First Sunday in Lent (Invocabit), March 9, 2025

“I Walk With Jesus All the Way”

(Matthew 4:1-11)

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

During Communion we will sing one of my favorite hymns: “I Walk in Danger All the Way.” An unfortunate title, but since we name our hymns after their first line, there you have it. I suppose it’s a slightly better title than, “When all the World Was Cursed,” another great hymn for the season of Advent. But the reason “I Walk in Danger All the Way” is one of my favorite hymns is, first, because it doesn’t lie to me. It deals with reality. My spiritual life is in danger all the way until I reach heaven. I pass through trials all the way. Death pursues me all the way. And I appreciate very much that this hymn validates what I know is true but which many gloss over, as if life is always peachy.

But I also love this hymn because of the great comfort it gives. The thought that I walk with angels who shield me and befriend me at all times like they did Jesus in the wilderness is amazingly comforting. To think that my walk is heav’nward all the way keeps my eyes on the goal, like we should during Lent, always looking forward to Easter and the glorious resurrection. And most of all, the comfort is that I walk with Jesus all the way. Never has He led me astray. Always His wounds are a comfort for me. Always I am safe from all the dangers of this life—sin, death, the devil himself—when Jesus leads me and guides me.

The same is true for each of you:

You do walk in danger all the way, but you also walk with Jesus all the way.

The First Sunday in Lent reminds us of this. We always begin our Lenten journey by considering the temptation of Jesus and the danger that He faced. True, He could not fall or fail, since He is God’s Son from eternity and the devil is no match for Him. Yet He still faced real temptations since He is also true man, born of the virgin Mary, and was, at His temptation, in His state of humiliation, when He did not fully use His divine powers. So, the danger was real. The trials were real. The death that pursued Jesus was real. The devil who tempted Him was and is real. And Jesus endured it all. And He shows you how to endure it all yourselves as you walk with Him all the way.

I.

Now, we begin thinking about walking in danger all the way by considering the context of Jesus’ temptations. He had just been baptized, the Father declaring Him His beloved Son in the flesh with whom He is well pleased. The Spirit had descended upon Him, anointing Him for His saving work. Then the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

So too, you have been baptized, God declaring you His beloved children with whom He is well pleased. The Spirit has anointed you, as well, making you Christians and leading you into the wilderness of this world. And, of course, the devil tempts you too. Being baptized puts a big target on your back for the devil to attack you. “That Satan, who has marked his pray, / Is plotting to deceive me,” as we sing in the hymn. The danger is especially real for God’s baptized children.

You do walk in danger all the way. And the danger is the same that Jesus faced. The devil came at Him with three temptations, trying to get Him

1.     to satisfy His belly above God’s Word,

2.     to test God, and

3.     to seek greedily worldly glory instead of God’s glory.

Again, God’s children especially walk in danger all the way. That’s why the devil said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God… If you are, Jesus, then why don’t you have bread? Isn’t God’s Son of all people entitled to a full belly? Just convert those stones into what you need to eat… And shouldn’t God take care of all His baptized children too, over and above the children of the world? So, why is Jesus hungry? Why do any of you go without? Doubt your God and His providence,” the devil says, “and satisfy your belly however you can instead. Take what you want. Eat what you want. Live how you want.”

Yes, God’s children especially walk in danger all the way. “If you are the Son of God,” the devil tempted the second time. “If you are, Jesus, then why not test God? He’ll take care of you. He loves you, right? So, jump off the pinnacle of the temple. Doesn’t Scripture say God ‘will command His angels concerning you’ and that ‘they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’? So, do it. Test His will, Jesus, Son of God. You, too, baptized children of God. Purposely test Him. Do what you know is wrong, what you know is transgressing His commandments. He’s forgiving, right? So, do it and ask for forgiveness later. Test whether He’s as gracious as He says.”

