LESSON: 1 PETER 1:16-21

Behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. Matthew 15:22,23

Note how Christ hammers and drives faith into His believers so that it becomes strong and firm! First, when the Canaanite woman follows the good report she has heard about Christ and cries to Him in the sure confidence that, in accordance with this report, He will also treat her graciously, Christ presents a completely different picture to the woman.

She soon had grounds for believing that her faith and good confidence in Him were quite misplaced. She had every reason to ask: “Is this the good, friendly man?” or “Are these the good words I heard reported of Him and on which I relied? It cannot be true. He is your foe. He does not want to have anything to do with you. He might as well tell me outright: I don’t want to have anything to do with you! But now He is as silent as a stone.”

This is a heavy rebuff when God presents such a stern and angry face and completely hides His grace, as those well know who feel and experience in their hearts the thought that God will not keep what He has spoken and will allow His Word to prove itself false. This happened to the children of Israel at the Red Sea. In other ways, it has been the experience of many other saints.

What does this woman do in such a situation? She simply disregards the unfriendly countenance of Christ and does not let any of this lead her astray. She does not take it all according to the letter. She remains absolutely firm in her reliance on the good report she has received and will not be removed from it.

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PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you for the certainty of truth and salvation which you have revealed to us in your Gospel of salvation. We pray for the grace to keep us ever firmly fixed in our faith in you and your Gospel, in and through Jesus our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: MATTHEW 15:21-28

Immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Mark 7:25

In this Canaanite woman, we see that true faith is confidence of the heart in the grace and goodness of God, revealed and experienced through God’s Word. St. Mark tells us that she had “heard” of Jesus: a report about Jesus had, somehow or other, reached her. What kind of report? Without a doubt, it was a good report that was being noised about: that Christ was a godly man who readily helped everyone. Such a report about God is real gospel and a word of grace. It awakened faith in this woman, for if she had not believed, she would not have followed after Jesus.

How does it come to pass that many more heard this good report about Christ, who did not follow after Him and paid no attention to this good report? The answer is that the physician is useful and welcome to the sick, but those who are well pay no attention to Him. The Canaanite woman, however, felt her need, and so she followed this sweet report.

Moses must also precede here and teach men to recognize their sins so that grace may become sweet and welcome. It is labor lost to portray Christ in the most friendly and lovable manner, unless men have been humbled previously by self-knowledge and hunger for Christ, as the Magnificat also declares, “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away” (Luke 1:53).

This is all said and written for those who are distressed, poor, needy, sinful, and despised, so that in all their needs they may know to whom they should flee to seek consolation and help.

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PRAYER: We know full well, O Lord, that of ourselves and by our merits we are poor, lost, and condemned sinners. Eternal thanks and praise be to you for the sweet news of salvation which you have revealed to us in your Gospel of salvation, in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: PSALM 34:1-10

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. Matthew 4:11

Finally, the angels came to Him and ministered to Him. This must have taken place in a bodily manner. They appeared as bodily ministrants and brought Him food and drink and ministered to His needs at the table and in all other ways. They rendered external services to His body.

The devil, His tempter, without a doubt also appeared in a bodily form, perhaps also as an angel. For he must have been something higher than a human being to place Him on a pinnacle of the temple and to show Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment. That the devil was something higher than a man is also apparent in his offer of all the kingdoms of the world and the suggestion that Christ should worship him. He certainly did not appear here in his true colors, for when he wants to lie and deceive, he tries to look beautiful. St. Paul says that he “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).

What we read in the Gospel is for our comfort. We should learn that, where one devil assails us, many angels can minister to us. If we fight manfully and resist the devil, God will not let us suffer want. He will send His angels to minister to us, and at times they can even serve us as our bakers, butlers, and cooks and help us in our every need. This was not written for Christ’s sake; He did not need this. If the angels ministered to Him, they can also minister to us.

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PRAYER: Lord God, our heavenly Father, send your holy angels to us that, by their ministrations, we may be protected from all harm and danger and ever rest in your grace, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

LESSON: JAMES 4:5-10

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Matthew 4:8,9

The third temptation is concerned with temporal honor and power.

Those who fall away from the faith for the sake of honor and power are victims of this temptation. They want to enjoy nothing but good days here on earth and believe only as far as honor and glory will permit. To this class belong also the heretics, who cause sects and factions among Christians so that they may go their way before the world and float about in honor.

You can place this third temptation on the right-hand side and the first one on the left-hand side. The first temptation concerns misfortune, which stirs up anger, impatience, and unbelief in us; the third and last is a temptation of good fortune, in which one is urged to seek pleasure, honor, joy, and everything exalted.

The second, middle temptation is altogether spiritual and concerns itself with freakish pranks and error to mislead us in our understanding and to draw us away from faith.

