Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you' and 'on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"
We discussed in the sermon how this third and final temptation was the temptation of glory, that if Jesus threw himself down and allowed angels to take him on, it would be a very visual spectacle to the Jews at the temple that he in fact was the chosen Messiah. Jesus of course refuses this temptation to glorify himself, because, although he is worthy of glory, he comes to earth as a human to give his Father in heaven glory, inviting us as his disciples to do the same. Jesus resists the human temptation to glorify ourselves, and instead seeks to glorify God.
But for our post today, let us examine the way that Scripture is being purposefully misused and abused in order to create an argument that encourages sinful behavior. In the story, the devil quotes Scripture in such a way as to convince Jesus that his only option is to glorify himself according to Scripture. However, when we read the greater context of that Scripture, we see that nothing of the sort is implied. The Scripture that the devil is quoting is from Psalm 91, the full text of which follows here:
You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust." For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.The words quoted by the devil in Luke 4 are in italics above. When you read the entire passage, what do you see God is saying to us? What is the situation it emphasizes? I think about protection within a trusting relationship between God and us. I see that regardless of the chaos around us in our world, God is a steady hand and a sure bet. The dangers of this world are powerless before this God, who has our back! And God is with us through eternity.
...what part of that psalm made you think about jumping off of a cliff to see if angels will really pick you up and into the sky?! There is nothing here that indicates that God is literally and physically going to save us; rather, the imagery of physical dangers helps us to understand the greater message, that God will guide and lead and be with us through it all. I know that I don't worry about adders very often--but I do have real concerns in our world today, true dangers that threaten our church, our families, and our society. No, we shall not fear the politics or terrorists or corporations of this world; we will not allow economic and spiritual poverty stand in the way between us and God, for God will deliver us and in the end, God shares his eternity with us.
But, if you read the italicized verses out of this context, the devil's words are very convincing. This is known as "proof texting". It is the practice of using Scripture outside of its intended context to situations unlike those found in Scripture. Unfortunately, proof texting is really common in American Christianity, and indeed all over the world and through history. This coming Sunday there will be far too many preachers who fail to read the full context of Scripture and will quote their favorite verses, often twisting and stretching them until they have lost their intended content. This is not to say that we cannot quote individual verses of Scripture; but we must have a robust understanding of their true message, and make every effort to apply that sentiment when quoting.
Anyone who is literate can read the letters of the Bible; but as disciples we are called to understand the spirit of the text as a whole. The Bible is wholly good, and is our first source of inspiration as a baptized people. But it can be wielded for both good and evil. There are many people, both within and outside of Christianity, who will utilize Scripture for the wrong reasons and handle it entirely inaccurately. Sometimes this is accidental! None of us will ever perfectly interpret Scripture, and we don't need to worry about that! But we should seek proper avenues for our education and formation as Christians rather than buying any flashy book you might find in the bookstore.
And still others will intentionally use the Bible as a weapon. These include non-Christians who are hostile to the faith, or self-proclaimed Christians who have a particular agenda that supersedes God's plans. (We see this in politics frequently, as an example.) The forces of evil and the principalities of this world are going to use multiple avenues to convince us that the Bible is not an inspired book, that its contents are outdated or irrelevant, or that it just plain isn't true. And that has been going on for more than 2,000 years.
Yet, the church grows. Christianity is experiencing some of its most explosive growth worldwide in recent years, more than ever before. The Gospel cannot and will not be extinguished as a result of improper interpretation, because God has resolved to draw good out of evil. However, if we want to be faithful disciples and salty witnesses here in our local communities, we must reject proof texting and instead be formed by the whole message of God. We must insist that our spiritual leaders, whether preachers, teachers, or other leaders in the church, should hold to this faithful reading as well. No two people are ever going to fully interpret Scripture in the exact same way, but sometimes bad interpretation is just bad interpretation. At least, Jesus thought so--and as a result, he refused to bring glory unto himself at the pinnacle of the temple at Jerusalem. His life journey is our aspiration and inspiration--as told by Scripture, a place where we can enter into God's story and be safely and securely brought closer into his everlasting arms.
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