Yes, God’s children especially walk in danger all the way. But notice that the devil didn’t appeal to Jesus’ sonship in the last temptation. That’s because this temptation was to give up being God’s Son and to be a child of the devil instead. The devil took Jesus “to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’” This is Satan’s ultimate objective. It’s as if he is saying, “If you want a god who will give you glory in this world, listen to me, not your heavenly Father. He’s holding out on you. I’d give you the kingdoms as far as your eye can see. Just bow down to me. And you, baptized children, just follow the fads of pop culture, chase after money or fame or acceptance in whatever community floats your boat, and I’ll give you the comfort and happiness that God won’t.”

God’s children especially walk in danger all the way. Again, that’s why I appreciate the hymn. I face the same temptations, don’t you? To live for myself, satisfying my belly. To test God by doing what I know is not according to His Law. To abandon the Lord’s ways and seek the glory and comfortability of this world that the devil offers. These are the dangers for all of God’s baptized children. As are the other problems that the devil throws our way, and ultimately the death which is pursuing us all. Yes, I do walk in danger all the way. And so do you.

II.

But I walk with Jesus all the way too. And so do you. And the reason this is so comforting is that before you ever walk with Jesus, Jesus walked for you. Because you needed Him to. Like Israel before you, who fell into temptation and sinned in the wilderness for forty years; like Adam and Eve, who first listened with delight to the devil’s temptation in the Garden of Eden; like your parents and all people, you too have flirted with danger. You have not just listened to those temptations of the devil but lapsed into sin. And so have I…

And that is why the Spirit led Jesus to be tempted in the wilderness. It was because Jesus was not some weakling at the mercy of the devil. No, though weak in His human flesh, He was still the Father’s beloved Son, who brought the mercy of God. The Spirit led Him into the wilderness on purpose to take on the devil’s temptations in your place. As your Substitute. To defeat the devil where you have failed. To be the beloved Child of God that He always was but now under God’s Law in your stead. So that His defeat of the devil is your defeat of the devil. So that His righteous, sinless life is your righteous, sinless life. And this is as certain as Him offering that life to His Father on the cross, crushing the devil’s power to condemn you anymore. And as certain as Jesus rising from the dead with the devil crushed beneath His feet. Yes, Jesus walked for you all the way to the cross, through the tomb, and back to heaven.

But before He went back to heaven, He promised that He would be with you always. And He is. I walk with Jesus all the way. And so do you. You are God’s children through your Baptism into Christ. And He is with you through His Holy Word and Sacraments. Believe it and you walk with Jesus all the way. With Jesus who forgives you for every temptation you’ve ever fallen into. With Jesus who says, “You are not to say this to anyone else, but tell the devil to go to hell where he belongs. Tell that tyrant that you are united to the God-man who defeated him in the wilderness, crushed him on the cross, proclaimed His victory over him in His resurrection, and has him and all things under His feet at God’s right hand forever.” Yes, you walk with that Jesus. Your Savior. Your Victor. Your Champion.

And He will give you the power to endure all danger as you walk with Him. Yes, as you then walk with Jesus all the way, you learn from Him how to defeat the devil. Led by the same Spirit, you address the devil’s temptations by doing what Jesus did. You go to Scripture. You say, “It is written.” “It is written. “It is written.” If the devil says, “Indulge your sinful flesh,” then say, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” If the devil says, “Test God by purposely sinning against His Law,” then say, “It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” If the devil promises you glory in this world if you’ll just stop seeking first God’s kingdom but seek the world’s glory that the devil offers instead, then say, “Be gone, Satan! It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.’” And the devil, though he’ll come again, will leave you. And the angels, though you cannot see them, will be with you, ministering to you all the way.

This is how you walk heavn’ward all the way, as the hymn concludes. You never forget the dangers. They do exist. You acknowledge their threat all the way. But as you do, you find comfort that you walk with Jesus all the way. Jesus who forgives you when you fall. Who picks you up and encourages you along the way. And who points you to heaven and the resurrection, which you would not trade for anything in the world.

In Jesus’ Name,

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

— Revd Stephen K. Preus —