1st Sunday in Lent (Prop A)
Matthew 4:1-11
February 22, 2026
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The text I’ve chosen for this morning’s sermon is the Gospel from St. Matthew.
World War II in Europe ended May 8,1945 with the surrender of Germany. Hitler was dead, Berlin was destroyed, and the German army was in tatters. Their only option was surrender. While that was the official end of the war, some think the war really ended January 1, 1945, when the final German offensive was stopped and Germany’s only option was to retreat in the face of superior forces. The war was over, all that remained were battles.
Since the events of Old Testament reading, God’s people have been battling satan and wickedness. Some might say that Christians are at war with satan, that’s not true. The war was over when Jesus was born to fulfill the promise that a descendant of Eve would crush satan’s head. The Gospel account of Jesus’ encounter with satan in the wilderness proves that the war is indeed over. The war is over, Jesus assures us of that, however, so long as we’re in this world, the battles will continue.
Perhaps you remember from the Ash Wednesday sermon that Jesus had to keep God’s law perfectly. He couldn’t sin at all; not a little white lie or an eyeroll at His mother. If He had sinned, He couldn’t be the Savior because He would need a Savior too. Accordingly, this encounter with Satan in the wilderness wasn’t insignificant. Jesus was in the wilderness fighting for our behalf. He sins, we lose. He doesn’t sin and we win everything – including the glory of the world to come.
Saint Matthew writes, “And after fasting forty days and forty nights, Jesus was hungry.” Now there’s an understatement! Jesus is starving when satan approaches with his last three temptations. And these temptations were alluring. If you’re the Son of God make some bread, it’s no big deal. If you’re the Son of God prove it by jump and see if God will keep His word. The last may have been the most tempting. Jesus knew what waited for Him three years in the future, and here is satan offering a way to avoid all of it. Avoid the pain and have the glory! Very tempting indeed.
Satan had tempted Eve with these same temptations: “Did God really say that you’ll die? Don’t be happy with what you have, here’s more. Don’t you want to be like God and have all the glory?” And when the first two people took a bite of the fruit, satan won. Until that is, this day in the wilderness. Satan is defeated because where Adam fell for his lies, Jesus didn’t. He doesn’t argue with satan, He simply responds with God’s Word. Sure, He was hungry; He was hungrier for your salvation. Satan twisted God’s Word, but Jesus didn’t fall for the lie. The glory that awaited Him was greater than the glory satan offered, which wasn’t his to offer anyway.
That doesn’t mean though that satan gave up. He attacked Jesus throughout His ministry with spiritual and physical enemies. Luke tells us, “And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). What as the most opportune time? “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” Even then Jesus didn’t give in, for He trusted His Father. He knew that by dying and rising He fulfilled the promise made to Adam and Eve millennia before. Satan was crushed, mortally wounded.
Your war with satan is over, but the battles continue. After you are baptized you are sent into the wilderness of this world with a great big bullseye on your back. You’re marked as one redeemed by Jesus, one marked for attack by satan. As Saint Paul says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil” (Eph 6:12-13).
Your baptism is a target, but it’s also a weapon, and the Holy Spirit is never more with a Christian than in their spiritual struggles. Use your baptism against satan. Admit your sin but tell him that you are baptized. Tell him that yes, you know you sin, and that you struggle with it, but thanks be to God that He has delivered you from your sinful bodies of death through Jesus Christ your Lord. Don’t ever take Jesus’ victory over satan for granted. The day of Jesus’ return, satan will be cast into the fire, until then he is mortally wounded and a wounded animal is the most dangerous. He wants nothing more than to devour you, destroy your faith, steal your hope, doubt your forgiveness.
We’re in battle with satan that is spiritual and physical. He attacks us in every way he can, and on our own, we’d be quickly routed. Jesus though is our leader and He’s not a general who sits behind the lines shouting in a phone. He’s a king of old, leading His troops into battle and giving us the weapons we need. What did Jesus use to defeat satan? An army of angels? His glory and power? He used His Word. The Word is living and active, powerful, capable of cutting through anything including satan’s lies, accusations, and attacks. The Word of God is the only weapon which will defeat the spiritual forces of evil. His Word will always scatter the demons which surround you. No evil can withstand the truth of the Bible.
You must rely on God’s Word. You must learn it, memorize passages and promises, study it with other Christians, and believe that what it says is true, even if you don’t understand it or disagree with it. How can we fight satan and his tricks if we don’t use the weapons God has given us? Satan has thousands of years of experience; you think you can resist him on your own? Don’t be ignorant of his devilish schemes, and the best way to know what he’s up to is to read your Bible.
You must learn God’s Word because satan’s most insidious trick is to twist God’s Word. We see this in the second temptation. The devil quotes Psalm 91: “He will command His angels concerning you…On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.” That sounds good, right? Except that satan leaves some words out. Psalm 91 really says, “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” This verse is true if Jesus is following God’s ways. If He were to jump, it wouldn’t be His Father’s way.
When Satan told Jesus, “If you are the Son of God”, he was revealing one of the ways he attacks you. “If you are a child of God, why are you hungry, sick, or troubled. If you are a child of God, why is He allowing bad things to happen to you. If you’re a child of God, why won’t He forgive you.” Is he telling you the truth? Not according to Jesus: “[He] does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Don’t listen to the liar! Listen to Jesus who promises: “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth” and where do you find this truth? In God’s Word! Listen to His Word:
“Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us” (Ps 44:5).
“Be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:4).
“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Heb 13:6)
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).
“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (I John 4:4)
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7).
And then there is perhaps the greatest verse: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). This verse is the promise that all who repent of their sins find forgiveness in Jesus, no matter what the devil says. The forgiveness of sins is the not so secret weapon that Jesus has given you to counter satan’s attacks. Adam and Eve sinned big time, but God forgave them and clothed them with the skins of sacrificed animals. You sin big time, but God forgives you and clothes you with robe of Christ’s righteousness that covers all your sin. This forgiveness brings you to eternal life and strengthens you in your daily battles against the spiritual forces which would take it from you if they could. But they can’t because you are forgiven son and forgiven daughter of God.
On September 3, 1945, the last German unit surrendered to the Allies. They held out for a few months but finally had to give it up. Satan has lost and one day he will kneel before the Lord, confessing that Jesus is Lord, and then He will be cast into the fires of hell for all eternity. Someone said that satan wasn’t trying to escape hell when he tempted Jesus, rather he was trying to drag Jesus into hell with him. Praise God that Jesus remained faithful unto death, even death upon the cross. We battle satan knowing that Jesus is our champion, His victory is our victory, and we will reap the spoils of this spiritual war when we receive the victor’s crown in Heaven.
Amen
Now the peace which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen