I'll Cover You

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 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. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV). During the bloody combat in Mogadishu, Somalia, depicted in the film Black Hawk Down, Army Sergeant Christopher Reid lost a leg and part of an arm. General Gordon Sullivan, in his book Hope is Not a Method, recounted his visit with Reid in the hospital. "Chris told me his story in a strong, unwavering voice. He did not have to be there that cold, winter morning, but he wanted to be with his squad, with his friends, one more time. He then looked into my eyes and with great determination said, 'You know, sir, knowing what I know now, I would do it again.'" As we continue our Passion Week devotionals, I am drawn back to the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness (cf. Matthew 4:1-11). Like Sergeant Reid, Jesus didn't have to be there, but "he wanted to be with his squad, with his friends." Also like Reid, Jesus made a sacrifice on behalf of his comrades. It doesn't take a great theologian to recognize that the wilderness Jesus entered and his confrontation with Satan represent the world in which every one of us lives. Our spiritual situation is comparable to the plight of soldiers trapped behind enemy lines. The firefight is fierce. "Succumb to your addictions!" says the Evil One. Enjoy excessive obsession with food, alcohol, drugs, nicotine, sex, or pleasure. "If it feels good, do it!" Or, as he put it to Jesus, "Tell these stones to become loaves of bread." There aren’t any of us who don't have some severe wounds from that attack. Maybe it's small arms' fire but it's jut as deadly as any other attack. There are also the heavy artillery rounds that lead you to challenge the presence and care of God. "Go ahead, ask God to prove Himself by making a miracle happen in your life!" says the Evil One. "What loving God would let you lose in the stock market or not let you get the promotion you deserve? If He's so powerful, let Him prove it by taking your wife's cancer away?" There are scores of incoming shells like that every day. "Jump off the temple spire, Jesus, see if your Father's promises are really true." And, as if those aren't enough assaults on our being, there are still the shattering grenades of the superiority syndrome. "Do whatever it takes to get to the top of the heap! Slander others with gossip, you know you're better than they are anyway. Maneuver and manipulate your way around the fools and losers of this world. It only takes a little creative financing sometimes to pass up the rest of the pack." The Evil One summarized it well in his offer to Jesus: "I'll give you all the kingdoms of this world and their glory if you'll worship me!" For years, military leaders have known that the strongest commitment a soldier has in combat is not to any high ideal, democracy, his country, or the flag. Instead, the primary reason he's willing to risk his life is for the sake of his comrades. "I'll cover you," the soldier assures his friend. And by that he means he will risk his very life for his fellow soldier's safety. Come what may, he will not desert his friend. If necessary, he will go to hell and back to rescue him. Jesus didn't have to come into our wilderness. He didn't have to face the full assault of the evil one. Yet he did, solely because of his personal commitment to rescue each one of us. "We have a chief priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses," says the writer to the Hebrews. "He was tempted in every way that we are, but he didn't sin. So we can go confidently to the throne of God's kindness to receive mercy and find grace, which will help us at the right time." If we take it seriously and listen carefully to its messages, Lent is a time of stark reality about our messed up and besieged lives. But it is also a time when we see the full implications of Jesus' willingness to risk everything to rescue us from the assaults that can destroy us. Praise God that our Rescuer and our Friend, Jesus Christ, has come into our wilderness! He came because of a personal commitment to you and me. He takes on the full assault of the enemy for us. "He was wounded for our rebellious acts. He was crushed for our sins. He was punished so that we could have peace, and we received healing from his wounds." "I'll cover you," he assures us - "so we can go confidently to the throne of God!"