Text for today is from Matthew 4:11, Mark 13b and Luke 4:13
Mat 4:11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. Mar 1:13b …and the angels ministered unto him. Luk 4:13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. Matthew and Mark tell us that when Jesus was finished being tested that: Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. This period of testing was over, Jesus had proven Himself worthy and loyal, and angels were sent to minister to Him and attend to His needs. The Greek word used for “minister” means to serve or wait upon, to supply food and necessities of life, to take care of the poor and sick. This is not the last time God sends angels to minister to Jesus. God will also send angels to us to minister to us when we need them. I just wanted to bring that to your attention as angels are real and are referred to many times in the Old and New Testament. Luke ends on a more ominous note saying: And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Meaning Satan wasn’t done. He was just waiting until a more opportune time to try again. The departure of the Devil doesn’t mean that Jesus was never tempted by the Devil again, but He withstood the tests and defeated Satan’s attempts to derail Him at the beginning of His ministry. The information about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness could have only come from Jesus Himself, as no one else was present. At some point during His ministry, He must have told His disciples of this encounter. Within the Gospels, there are other instances when Jesus referred to encounters with or temptations of Satan.
Jesus defeated Satan during His encounter with the tempter in the wilderness, and even though Satan continued to try to defeat Jesus throughout His ministry, Jesus remained ever loyal to His Father even unto death on the cross; through that loyalty He defeated Satan once and for all. There are a few take aways from this account of Jesus’ temptations besides the three main ones—to trust God to protect and provide for us, not to tempt the Lord & not to worship any other gods. However, as you meditate on these temptation passages more, I’m sure the Holy Spirit will show you even more things but here are a few to think about to get you started.
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Test for today is from Matthew 4:8-10 and Luke 4:5-8
Matthew Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Luke Luk 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. Luk 4:6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. Luk 4:7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. Luk 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. With the next temptation, the devil tried a different tactic—an appeal to power, an invitation to worship him, and a direct assault on the first commandment. Jesus replied with Deuteronomy 6:13, declaring the Lord is the only one worthy of worship. The significance of what worshipping Satan would have meant to Jesus and to us. Satan’s condition was that the Son renounce His allegiance to the Father. He is to bow down and worship Satan, an act that would not require just a momentary action, but that would change His life. Often the temptation is described as if all Jesus had to do was hit His knees once and all would be His. But the challenge represents a defection from God, and such a defection would have lifetime consequences. Jesus was to give the devil the respect and honor due to God alone. For by bowing down before the devil, Jesus would be accepting his authority and sovereignty. The meaning of the offer was clear: if Jesus would give Satan His heart and bow down before him, Satan would let Jesus rule. Once again Jesus responded with Scripture: “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” (Matthew 4:10.) Jesus’ response makes it clear that His loyalty was to His Father, for He is the Lord your God, and as such He alone deserves worship and service. Satan offered power, authority, and the glory of the world if Jesus would worship and serve him. By rejecting this offer, Jesus showed Himself faithful to His Father and His Father’s plan to redeem the world. He showed Himself a loyal Son who wasn’t interested in worldly power, who chose to walk the path God placed Him on, who would give Himself for the salvation of humanity. He showed Himself a Son worthy of the task before Him. He withstood the temptations, He passed the tests. While the Devil offered Jesus this world and all its glory, by choosing His Father, Jesus was given so much more. He later was able to say: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18.) Had He chosen Satan’s authority on earth, He wouldn’t have heaven’s authority as well and would have salvation and authority over the devil. Who do you choose Satan or Jesus? Be careful not to bow down to Satan and his offer to give you riches, power and pleasures. Those things are only temporary. Because Jesus chose to stay loyal to God and not bow down to Satan and to finish His mission, He now has power over Satan. And if we have invited Jesus to live in our hearts we also have authority and power over Satan. Choose wisely. Text for today is from Matthew 4:5-7 and Luke 4:9-12
Matthew Mat 4:5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, Mat 4:6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Mat 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Luke Luk 4:9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: Luk 4:10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: Luk 4:11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Luk 4:12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. The Devil’s challenge for Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, stating that if He did, God would protect Him. Satan took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem. We’re not told how the Devil took Jesus to the temple, only that He did—perhaps in a vision. The Greek word pterugion translated as pinnacle, or in some versions as wing, was used figuratively when speaking of the edge or high and visible part of the temple. No one knows exactly what part of the temple the pinnacle was, but many commentators believe it was a part of the temple complex with a steep drop into the Kidron Valley, which is a deep ravine. The “highest point of the temple” was the Royal Porch, towering over the Kidron Valley with a drop of 450 feet. Satan challenged Jesus to prove His identity by casting Himself down and calling angels to save Him. Satan even quoted the Old Testament himself to enhance his argument. The Devil said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down…” He will command his angels concerning you, and On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Jesus recognized this as a presumptuous test of God that showed an insolent lack of faith. He recited Deuteronomy 6:16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God and Satan left Him alone. Why did the Devil bring Jesus to the temple, and why the challenge to throw Himself off it? He was challenging Jesus to put God’s protection to the test, to “force” God to do a miracle to protect Him, instead of simply trusting in God’s promises. Since the temple was considered to be the dwelling place of God on earth, the implication was that the close proximity of God should make such an action safe for Jesus. The Scripture citation made it clear that God’s angels would protect Him. Satan’s argument was that since God would protect Him, Jesus should go ahead and jump. If He did, people in and around the temple would see that God had protected Him and He would have instant recognition, fame, and glory. Jesus understood that this was an attempt to get Him to test God’s protection. What Satan is suggesting is that Jesus should needlessly thrust himself into danger; he would be creating a hazard where none previously existed. And for what? To compel God to save him miraculously. It is a temptation to manipulate God, to create a situation not of God’s choosing in which God would be required to act as Jesus dictated. The subtle inference in this temptation was that perhaps God wouldn’t protect Him. To put God to such a test would be unbelief pretending to be faith. The nature of this temptation is that it would dare God on the basis of “faith” to supernaturally save his Son after he plunged off the top of the temple. Jesus recognized the fine line between trusting God for the needs of his life and challenging him to rescue him from artificially created difficulties. The former would be an act of faith, the latter an evil challenge and dare placed before God. Jesus didn’t object to Satan’s use of Scripture, but He quoted another passage which showed that the Devil’s use of it was faulty. That passage is Deuteronomy 6:16, which in full says: You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. The event which this verse refers to was when the people of Israel in the desert complained to Moses that there was no water to drink. Moses said, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” God told Moses that He would stand before him at the rock at Horeb and He instructed Moses to strike the rock and water would come out of it. Moses called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” (Exodus 17:2–7.) Testing the Lord in the manner the Devil was suggesting would have been a lack of faith on Jesus’ part, just as it was a lack of faith on the part of Israel. Jesus trusted His Father; He didn’t need to challenge or test Him. He had no need of a miraculous manifestation of God’s love and protection. He was committed to a life of faith and obedience and had the peace and assurance that His life was in the hands of His loving Father. One more thing besides the excellent lesson on trusting God for our protection and using God’s word to combat the enemy I want to point out the roles angels play in our lives. They also are real and one of their jobs is to protect us. However, we are instructed here not to test God in such a way that it challenges God to rescue us from artificially created difficulties but to recognized the fine line between the two and trusting God for our needs. One is an evil challenge and a dare placed before God and the other an act of faith. Again, the angels are real and they will protect us according to God’s Word. Luke’s and Matthew’s versions are much longer and are similar to each other, with some variation. They both tell of three specific temptations and the outcome of each, though they reverse the order of the second and third temptations.
Text for today is from Matthew 4:1-4 and Luke 4:1-4 Matthew 4:1-4 Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Mat 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. Mat 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Luke 4:1-4 Luk 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness Luk 4:2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. Luk 4:3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. Luk 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. While temptation comes in many forms, it always has one thing in common. Temptation appeals to our fallen desires—for comfort, pleasure, power, love. And Satan (the “roaring lion” mentioned in 1 Peter 5:8) knows exactly when to pounce. Before Jesus began His public ministry, the Holy Spirit led Him into the desert for a time of solitude, fasting, and prayer. When Satan appeared, Jesus was physically weak and hungry, but He was spiritually full. With his first temptation, Satan questioned Jesus’ identity as God’s Son and the Father’s willingness to provide basic care. Satan appealed to Jesus’ hunger and challenged Him to take matters into His own hands. Jesus responded by reciting Deuteronomy 8:3, which prioritizes obedience to God over physical needs. His first temptation is to turn stones into bread: And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” In the original Greek, the phrase “if you are” can be understood to mean “since you are,” so Satan is most likely acknowledging that Jesus as the Son of God has the ability to command the stones to become loaves of bread. Both the challenge and Jesus’ response assumes that He could do it if He wished. Why was this a test, and what would have been wrong with Jesus turning the stones into bread? This had to do with how Jesus would conduct His ministry, what kind of Messiah He would be, and how He would use the power and authority that He had. Would He use His power for His own ends, to serve His personal needs? Or would He use it according to His Father’s will, and in submission to His Father? Would the One who was going to teach His disciples to trust God to give them their daily bread also trust His Father to do the same when He was famished? Would He trust that God would feed Him as He'd fed Israel for forty years in the wilderness? The Greek root word translated as temptation, tempted, and tempter has the meaning here and in many other places in the New Testament of testing someone in order to determine or demonstrate their worth or faithfulness, to prove them. It’s seen as a trial or test. Upon being baptized and commissioned, Jesus was tested. His tests were similar to the tests that the nation of Israel in the Old Testament experienced during escape from Pharaoh and their forty years in the desert.
This test from the Devil was to see if Jesus, God Son, would trust Him, or would He take matters into His own hands? The decision would shape His ministry and determine the kind of Messiah He would be. This was the test before Him. Jesus chose to trust and His response to the Devil was to quote from Deuteronomy 8 that “man doesn’t live by bread alone” but by every word that comes from God’s mouth. This made a statement that, as God’s only begotten Son, He would do what Israel hadn’t done. He would trust God. He would conduct Himself according to God’s will and direction. He wouldn’t take things into His own hands. If food was to be given to the Son, who had been led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, then He would trust the Father to supply it, rather than working independently. He wouldn’t challenge God’s care nor reject His dependence on His Father. He committed Himself to letting the Father reign in His life. Think About it: What will you do? Have you committed yourself to Jesus letting Him reign in your life and trusting Him for all your needs and in every situation? In the last post we read in Mark 1:13 Jesus was tempted of Satan. Before we go on any farther, we need to know that the Devil is real and a bit more about him. We also need to know how we got into such a bad state and we need to know what Gods’ plan is to fix it. So this post will be a little longer to briefly explain those things. Please remember this is only a brief explanation to help you understand the importance of the time Jesus spent in the wilderness with Satan as we go along in our Bible reading more explanation will be given.
