Mark 1:12-15 - The Heart of Lent - February 21, 2021

You may or may not be aware of the fact that our church follows a lectionary – that is, a list of Scripture readings appointed to be read for each Sunday of the church year. We are currently following a three year lectionary – one year in Matthew, one in Mark, and one in Luke – with selections from John’s Gospel scattered throughout all three years. We don’t have to follow a lectionary, but this practice does ensure that over the course of the year we cover the whole life of Christ and the whole counsel of God – and not just whatever happens to be on my mind on any given Sunday. The reason I bring this up is that in each of the three years, Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is the appointed Gospel for today, the first Sunday in Lent. And if you compare the three accounts from Matthew, Mark and Luke one thing pops out immediately: Mark’s account is incredibly brief – just two sentences. There are probably two reasons for this. First, Mark is likely assuming that his readers are already familiar with the details of Jesus’ temptation from reading or hearing Matthew and Luke’s accounts. Second, and more importantly for us today, Mark is eager, almost impatient, to answer that Lutheran question: what does Jesus’ temptation mean for us? The answer is the simple but profound heart of Lent: repent and believe.

Repent. What does that little word mean? It means simply “to change your mind.” What do we need to change our minds about? You may be surprised by the answers to that question this morning. Repent of thinking that God throws you aside after your baptism. We’ve all had that feeling before, haven’t we? If you were baptized as an adult, you probably had a sense of closeness to God. Even if you were baptized as a baby, when you were young you probably remember feeling that God was on your side; that you really felt like “Jesus’ little lamb.” And then life happened. Then some of the things Paul described in our second lesson happened to you (Romans 8:35). Not just life happened but death; not just angels but demons were your companions; not only the problems of the present but the problems of the future terrified you. You felt like the Psalmist did when he wrote: for your sake we are being put to death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered (Psalm 44:22, quoted by Paul in Romans 8:36).

There are two problems with believing that God has abandoned you; thrown you away. First, it appeals to our sinful nature; it makes us feel very righteous; it feeds our ego to believe that we are on our own. Second, there is hardly anyone in the world who will call you to repent of this sin. Which of your friends is going to blame you for feeling like God has abandoned you when your life seems to be falling apart? Which of your family members is going to tell you you’re wrong – and need to repent – for accusing God of being neglectful when you’re sick, suffering or dying? If you see a dirty, bruised, hungry child you have no problem concluding that the parent is neglectful, so why shouldn’t we conclude that about God?

How dare we! How dare we ever believe that the God who adopted us as his children in baptism would ever abandon us as orphans (Isaiah 49:15-16)! How dare we believe that the God who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all would ever neglect us (Romans 8:32)! How dare we imagine that the God who promised I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) would ever break that promise! It’s the height of unbelief; a sin against the very first commandment to allege that God doesn’t love us like he says he does; like he’s proven he does in Jesus (Romans 5:8). When we’re suffering, we need to repent of thinking that it means that God has abandoned us; instead we should change our minds and understand that God uses even suffering and trouble as an instrument to keep us close to himself (Romans 5:3-5).

Repent, Jesus went to Galilee to preach. Repent, is also what Jesus sent me here to preach (Luke 24:46-49). Repent of thinking that Jesus’ temptation is nothing more than an example for you to follow. This sin usually arises when the gospel for the first Sunday in Lent comes from Matthew or Luke where Jesus defeats Satan by quoting three bible passages. Now, don’t misunderstand, the Bible does say resist the Devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7) and that we should hold up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. Also take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:16). But if you’ve turned Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness into a “How-To” guide for defeating the devil yourself, you must repent.

The Spirit didn’t send Jesus into the wilderness to show us how to defeat Satan. The Spirit sent him out onto the battlefield to do what we can’t do; what even Adam and Eve in the perfection of Eden couldn’t do. In a lush garden, surrounded by food, without even a molecule of sin in their nature, even Adam and Eve quickly fell to Satan (Genesis 3:6). Eve tried quoting God’s Word against Satan and he ripped the sword out of her hand and stabbed her with it. Repent of thinking that you can overcome temptation on your own (which is why Jesus taught us to pray lead us not into temptation (Matthew 6:13).

Closely related to this sin is the sin of promising to do better next time. I see this most often when I confront people about their unfaithful church attendance. When I say “Do you know that neglecting the means of grace is a sin against the 3rd Commandment?” it’s uncanny how often they respond, “I promise to do better next time.” Here’s the thing: God isn’t looking for promises. He’s looking for repentance. Remember, to “repent” means, first and foremost, to change your mind. Repentance is an act of God, the power of the Spirit, a miracle (Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25). Actions will follow, but you can’t change your mind by changing your actions. In fact, everyone knows that you can change your actions without changing your mind. That’s called hypocrisy.

