John 1, Matthew 4, Luke 4-5
Posted:  October 13, 2014

There are so many lessons to be learned in these passages that I don't know where to begin.    Did you see that Jesus used Scripture to fight back against the devil?   did you notice that the devil was using scripture as well, but twisting it to fit his own devices?   That's why 2 Timothy 2:15 says "study to present yourself as one approved, a workman who correctly handles the Word of Truth".    We must read, re-read and ponder on scripture.   Discuss it with your friends, listen to sermons and read study materials that will take you through the Bible.   Learn to correctly handle the Word, so that it will be useful and effective.  

I used to think that Jesus would have been at his weakest point when satan came to tempt him.  Having been 40 days without anything to eat, he would have to be starving.   But having spent some time in fasting, I can tell you that you gain spiritual strength while you lose physical strength.   If you say "no" to a desire for 40 days, at the end of 40 days you are more able to resist, not less able.   I have found that the first day of a fast is the hardest one when you are not eating.   Maybe day two as well....but the point is this:  it becomes a little easier to say "no" as time goes on.   The physical need to eat is there, but the learned response that says "I should eat something" is far less pronounced.

Luke 4 tells us that Jesus was rejected in his own hometown.   I noticed that the people were content to allow him to sit in "Moses seat", the place where whoever is selected to read the Scripture is seated.   They were content to allow him to say that He was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy.  But when He said that He wasn't going to do any miracles in His hometown, they rioted.   How dare He come home and not do miracles?   So....they tried to throw Him off a cliff.    Good grief.   Their actions are screaming that they aren't really disciples, only onlookers who want to see something fantastic happen.    The same thing is repeated in Luke 5 when Jesus heals a paralytic.  He tells the crippled man that his sins are forgiven, and the Pharisees and Teachers quickly understand that He is in fact saying that He is God.   But as soon as He tells the crippled man to walk, they quiet down...and everyone goes home saying "we have seen remarkable things here today".     Actually, far more remarkable was what they HEARD, but it seemed to have been overlooked because of the crippled man running around.

By the way, did you see that the crippled man is forgiven of his sins before he says a single word, or even acknowledges who Jesus is?    It would appear that the motivation for Jesus to forgive his sins was the sacrifice of the friends.   That's kind of interesting.

PR