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PRAYER: Lord, preserve us by the power of your Word against all the ragings and ravings of our old evil foe, Satan, and all his machinations, in the name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: EPHESIANS 6:10-17

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Matthew 4:7

The devil’s second temptation is quite different from the first one but quite similar to it in its absurdity.

Here the devil teaches us to tempt God, just as he urged Christ to throw Himself from a pinnacle of the temple. This was quite unnecessary in any case, because there would probably have been a good set of stairs available on which He could have climbed down. That the devil here tried to induce Christ to a temptation of God is quite clear from Christ’s reply.

Wherever the devil comes upon a heart that trusts God in the hour of want and need, he quickly abandons concerns for bodily welfare and greed and makes his assault from quite a different angle. “If you want to be all spiritual and trusting,” he says, “I’ll give you some help.” He proceeds to come at you from another direction: he tries to get you to put your faith into something that God has not commanded you to believe and does not want you to believe.

It may be that God has supplied your house with bread, as He does annually throughout the whole world, and you refuse to make use of it, making want and need for yourself, declaring, “We are to put our faith in God. I will not eat the bread but wait till God sends me bread from heaven.” That would be tempting God. For He does not tell you that you must still hope for what you already have and keep on working for it. How can you hope for something you already have?

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PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, our old evil foe, the devil, was cunning enough and brazen enough to attack even your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. When he tempts us into unbelief and wrong beliefs, you have shown in our Son’s example how to overcome the devil’s temptations. Grant us your grace and strength to do this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

LESSON: MATTHEW 26:36-41

If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. Matthew 4:3

After approaching Christ, the devil assails Him by confronting Him with His bodily welfare and casting doubt on God’s goodness, saying, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

It is as though he meant to say: “Rely on God and don’t bake; wait until a roasted rooster flies into your mouth. Do you now claim that you still have a God who cares for you? Where now is your heavenly Father, who looks after you? I am telling you; He is leaving you in the lurch. Eat up now and drink in faith and let us see how satisfied you will be, especially if they are stones. What a fine Son of God you are! What a Father He is to you, when He does not even send you a crust of bread, and lets you be so poor and needy. Just keep on believing that you are His Son and He is your Father.”

With such thoughts the devil assails all the children of God. Christ certainly experienced all this. He was no stock or stone, although He was pure and without sin and remained so, as we cannot be.

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PRAYER: For our sakes, O Lord, you suffered yourself to be tempted by our enemy, the devil, and overcame him with the powerful testimony of your Father’s holy Word. Enable us, your disciples, to gain a similar victory over the devil whenever we are assailed by him, for your truth’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: LUKE 12:22-31

Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Hebrews 5:8,9

The account of Christ’s temptation has been written both for our learning and admonition.

First, we should learn here how Christ, by His fasting, hunger, temptation, and victory, served us and helped us. Accordingly, he who believes in Christ shall suffer no want, and no temptation can harm him. He will have sufficient in the midst of need, and he will be safe in the midst of temptation. His Lord and head has conquered for him and for his benefit in all these respects. Of this he is quite sure, for his Lord has declared, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). If God could nourish Christ for forty days without food, He can also nourish His Christians.

Secondly, this example also admonishes us to endure want and temptation gladly in the service of God and for the good of our neighbor, as Christ did for us, as often as the need arises. It will certainly arise if we are to teach and confess God’s Word. Therefore, this Gospel is a wonderful consolation and strengthening against our unbelieving and shameless flesh. It establishes and strengthens our conscience that we do not plague ourselves with worry about our bodily welfare but are certain that He will and can nourish us.

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PRAYER: Thanks and praise be to you, O Lord our Savior, for all that you suffered in our stead and on our behalf. Bless us at all times with your gifts, that we gladly suffer in the service of God and for the benefit of our neighbor, for your mercy’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: ROMANS 8:12-17

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1

There is a reason why the evangelist, with considerable care, states right at the beginning of this Gospel that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, that He fasted there, and was tempted. The reason for this is that no one should ever presume to follow Christ’s example by his own choice and make a selfish fast of it, decided by his own will alone. He should wait for the Spirit, who will send him quite enough fasting and temptation.

Anyone who deliberately courts the danger of hunger or any other temptation when, under the blessing of God, he can eat, drink, and enjoy the other comforts of life, is tempting God. We should never seek out shortages and temptation. They will doubtless come of themselves to give us ample opportunity to do our best in noble fashion.

We read that “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,” not “Jesus chose the wilderness for Himself.” Paul also says, “All who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). God gives His blessings for us to use them with thanksgiving and not to despise them. He does not bless us so that we should tempt Him.

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PRAYER: Enlighten us and guide us by your Holy Spirit, heavenly Father, that we never presume to tempt you in disregard of your blessings but use them to your greater glory, in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.