Where did Satan come from originally? Isaiah 14 & Ezekiel 28 give us a picture of Lucifer's existence in the beginning as God originally created him & his rebellion & fall. We know that God didn't make Satan as he is today because God made everything in the beginning & it was all good (Genesis 1:10,12,18,21,25; James 1:17). The Bible describes Lucifer before his expulsion & fall from Heaven in Ezekiel 28:12-16. In this passage the Bible refers to Lucifer as a created being, “an anointed cherub," not as a human being: "Thou was perfect in all thy ways from the day that THOU WAST CREATED, till iniquity was found in thee" (Ezekiel 28:15). What was his sin? According to that scripture Lucifer was lifted up in pride because of his great beauty. Because of his pride, he wanted to become like God & ascend into Heaven and usurp God's authority. The Bible talks about Lucifer's iniquity in Isaiah 14:13-14, where God tells us Lucifer's evil intentions based on his five declarations or "I wills”. For thou hast said in thine heart, I WILL ascend into heaven, I WILL exalt my throne above the stars of God: I WILL sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I WILL ascend above the heights of the clouds; I WILL be like the most High. Then in Ezekiel 28:16-18, notice how God responded to Lucifer's five "I wills" with five "I wills" or declarations of His own. When God declared, "I will", He decreed righteous judgment for Lucifer's rebellion, which resulted in Lucifer's expulsion & fall from Heaven. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, & thou hast sinned: therefore I WILL cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: & I WILL destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I WILL cast thee to the ground, I WILL lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, & I WILL bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. We see Lucifer's expulsion & fall from Heaven in these passages in Isaiah 14:12 & Ezekiel 28:16-17, & Jesus also described it in Luke 10:18 and Rev.12:4,9. At this time Satan instead of being an honored subject of God’s he became the arch-enemy of God. And has tried to usurp God’s authority ever since. How Satan took possession of this world God made the world in the beginning & saw that everything was good (Gen. 1:10,2,8,21,25,31; James 1:17). God made man & gave man dominion over the work of His hands. That means in the beginning Adam was good & had the dominion over this world, & in that sense, Adam was made the "god" of this world. But when Adam & Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened & they knew good & evil (Gen. 3:6-7). God had told Adam & Eve that in the day they ate of the fruit, they would die. Adam & Eve didn't die physically; they died spiritually. When they died spiritually, they were cut off or separated from God. By that act of disobedience, Adam forfeited his dominion on this earth to the devil. God gave the kingdoms of this world to Adam originally, but when Adam sinned & disobeyed God, he forfeited his right to them, so Satan took dominion of them. We know Satan didn't have authority over the world before Adam gave it to him, because Satan fell from the dominion he did have. (Ezek. 28:16-18; Luke 10:18). Adam had the dominion & authority over the earth originally, but he delivered it into Satan's hands when he disobeyed God's commandment (Rom. 5:14). That's when Satan became the god of this world. This will help you understand when we continue reading the bible texts about Jesus’s temptations from Satan. If Satan didn't have the authority over the kingdoms of this world, then the Bible is lying when it says that Jesus was tempted by the devil (Luke 4:2). If Satan had no authority & no real dominion over the kingdoms of the earth, this wouldn't have been a real temptation to Jesus. But the Bible calls it a temptation: "And Jesus ... was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days, TEMPTED OF THE DEVIL ..." (Luke 4:1,2). Therefore, Satan did have authority & dominion on the earth because he could tempt Jesus with it. Jesus’ Mission and role. So Satan took Adam's place of dominion & authority on the earth. But that is not the end! God sent Jesus to the earth to redeem mankind & to restore to man his lost dominion & authority on this earth. As man exercises the authority he has been given in Christ, he fulfills God's plan & will upon the earth. As we will see in later posts Jesus did fulfill His mission. He died for our sins and made a way for us to be redeemed back to the original way God made us, and won the victory over Satan. All those who believe that can partake of that by inviting Jesus to dwell in us. If we do that we have Jesus living in us and that also gives us access to all His authority and power. Also this will be explained in more detail in later posts. But, until Adam's lease runs out—that is, until time as we know it comes to an end & Satan receives God's final judgment—Satan has authority to be here and we have to deal with his influence. But if we have become children of God it is much easier to see Satan’s lies. However, Satan knows his time on this earth is running out, & he knows his impending torment & doom are prophesied in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 20:10) so he is upping his game. Satan’s nature, character & names Since we have established that Satan is the God of this world it would profit us to know a little more about him to help us not to be deceived by him. Here are some more Scriptures regarding Satan's nature & character. The biblical names given to Satan also reveal his nature, character, & also show his realm of authority on this earth.
Text for today is Mark 1:12-13.
