Facing Our Demons (Matthew 4:1–11)

How does the temptation for power — or control — show up in your life? Explore this week’s Gospel passage and consider what it might mean for us today.

Each week, we post a Bible passage from Sunday’s lectionary; share links to resources that give context, inspire new ideas, and more; and offer a few questions to get you thinking about what we’ll read together in church.

The Gospel Reading for February 22, 2026

Matthew 4:1–11

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Read all of Sunday’s Scriptures

Step Into the Story

3 Ways to Go Deeper

Commentary

Describing this passage as “a beautiful telling of the demons we all have to face to grow up, to become mature,” Father Richard Rohr summarizes the temptations Jesus, and modern-day Christians, face: to seek and misuse power, and to weaponize religion. “It’s not about winning,” he writes. “What we were given in the Gospel is an agenda in which everybody wins.”  

Visual Art

Iconographer Kelly Latimore depicts Jesus in the wilderness with his eyes raised to a glittering night sky.

Spiritual Practice

Fasting is pausing or stopping certain habits to focus on what’s essential and true. “Like Jesus in the desert, fasting connects to our bodies as we learn to sit with discomfort,” says the Rev. Kristin Kaulbach Miles. “Instead of filling a void, we make space. And in that stillness, we pay attention to what’s holy — what’s healing. Holiness brings us back to unity with God and with one another.”

Reflection Questions

Take a Moment to Wonder

• How does the temptation for power — or control — show up for you?
• Where in your life might you release control?
• How might you make space to sit with discomfort this Lent?