Pastor's Message
October 2026
Temptation
Hebrews 4:15 declares, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” Surprisingly, the temptation of Jesus comes at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and not the end. (More accurately, Jesus was tempted throughout his ministry—including the end—but the Gospels identify this special temptation—40 days in the desert—at the beginning.) So, what do we learn about the real Jesus from his temptations?
The Apocryphal Gospels—rejected as fraudulent in the Church—tell these fantastic stories of Jesus and his childhood. They tell of Jesus making clay sparrows and bringing them to life or dropping dried fish into the water in order to see them miraculously start swimming. He turned his playmates into goats to teach them a lesson and made people go blind or deaf just so he could heal them again.
These fabricated stories of Jesus make sense if we were telling the story because that’s probably what we would have done. These stories are like ancient versions of the comic book heroes of today. Think of flawed Batman, bumbling Spiderman or conflicted Thor. While they do good in the end, the motives and behavior are far from perfect. This was hardly Jesus. He was always righteous and obedient.
As we consider the three temptations brought by the devil in the desert, they may seem quite ordinary: create bread, bow down, or jump from the roof. These generally aren’t common temptations to us. More often, we struggle with anger, jealousy, greed or lust. These aren’t vanity, sloth, pride or gluttony. What gives? But a closer look at these temptations shows just how sinister they are.
Make the stones into bread. How many of us are ruled by our desires or appetites? It doesn’t have to be the wants of the belly. It could be any desire of the flesh. Paul warned, “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19). How often our wants override our needs!
Throwing yourself off the top of the temple is about trust. How easy it is to doubt God’s promises! How easy it is to turn a promise of God into something it isn’t! It’s also about the dramatic. How many people want the spectacle? How many people long for the show? “Dazzle me, Jesus. Jump!” That’s not faith. That’s not God’s will.
Then there is the promise, “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:9) If I were Jesus, this would be the greatest temptation. No, you don’t have to endure the next three years of rejection and mistreatment. No, you don’t have to be betrayed, beaten, whipped and flogged. No, you don’t have to carry the cross, be nailed to the cross and forsaken by the Father. Take the short cut. Bow down and it’s all yours!
Here’s a truism: the devil offers the short cut. The short cut is never what it seems. It’s always a lie. God speaks of the long game. There is no short cut to heaven. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22) Yes, Jesus is the “Easy Button.” Yes, he has won forgiveness and salvation. Yes, these are true and certain. But our journey is long and littered with challenges and temptations. Don’t be fooled. Don’t give in. Remain true and steady and faithful. For our God is true and steady and faithful.
Too often the world looks for the miracle, the mystery, or the authority. When Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two small fish, the demanded more food and more miracles. “Dazzle me, Lord!” When Jesus taught in the synagogues, or the temple, or the hillside, people questioned his wisdom and his understanding of the Law. “Did God really say…?” When Jesus drove out demons, his enemies questioned, “By whose authority?”
That’s how Satan operates. He dazzles; he coerces; he deceives. His goal is to force obedience, to destroy. That’s also how the world works. The government makes rules, threatens the disobedient, coerces the desired behavior, and destroys anyone who gets in their way.
God’s way is different. He could coerce us with his law, but rather he woos us with his love. He allows freedom, the freedom to disobey. He gives us enough rope to hang ourselves but tries to lead us to do good with that rope instead. The devil wants the hanging. God wants the rope to be used for building or rescuing or helping a neighbor in need.
Yancey admits, “Sometimes, I concede, I wish that God used a heavier touch. My faith suffers from too much freedom, too many temptations to disbelieve. At times, I want God to overwhelm me, to overcome my doubts with certainty, to give final proofs of his existence and his concern.” Perhaps you’ve felt the same way.
But God rarely works that way. He doesn’t overcome evil with evil or power with greater power. Instead, he overcomes evil with good. Love and righteousness meet; righteousness and peace kiss. (Psalm 85:10) The Lord showers down good. He works from the inside out, not the outside in. He changes the heart through repentance and forgiveness. He overcomes the devil, and the devil flees—only to return another day.
There are different ways we can look at the temptation of Jesus. We can use Jesus as our example in battling our own temptations. We can use it as a primer on the sinister tactics of the devil. We can simply treat it as a moment in Bible history. Or, we can use the account to see Jesus as our Savior, the one who battled the devil and overcame since we could not. Jesus is the anti-Adam. He was silent; he wasn’t deceived; he did not eat of the forbidden fruit. Rather, he overcame the devil. In doing so, he fulfilled all righteousness.
To him be the glory, now and forever.
~ Pastor Ben Golisch ~
Temptation
Hebrews 4:15 declares, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” Surprisingly, the temptation of Jesus comes at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and not the end. (More accurately, Jesus was tempted throughout his ministry—including the end—but the Gospels identify this special temptation—40 days in the desert—at the beginning.) So, what do we learn about the real Jesus from his temptations?
The Apocryphal Gospels—rejected as fraudulent in the Church—tell these fantastic stories of Jesus and his childhood. They tell of Jesus making clay sparrows and bringing them to life or dropping dried fish into the water in order to see them miraculously start swimming. He turned his playmates into goats to teach them a lesson and made people go blind or deaf just so he could heal them again.
These fabricated stories of Jesus make sense if we were telling the story because that’s probably what we would have done. These stories are like ancient versions of the comic book heroes of today. Think of flawed Batman, bumbling Spiderman or conflicted Thor. While they do good in the end, the motives and behavior are far from perfect. This was hardly Jesus. He was always righteous and obedient.
As we consider the three temptations brought by the devil in the desert, they may seem quite ordinary: create bread, bow down, or jump from the roof. These generally aren’t common temptations to us. More often, we struggle with anger, jealousy, greed or lust. These aren’t vanity, sloth, pride or gluttony. What gives? But a closer look at these temptations shows just how sinister they are.
Make the stones into bread. How many of us are ruled by our desires or appetites? It doesn’t have to be the wants of the belly. It could be any desire of the flesh. Paul warned, “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19). How often our wants override our needs!
Throwing yourself off the top of the temple is about trust. How easy it is to doubt God’s promises! How easy it is to turn a promise of God into something it isn’t! It’s also about the dramatic. How many people want the spectacle? How many people long for the show? “Dazzle me, Jesus. Jump!” That’s not faith. That’s not God’s will.
Then there is the promise, “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:9) If I were Jesus, this would be the greatest temptation. No, you don’t have to endure the next three years of rejection and mistreatment. No, you don’t have to be betrayed, beaten, whipped and flogged. No, you don’t have to carry the cross, be nailed to the cross and forsaken by the Father. Take the short cut. Bow down and it’s all yours!
Here’s a truism: the devil offers the short cut. The short cut is never what it seems. It’s always a lie. God speaks of the long game. There is no short cut to heaven. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22) Yes, Jesus is the “Easy Button.” Yes, he has won forgiveness and salvation. Yes, these are true and certain. But our journey is long and littered with challenges and temptations. Don’t be fooled. Don’t give in. Remain true and steady and faithful. For our God is true and steady and faithful.
Too often the world looks for the miracle, the mystery, or the authority. When Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two small fish, the demanded more food and more miracles. “Dazzle me, Lord!” When Jesus taught in the synagogues, or the temple, or the hillside, people questioned his wisdom and his understanding of the Law. “Did God really say…?” When Jesus drove out demons, his enemies questioned, “By whose authority?”
That’s how Satan operates. He dazzles; he coerces; he deceives. His goal is to force obedience, to destroy. That’s also how the world works. The government makes rules, threatens the disobedient, coerces the desired behavior, and destroys anyone who gets in their way.
God’s way is different. He could coerce us with his law, but rather he woos us with his love. He allows freedom, the freedom to disobey. He gives us enough rope to hang ourselves but tries to lead us to do good with that rope instead. The devil wants the hanging. God wants the rope to be used for building or rescuing or helping a neighbor in need.
Yancey admits, “Sometimes, I concede, I wish that God used a heavier touch. My faith suffers from too much freedom, too many temptations to disbelieve. At times, I want God to overwhelm me, to overcome my doubts with certainty, to give final proofs of his existence and his concern.” Perhaps you’ve felt the same way.
But God rarely works that way. He doesn’t overcome evil with evil or power with greater power. Instead, he overcomes evil with good. Love and righteousness meet; righteousness and peace kiss. (Psalm 85:10) The Lord showers down good. He works from the inside out, not the outside in. He changes the heart through repentance and forgiveness. He overcomes the devil, and the devil flees—only to return another day.
There are different ways we can look at the temptation of Jesus. We can use Jesus as our example in battling our own temptations. We can use it as a primer on the sinister tactics of the devil. We can simply treat it as a moment in Bible history. Or, we can use the account to see Jesus as our Savior, the one who battled the devil and overcame since we could not. Jesus is the anti-Adam. He was silent; he wasn’t deceived; he did not eat of the forbidden fruit. Rather, he overcame the devil. In doing so, he fulfilled all righteousness.
To him be the glory, now and forever.
~ Pastor Ben Golisch ~