Pastor's sermon is based on the gospel reading. Jesus is able to resist temptation both in the wilderness and here in his church. Jesus not only quotes Scriptures, he lives the Scriptures; he embodies them in his own life, the God of whom the Scriptures speak. Later in Luke's Gospel, the enemies of Jesus will tempt him even as he hangs in agony upon the cross: “If you are the Chosen of God, save yourself.” That’s the time Jesus doesn’t rebuke them. He just hangs there. Sometimes, in love, he is silent, as he moves down the dark, narrow way toward the cross. The good news is: Our Savior, Jesus Christ walks the narrow way for us …despite us …and because of us. It’s also our way, this way of the cross.