Lent is a season of repentance – so…Repent! Repent of thinking that God has cast you aside; repent of thinking that you can overcome Satan’s temptations on your own; and repent of thinking that you are in charge of building the kingdom of God. This is another sin that feels so righteous when you’re committing it. It makes us feel big and important to think: “Jesus came and did his work; now the rest is up to us!” But look at our text. Jesus didn’t say: “I’ve brought the blueprints for you to build the kingdom of God!” He preached the kingdom of God has come near! In Jesus, the kingdom of God has arrived.

This shouldn’t be a difficult sin for we Lutherans to repent of, for we confess with Luther in his explanation of the Second Petition, that “God’s kingdom certainly comes by itself even without our prayer” (SC Lord’s Prayer, Second Petition). For example, as you were driving here this morning did you pray that God’s kingdom would come here? Of course not, you took it for granted that where Jesus is, there is his kingdom. Jesus is wherever his Word and Sacrament are, so Jesus’ kingdom is here, even without our prayer, apart from any effort on our part. Repent of thinking that Jesus is quarantined up in heaven just hoping and waiting for you to build his kingdom.

Repent, Jesus preached after his baptism. But that’s not all he preached. He also preached believe. Believe that while God will never throw you out, he did indeed throw Jesus out after his baptism. Our translation doesn’t fully capture the essence of the original Greek. The Greek literally says that “the Spirit cast (or threw) him out into the wilderness.” (It’s the same verb used later of Jesus casting out demons (Mark 1:39; 43; 3:15; etc.)). Why would God do that to his Son? Well, frankly, he didn’t have a choice. At his baptism, which immediately preceded our text, Jesus was burdened with all of our sin and guilt and shame. Saddled with our sins, the sins we blush to remember, the sins we can’t forget, the sins we don’t even know about (Psalm 19:12) – God had to cast Jesus out of his sight (Isaiah 59:2). Believe that God threw his only Son out into the wilderness – so that he might never, ever have to throw you into the fire of hell.

Believe that while carrying the sin of the world Jesus entered into battle with Satan; and he did it all alone. Believe that Jesus took on Satan using only the Word of God as his weapon. Believe that Jesus held onto faith in his Father’s love through every temptation. Believe that he never gave an inch to any sin of doubt or despair or unbelief. Believe that while Satan can lead us into all sorts of sin and unbelief – he couldn’t trap Jesus. And believe that Jesus did this for you. Don’t let Jesus’ victory over Satan in the wilderness go to waste. When you believe that your salvation depends on your ability to overcome temptation or do better in the future, you are wasting what Jesus endured in that wilderness. Don’t think you have to endure loneliness and hunger; that you have to overcome temptation in order to be saved – because you can’t! Instead, believe that Jesus did it for you!

Above all, here’s what you are to believe: you are to believe what Jesus says. What Jesus says – not what you see, think or feel; not what’s happening in your life right now – is real. When Jesus says, as he does today, that the time is fulfilled…the kingdom of God has come near you are to believe this with all your heart, soul and mind. What is the kingdom of God? Paul tells us in Romans 14: the kingdom of God [consists] of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Isn’t this what you have right now through baptism, absolution and communion? God himself promises that these gifts are yours through these means of grace whether you feel or see them or not. In other words, the kingdom of God is unconditional. It isn’t only present if everything is going right in my life; if I have perfect health; if my conscience doesn’t bother me; if my faith feels strong. No, the kingdom is here not because of what is going on my life but because of what Jesus did in his and what he gives us through Word and Sacrament.

You can be sure of this, you should believe this because Jesus brought the kingdom of God to us by dealing with the two things that kept the gates of the kingdom locked to us: the law and sin. First, Jesus dealt with the law. From the moment of his conception Jesus spent his life actively keeping, obeying, fulfilling God’s law perfectly. That’s what he was doing in the wilderness; that’s what he had done as he grew up in Mary and Joseph’s house; that’s what he did day in and day out every day of his life.

And then he dealt with sin. Contrary to what many believe today, God takes sin seriously. He demands that sin be paid for in full. God isn’t some cosmic Santa Claus who laughs and winks at sin. No, his wrath had to be satisfied. Only God could satisfy the wrath of God – but because God wasn’t angry at God but at man, it took God in human flesh to get the job done. Jesus suffered for our sins by bleeding, sweating and crying human blood, sweat and tears – and because his blood, sweat and tears were the blood, sweat and tears of God, they satisfied God – and, therefore, they should satisfy you too! Jesus bled and died to pay for your sins; they are forgiven! Believe it! This is what you are to believe: you are to believe this gospel, this good news, that by his life, death and resurrection Jesus has opened the kingdom of heaven to you and all believers.  

The first Sunday of Lent takes us right to the heart of Lent: repent and believe. Repent of thinking that God could cast you out and instead believe that he has cast Jesus out in your place. Repent of thinking that you must overcome the devil in order to enter God’s kingdom – instead, believe that Jesus overcame the devil to bring the kingdom to you. These two little words – repent and believe – are not only the heart of Lent, they are the heart of our lives as Christians today and tomorrow and every day until we see the kingdom of God with our own eyes. Amen.