The wilderness filled with temptation seems an odd first stop for Jesus to make on his road to ministry, but the words are certain: Jesus was “led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (4:1). Is there some way that weathering an onslaught of temptation well in one arena prepares one for ministry to people in another? So it seems. Could it be our times of testing and temptation are meant to prepare us for greater service?
Jesus doesn’t want bread; he wants the word of God. He is in the wilderness to pass the test before the Father, not test the Father. He has no desire for the glory of the nations if he has to give up glorifying the Father. Satan is unsuccessful.
With the wilderness behind him Jesus turns toward the business of saving us all. He calls fishermen to fish for people. The good news of the kingdom is heard in his words and seen in his miracles. Word and miracle are the marks of Jesus’ ministry through the end of the book of Acts. And now?
Jesus gathers his disciples around him on the mountain to teach the new way of the kingdom. The new way blesses those who suffer and those thought soft by the world. People who are salt and light mark the new way. The new way is deeper in the heart than the way of the law. The new way is not about public display, but private devotion. The new way is not measured by dollars and cents, but by the pursuit of the kingdom and life without grinding worry. The new way moves past judgment. The new way asks, seeks and knocks for God’s blessing. The new way is narrow, only as wide as the Christ we follow. The fruit of the good is good. The house of the wise one is on the rock. This new way of the kingdom comes with authority. It is Immanuel who teaches—God with us.
Reading the Sermon on the Mount usually makes us feel that we are in over our heads and will never live up to the demands of the kingdom. The word of God, the grace of God and the Spirit of God help us live closer and closer to the standard of the sermon.
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