finally happens?
Verse 11 — the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
The devil has nothing else to stand on. Nothing else he can do. When Jesus is firm and steadfast in the Word of God, the devil finally leaves. And there is relief, and comfort from the servants of God.
And James says the very same things applies to us: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
This applies in the battle against sin…when we’re tempted and we bear up under it with the help of God and His Holy Word…the devil flees from us.
And it applies for the sinner who has fallen, and who feels the shame of his sin…we submit to God and we submit to His Word of absolution…and the devil flees from us. What else can he do?
I mean if the devil accuses us, but God says, for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter suffering and death of my son, I forgive you…what else can the devil say? He flees from us because he has no more power over us. That power has been taken from Him, by the Word and the Work of Christ.
This is why Luther says what He does in the Small Catechism, concerning the Third Commandment. Are you ready this time?
What is the Third Commandment:
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.
You see, we gather here to gladly hear and learn the Word of God. We gather here because we know what happens when we despise preaching and His Word. That’s the story of our human family. And where does it lead? To pain, to suffering, to broken marriages and families. To bitterness and anger and violence. To a loveless and godless world. And to hearts that are hardened by lust and greed and selfishness. And finally it leads to death and hell. That’s what happens when we despise preaching and His Word.
But when we hold it sacred, when we gladly hear and learn it…then our Lord gives us Sabbath. He gives us rest. Because he takes us, poor, miserable sinners, and He makes us children of God. He washes us in the waters of Baptism. He daily and richly forgives our sins. And He feeds us His true body and blood…the same body and blood that suffered for our sake now nourishes us in the one true faith. When we gladly hear and learn God’s Word and we receive these gifts in faith, then we know the peace that surpasses understanding…the peace and the power that overcomes sin, death and the devil.
And when we gladly hear God’s Word and with His live by it…we find ourselves no longer on the road that leads to death and hell, but instead we are on the road that leads without fail to paradise, because we’re following Jesus there, to the Kingdom of God, which has no end. Amen.
Now the Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in the one true faith unto life everlasting. Amen.