Sun Tzu is considered to be one of the finest military minds of all time. His military treatise, the Art of War is a compilation of military tactics and strategies that has influenced both Easter and Western military thinking for thousands of years. General “storman” Norman Schwarzkopf is said to have drawn inspiration from the book. One of my favorite Sun Tzu quotes is from the 3rd chapter of Art of War. There Sun Tzu writes, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Today as we begin a new sermon series simply entitled “At War” I thought it appropriate to quote from one of history’s great military minds. This specific quote is especially applicable today because today we are going to get to know our enemy a bit better as we see our Savior at war with temptation.
Before we get into the details of the battle, I want to show you something. I got this old trap out of Jacob’s closet again. I think I showed it to the children in a children’s sermon a year or so ago, but I don’t think I have ever showed it to you. It is called a Duke trap, a model #2 to be exact. I don’t know if y’all are familiar with a Duke trap, but it is used to catch small game like racoons, coyotes, fox, or nutria which is a big-ole nasty beaver lookin rat.[1] To set the trap you push down on the two spring loaded levers. This opens up the jaws of the trap. (Some of the bigger traps have metal teeth and look like shark jaws.) Next you place the dog over one of the jaws and fit it into the notch of the pan. After the trap is set you will want to conceal it under a thin layer of dirt or grass. It is best to place the trap in a path that you know your prey travels. You might want to consider enticing them with some sort of bait; you know something they find appealing or desirable. With your trap set and concealed it is only a matter of time before some unsuspecting prey is caught. How that happens is, the prey that is foolish enough to go after the bait you left steps on the pan and the jaws snap shut on its leg and hold it fast. Finally, with the prey secured, when the time comes the hunter is able to kill it, skin it, and devour it.
I suspect by now you know why I wanted to show you this trap. The word “temptation” means to trap. Our enemy, the devil, uses temptation in the same way and for the same purpose that a hunter uses a trap. The devil’s ultimate goal is catch, kill, and devour his prey. This is what the devil tried to do to Jesus in our gospel lesson for today and this is what he is still trying to do to you. We call it temptation but make no mistake it is a trap. By the way, some animals, out of desperation will actually chew their leg off to get free of a trap like this. Makes you think of what Jesus says in Matthew 5:30, “if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off (or chew it off if you have to) and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
O.K. so let’s get to know our enemy a little better by taking a look at three traps the devil set for Jesus. We are going to find these traps concealed in two ditches and a shortcut. The first ditch in which the devil conceals his trap is described in Matthew 4:1-3. “1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” At first glance this looks to be like a pretty obvious trap but take a closer look. The devil is doing more than dangling a piece of bread before Jesus. The bread is just the bait. The real trap is hidden in the words “if you are the Son of God.” The real trap is not about eating bread it is about causing doubt. The devil is suggesting that if Jesus really was the Son of God there was no reason for Him to suffer. He is suggesting that as the Son of God Jesus had the right to be satisfied, indeed ought to be satisfied. Since Jesus was suffering, the devil invites Jesus to question His relationship with the heavenly Father.
It is a well-placed trap. One that I would venture to guess you have stepped into on more than one occasion. Instead of bread the devil dangles happiness before you. The devil suggest that the child of God has a right to happiness, indeed they should always be happy. The devil then asks, if you are a child of God, why is there pain and suffering in your life? If you are a child of God, why do bad things happen to you? If you are a child of God, why aren’t you happier? In this way the devil invites us to question our relationship with the heavenly Father. But be warned, doubt is a trap.
Jesus recognized the trap that the devil had set for Him. Instead of doubting the heavenly Father, Jesus demonstrates His complete confidence in the heavenly Father by saying, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Jesus trusted His heavenly Father’s every word. Including the words that say because we now live in a fallen world full of sin, suffering is now our constant companion. But the heavenly Father uses this suffering to strengthen our faith. Jesus told the devil, ‘Whether the heavenly Father decrees blessing or trial for His children, I trust that He has decreed it for our good and for His glory.
Having failed to trap Jesus in the ditch of doubt, the devil leads Jesus to the ditch on the other side of the road where he has concealed his second trap. In verses 5-6 we read, “5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”” Again, this trap does not appear to be a very difficult temptation to avoid. (Jumping off a building is not the devil’s most enticing temptation.) But take a closer look. The devil is doing more than offering Jesus an adrenalin rush. Adrenalin is just the bait. Once again, the real trap is concealed in the words, “if you are the Son of God.” The real trap is not about adrenalin, it’s about overconfidence. The devil is ready to concede that Jesus has confidence in the heavenly Father. Indeed, the devil suggest that Jesus just might be the most confident child the heavenly Father has. The devil quotes some of the words that have come from the mouth of God and invites Jesus to demonstrate just how great His confidence really is.
This is another well-placed trap. Chances are pretty good that you have also stepped in this trap. The devil wants you to be confident, so confident that you treat your baptism like it is diplomatic immunity. You know what I mean by that right? As a baptized child of God, you act like the law doesn’t apply to you and therefore you can say, do, and feel whatever you like because as a baptized child of God you have a get out of jail free card. The devil wants you to be so confident that you confuse faith with fatalism saying things like, “it doesn’t matter how I live my life. When it’s your time it’s your time.” The devil wants you to be so confident that you become a lazy glutton scratching lottery tickets while proclaiming from your couch, “the Lord will provide.” The devil wants you to believe the child of God can never be too confident. But be warned, overconfidence is a trap.
Jesus recognized the trap that the devil had set for Him. Instead of being overly confident Jesus is appropriately cautious. In verse 7 we read, “7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”. Jesus is confident in the promises made by His heavenly Father to provide for Him and to protect Him, but Jesus does not assume privileges beyond those promises. While the heavenly Father reserves the right to provide for His children through miraculous means, He most often chooses to provide for His children through natural means: like the exercise of common sense, self-discipline, and hard work. Jesus told the devil, ‘the heavenly Father had already provided for Him everything he needed through natural means, there was no reason to ask for anything more.’
Recognizing that he had not be able to trap Jesus in one of the two ditches. The devil attempts to steer Jesus down a shortcut where he has concealed his third trap. In verses 8-9 we read, “8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” The devil pretends to accept the fact that Jesus is the Son of God who neither doubts nor tempts the heavenly father. The devil pretends he has no choice but to surrender to Jesus. He offers Jesus what He came for. He offers Him the world that He came to save. There would be no need for suffering. There would be no need for sacrifice. Jesus could avoid all that unpleasantness if He would only bend the knee.
Out of the three, this, I think this is the most dangerous trap. One that I am most certain you have stepped in. Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that you are easier prey than me. I have taken the devil’s shortcut more often then I care to admit. It’s a rather appealing path. Often a much more appealing path then the one the heavenly father has placed before us. The heavenly Father path is difficult. It is a path that we are called upon to carry a cross. The devil offers us a seemingly more pleasing alternative. The devil offers us a path free from mocking and ridicule, pain and sorrow. All we have to do is bend the knee: compromise a few teachings, ignore a passage or two, concede on a minor piece of doctrine. If we are but willing to bend the knee, there is no need to pick up a cross as we follow Jesus. The devil’s shortcut is appealing but be warned this is one of his most successful traps.
Jesus recognized the trap that the devil had set for Him. Instead of taking the devil’s shortcut, Jesus continued to follow His heavenly Father’s lead. “10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Jesus knew where the devil’s shortcut would lead Him. He knew that all who follow the devil down that path might avoid some temporary pain and suffering but at the end, eternal pain and suffering awaited all who followed that path. Jesus chose a different path. He chose the heavenly Father’s path, one that would cause Him a great deal of pain and suffering to be sure, but one that leads to salvation for all who believe. Jesus told the devil He wasn’t interested in his shortcut. Rather, He would continue to walk the path the heavenly Father had placed before Him.
Having been unsuccessful in his attempts to trap Jesus, Matthew concludes the skirmish by telling us “11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”
The best thing prey can do is to stay as far away from these things as possible. The same holds true for you. But if you do find yourself in a situation where the devil has placed a trap in your path, I encourage you to do what Jesus did. Notice that even though as true God Jesus possessed the power to defeat the devil with an act of divinity, Jesus chose to defeat the devil with the sword of the Spirit. Every victory Jesus won over the devil was preceded by the words “it is written”. If you want to avoid the devil’s traps, if you too win the war with temptation, I encourage you to do the same. Use the word of God. It is the only weapon you possess that has been proven successful in overcoming such a powerful enemy.
Finally, you don’t have to like the devil. Matter of fact it is O.K. to hate him. But you are a fool if you don’t respect him. You are a fool if you don’t recognize that He is a powerful enemy, one that has successful trapped thousands of souls and is likely to trap thousands more. You need to respect how powerful the devil is, but you don’t need to fear him. You don’t need to fear him because in Jesus you have an even more powerful ally; one who has avoided every trap the devil set for Him. Or as it says in Hebrews 4:15, “one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” Further, Jesus not only avoided the devil’s traps but with a bloody cross and an empty tomb He found a way to set you free from the traps you have stepped in. With that in mind I might modify the military guidance given by the great Sun Tzu. Know yourself, know your enemy, but above all know your Savior. Only then will you be victorious when you find yourself at war with temptation. Amen
[1] The reader will have to forgive me. This is a topic that tends to bring out the country in me.