Mar 1:12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. Mar 1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, God’s voice proclaimed that Jesus was His Son. At that time, Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit for His ministry of preaching the kingdom of God and fulfilling the task that His Father had given him—bringing salvation to humanity. All three of the synoptic Gospels tell of a period of testing which Jesus experienced right after His baptism. Mark gives the shortest rendition in the above text Mark 1:12-13. The word “wilderness” means a land that is basically wild, nonarable, and sparsely inhabited or unfit for permanent settlement. It may be desert, mountains, forest, or marsh. In the Near East the wilderness is characteristically dry, desolate, and mostly rock and sand. It is rough, uneven, and interlaced with dry watercourses. The English word wilderness serves to translate various Hebrew (and also Greek) words: among others, midbaµr, “a place for the driving of cattle,” designating steppe, land burned by summer heat, generally wasted rocky and sandy land with minimal rainfall, in which only nomadic settlements were found; jeschimon, primarily the uninhabited land on both sides of the Jordan north of the Dead Sea; and arabah, which when used with an article refers to the land on both sides of the Jordan on its further way to the Gulf of Aqaba, but also to any dry stretch of land. Wilderness in the Bible thus designates both mountainous regions and plains that after rainfall can be used as pastures. The Holy Spirit, which descended and remained on Jesus at the time of His baptism, (John 1:32) had led Him into the wilderness for a time of testing. This tells us that Jesus being exposed to temptations was not due to anything He had done wrong, but was the direct result of God’s leading. The wilderness was His pre-ministry testing ground, where the Devil tried to deflect Him from doing His Father’s will. Jesus’ fasting for forty days was reminiscent of the fasts of Moses and Elijah. Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 34:28.) Also in Deuteronomy 9:9 it says, When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. And Elijah said, arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. (1 Kings 19:8.) Another thing to take note of is that Jesus was tempted by Satan. Jesus speaks of the devil many times in the gospels. The Devil or Satan is real! He is the arch-enemy of God and any true believers. Again, the devil is real and is constantly tempting us as well so we have to be careful not to be deceived by the devil. In the next few posts we will see how Jesus handled the enemy’s temptations by using the word of God. Text for today is from John 1:29-34.
John’s account Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Joh 1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. Joh 1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. Joh 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. Joh 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. Joh 1:34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. John the Baptist had declared previously that one who was mightier would come after him, (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7–8; Luke 3:16) and now that mighty one is on the scene. After Jesus receives John’s baptism, a supernatural event occurs, one which changes Jesus’ life dramatically. As He prays, He sees the heavens open and hears God’s voice. Mark and Luke tell us that the voice is speaking directly to Jesus, “You are my beloved Son,” while Matthew writes that the voice said “This is my beloved Son,” which could seem to indicate that others heard the voice, and presumably also saw the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus. Generally speaking, commentators see this event as a private one—that after His baptism, Jesus alone saw the heavens open and heard the voice. They consider that Matthew expresses it the way he does because he is speaking to the reading audience. It’s possible that John the Baptist may have seen the same vision, or had another vision of the Spirit descending on Jesus, as the fourth Gospel says: And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:32–34) The Spirit of God coming upon the Messiah is expressed in Old Testament scriptures: There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:1–2) It was on this day, when He was baptized, that God’s Spirit and anointing came and remained upon Jesus. The fact that the Spirit descended upon Jesus is the key point being made here, even if the connection with symbolism of the dove isn’t crystal clear. God’s Spirit moving and empowering Jesus is the prime significance of the baptism. Besides the Spirit descending, a voice spoke from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11) The beloved son with whom God is well pleased is reflected in two Old Testament verses: I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you,” (Psalm 2:7) and Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1) The first verse focuses on the messianic designation of sonship, and the second relates to the servant figure in Isaiah. The combination of Jesus’ sonship including both His messianic role and His servanthood is woven throughout the Gospels The voice is an affirmation of who Jesus was and a commendation that God was pleased with the silent years. No doubt this commendation brought comfort during the crises and discouragements that Jesus experienced in His ministry. The significance of the events which occurred at the time of Jesus’ baptism, and the change it brought in His life from that point on, can be understood as God anointing Him as the Messiah and equipping Him to be His messenger and the Savior of the world. God’s voice from heaven proclaims Jesus as His Son, thus identifying their relationship as Father and Son. Jesus is now ready to begin His ministry, empowered by the Holy Spirit—to preach the kingdom of God, to be God’s presence on earth, and to fulfill the messianic task given to Him by His Father in order to redeem humanity. After reading about how Jesus was baptized by John and hearing John’s first-hand witness you may be wanting to repent and to receive Jesus into your heart. If so you can say: Dear Jesus, thank You for coming in to the world in the flesh so that I can become a child of God. I repent and ask You to forgive me of my sin. I receive and believe that You took my place to save me and to redeem me and to make me a child of God. Please baptize me with fire and the Holy Ghost. Amen. If you are not ready to sincerely say that prayer keep reading. This is just the beginning of Jesus ministry. He spends the next three years teaching this message and preaching the kingdom of Heaven and many other things to show and prove that He is who He says He is. Text for today is from Luke 3:21 and Mark 1:9-11.
