Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
February 22, 2026
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras

Lent 1A
Not By Bread Alone!

Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit, to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted for forty days and nights, afterwards, he was hungry! Now enter the Tempter who said to him, “If you are the Son of God tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered and said, “Man cannot live by bread alone! But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:1-4)

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Beloved in Christ there are two things that every person needs to live: Food for the body to be sure. And food for the soul. Both of these come from our God. Both can be well used as in today’s gospel, and both can be abused as we find in today’s Old Testament lesson.

Now if we are to understand today’s readings we must first realize what God was undertaking when he created the heavens and the earth.

He was not erecting a scientific wonderland for astro-physicists and rocket-scientists to ply their trade – though there is nothing wrong with that! Indeed there is something very good about it if, when pondering such imponderables, they should be arrested by the wonders of God, and fall down on their faces and worship: our Father who is in heaven.

But if God was not merely doing divine mechanics that make “quantum mechanics” look like 2+2, then what was he doing?

He was erecting the church of the universe. The place where God who dwells outside the cosmos could have Holy Communion with those living inside of it. This is the nature of our God. Always to create and expand for the purpose of sharing his immense love and glory with his creation.

Now if the created universe was the sanctuary, then Eden was the chancel. A place for worship overflowing with life-giving food and pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16); in whose center stood The Tree Of Life – which was a prophecy of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was a place where as far as the eye could see there was nothing here but life, splendid and superb.

But there was one caveat! A place of danger that could ruin all that the LORD God had made if Adam and Woman were to partake of its “unholy communion.” And so the LORD God strictly commanded Adam to avoid it at all costs; because to eat from that tree was a death sentence. And it was Adam’s vocation as pastor of the Garden first to hear God then to warn his tiny congregation, not to eat from that tree! And that is when things went very, very wrong.

Did the fault lie with Adam? Did he fail to preach the message that God gave him to preach? Or was the fault with woman, that she did not listen carefully? Whatever the case we find in Genesis Chapter Three that she compounded the problem by talking to strangers. But why did she do that? Was she naïve? Or bored? Or inquisitive, so did “curiosity killed the cat?”

We don’t know, but it is a moot point today. Irreparable damage was done and the catastrophic consequences of that idolatrous and adulterous visit are still with us today! The church has nicely captured the whole event in today’s opening hymn (LSB #569)

1. All mankind fell in Adam’s fall,
   One common sin infects them all;
   From sire to son the bane descends,
   And over all the curse impends.

But before we leave this topic let us note that even if Woman was at fault; that in his epistles Saint Paul lays the blame at Adam’s feet because he was God’s ordained priest. But on the plus side the same Saint Paul informs us that Adam was a “type” of the One to come – namely Jesus. And he states further this promise that: “As in Adam we all die, even so in Christ we shall all be made alive.” And today’s gospel tells us how that happened.

As Saint Paul indicates the original Adam, and the One whom Paul names the Second Adam – namely the Lord Jesus Christ – were a study in contrasts. Whereas Adam and woman, living in the lap of luxury, were easy prey for the Tempter.

Not-so-Jesus!

Whereas Adam and Woman were little more than putty in his hands, Jesus was adamant! Obdurate! And immovable in the face of dizzying temptation! And that was no small thing after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness.

But his devotion to his heavenly Father, and to us for whom he conquered the devil in the wilderness remained unchanged. Saint Paul says in Romans 5:10 that “if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, how much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” What does that mean, “saved by his life?” That sentence which is the perfect synopsis of our readings today.

When it says we “are saved by his life,” does it refer to the Lord’s death-defying resurrection from the dead? It very well could. We have the Lord’s own word, “Because I live, you shall live also.” (John 14:19) But might it also mean something else. Namely that his life that was in perfect tune with his heavenly Father, is now accounted to us by faith – such that in the Final Judgment we will be acquitted of every failure because our Lord did not only die for us, but also lived for us?

There is no sure answer, but in either case it is all to our good. How so? We who melt under temptation and suffering. We who get faint at the thought of putting ourselves out, much less courageously denying ourselves, taking up our cross, following Jesus to Calvary and dying with him there. We … are saved by his life!

This good news brings us great joy because with such faith as this we can laugh at death! “For the grave that shuts us in, shall be prove the gate to heaven.”

Moreover this same good news of our Lord’s victory over Satan in the wilderness, and his victory over the grave … is our power source by which we can resist the devil, and with this one little word, “Satan! Be gone!” We can fell him!

Yes he’ll be back. Even as he dogged our Lord right to his last breath, he will dog us! But with Jesus’ victory we are suited up in impregnable spiritual armor.

And so as temptation to sin comes along let us not wilt or whimper. But rather let us courageously deliver our Lord’s command to the Old Evil Foe, “Satan! Be gone!”

And then we will live to fight another day.