The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

Rev Dr Barry Brown, 22 February 2026 [Lent 1].

Australian Indigenous stories of (for example) the Emu in the Night Sky, the Rainbow Serpent, the Seven Sisters are common to many parts of Australia, but with regional variations. They may appear very naïve, even unbelievable, to the literate mind. However, they make sense and are of high cultural and spiritual value for indigenous peoples. They constitute ‘sacred stories’.

Today’s sacred story of The Testing of Jesus has an ‘oral’ origin, and is best understood this way. It is a story about Jesus, not by Jesus (of an experience only he could have known). This is not to question that there may have been some original basis for the story; but, if there was, it has been adapted, crafted, to encapsulate ‘sacred truth’.

It speaks truth concerning Jesus’ life, ministry and mission as a whole! However, please note, it is not first and foremost about us – it is about Jesus and who Jesus is. The key to understanding this is in connection with the story of Jesus’ baptism, which is told immediately before in Matthew (and in Mark’s very brief account). In Luke it is separated by an account of Jesus’ ancestry. However, the connection remains obvious.

The story of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist has a climax – a voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:17). In Luke the opening word, in place of Matthew’s ‘this’ is more direct: ‘You are my Son…’

The unmistakable segue to the Testing of Jesus is the test put to Jesus (twice in Matthew, once in Luke) – If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread… and, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down (from the pinnacle of the Temple). This is clearly a test, not just of any man (or woman), but of one who is identified as the Son of God – the Beloved.

In Matthew’s Gospel this is a vital part of the Proclamation that Jesus is not just a preacher, or prophet; Jesus is the Messiah (the Christ), the Beloved Son of God – Emmanuel, ‘God with us’.

With this core truth proclaimed, it is then possible to note as a corollary of the story –  Jesus, the Beloved Son, is the exemplar (the living model) for Christian discipleship.

(1) Time out is important … solitude, prayer, fasting, reflection (a repeated practice of Jesus, especially before a new phase of his mission). So too Moses at Mount Sinai; Elijah before he commenced his vacation; also John the Baptist; and Paul the Apostle…

Example: The Rev Alan Walker – in preparation for Mission to the Nations in the 1950s,  and World Mission in the 1970s and 80s.  Link with Lent (refrain from something in order to appreciate – eg refraining from singing the Alleluias during Lent in some churches)

Our story is also about Jesus, the Christian’s exemplar in his rigorous resistance of life-destroying self-indulgences, the compromises; the dreams of greatness and power that ultimately diminish both self and others. We live in a ‘give-in’ culture of indulgence, self-promotion, success and wealth at any prices. How easy it is to give-in the attractions and seductions that surround us daily!

Jesus was a child of Torah, of his Bible. His strategy of resistance is founded in the well-tested and rehearsed wisdom and demands of Torah. For us, that means the wisdom and demands of the Scriptures, including the Gospel of Jesus Christ himself.

Each of Jesus’ resistance responses come from the Book of Deuteronomy. This is the Biblical Book that reminds the Hebrew people of the earlier Exodus story, of deliverance from slavery and 40 years in the wilderness – a times of temptation, seduction and weakness before realizing the holy presence and promises of the holy God. Now, a generation later, in Deuteronomy, this is being rehearsed, retold, recalled, in readiness to enter the Land of Promise – an entry that also contains its risks, dangers and entrapments. The point is, that Jesus draws heavily on the wisdom and demands of the core commands of God – the Holy One alone!

(2) Bread – self-preservation, sensationalism, personal inducement (NB echo of Israel’s wilderness, quoting Deuteronomy). Resistance of personal and vocational enticements to achieve a following and success – recall how Jesus ‘withdrew’ after the feeding of multitude for fear he might be carried off and made a king-leader for the wrong reasons.

A challenge for us in our daily lives (personal and vocationally) is to resists such things.

(3) Jump unhurt from pinnacle of Temple – sensational ministry… drawing attention to self.  Putting God to the test – doing a deal with God. The message of Scripture is ‘Don’t expect God to comply with your ‘wants;’ but obey the core commands of loving God and our neighbour – that is enough!

(4) Bow down, seductions for wealth, position, recognition, power, control … How menacing when this happens in the political world – and in the church (links with the notion of Prosperity Gospel – by leaders gaining power and fortune!). The danger of compromise, to take a bit on the side, justifying ‘just a bit-for me’, by comparing my lot with other!  In an affluent society this is an ever-present challenge requiring holy resistance.

CLOSE: Matthew: ‘The devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him’.

Solitude, perseverance and resistance are oftentimes the preparation for even greater challenges – and, also, for surprise of divine Blessing!