Tedd Pullano
Matthew 4:1-11

Can He Be Trusted?

One of my mentors, Rev. Phil Mitchell, told me a long time ago that "life is lived in relationships". It took a while for that to make sense, but more and more it does make sense. So much of what we do involves relationships; talking to people, making decisions, making choices, making a living, walking down the street, going to the store, being part of a faith community. Everything we do involves other people in some fashion. And relationships are not always easy. There are many ingredients that make them work, or not work. I think that out of all the ingredients in a relationship, trust could be the most important, most essential. I believe trust goes to the very foundation of every relationship. It is the building block, the DNA, the basic programming language of any relationship.

For instance, right now, as a country, we are in the midst of an election year. And as painful as is sometimes, we find ourselves right in the thick of deciding on a leader. It is a very serious business. And as we examine them, we can see that many of the candidates have solid qualifications. Many have good ideas. But as we whittle them down to one, the question for all of us remains, who we trust to run this country; who do we trust to lead us into the future? That is a powerful question to grapple with. We are putting the country into an individual's hands to mold, shape and guide us for the next four years. That is an immense responsibility. We need a candidate to step out who inspires our confidence, but more than that, we need a person whom we can put our trust in.

In choosing a new pastor for this congregation recently, the process involved looking for a person who had the right gifts and talents to lead this congregation into the future. The Pastor Nominating Committee read about, talked with and met with many candidates until they got the list down to one. Ultimately the vote on that person came down to not just talents and gifts, but a sense of trust. Did you as a congregation trust this person to guide your spiritual formation and growth over the next years? That is a big decision and big responsibility. Trust guides so much of who we are and what we decide. Think about buying a car or buying a house. Do you Trust the person you have chosen to represent you? Did you ever turn away from a deal or opportunity that looked good to you because you did not trust the person you were dealing with? Trust is one of the key elements in any relationship. Perhaps the most important. In order for relationships to be fruitful and work, trust is absolutely necessary.

Christianity, I believe, is ultimately about a relationship - a relationship between you and God, between you and Jesus. That relationship is where it starts and it is inside that relationship that it gets its fruit. And just like any other relationship, being a person of Christian faith involves trust. Do you trust God in Jesus? As Christians, we are asked to trust in Jesus Christ to guide us, take care of us, shepherd us throughout this life. That is a big decision. That is not something to be taken lightly. You see, I think that when people say they don't believe in God or in any sort of religion - for them it is not about believing, but about trusting. I think that it is very hard to summarily dismiss the idea that there is God. But, it can be equally difficult to choose to trust in that God. Because trusting can be a very difficult undertaking, a very draining place to be. When you trust someone, you are putting your emotions, your well being, in essence your very self in that other person's hands. That is not easy to do. And you know what makes it that much more difficult? We have all been burned. At some time in each of our lives, someone we have trusted has failed us. And it hurt. And it most likely left some sort of a mark. I am sorry for that. So, because of that, trusting no longer comes naturally to us. We have to choose to give our trust; we have to make a conscious choice to place our well being into someone else's hands. And yet, for any relationship to have value, trust must be present; trust is vitally important in a relationship.

I speak of trust right now because to me, essentially, this morning's passage, when all is said and done, ends up being about trust. While there is a lot going on in this passage, temptations, the devil, angels, fasting and praying, the entire passage hinges on the choices Jesus makes in the desert. You see, Jesus is sent into the desert so he can be tested; so he can be put under the microscope, in the crucible. His mettle is being tested and his character being formed. Who he will become and who he will follow will be decided on this stage, at this moment. And then, based on that decision, we then choose whether or not we can trust him. Can he be trusted?

