Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of the Lord which engages us this morning comes from our Gospel lesson (Luke 4: 1-13, Jesus' temptation).

We are prone to excusing our sin. We gossip against a neighbor, then think "Well it was true, I think, I'm not sure. I'm only human". We have a lustful thought, looking at someone else's body as simply an object for our pleasure, then we excuse our sin by saying "I'm only human." We covet what another human has, we sinfully strive to keep up with the Joneses, then we think "I'm only human." We misuse God's name, we ignore his Word, we disrespect our parents or other authorities, then we think "I'm only human. God doesn't expect me to be perfect." ����������������

To excuse our sin by saying "I'm only human is to ignore the noble name of Jesus, who is truly human, yet without sin. To excuse our sin is to hand the devil the victory. To remember and cling to our sonship through the holy name of Jesus, a name our God has given us, is to see through the devil's big "IF" whenever he tries to pull it on us. It enables us to win over Satan's temptations as Jesus did. ����������������

God spoke the honored name of Jesus to us in our baptism, just as he did to Angela just a few moments ago. "IF" we are "all sons of God through faith" by our baptism "into Christ", then we are not helpless victims in our temptations any more than Jesus was in his. "IF" Jesus was "tempted in every way, just as we are" (Heb 4: 15), and He is with us, as he promised to always be (Matt 28:20), then we can rely on God's Word to protect us against the devil's lies, just as Jesus did. He lived "without sinning" and he can rescue us from our sins, from death, and from the devil. ����������������

At Jesus' baptism the Father from heaven declared to Jesus, "You are my beloved Son." It was a public announcement that Jesus is God's Son from eternity. The Holy Spirit filled that name "Son of God" with honor that framed Jesus' whole life. ����������������

We hear that name for ourselves, for it is our honor in God's eyes. If the only name we have is from our parents, then we can rightly say "I'm only human." Then we are stuck in slavery, in what theologians call "original sin." Lost and dead is what we are. The devil doesn't need to tempt the unbelievers and unbaptized, those who do not call on the name of the Lord Jesus. He already has those people. It takes very little effort on the devil's part to keep unbelievers as sinners. He only has to keep them away from the name and Word of Christ. Those who are lost continue in their natural lusts and hates and covetousness and rejection of God's holiness. They can truly tell themselves "I'm only human." ����������������

But "IF" God has named us with Jesus as "my beloved son" and "my beloved daughter," realize the wonder! We have not only our bodily life and world from God, but also God's own name on us from heaven. We have been baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We know God as our Father, our Savior, our Companion. We don't need to prove anything about ourselves, or rank ourselves, or feel inferior or superior to anyone! Our life has its meaning and eternal worth from God! His promises surround us, to give us daily bread and deliver us from evil. Our glory comes not in what people think of us, nor in what we do. It is not earned. It is the free gift of his grace bestowed on us from our loving heavenly Father. ����������������

Like Jesus, we will also be tempted in particular ways. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, a long, dry, barren time, when God's presence can seem to have failed. This wilderness experience happened to Israel at the time of Moses. Israel was, in a sense, God's firstborn son out of Egypt. The barren wilderness happened to Jesus, led there after his baptism by the Spirit. The barren wilderness experience can happen to us, one lonely burden after another, one prayer after another seemingly unheard, at least not answered as we want them to be. Then comes the other voice, like the snake of Eden: "What good is that voice from heaven now Jesus? You're hungry, starving. Here, try eating this stone! You can turn it into bread. If you have power, use it, for yourself. Aren't you the Son of God?" ����������������

In that crisis God spoke again. A verse came alive to Jesus from the Scriptures: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4: 4; Deut. 8: 3). His bodily life may suffer, but God's word of honor and calling would be his life still! And so it was still! And so it was. For us too, the holy name of Jesus is a rock through any wilderness testings. We need not fall into self-pity or rage against God. We remember our Savior's name, love the Father who spoke it to us, give thanks, and trust his care for us still, as we did in Psalm 91. We make it through, through His name, in order to be a light to any of our neighbors still in darkness. ����������������

Eric Liddell, son of missionary parents, became the best sprinter ever from the British Isles in the 1920's. In 1923 he won six races in 24 hours, setting a world record in each. In 1924, as told in the movie Chariots of Fire, he refused to run on Sunday because of his religious convictions. So he ran two other races for which he had not trained and ended up winning four gold medals in two days. It would have been very easy, very tempting, to have focused the rest of his life on his earthly achievements. But whenever someone asked Liddell the source of his prowess, he would say "It's the three sevens,� seventh book of the New Testament, 7th chapter, 7th verse: "each man has his own gift from God" (1 Corinthians 7:7). Liddell graduated from college in 1925 and went to China as a missionary for nearly 20 years. In 1943 he became a prisoner of the Japanese, where he became an example of selflessness to everyone. He died in 1945 of inoperable brain cancer. (Liddell story modified from Global Prayer Digest, May 1996, p. 16) ����������������

Jesus was tempted again. The devil led him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours." At this time, John the Baptist's ministry was going nowhere � arrested, about to be executed by a cheap king, God apparently not saving his prophet at all. And Jesus' ministry would falter for years as well. People who rally to him only want an earthly king, make Israel great again. They didn't want to confess their own sin and need for a suffering savior. ��

The devil says "Don't be a fool Jesus. The kingdom of sonship will never happen. Nobody understands you. ��

Nobody will turn to you. Take the easy way. In The Passion movie, Mel Gibson portrays Satan as tempting Jesus in Gethsemane with "One man cannot take on the sins of all the world. It's just too big for you." That is similar to what Luke is saying here. The devil is saying "Take the easier way out. Admit that I have the upper hand. Real glory is competitive, winners over losers. ����������������

But Jesus defines the kingdom and its battle by another Word of God from Moses: "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only" (Luke 4:8; Deut 6: 13). Worship is to receive everything in life as a pure gift from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We often call our worship "Divine Service" because here He gives us the gifts of his Word and Sacrament, not just as an individual, but as his collected people. Here we can serve each other and let the world see how much his love has changed us. This kingdom of God is the only one Jesus knows or wants to know. I heard one radio commentator this week complain about the Passion movie that it left out the wonderful, glorious things that Jesus did in his life and focused too much on the negative. That commentator failed to realize that Jesus' passion was his most glorious moment. Jesus' cross was not his failure. Jesus' cross was his throne. ����������������

His grace, his love shown through that cross calls us into fellowship with Him. Paul asks the question (Romans 6: 1-3) "Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" Our forgiveness, that grace is free to us, but it was costly. It cost Jesus his life. You and I have been baptized into Jesus' glory, into Jesus' death and resurrection. We do not excuse our sin with "I'm only human." We humans confess our sin, ant turn to the only one who can rescue us. We continue to be strengthened by his Word and Sacraments, strengthened to resist the devil and his ways. We continue to be strengthened so that the name of Jesus and the reputation of his love can spread from us to others.

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4: 7)

Note: The structure and most of the content for this sermon came from Rev. Paul Bretscher in Concordia Pulpit Resources, March 1998.