Reflection 22 February 2026, Wilderness Experiences

By Rev Dr Fei Taule’ale’ausumai

Good morning, kia ora, talofa lava to our online viewers who have joined us.

When I first arrived here at St Andrews on the Terrace, a few people I met up with told me that they had wondered in the wilderness for years before coming to SAOTT, for some maybe 10 years of wondering.  And now here you are.

Many of us have had wilderness experiences some might have been more dramatic than others.  Some of us may still be in the wilderness.  It is an important place in our life’s journey, it is neither good nor bad.  Wilderness experiences are a place of discovery, a place of letting go and not because you choose to but because you have no choice.  It’s a time when you almost become powerless because you are exhausted, you are burnt out, you have nowhere else to go.   And during these times, we are confronted with all sorts of spiritual challenges, challenges that we probably might not normally face in everyday normal life.  When your body is tired, when you are hungry and thirsty, your mind can play weird tricks on you.

In Matthews Gospel, Jesus wilderness experience has similar challenges and confrontations and the Gospel writers call these temptations.  This story comes immediately after Jesus’ baptism. The heavens open, the Spirit descends, and a voice declares:
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Biblically, wilderness is always a place of formation. Israel wandered for forty years. Moses fasted forty days. Elijah journeyed forty days. The number forty signals a period of preparation and transformation.

So when Matthew tells us Jesus fasts for forty days, the author is not merely giving us a detail it is a theological signal. Perhaps Jesus is retracing Israel’s journey. He stands in solidarity with the people of God and with humanity itself. He is discerning his vocation before stepping into public ministry.

From a progressive theological lens, this is not simply a supernatural showdown with a devil figure. It is a narrative that reveals how Jesus discerns his mission in the face of the forces that distort human life, hunger, spectacle, domination.

The first Temptation: Stones into Bread  The tempter begins:  “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.”  Do you remember the lost boys in Peter Pan where they had to imagine all the food that they could eat, if they ahd the power to turn these stones into bread they would have.  Here, Jesus is hungry. The temptation is real. But the deeper question is this:  Will he use divine power for self-preservation alone?  Will he define his mission by meeting his own needs first? Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy:
“Human beings do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” In Deuteronomy 8, Moses reminds Israel that the wilderness taught them dependence on God rather than on material security.

Matthew’s Jesus identifies himself with Israel’s wilderness story. He chooses trust over self-serving power. He rejects the idea that identity comes from satisfying immediate need

In a world shaped by consumerism, this temptation is deeply contemporary. We are told our worth comes from what we consume and accumulate. Jesus resists a system that defines life solely in economic or material terms.

For us the question becomes: How do we respond when survival anxiety drives our decisions?  How do we balance care for our own needs with care for the needs of others?  Can we imagine a society where bread is shared and dignity is not tied to wealth?

Jesus’ refusal is not anti-body or anti-hunger. It is a refusal to let survival alone define his mission. His ministry will be about bread for all, not just bread for himself.

Second Temptation:  The tempter takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and says:
“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. God will catch you.”

Here the tempter quotes Scripture Psalm 91 to justify the act. This is important. The temptation comes wrapped in religious language. This is not just about daring God. It is about turning faith into spectacle. It is about proving worth through dramatic demonstration.

I remember going to the healing crusades at the Auckland Town Hall during my young charismatic days and listening to preachers calling those in wheel chairs to come forward for healing.  When nothing happened they blamed the victim for not having enough faith or for hiding some unconfessed sin.  That’s why God couldn’t heal them.  It became a demoralising judgemental time for the family and person needing healing.  Faith is not a spectacle performance.  How dare people humiliate others in their attempt to play God.

Jesus responds: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”  This exchange reflects Israel’s testing of God in the wilderness, particularly at Massah (Exodus 17), where the people demanded proof of God’s presence. Jesus refuses to manipulate God into providing dramatic validation.

Matthew’s community, likely living under Roman oppression and religious tension, would have understood the pressure to seek signs and certainty. But Matthew presents Jesus as one who trusts God without spectacle.

Today we live in a culture of performance. We measure worth by visibility, success, and public affirmation. Faith itself can become performative something we display rather than embody.  This temptation asks:  Will Jesus build a movement based on spectacle?
Or will he live with quiet trust?  He chooses trust.

For us, where do we feel pressured to prove our worth?  Where do we seek dramatic signs instead of practicing steady faithfulness?  Can we trust the sacred in ordinary life?

Faith is not a stunt. It is a way of living grounded in trust and integrity.

In the final temptation Jesus is offered all the kingdoms of the world. “All this I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.” This is the temptation of political and imperial power.
It is the temptation to achieve good ends through domination. To control rather than to serve. Jesus responds:  “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only God.”

Matthew’s Gospel is written under Roman imperial rule. The offer of “all the kingdoms of the world” would have been deeply resonant. Many in Jesus’ time longed for a Messiah who would overthrow Rome through power.  But Jesus rejects that path. He refuses to align with systems of domination, even if they promise quick results. His ministry will instead be shaped by humility, service, and solidarity with the marginalized.

This temptation remains with us.  The temptation to gain influence at any cost. To use power to dominate rather than liberate.  To believe that justice can be achieved through coercion.  Jesus models another way: power rooted in compassion and service.

How do we use whatever power we have social, economic, relational?  Do we build systems of domination or communities of care?  How do we resist the lure of control?

The temptation of empire is not only political it is personal. It shows up in how we treat one another, how we lead, and how we live.

The temptations all begin with “If you are the Son of God.”  Jesus’ identity is tested.
He does not need to prove it through consumption, spectacle, or power.

This is a story that reminds us that we too are beloved not because of what we achieve, but because of who we are.

Jesus’ wilderness experience connects him to the human condition, hunger, doubt, vulnerability. This is not a distant divine figure untouched by struggle. This is a man who knows the wilderness from the inside.

Each of the temptations that Jesus was challenged with reflects a system that distorts human life:  Consumerism, Performance culture, Empire and domination

Jesus resists them all.

We may not face dramatic desert temptations, but we encounter quieter ones daily:

To prioritize self-interest over collective wellbeing.

To measure worth by success and visibility.

To seek control instead of connection.

To despair rather than hope.

The wilderness in this text invites reflection rather than fear. It is a place of clarity. A place where we ask:  What truly sustains me?  What kind of power will I practice?
What kind of life am I building?

In our current world marked by climate anxiety, economic pressure, political division, and personal grief the wilderness feels familiar. Many are navigating uncertainty and fatigue.  This story reminds us that wilderness is not abandonment. It is often preparation.

The wilderness does not last forever.  Jesus leaves the desert grounded in his identity and clear about his mission. He will proclaim good news to the poor, release to the captives, and healing for the broken. His ministry is shaped by what he learned in the wilderness.

Perhaps ours is too.  So when we face temptation not only to do something against our own personal integrity and to forget who we are, then we need to remember this story.

We are not defined by consumption.
We are not defined by performance.
We are not defined by power.

We are sustained by something deeper than fear.

We are called and we are loved.  Amen.

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