Last time on things unseen, we began to think together about the temptations of Jesus,

and we were thinking about them generally, since the whole time of Jesus' life in ministry was a test or a temptation. But I want to invite you now for the next few

days to think about the temptations of Christ in the wilderness, the temptations that are recorded

in the synoptic gospels. After his baptism and also after an extended period of fasting, Jesus was confronted by the devil,

and the devil faced him with three specific temptations.

The first thing to remember when you read about Jesus' temptations, whether in the abbreviated

form in Mark chapter 1 or the longer forms in Matthew and Luke chapters 4, the

first thing to remember is this.

This event isn't recorded to tell you how to resist temptation.

It may help you to do that, but it isn't first all, about our temptations.

It's about Jesus' temptations.

I sometimes refer to what I call the Where's Waldo approach to reading the Gospels?

You may be familiar with those books that were popular at one time.

Pictures of massive crowds of people in different scenes and situations, and there was this little fellow called Waldo, or he was called Wally in the UK, and he wears a red

and white striped sweater and hat.

And the whole point is that you try and find him in the crowd.

I remember when I first saw those books, I thought, that's how some of us read the Gospels,

with ourselves as Waldo.

We're looking for ourselves in the story.

Am I there as Nicodemus or Zekees or Simon Peter?

And of course, the problem with that approach is twofold really.

The first is I wasn't there.

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