Luke’s account: Luk 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, Luk 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. Luk 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, … John the Baptist is the big story these days, and news of his preaching and baptizing has reached not only Jerusalem and the province of Judea, but has spread to Galilee as well. Jesus has heard about the prophet in the wilderness, and He goes from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. (Mat3:13-19.) Luke tells us that He is about thirty years of age. (Luke 3:23a) Luke includes an additional point about Jesus praying: When Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21–22) Mark’s account Mar 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. Mar 1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: Mar 1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Mark’s Gospel tells us that when Jesus came out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open. (Mark 1:10) The concept of the heavens being opened indicates a visionary experience, as seen elsewhere in Scripture.
Each of the Gospel writers tells us about Jesus’ baptism in the context of their particular Gospel, but they all make the same important points about what happened that day. We will start with Matthew’s account.
Text for today is from Matthew 3:13-14. Mat 3:13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. Mat 3:14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? Mat 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. In Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus came to John to be baptized, we’re told that John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:14–15) John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, a call to those who had sinned to confess and change their ways; yet Jesus, who was sinless, came to John to be baptized. Matthew tells us that John had an awareness of Jesus’ greater role and indicated that He was the greater one to come. He knew that Jesus didn’t need his baptism and tried to prevent it. It’s as if he was saying, “I need Your baptism of the Spirit and of fire, but You don’t need my baptism of repentance in water.” Nevertheless, Jesus expressed that they should get on with the baptism, as it was proper to do so to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus partook of John’s baptism, not because He needed to repent, but so that He could identify Himself with sinners and through that identification become their substitute. Scripture tells us:
By partaking of John’s baptism, Jesus was affirming His solidarity with sinners, making Himself one with them in the process of salvation. Jesus had no sin and therefore no need of forgiveness. So why was Jesus baptized? Isaiah 53:12 says of Jesus, “He was numbered with the transgressors.” This came to fulfillment on the cross, but it began at the outset of His ministry. Jesus lined up with everyone else to be baptized, identifying Himself with our sin and our need to be forgiven. He is taking the place of the sinner, looking forward to what He later called “a baptism that I am to be baptized with, ”which was His death, burial and resurrection. Text for today is from Luke 3:19-20.
Luk 3:19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, Luk 3:20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison. This part of the story we’ll read about later how John is actually put in jail and is beheaded but since this is mentioned here I’ll give a little background why John and Herod were at odds. Herod Antipas had been married to the daughter of a Nabatean king when he traveled to Rome in 29 AD. During the journey, he stopped to visit his brother Herod Philip, and while there fell in love with Herodias, Herod Philip’s wife. She agreed to marry him, provided he divorce his first wife. His wife became aware of the proposal and returned to her father, who later retaliated by declaring war against Antipas. Antipas’ marriage to his brother’s wife caused John the Baptist to publicly criticize Antipas, resulting in John being arrested and eventually beheaded at the behest of Herodias’ daughter Salome. We read of Antipas in relation to Jesus three different times in the Gospels. When he heard about Jesus’ ministry, he thought Jesus was a resurrected John the Baptist. When Jesus was making His last journey to Jerusalem and was in Antipas’ territory, some Pharisees warned Him that he should leave, as Antipas wanted to kill Him. Jesus said to “go tell that fox” that He would continue His ministry for a while and then would go to Jerusalem to die. Lastly, during Jesus’ final day, Jesus was sent by Pilate to Antipas for judgment. Antipas was in Jerusalem for Passover, and since Jesus came from Antipas’ territory, Pilate sent Him to Antipas. Pilate had damaged his relationship with Antipas because he had killed some of his subjects. His sending Jesus to Antipas in some way made reconciliation between Pilate and Antipas possible. Herod Antipas, along with his wife Herodias, was eventually banished by the emperor Caligula to the foothills of what today is southern France. Rule of his territory was given to Caligula’s friend and Antipas’ nephew, Agrippa. |
AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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