Saturday, November 30, 2013

Christmas Sheep

Many of us may be running around in that last-minute Christmas rush to get every last holiday task and gift crossed off our list. I often feel like the sheep in this "way cool" sheep video.  I’m sure you will enjoy it.  And don’t forget to read the commentary after!



Kudos to those imaginative, industrious and talented shepherds!  But I see two object lessons in this video for simple sheep like me.  It occurs to me that I can be just like those sheep.  Obviously, the lights on the sheep remind me of Christmas, so I thought about how easily this sheep is dazzled by the “stuff” of Christmas.  It’s easy to get caught up in all the materialism—to have this new outfit, or buy that new gadget, or the gotta-run-to-get-that-great-deal kind of frenzy at Christmas.  I think I must look like those silly sheep being herded around for the retailers benefit and delight.

But I also mean the “stuff” that makes our Christmases unique and special.  I know there are times that I have thought about various special traditions in the Mulberry household, and have whined, “But it just won’t be Christmas if I don’t ...”  “It won’t be the same if...”  Don’t get me wrong!  I do love Christmas—the lights, the songs, the celebrations, the atmosphere.  But that is just fleeting fluff.  The real point of Christmas is just Jesus and why He came to us that one solitary, quiet night in Bethlehem.  Jesus alone is all I need for Christmas; anything else is abundant blessing.

I see another lesson in this fun sheep video, and I mean no disrespect for these creative shepherds.  I realize how different they are than my Good Shepherd (John 10). Jesus calls some to pastor (literally to be under-shepherds)—to feed the flock.  But some shepherds (rather hirelings- John 10:12, 13) will not pay attention to wolves who will come to destroy the flock (Acts 20:27-31).  False teachers/shepherds who “make merchandise” (KJV) or exploit the sheep (2 Pet. 2:1-3) will draw the sheep away to themselves.  Those hirelings will use the sheep for their own self-interests and entertainment much like the shepherds in the video.

I’m just a simple sheep who needs a simple Gospel and the Great Shepherd, the One who laid down His life for me, purchased me with His own blood, and brought me into Covenant.  He’s the One who lives forever making intercession for me.  That’s the One I’m celebrating this Christmas!  He’s all I need.  I’m not running around,  I’m following Him!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Disciples



The Passage
John 1:35-51
"35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  

37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"

They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"

39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  

40 One of the two who heard John [speak], and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).

43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."

44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"

48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

A Little Background
Discipleship was not unique to Jesus.  The Greed word for “disciple” is mathetes, and means pupil or learner.  Ancient teachers attracted disciples who learned from and followed them.  Plato was a disciple of Socrates and Aristotle was a disciple of Plato.  Pious Jews discipled under well-known rabbis.   This passage tells us that John had disciples.  Jesus had many disciples who followed him throughout his ministry.  In Luke 10:1 Jesus sent out seventy disciples to minister.  However, Jesus Himself chose out twelve to follow Him.   Eleven of these were to be the foundational apostles[1] who would establish the teachings of Jesus in laying the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20).  We are here at the very beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, but we can take a peek, jumping ahead to the end of His life on earth in John 17.  In verse 6 we learn that it was God the Father Who gave these twelve disciples to Jesus.  Jesus prayed for them just minutes before His arrest, “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.”  John 17:6

Some Explanation
In John 1:35-37 we see John again pointing out Jesus, “Look!  The Lamb of God!”  In essence, John was releasing his disciples to follow Jesus.  One was Andrew; the other disciple is not named.  Since it is characteristic of the disciple/apostle John to anonymously reference himself in the Gospel of John, it is not out of bounds to consider that the second disciple of John the Baptizer here might be the Apostle John himself, the writer of this Gospel.  Since these two were John’s disciples, it is also reasonable that they would likely have witnessed Jesus’ baptism.  If so, they would also have witnessed heaven opening, the appearance of the Holy Spirit alighting on Jesus, and God’s voice from heaven proclaiming God’s identification and favor on Jesus.

They asked Jesus where He was staying and Jesus invited them to “come and see”.  I cannot help wondering how Jesus must have felt calling these first disciples to Himself.  There must have been some excitement as He shared about Himself with them that day.  They recognized that they had found the Messiah.  Andrew quickly found his brother, Peter, whom Jesus called by his Aramaic name, “Cephas”.  Both of these mean stone or rock.

The next day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee.  It seems like Jesus is purposeful in His intent—to find Philip.  Philip, in turn, found Nathaniel.  We often recognize Peter’s impetuous and bold nature.  But here we see a similar trait in Nathaniel.  Jesus commented that Nathaniel was unique among the Jews because he was a man who had no guile.  This did not mean he was sinless.  Jesus simply recognized that Nathaniel did not hide what was really in his heart.  He was forthright and honest.  He spoke exactly what he was thinking.  He said, “What? Can anything good come from Nazareth?”  Perhaps Nathaniel was thinking that the Messiah should come from Jerusalem or another more notable city.  Nazareth was small and insignificant. 

Jesus’ told Nathaniel that He saw him “under the fig tree”.  This is apparently a phrase used by rabbis to describe one who is in meditation on the word of God and prayer suggesting that Nathaniel was a devout man studying the Scriptures.  Nathaniel was amazed that Jesus saw him.  It isn’t clear why this amazed Nathaniel.  Perhaps the setting was not in an open place, but private.  The fact that Jesus “saw” him would indicate Jesus’ omniscient nature. 

In any case, Jesus told Nathaniel that it was a small thing—for Nathaniel would soon see “the heavens open and the angels ascending and descending on the Son of man”.   That phrase was in reference to Jacob’s dream of a ladder with angels going up and down between heaven and earth.  Most commentators see Jesus’ statement revealing that He would be the ladder that would provide the way to heaven.  Other commentators remind us of John 20:30, 31 and 21:25 which says that it is not possible to record all of Jesus’ works while on earth, and that it is possible that Nathaniel and the disciples may have seen such a vision. 

Observations and Insights
Discipleship isn’t often talked about today.  Mentorship is much trendier.  Is there a difference?  Are the two words synonymous?  (Before I answer that question, I want to say upfront that I am “old school” and the older I get, the more I often feel like an old fuddy-duddy!  So if you think I sound curmudgeonly, you are probably right.  But also, the older I get, the more I see how different the visible church today looks from 30 years ago.  Not all the changes are good, in my opinion.)

The results of a google search of “discipleship vs. mentorship” are interesting.  Most of the results stated either that discipleship and mentorship were basically the same thing or that mentorship was an extension of discipleship or “the next level” of discipleship.  In every case, any distinction made between the two was opinion or experience-based; no dictionary definition or technical source was given.    

Does it really matter?  Am I nit-picking?  The answer to that question is exactly the point that I want to make, so please bear with me while I take a slight rabbit trail; I hope you’ll soon see my point.   Thefreedictionary.com defines nit-picking as “minute, trivial, unnecessary, and unjustified criticism or faultfinding”.  That is exactly how we most often use that phrase.  But when I typed it (admittedly, perhaps the first time ever) I realized something interesting.  What is a nit, and why would anyone want to pick it?  Nits are nasty creatures—the egg or young of lice.  Eeeww!  I don’t know about you, but if I became infested with lice, I would certainly WANT someone to pick my nits!  (Sorry to be crass—but who wouldn’t want to get rid of every single disgusting creature?)  So how did the use of the term get twisted around?

English is a dynamic language.  Words change in meaning.  Sometimes those changes are incidental and inconsequential.  Sometimes the changes are purposeful and agenda-driven.  Social scientists use a concept known as the dialectical process to engineer change in human behavior.  The dialectical process is a way of bringing two opposing ideas into agreement.  In other words, it is possible to take a concept that once was wrong and gradually over time make it right.  In the dialectical process darkness becomes light, up becomes down.[2]

Back to discipleship...in my very unscientific google research, I noticed that none of the distinctions between discipleship and mentorship contained any Biblical reference.  Perhaps that is because the word mentor is not found in the Bible!  Mentor was a character from Greek mythology dating back many centuries before Christ.  Since Greece was at one time Israel’s oppressor, and our New Testament was written in Greek, why wouldn’t Jesus use this term to describe His relationship with His followers?  The answer may be rooted in pagan mythology.  The mythological goddess Athena transformed herself into an old man named Mentor in order to advise the character Telemachus in Homer’s Odyssey.  Wikipedia states, “Because of Mentor's relationship with Telemachus, and the disguised Athena's encouragement and practical plans for dealing with personal dilemmas, the personal name Mentor has been adopted in English as a term meaning someone who imparts wisdom to and shares knowledge with a less experienced colleague.  One website also sites An Encyclopedia of Psychic Science describing a spirit entity called Mentor who possessed a psychic medium in séances.  His purpose was to step in and explain areas of confusion. [3]  Both of these examples describe Mentor as a spirit guide.

The point that I am trying to get to is this: Jesus gave explicit instructions to His followers when He left earth, “Go and preach the Gospel.  Make disciples, teaching everything that I taught you.” (Mark 16:15; Matt. 28:19-20).  When believers look to someone to mentor them, they are looking to become like that leader; they want an example to follow.  In my own personal experience and in every case where mentorship is defined and encouraged, mentoring focuses on a human leader to model behavior.  But the Bible tells us to make disciples by teaching believers to be like Jesus.   I won’t say that the shift from the Biblical term discipleship to the secular term mentorship is agenda-driven; however, I do believe that the difference is significant and makes sheep more prone to error.[4]

The idea that mentorship is an extension or “the next level” of discipleship is equally troublesome.  Again, it has no basis in the Bible.  The lure of climbing up levels of spirituality is Gnostic in nature.  Jesus taught that those who would be the greatest in the kingdom would be servants.  There is no Biblical structure to ascend to levels of spirituality.  We are, of course, to grow in our faith, but that is not the same as levels of spirituality.

We would agree that certainly Jesus imparted wisdom and shared knowledge with His disciples.  There's nothing wrong with that.  But this old fuddy-duddy sees that the subtle dialectical shift over the years from discipleship to mentorship is making fewer converts and less Biblically-knowledgeable believers.  So, while my argument may sound like my fault finding is minute, trivial and unnecessary, I would rather think of it as picking out nits that are infesting the body of Christ. 

When I started reading a harmony of the Gospels, I began to enjoy a new faith in my walk with the Lord.  I began to love Jesus more.  I noticed areas that I had strayed in my thinking.  As I am reading through now this second time, I am enjoying sharing insights with you.  My goal is to focus on Jesus.  As we begin now to see Jesus’ ministry unfold, we also walk with Him in discipleship.  I don’t know about you, but my tail is wagging.  I’m ready to follow my Great Shepherd!

Next:   John 2:1-12


[1] ...with Paul following later.  Judas who betrayed Jesus hanged himself leaving eleven.

[2] For an excellent discussion of the dialectical process see:   http://tinyurl.com/diaprax

[3] http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/10/what-does-word-mentor-really-mean.html


[4] The writers at the herescope blog express that the term mentorship became popular in the late 90’s with the Promise Keeper’s movement.  Also during this time, the emphasis was less on Biblically-based teaching and preaching and more on experience.  Today’s most popular pastors preach leadership models rather than being under-shepherds who feed the flock.  One very famous pastor states that we should stop using the word “shepherd” to describe a pastor.  It is supposedly culturally irrelevant and was no longer used after the book of Acts.  This is patently false.  1 Peter 5:2 is a command to feed or shepherd the flock of believers.  There is a very dangerous shift happening in the church today.  See: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/may-online-only/cln70528.html 

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Who Are You?


The Passage
John 1:19-34
19Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"

20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."

21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?"

He said, "I am not."

"Are you the Prophet?"

And he answered, "No."

22 Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?"

23 He said: "I [am] 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD," ' as the prophet Isaiah said."

24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.

25 And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"

26 John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 "It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."

28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 "This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' 31 "I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."

32 And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 "I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 "And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."

A Little Background
...Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!   I like to say that the Old Testament is Jesus concealed.  The New Testament is Jesus Revealed.  In fact, the Bible speaks of Jesus and His atonement as a mystery—something hidden to those living before Jesus, but later revealed.  This quote of John’s is a perfect example of this, and why it is so important to understand the Old Testament in order to make sense of the New.  John isn’t using flowery speech in metaphor—he’s making a very specific claim about the Lord Jesus Christ.  This statement brings together two pictures of ancient Hebrew worship that identify Jesus. 

We have talked about the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and the tabernacle system of worship that God instituted during that time.  When Israel was in Egypt, they were severely abused as slaves by Pharaoh and the Egyptians.  God sent Moses to bring them out, but Pharaoh refused to allow them to leave.  God sent nine plagues on the Egyptians, but still they refused.  Finally, God instructed that the people were to kill a lamb and place its blood on the doorposts and lintels of their houses.  God would pacah or pass over (actually make a covenant with them in their homes) those who had the blood on their door.  But for those who refused, the angel of death would come into the home and kill the firstborn of each home.  The next morning there was not one home of all the Egyptians that did not have a death in the family.  Pharaoh and the Egyptians quickly expelled the Israelites from Egypt.  From that time on, God decreed that the Israelites remember that event in a feast known as Passover or “Pecach”.  1 Corinthians 5:7 tells us that Jesus is our Passover!  In fact he was arrested during the Passover feast.  All of this will come together in an amazing way as we read in the days ahead.  John the Baptizer was speaking prophetically that Jesus would be killed just like the Passover lamb (Behold the Lamb of God) to complete or fulfill Israel’s covenant with God.

Also as part of the tabernacle system was a day known as the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur.  All throughout the year, the Israelites were to bring sacrifices to the tabernacle.[1]  However on one day of every year, the High Priest would sacrifice a bull for his own sin and one of two goats in atonement for the sins of the people.  He would take the blood into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat.  This was a special place in the tabernacle that was so holy that only the High Priest could enter only one day of the entire year.  He had very strict laws to follow that would prepare him to enter behind the veil.  The second goat was to be presented before the people.  The priest would lay his hands on that goat and declare the sins of the nation over the goat.  The goat would then be released into the wilderness, not to return to the camp.  The second part of the phrase, “who takes away the sin of the world” tells us that Jesus would complete or fulfill the Day of Atonement.  Hebrews 9 tells us that Jesus is our High Priest who sacrificed Himself for us, once and for all, taking our sin completely away. 

John was saying that Jesus would be sacrificed to bring atonement for sin.

Some Explanation
Although John is baptizing here and Jesus comes by, this incident is not part of His baptism.  When Jesus was baptized, the Bible tells us that He immediatelywent into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.  In this account, the Bible says, “the next day” John saw Jesus again.   And we read that disciples followed Him.  This incident seems to be after Jesus returned from His temptation experience.

As news of John’s baptism spread, the people came.  As we mentioned before, the Pharisees[2] were threatened by the attention of the people toward John the Baptizer.  So this time the Pharisees in Jerusalem (the Jews, also identified as Pharisees in v. 24) sent priests and Levites[3] to find out who John was and what he was up to.  These men were not coming with open hearts to hear John’s message; they wanted to check out what was happening and report it back to Jerusalem.

They asked him if he was the Christ (Christos—Greek for Messiah).  John was clear in all his answers.  He was not the Messiah/Christ, Elijah, nor the Prophet.  John again stated that he was sent to make the people ready for the coming of the Lord—the promised Messiah. 

The next day, John saw Jesus, and proclaimed to all who stood by, “Look!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  Previously when John baptized Jesus, he recognized Him, and affirmed his own unworthiness (v. 27 ).    However, when he saw the spirit descending on Jesus, he remembered what God told him by the Holy Spirit.  The role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ baptism was to complete the fullness of the trinity, and to signify to both John and those witnessing the event that Jesus, the Son of God, was the Anointed One who John was preaching. 

Observations and Insights
I like John’s humility.  It would have been tempting, I’m sure, for John to justify himself.  He could have told of all the special revelation that He received by the Holy Spirit to WOW these Pharisees who questioned who he was.  He could also have claimed his family relationship to Jesus and talked up his position as forerunner to the Messiah King. 

Indeed, John did come in the power and spirit of Elijah—the same Elijah who called down fire from heaven that burned up the sacrifice before the prophets of Baal.  But, John understood his unique calling and role, "It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose." 

Everyday my identity is challenged.  I can justify myself or I can simply look to the Lord Jesus Christ.  I can crave self-affirmation or I can rest in the faith that God justifies me, affirms me, and approves me through faith in Jesus’ sacrificial death on my behalf.  Like John, may I simply lift up Jesus the author and finisher of my faith.

Next: John 1:35-51


[1] Later a larger temple was built that replaced the tabernacle.  They system of sacrificial worship remained the same, but the building itself was upgraded from a crude portable tent to a large and ornate temple.
[2] There were Pharisees throughout Israel in various towns at the synagogues.  These priests and Levites were sent by the Pharisees in Jerusalem.
[3] Levi was one of Jacob sons from which the tribe of Levi came.  This tribe was set apart for the care of the entire worship system.  Priests were selected from Levi to administer the sacrifices.  Additionally, Levites who were not priests cared for the other tasks involved in the worship system.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Temptation!



The Passage[1]
Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13
" Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan.  Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.   And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In [their] hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "

