Know Who You Are

Scripture Passage

^{Matthew 4:1-11}

¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ¹⁸ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 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.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

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.’”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

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.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

 

Sermon Script

Today’s passage is a familiar one. For the first Sunday of Lent, we usually reflect on the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert.

For forty days, Jesus is tempted by Satan. Satan is also referred to as the devil in the story.

We see this back-and-forth exchange between them. Satan challenges Jesus, and Jesus responds to each temptation with a fitting answer.

Reading the story, we may picture two figures in the wilderness.

But look at this painting.

 

 

How many people do you see? Just one. And that’s Jesus.

This is a painting titled, “Temptation in the Wilderness”. It is by a British painter named Briton Rivière. He did many biblical drawings. As you can see, this one is based on today’s story.

I personally think this painting is a more realistic portrait of what happened to Jesus in the desert.

Jesus did not engage in a dramatic debate with another person. He was all alone. There was no one else to speak with.

Rather, it was a quiet, inner struggle. Still a difficult and painful one. His struggle was with a voice accusing him from within.

Satan (or the devil) is not the scary, winged creature we think of. The word for ‘devil’ is also translated as ‘tempter’ or ‘accuser’.

Like his name, that is exactly what Satan did to Jesus in the desert. He accused Jesus. Not just once, but twice.

Look at the way he tempts Jesus each time:

During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” (Matthew 4:3)

Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! (Matthew 4:5, 6)

IF you are the Son of God…

What is he saying, in other words? “Are you REALLY the Son of God?”

By accusing Jesus in that way, Satan tried to plant a seed of doubt in Jesus’ mind. Doubt about what God had said to him at his baptism.

It happened right before Jesus went into the wilderness:

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Mathew 3:16, 17)

There was no ambiguity about what God said. God clearly said Jesus was his beloved son.

Yet, by inserting that subtle “if,” Satan tried to rock Jesus’ confidence and make him prove who he was.

If you are really the Son of God, then show me that you are capable. If you are really the Son of God, then show me that you are loved.

One of the most difficult tests we can face in our life is the one that has to do with our IDENTITY.

Our identity is like the roots of a tree. It lies beneath all that we see on the surface.

If the roots are strong, then even the strongest wind will not be able to knock down the tree. If the roots are weak, then the tree will get easily uprooted and knocked down by whatever wind that comes.

So, it is important to build a strong and healthy identity in life.

Most of us are still discovering who we are. That is why being a teenager is difficult. We don’t know ourselves that well.

As much as we want to, knowing who we are (our personality, strengths, weaknesses) takes time.

However, there is a more fundamental aspect to our identity that we often ignore.

It is the essence of who we are. It is not dependent on what we can or cannot do. It is the foundation of our identity. And it is already given to us.

Like Jesus, each of us are a beloved and precious child of God.

That is our fundamental identity as human beings. That is who we are.

Being a child of God means you are made uniquely in his image. It means you belong to no one else but God. It means you are worth more to God than anything else. It means you will always be in God’s love and care.

There is no condition attached to this identity. It does not change according to your looks or your performance. It is unconditional.

Nothing can take your identity away from you. Not even the worst thing that someone can say about you.

That is why St. Paul proclaimed these words:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38, 39)

If God is for you, then who can be against you? No one.

You don’t need to prove your worth. You can be confident in who you are.

To do that, you need to know clearly who you are.

Earlier this week, the world mourned the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson.

He was a civil rights activist. A protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. He recognized and fought for the rights of those whose dignity was trampled and looked down upon by others.

Jesse Jackson once appeared on Sesame Street to let the children know how special and valuable they are. He had them repeat out loud after him.

The piece he performed is called, “I Am”:

I am.
Somebody.

I am.
Somebody.

I may be poor.
But I am.
Somebody.

I may be young.
But I am.
Somebody.

I may be on welfare.
But I am.
Somebody.

I may be small.
But I am.
Somebody.

I may make a mistake.
But I am.
Somebody.

My clothes are different.
My face is different.
My hair is different.
But I am.
Somebody.

I am Black.
Brown.
White.
I speak a different language.

But I must be respected.
Protected.
Never rejected.

I am.
God’s child.
I am.
Somebody.

That is who you are.

You are not nobody. You are somebody. You are God’s child.

You will hear voices of accusation from time to time. Especially when you feel all alone, vulnerable, and weak.

You will hear a voice telling you that you are not enough. You will hear a voice telling you to prove that you are worthy. You will hear a voice telling you that you are not God’s child. You will experience the temptation to chase after another identity to gain the approval of the world.

Silence those voices by turning your ear to what God says about you.

You are already enough for God. You are worth more than gold to God. You are indeed a child of God.

Jesus knew who he was. Satan could not rattle him as he wanted.

So when the first two temptations failed, he stopped asking Jesus if he was the Son of God. He simply offered to give Jesus all the glory and power if he knelt down and worshiped him.

He was desperate. But even that could not convince him in the end. You can never ‘buy’ someone who knows who they are.

To be a child of God in this world is not easy. We need to be strong.

But God will give us the strength to be strong. God will help us get through the wilderness when we go through it.

In Jesus, God faced every temptation that we face.