2012-12-14
Hi There Dear Ones,
Last week, we looked at the answer to these questions: How are the dead raised and with what kind of body will they come? And the answers were found in 1 THESS 4: 13-17 and 1 COR 15: 42-54. Please review these passages if you don’t remember them. Today, I’m directed by the Holy Spirit to take a deeper look at Christ’s behavior at the time of his 40-day temptation in the wilderness. If nothing has convinced us of the power of God’s word spoken by the righteous, this will.
Please read MT 4: 1-11 [MK 1: 12-13; LK 4: 1-13]. Now, let’s look at the important information contained within these passages. Both Matthew and Luke agree that it is the Holy Spirit who leads Christ into the wilderness for his important meeting with the devil. That would lead me to believe that this temptation in the wilderness is definitely God’s plan for His righteous reasons. That Christ fasted for the 40 days as this was going on, presents the information that He was physically weakened and hungry, but the strength of God’s word remained a constant. IS 40: 6-8 gives us Scriptural evidence. “A voice says, ‘Cry out.’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.’” We already know from RO 3: 23 that all mankind are sinners, just as the devil who imparted sinfulness to them.
At first, the devil tempts Jesus to convert stones to bread in MT 4: 3 [LK 4: 3]. Christ’s response comes from citing DT 8: 3, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” In LK 4: 6-7 the devil then utters a rather shocking lie, “I will give You all their authority and splendor, for it [authority over the kingdoms] has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will be yours.” Let’s look at this more closely. In DN 4: 17, a true statement and the key verse for the book of Daniel in the OT, we learn, “The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that He, the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.’” It was made at the time that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia was being humbled by God by being made to live as an animal for seven years. Now, we must look at the issue of the heart of this temptation, i.e. who Christ is to worship. The Father has made this crystal clear in EX 20: 3-4, “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters below.” And here the devil dares Christ to worship him!
Returning to MT 4: 5-6, “Then the devil took Christ to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written…” And the devil has the temerity to use God’s words against Christ by citing PS 91: 11-12. “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your feet against a stone.” I’m finding this ironic that the devil mentions striking your feet against a stone, because Christ Himself has been referred to as a “Stone of stumbling.” IS 8: 14b-15 (a reference to God), “…but for both houses of Israel He will be a Stone that causes men to stumble and a Rock that makes them fall, and for Jerusalem He will be a trap and a snare. Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured.” This refers to the idolatry and sinful behavior of those who rebel against Him. If one looks at 1 PET 2: 4-10, we again see Christ referred to as “the living Stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him…” Now one can see just how boldly evil the devil really is.
In MT 4: 7, Christ replies citing DT 6: 16, “Do not test the Lord your God…” Again, the devil shows Christ the kingdoms viewed from their high point and tempts Him to worship him. Christ’s reply cites DT 6: 13, “Away from Me, Satan. For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” In MT 4: 11, we learn, “Then the devil left, and the angels came to attend to Him.” However, in LK 4: 13, “When the devil had finished all the tempting, he left Him until an opportune time.” This tells us that God is in control of just how long and how much Christ would be tempted at this time, and that the devil would tempt Him again later. If one asks why all this is so important, it is because we now understand better HE 4: 15, “For we do not have a High priest Who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have One Who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” Moreover, we see the power of God’s word when used by the righteous. We can truly appreciate what we see in 1 PET 1: 18-19, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect.”
PRAYER: O Lord, by taking the time to examine the temptation of the Lord Jesus in the wilderness the way we have, we can now better appreciate some of what He went through to obey You and become the Paradigm of perfection in faithfulness to You for us. Moreover, we are beginning now to understand the power of Your word given to us. PS 119: 105, “Your word is a lamp unto our feet, a light for our path.” From 2 TIM 3: 16-17, You taught us that it is “God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” You are telling us to know it and live it! While this isn’t easy, because we must go against our sinful natural selves, it is indeed possible. What we must do is to spend time with Your word every day. As the Psalmist writes in PS 119: 24 and 93, we must understand what it is and pledge to do what You require with it. “Your instructions give me pleasure; they are my advisors…I will never neglect Your precepts, because by them You have preserved my life.” This is very powerful, Dearest Abba, and we will strive to spend our lives knowing Your word and living by it. How very impacted we should be with this reconnaissance, found in JN 1: 1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” When we put together all these Scriptures against one another, we see Your amazing continuity and truth. Thank You, Father, and let us end this prayer offering You much-deserved praise! In Christ, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’ve been directed to begin with JAS 4: 17 and move on to beginning a new segment of “Our Covenant” messages called “When We Are Tempted.” In the meanwhile, it’s important to realize that a connection between God’s word and prayer exists. The former is Him speaking to us as the community of believers in Christ. The latter is His chance to speak to us as individual believers, and then for us to have a chance to speak to Him. We all too often jump right into our requests for Him. But our God has shown repeatedly that He loves for us to begin with expressions of our adoration of Him and rehearsal of His history with us. Moses would often mention things that God has done first, then tie them in with His own situation, as in his prayer to God for the people after the first set of the Ten Commandments were shattered in the face of Moses’ discovery of them worshipping the golden calf idol, in EX 34: 12-17. God loves to know if we understand His word and can see its application to our lives. He did this often with David, and we can see it in David’s great confession in PS 51: 1-11. His humility before the Lord was a great asset to David, one that we all need in our lives. And, Dear Ones, I testify that the Lord listens to our prayers and answers them, not only from PS 116:1, but also from my own personal experience. Rest assured that He loves each of you and wants you to know His word and live it. And if we do this, we will be blessed by Him. Praise, glory, honor, and thanks be to our Lord!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24:15
© Lynn Johnson 2012. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives