This past Sunday we began our series on the Life of Christ, focusing our study on passages that appear in 3-4 of the Gospels. We identified these passages as events and teachings of Jesus that were important enough that most, if not all, of the Gospel writers were inclined to include them. We began our study with the preparation for Jesus' ministry-specifically the ministry of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus, the temptation of Jesus, and the beginning of His ministry.
However, we call the Gospels by their name for a reason. Though each author's intent and context may be different, they are primarily narratives of the life of Jesus that are provided to shed insight into the good news associated with Jesus' death and resurrection. Everything in these books points to the Gospel of Jesus as shown through these two primary events in His life. And so, we saw the seeds of the Gospel in these four accounts: John the Baptist's pointing to the Messiah has the seeds of the Gospel message that the chosen one of God would be both fully God and fully human; the baptism of Jesus holds the seeds of the Gospel message that through Jesus' death and resurrection all our sins and their punishment are placed on Him so that we might be redeemed; the temptation of Jesus holds the seeds of the Gospel message that our bondage to sin has been broken; and the beginning of Jesus' ministry holds the seeds of the Gospel message that he is going to renew all of creation.
I wanted to focus a bit more on the temptation of Jesus. What was it that Satan was after when he tempted Jesus? And do those temptations have any bearing upon the way that Satan tempts us?
In the first temptation, Satan tempts Jesus to turn the stones to bread. What exactly would be so wrong with this? On its surface, it would not seem to be so bad. However, when we understand that the purpose of God's will was for Jesus to be humbled as a servant-to truly take on full humanity-we begin to see the craftiness of what Satan is attempting here. Jesus had willingly released powers that were rightly His as fully God so that He might be the perfect mediator for us. To turn the stones to bread for His own personal fulfillment would be to pick back up the powers that He had released and, in essence, turn His back on the will of God. I like how William Young describes the incarnation in The Shack-he says that its like a bird purposefully walking instead of flying. For Jesus to perform this miracle would have been for Him to fly again which was against the will of God.
In the second temptation, Satan tempts Jesus by suggesting that He show Himself to be chosen by God by throwing Himself from the temple pinnacle. Why not? God promises to not allow His foot to strike the ground. However, there is a subtlety to Satan's temptation. Jesus recognizes it for what it is. If we trust in God's promises, we don't put them to the test. Instead, we follow God through life believing that He will fulfill His promises in the time and manner that He chooses.
Finally, Satan tempts Jesus by showing Him all the powers of the earth that could be His if He simply will worship Satan. It's a simple and strong temptation-all the rule of the Davidic Messiah without any of the role of suffering servant. Again, Jesus recognizes this for what it is. Worship God alone.
I believe that each of these temptations remains similar to how Satan tempts us today. Doesn't he still often tempt us to use the power of the Spirit rather than be a servant? Doesn't he still often tempt us to test God instead of trusting Him? Doesn't he still often tempt us to pursue the rule instead of the suffering? In subtle often indistinguishable ways, Satan is still using these tactics against us.
But the joy of this passage is that there is victory through Jesus! When through faith we have associated ourselves with Him (even as He has associated Himself with us!) we are placed in Him and can then take on the mantle of His ministry and proclaim to others the kingdom of heaven.
Devotions for 9/14-9/20
· Mark 1:1-8
· Mark 1:9-11
· Mark 1:12-15
· Luke 3:1-18
· Luke 3:21-22
· Luke 4:1-15