George Mwaura gets to grips with temptation

During the season of Lent, churches often focus on three things: the temptation, how to resist, it and repentance. In the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, the temptations come quickly after Jesus’ baptism in the river Jordan. However, Luke adds extra information about Christ’s family tree, helping to establish his identity as the Son of God

The events in our text take the form of a dialogue between Jesus and the devil. After fasting for 40 days and nights, Jesus was understandably famished. In that time, Luke tells us, Jesus was being tempted, which indicates an ongoing action as opposed to a one-off encounter with the tempter. The trials only end when Jesus outwits Satan using the Scripture…

George Mwaura is the United Reformed Church’s East Midlands Synod Pastoral Consultant and Minister of Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes

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This is an extract from an article published in the March 2022 edition of Reform

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