Jesus: A Man of the Spirit, A Man of the Word, A Man of God
Historical Note: The story of the temptations takes place in summer or autumn of A.D. 29 in the wilderness of Judah. Christ was just inaugurated by the Holy Spirit to preach the good news. Considering that the author, Matthew, who was Jewish is writing to Jews about a Jew (Jesus) it is interesting how he artistically composes this story. It was important to the Jewish audience that Jesus not only fought Satan face to face but also won, because in the Jewish mind set the only one that is able to fight Satan face to face and win was the Messiah. Proving Jesus Messiahship is the reoccurring motif in the book of Matthew. Another important thing to keep in mind is that Jesus was raised a Jew. He, too, memorized the Scriptures along with the rest of society. By the time the average Jewish boy turn 13 years of age, he could quote verbatim the first five books of the Old Testament. Also, it is interesting to note that Christ did not begin His ministry until after the Spirit came upon Him. The battle against Satan did not transpire until after the descent of the Spirit. The Bible gives no account of Jesus ever preaching or teaching the Word of God until after the Spirit's empowerment/enlightenment.
Transition: The Key Center: Matthew 4:10b
“For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
A Man of the Spirit (Matt. 4:1)
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
Exegesis: It appears that the sole purpose Christ was "lead" in the desert was to undergo the trials and temptation of the devil. It is possible that God was demonstrating the humanity of His Son by leading Him out in to desert to undergo and understand fully what the human experience and realities really are. This paragraph explicitly tells us that Satan tempted Jesus to sin. Jesus was fully man and therefore would also be operating in free will: the freedom to ability to create and originate His own thoughts and action capable of right or wrong decisions. Logic dictates that this temptation would not have happen if it were not possible for Him to sin. It was the Spirit of God that was leading Him! He committed himself to the leading of the Holy Spirit in His life.
Transition: The Key Center: Matthew 4:10b
“For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
A Man of the Word (Matt. 4:2-7)
2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" 7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Exegesis: The temptation to make bread out of stones was not the "lust of the flesh" as many maintain. For Christ to lust with His eyes would mean that He had a sinful nature (lust) to begin with, and the text does not seem to support such an allegation. The temptation lies in the nature of the devil's question. Satan said, "If you are the Son of God tell these stones to become bread" Satan was tempting Christ to prove His Kingship with a miracle and in the process fulfill His physical hunger. The nature of the temptation was to get Jesus to rely upon Himself rather than on His Father in heaven. It was this same kind of tempation/question that was hurled at Him later when He was on the cross (27:40). As Frank E. Gaebelein puts it, "In light of these parallels, we must conclude that Satan's aim was to entice Jesus to use powers rightly His but which He had voluntarily abandoned to carry out the mission of the Father." If Christ would improperly make bread that would have been inconstant with the will of the Father, he would have sinned. Jesus replied, "Man does not live by bread alone but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God;" in other words, His food was to do the will of His Father in heaven. His strength comes from the authority of God's Word and not His dietetic nature. The fact that Christ was hungry demonstrates that Jesus was human and had human desires (although not sinful desires). The phrase "if you are" dictates that the devil uses, tell us that Christ was the Son of God as a direct result the conditional "If" the devil affirms the opposite of the nature of the original question. The nature of the question would have been invalid and rejected if Christ was not the Son of God. Therefore, since Christ did not reject the question He Himself also affirms that He was the Son of God by His silence. The temptation was over the wiliness to depend upon His deistic nature to supply His physical food. This second temptation Satan quotes from Palms 91:11-12, in another attempt to persuade Jesus to prove His Deity. In the context of Palms Satan leaves out the phrase "to guard you in all your ways," it does not directly refer to the Messiah, rather it alludes to everyone who put their trust in the Lord he will guard that person with the angelic host. Satan is trying to get Christ to play His loyalty and identity ("if you are the Son of God") against God's promise to protection Him (all God's son). The "pride of life" theory is not possible because this, too, implies that Christ had the some sort of pride in the first place. Jesus was not tempted in pride; rather He was tempted to play His reliance and identity with the Father against depending upon His deistic nature and divine protection. Again Jesus (being a Man of the Word) uses the Word as His defense and quotations from Exodus 17:2-7 and/or Numbers 20:1-13, where the Israelite s "put the Lord to test" by demanding Him to produce water. Knowing that testing God caused His anger to burn with Israel so shall the same happen to Jesus if He would have given in to the temptation.