Let me explain a little bit of the history and context of this passage. Please remember that our roots as Christians start as the ancient Israelites, the Hebrews, the Jews - whatever you want to call this group of people that came before us. That is clearly where our faith journey starts. And remember that Jesus himself was a Jew. He was born bred and raised a Jew. Who he was and who he was called to be came out of that culture and tradition. I believe that is important to keep in front of you as you go throughout your journey we call Christianity. I want to explain all of this this morning because context is critically important in understanding this passage. The gospel writer Matthew wrote his gospel to a specific set of readers: Jews. He was trying to convince them of who Jesus was. That being said, the Jews throughout much of their history were looking for a Messiah, for a King. They were looking for someone, a new kind of King, to bring about the kingdom of God - the reign of God. Jesus is stepping up to become that person. He has already taken one huge step, which we read about 2 weeks ago when we read of his baptism. At that time, the voice of God confirmed that he was the One, the Beloved, the one to bring the kingdom of God to earth. So God has already ordained him. God has marked him as the one - the new King of the Jews. But, as tradition would have it, in order for a king to have the confidence and power and trust of the people, the king has to be tested. In order for him to be that One, to be the one all people can put their trust in, the one who ushers in a new kingdom, he must prove himself worthy. He must prove that his decisions and actions are based not on selfish motives but on the will and vision of God. For Matthew writing to the Jews, for us reading this today, Jesus must prove that he is worthy to be king. Because I firmly believe that our Christian spirituality hinges on the question, can he be trusted?

So Jesus is sent into the desert, and we watch him. He has a decision to make. The devil, Satan will offer him some choices. And ultimately, the question is will Jesus use his powers, his kingship for selfish reasons, for personal needs, for achieving personal glory; or will he choose to use his powers and gifts for unselfish purposes - to better the world, to heal and help others, to bring about the peace, the Shalom that is the Kingdom of God? Will Jesus, in this time in the desert, align himself with the vision of God and work to achieve that? And based upon that answer, we can decide if we will trust him with our hearts and souls.

Because, again, isn't that the reality of relationships? The central question is can I trust this other person? When you fell in love with your spouse didn't you at some point, before you opened yourself up to that person and his/her love, didn't you have to decide whether you trusted him or her? Before you gave yourself completely over to that other person, you needed to have confidence that this person had your best interests at heart. And somewhere along the line that love was put to the test and that person proved to be trustworthy.

Or what about a mechanic? How many of you do not know anything about cars? So, when you take yours in to the mechanic, you better have someone you can trust and put your confidence in. Because they are going to come to you and say "this needs to be done and ...". So, if you don't have someone you can trust, how do decide to have the work done? Often times we stay with mechanics because over the long haul, they have proved themselves trustworthy.

The same is true of Jesus the Christ. At this point in his life, just before his ministry begins, before he can be the King, he is put to the test. He is offered three different ways to use his powers as the Son of God, as the Beloved, in entirely selfish and inappropriate ways. He can feed himself, he can publicly glorify himself, and he can gain incredible worldly power. All very enticing offers. All offers not to be trifled with; offers that many of us would jump at. And yet, as we see, he chooses against all of these offers. He chooses for the kingdom of God and for us.

And thus he passes the test. He has been put in the crucible and found worthy. His love for God and the Kingdom of God is so profound that he can turn away very enticing offers. Now we know that how he chooses, what he does is based fully on what God wants and what God chooses. I was reading a book by one of my former professors and he wrote that he believes that sin is blindness to the light; that Jesus had this incredible unclouded vision of the Kingdom of God and he was so attracted to the Light that he could not swerve from it. I like to think about that when I pray to Jesus for guidance or help or peace. I like to keep in my heart the confidence that Jesus can be trusted. That when I look to him for help or guidance, I know he has my best interests at heart. I know that he has been tested and found genuine and faithful.

But don't just take my word for it. Continue to study and pray and learn about this guy we call the Christ. Come with us as we walk together the next 6 weeks; as we journey together with this guy on the way to Jerusalem. We will watch him, listen to him, deny him and then watch him die on the cross, for each one of us. And then, after this long hard journey, we will watch him rise from the grave, having overcome death and made it possible for us to have a strong and constant relationship with God. But, I think that in order for this to mean anything, you must examine how you feel about Jesus. Are you willing to trust yourself to his guidance? Are you willing to put your heart and soul in his hands? If so, there is great peace, a beautiful relationship and a wonderful outlook on the world to be had. But, truly, you must first answer the question, do I trust him? The question is no longer: Can I trust Jesus to be reliable, present and worthy for me today? The question is do I trust him?