February 29, 2012
Jesus is baptized. The Holy Spirit descends upon Him from heaven. God the Father says in an audible voice: "This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him."
Was there a celebration to mark the occasion? Matthew 4 tells us what happened next. THEN! "Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil." He didn't "find" himself in this situation, He was led into it by the Spirit himself. For forty days and nights Jesus ate nothing. All alone. Hungry. Miserable. Vulnerable. And then, at His weakest point, the devil attacks by tempting Him to assume God the Father's position by using scripture. "If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread." "IF." The devil was trying to create doubt. Trying to get Jesus to leave His man/servant role. Trying to get Jesus to focus on the "here and now" and not the eternal. Trying to manipulate the situation (tired, hungry, alone, vulnerable) for his own power and control. And Jesus answers him by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 - "A person does not live by eating only bread, but by everything God says."
The devil of course never stops with just one try, so he tries another approach. This time the devil takes him to the Temple, the very place God designed as a place for His people to go for forgiveness of sin and worship. And the devil takes Him there, to this holiest of holy places, and says to Him (quoting Psalm 91:11–12), "If you are the Son of God, jump down, because it is written in scripture: 'He has put his angels in charge of you. They will catch you in their hands so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.' " Again using the word "IF" and trying to cast doubt. Once again trying to get Jesus to leave His man/servant role by trying to get Jesus to focus on the "moment" instead of the eternal. As part of the Trinity, He was standing at the very place meant to honor Him. But that wasn't His role now. His role was to be obedient to the Father so His life would replace the Temple and He would become the Salvation—the Christ—for mankind.
Jesus answered the devil by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 - "Do not test the Lord your God."
The devil tries a third time. He took Jesus to the top of a high mountain and showed Him the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor. The devil, the usurping prince of this world, offered to "give" Jesus what was rightfully His if He would accept it right then from him instead of waiting to receive it from God. Jesus replied by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13 - "Go away from me Satan! It is written in Scriptures, 'You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.' "
When Jesus commanded the devil to leave—he left—and then angels came and took care of Jesus.
A couple of observations:
Jesus is baptized. The Holy Spirit descends upon Him from heaven. God the Father says in an audible voice: "This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him."
Was there a celebration to mark the occasion? Matthew 4 tells us what happened next. THEN! "Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil." He didn't "find" himself in this situation, He was led into it by the Spirit himself. For forty days and nights Jesus ate nothing. All alone. Hungry. Miserable. Vulnerable. And then, at His weakest point, the devil attacks by tempting Him to assume God the Father's position by using scripture. "If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread." "IF." The devil was trying to create doubt. Trying to get Jesus to leave His man/servant role. Trying to get Jesus to focus on the "here and now" and not the eternal. Trying to manipulate the situation (tired, hungry, alone, vulnerable) for his own power and control. And Jesus answers him by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 - "A person does not live by eating only bread, but by everything God says."
The devil of course never stops with just one try, so he tries another approach. This time the devil takes him to the Temple, the very place God designed as a place for His people to go for forgiveness of sin and worship. And the devil takes Him there, to this holiest of holy places, and says to Him (quoting Psalm 91:11–12), "If you are the Son of God, jump down, because it is written in scripture: 'He has put his angels in charge of you. They will catch you in their hands so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.' " Again using the word "IF" and trying to cast doubt. Once again trying to get Jesus to leave His man/servant role by trying to get Jesus to focus on the "moment" instead of the eternal. As part of the Trinity, He was standing at the very place meant to honor Him. But that wasn't His role now. His role was to be obedient to the Father so His life would replace the Temple and He would become the Salvation—the Christ—for mankind.
Jesus answered the devil by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 - "Do not test the Lord your God."
The devil tries a third time. He took Jesus to the top of a high mountain and showed Him the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor. The devil, the usurping prince of this world, offered to "give" Jesus what was rightfully His if He would accept it right then from him instead of waiting to receive it from God. Jesus replied by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13 - "Go away from me Satan! It is written in Scriptures, 'You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.' "
When Jesus commanded the devil to leave—he left—and then angels came and took care of Jesus.
A couple of observations:
- The devil's tactic to try and get Jesus as God/man to be self-sufficient instead of God-reliant is the #1 issue in all of our lives. The #1 issue is putting SELF before God, which is breaking commandments #1 and #2—PRIDE. He didn't choose some random temptation. He chose the very things that will trip every single one of us up if we don't respond the same way Jesus responded.
- The devil also appealed to SELF when he promised Jesus immediate satisfaction. How many times do we want to act immediately instead of waiting on the Lord?
Next Entry: Matthew 4:1–25 (Continued)
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