Historical Parallel: It is interesting to note that there is a historical parallel with the fasting that Jesus did in the desert and the wandering that Israel had in the desert for forty days (Deu. 8:3).
Application: Jesus was a man of the Word: In this Passage Matthew explicitly teaches that every time Satan attracted Christ, He (Jesus) used the Word against him (Satan); in the phrase, "It is written." "It is written: man does not live on bread along, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God." "It is written: do not put the Lord your God to the test." "It is written: worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." Jesus knew the Word and was able to use it to defeat Satan. Since Christ was our example, how much more should we learn to study the Word of God and be prepared to fight Satan and defend against heresies! To us as believers as it was with Christ the Word of God is our weapon in which to combat Satan and heresies. Hebrews 4:11 states, "For the Word of God is living and active, Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing the soul and spirit, joints and marrow's; it judges the thoughts and heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sights everything is uncovered and laid bare before Him whom we must give an account." Ephesians 6:10-18, also speaks of this idea. However in this passage one can not pray on the armor as if one were praying for God to bless someone. Rather, one lives in the armor as a continuous lifestyle; much like the idea that Matthew is eluding too. The point in Ephesians is that spiritual warfare must be accompanied by, enveloped by and encloaked by prayer. Notice verse 17, Take up the helmet of Salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The sword is the only offensive weapon mentioned in this passage.
Transition: The Key Center: Matthew 4:10b
“For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
A Man of the God (Matt. 4:8-11)
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" 11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Exegesis: The third temptation, or what is commonly referred to as the "lust of the eyes," was that if Jesus would bow down and worship Satan, he (Satan) would give Him (Jesus) all the kingdoms of the earth. This "lust of the eyes" implies again that Christ had a sinful nature (lust) in the beginning. The context suggests that Christ was tempted to take a shortcut from that which the Father sent Jesus to do. The mission that God sent Christ on was to fulfill the Messianic authority of divine rulership of the entire earth. Satan shows Christ the whole earth and all its glory. However it does not appear that Satan shows the sin that is in the world as well. For the third time the defense the Messiah gives is the Word of God ("for it is written") and demonstrates His complete devotion and allegiance to it. The point of the temptation was not the "lust of the eyes" as some conclude; Satan was attempting to get Christ side tracked into worshiping him (commit idolatry) and thus, avoid the suffering on the cross to attain the world rulership. Christ quotes from Deuteronomy 6:13 and than vanquishes Satan from him demonstrating His (Christ) authority over him (Satan). The really main point is that Jesus demonstrated complete allegiance to the Father when He said "For it is written worship the Lord your God and serve Him only!" He would worship anything else
Transition: The Key Center: Matthew 4:10b
“For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
The importance of this narrative to the individual Christian is quite clear. Christ being the example for the church today, we as the body should exemplify similar characteristics. We need to be a man of the Spirit, a man of the Word and a man of God. Jesus combated Satan with the same resources that Christians have today: The Word of God, faith in the Father, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. He also demonstrated the importance of the Holy Spirit in His life, how much more are we to do the same? Christ was a man of the Word: He not only knew the Word of God, He obeyed the Word of God. Christ, God's Son, having learned/memorized the Scriptures at a very young age demonstrates the importance of the Word in the His life, how much more are we to do the same? Jesus was a Man of God: He demonstrated complete allegiance to the Father when He said "For it is written worship the Lord your God and serve Him only!," how much more are we to do the same? We need to be a Man of the Spirit, a Man of the Word and a Man of God.
Man of the Spirit
- Communion/Prayer with the Spirit (Experience with the God)
- Into all Truth John 16:13, "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
- Relationship/Fellowship: Ephesians 5:17-20, "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
“For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
Man of the Word
- Hebrews 4:11, "For the Word of God is living and active, Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing the soul and spirit, joints and marrow's; it judges the thoughts and heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sights everything is uncovered and laid bare before Him whom we must give an account."
- Ephesians 6: 17, Take up the helmet of Salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The sword is the only offensive weapon mentioned in this passage.
- 2 Peter 1: 3, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him."
“For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
Man of the God
- Deuteronomy 30:11-16, Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
- Matthew 22:34-40, "Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
“For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
No comments:
Post a Comment