Tuesday after Invocavit Sunday
Posted on February 20, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 4:1-15 (NKJV)
4:1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’
11 and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Devotion
On Sunday, we had the Holy Ghost’s presentation of these events that best fit the purposes of St. Matthew’s writing, and now we have what the Holy Ghost wanted St. Luke to say. In the similarities and differences between them (and that which the Spirit had written by St. Mark), we do not see contradictions or omissions, as some claim. We see a verification of what the Gospels are: the same life of Christ told four times, each one with different emphases, so that we get a more ‘three-dimensional’ view of the making of our salvation, a better understanding of what Jesus has done.
Here, with a multitude of temptations over 40 days being presented in terms of three that characterize the rest, we find Matthew presenting them in their historical order (as shown by Jesus’ ordering Satan to leave and then being served by the angels, (Matt. 4:10-11). Luke orders the places: the desert, the mountain, and then that which was to be exalted above all mountains (Is. 2:2)—the Temple. Mark summarizes briefly, showing with St. Luke that the temptations continued through this whole period, but also adding that Jesus wasn’t in some surreal bubble in the wilderness: there were wild beasts there, as well.
While there’s nothing wrong with having a favorite Gospel (or Epistle, Psalm, etc.), this reading helps us see the importance of reading the whole breadth of Scripture to have the whole depth of scriptural teaching—Jesus’ defeating sin, death, and devil for us.
Collect: O Lord, mercifully hear our prayer, and stretch forth the right hand of Thy majesty to defend us from them that rise up against us, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Season of Lent
Almighty and Everlasting God, Who hatest nothing that Thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of Thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
