Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spiritinto the wilderness, ² where for forty days he was tempted^[a] by the devil.He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. vs.1-2

For Americans, freedom is our highest value. Freedom is the high note of our national anthem. To reach "O'er the land of the free," you must climb the vocal peak to a high F. A well-trained soprano can hit and hold the note for a few seconds. Beyonce and Mariah Carey's Superbowl riffs went to the stratosphere above. Most of us stop at the base camp and wait at the "Home of the brave." (Did you realize this ending is a question? The national anthem ends with a question mark: Can you hit that high F? Do you think you can handle freedom? Can you rise to what it takes?)

Claiming to be free means many different things, depending on whether we are talking about personal autonomy, emotional or spiritual well-being, financial capacity, or political liberties. We might feel free in one area and not in another. Generally, American culture emphasizes freedom from constraint by outside forces. The Rolling Stones sang, "I'm free to do what I want, any old time." Or Lesley Gore's song "You Don't Own Me" belted out, "Don't tell me what to do, and don't tell me what to say." We have a strong current of individualistic "freedom-from" energy.

But there is another side to freedom. After a visit to Ukraine, historian Timothy Snyder observed their culture talks more about the freedom to do things- to create, have a family, integrity, live a decent life, freedom to vote, and build the common good. It is a "freedom-for" culture. Freedom is living by specific values and creating a better life. Snyder remarked that we need both freedom-from and freedom-for. We need to protect individual liberties and not be coerced on how to live, but if we don't have any sense of using our freedom for things of value, a good life, and a common good, it is an empty husk. Freedom is the release from what binds us to do what is good.

You can get what you want and still be unfree. Paul's letter to the Corinthians said,

"I have the right to do anything," you say—but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good but the good of others." (1 Corinthians 10:23-24, NIV).

Even the Rolling Stones came around on freedom. They did what they wanted any old time in 1965, but their hit in 1969 was "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Paul would say that what you want might not be good for you anyway.

Christian theology has lived in this tension about freedom. We are not just free from things; we can do what is good, beautiful, and true. Paul wrote extensively about freedom to the Galatians. The Message Bible's translation of Gal. 5:13-15 would fit into Timothy Snyders's philosophy,

God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. Everything we know about God's Word is summarized in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all, you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

Christian spirituality understands that humans don't have an outstanding record of using our freedom well. As a teenager, I longed for the freedom to drive my own car. The popular Chevy commercial then was, "It's not just a car, it's your freedom." A car meant no more riding the bus to school, freedom from depending on my parents to go somewhere, and I could pick up my date. My first car was a bright orange Ford F-100 truck purchased from the Department of Transportation. People made fun of it, but I made it my trademark. I was ready for anything with that truck. One bright summer day, I felt euphoric about my mobile freedom and stepped on the gas. I took a corner on a gravel road a little tight, and felt the back end start to fishtail. I now know how those big S-Curve skid marks get on a highway. I tried to keep it straight but went right into a six-foot ditch. I had to get towed and lost my freedom for a while.

Freedom is a great thing, but if we are tempted to use it for a thrill, for our selfish ends, to amuse ourselves, and to impress our friends, eventually, we will drive our freedom right into the ditch. Temptation seduces us to live in the fast lane, seeking social status, material possessions, comfort, and thrills without regard for our neighbor. Temptation is the force that tries to distort our view of what is good, to pull us back into being unfree. The freedom that is only for our selfish gain is what Timothy Snyder is warning us about. Without positive freedom with a purpose, freedom that includes the common good together, we are going to drive our country into the ditch.

Dealing with temptation is a challenge that Jesus dealt with in the wilderness. He had just received a great blessing at his baptism, the voice of God saying, "You are my beloved, and in you I am well pleased. Here are the keys to the car." But his first road trip is alone into the wilderness, intentionally taking on the testing of his motivations and desires.

We will eventually meet a devil if we sit in silence long enough. Let's be clear about the devil. The Greek word does not describe the personification of evil, who wants you to sacrifice children and worship darkness. The word is diabolos. It can mean someone who slanders, accuses, or distorts the truth. We can see this in all three temptations Jesus faces. Diabolos offers him three ways of fulfilling his purpose, each with a slightly untruthful catch, and in each, Jesus turns to scriptures for an answer.

"You look a little hungry, Jesus. Why don't you turn stone into bread?" There is nothing wrong with feeding yourself when you are hungry. In fact, I bet you could feed 5000 people. Nothing wrong with that. Jesus knew feeding hungry people was a religious obligation, but he had higher ambitions than filling bellies. He wanted to fill people with transformative hope and love. "We don't live by bread alone, but from every word from the mouth of God."

"I bet you would like some real power to do some good," Diabolos says. "Pledge your loyalty to me, kiss the ring, and I will put you in charge. Everybody must play the game if you want to be a mover and shaker." Diabolos assumes that power and authority are his to give. Jesus counters that God is the highest authority. If you sell your soul to the devil, you eventually must pay.

Jesus answers the first two challenges with scripture, Deuteronomy to be precise. Never say there is no value in dusty old Deuteronomy. So, Diabolos quotes some scripture, too. Anybody can quote scripture to justify themselves. Drawing on Psalm 91, Diabolos says,

"If you are God's Son, jump. It's written, isn't it, that 'he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone'?"

This temptation might be that if you are chosen, then you are protected. You are special and don't have to be subject to norms and laws. Be spectacular and get people to follow you, maybe even worship you.

Diabolos does not ask Jesus to do anything outright wrong; it is just a distortion of what is right, with a promise that it will benefit him. His words sound so good and comforting, but something isn't right. The diabolos is the gas lighter who convinces us that wrong is right. Your situation is not your fault; it is someone else's fault. The ends justify the means. Greed is good. You will eventually drive into the ditch if you believe and act on these things.

These distortions didn't end in the wilderness. They take new forms in every age. Today, we may not be asked to turn stones into bread, but we are constantly tempted by easy shortcuts—chasing success, validation, or comfort at the expense of what truly matters. The voice of diabolos still calls, not in obvious evil, but in distractions that quietly pull us away from purpose.

True freedom is not just the absence of chains but the presence of purpose. It's not the right to do anything—it's the responsibility to choose what is good, meaningful, and true.

Distraction and temptation will always compete for our attention, distorting freedom into self-indulgence. But true freedom is not just avoiding what enslaves us—it's choosing what is worth living for: love, integrity, and the common good.



So, where will you place your attention—on distractions that fade, or on what truly endures? Because in the end, the freedom you embrace is the life you create.