Wednesday, March 4th, 2026
Lenten Midweek 2
Text: Mark 1:9–13
Sermon Audio
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In the Nicene Creed we confess of Jesus Christ, “Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven,” The creed then goes on to give a brief summary of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension. Our God didn’t just wave a wand and make all the bad things go away. He put skin in the game and made sacrifices for us that we might be reconciled to Him.
This is the focus of our stanza for tonight, the third stanza of O Love How Deep is as follows:
For us baptized, for us He bore His holy fast and hungered sore; For us temptation sharp He knew; For us the tempter overthrew.
This will form the outline for our sermon this evening.
First, I. For us, He was baptized. We read, “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.””
A few things to note here, first, that He came up out of the water. You cannot go up out of the water without first going down into the water, of course. We can say that Jesus went down not only into the water, but in His baptism, has come down into our sins, our failures, and the mess that is planet Earth. In Him being baptized, our baptisms become a cleansing flood which cleanses us from our sins.
Another noteworthy item that only Mark mentions is that the heavens were torn open at the baptism of Jesus. The only other time Mark mentions this word tearing is when the Temple curtain is torn in two at Jesus’ death. In Jesus’ baptism, the curtain that divides God and man is open. In Jesus’ baptism, heaven is open for you.
Second, II. For us, He bore His holy fast and hungered sore. Our text continues, “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days.” Matthew and Luke help corroborate some of these details. Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days. This is the origin of the period of Lent being forty days minus Sundays.
Let’s not even talk about food. What creature comfort can you not live without? Maybe it’s your cell phone. Let’s be honest, you’re thinking about it now. What if someone from work replied to my email? What if my son texted me back? Maybe I have a funny snap from my friend waiting for me to open.
For others, maybe it’s the warm glow of the television. Give me the latest headlines from the cable news network of choice. Give me the next Netflix special to binge. What would I do without television?
Maybe it’s the compulsion always to be doing something. We get so busy, we want to check things off of our to do list, but we don’t always ask whether those things are worth doing in the first place. What would a fast from our relentless pursuit of being busy look like?
Jesus endured the fast for us. He went without for us. He hungered for us. He went without for us. When we hunger—for food, for the next text message, for the latest episode, for the dopamine hit of checking something off the list—when we hunger, we admit that we’re incomplete and looking for something to fill us. Jesus Christ was emptied for us so that He could be filled even fuller with the Father’s love and kindness. He invites us to see that we won’t starve if we temporarily abstain from of these comforts.
Third, III. For us, temptation sharp He knew. “And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.” After forty days of hungering, Jesus faced Satan. Satan tempted Him with bread, with jumping off the temple to prove that He was God. Satan also tempted Him by offering Him all the kingdoms of the world. Despite all of this, Jesus did not succumb to temptation.
What’s your weakness? Needless to say each of us have our sins. Maybe it’s bursts of anger when things don’t go your way. Maybe it’s the dark corners of the Internet with people doing shameful things. Maybe it’s in a bottle on your top shelf. Maybe it’s the latest gossip from your friends at the card table. Maybe it’s that twinge of pride when you think you’re better than everyone else here who struggles with the aforementioned sins.
Regardless of what it is, the truth of the matter is that the devil has your number. He knows the chink in your armor into which he can slither his slimy head. The devil has an arrow of temptation aimed at you right now that you can hardly resist.
But Jesus faced temptation for us so that He stands in the breach to overcome those sinful desires. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” He overcame temptation for us, so that these sins no longer have power, and Satan flees at His presence.
Dear Christian friend when you are tempted, you have the power over Satan. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,” You can overcome your sins in Christ.
Fourth, IV. For us, He overthrew the tempter. In Luke’s account of the temptation, we read the ominous statement, “And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.”
It was as though the devil said, “You win this round, but I’m gearing up for round two.” But the devil teaches us that when you go against Jesus, you don’t get a round three.
Elsewhere in the Bible we read, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” “For while we were still weak, at opportune time Christ died for the ungodly.” Jesus Christ overthrew Satan through His death and resurrection. Satan so blinded by his spite, took the bait in killing Jesus, and in so doing sealed his fate. In Christ’s death, Satan himself was accused. In Christ’s suffering, the devil was shown to be evil. In Christ’s resurrection, Satan’s schemes were overthrown.
Dear Christian friend, when all hope seems lost, always remember that Jesus has overthrown Satan for us. When the casket lowers into the ground, when the latest news headline shocks us, when the latest diagnosis means no good news, remember that Jesus has overthrown the tempter for us. With this victory also comes victory over sin and death, with His resurrection comes your resurrection and the resurrection of your beloved Christian friends who have also fallen asleep in Jesus. There is always hope for us because of all that Christ has done for us.
Finally, V. All this He does in obedience to the Father’s command.
For us Jesus became a servant. Who for us men and our salvation, Jesus came down from heaven and did all that He did for us. This involves taking on our sin in His baptism. This includes abstaining from the comforts of heaven suffering and fasting for us. This also means He overcame sin for us as even the devil himself tried to get Jesus to give into temptation. This also means that Jesus overcame the devil for us.
It’s not because He felt sorry for us. It’s not some happy accident of history. He did this all out of love for us and out of obedience to His Father’s command. The Holy Trinity worked in perfect unison to save us, and they continue to work to get us through the difficulties of this life and to arrive safely in the life to come. Amen!
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard and keep you in the true faith unto life everlasting. Amen.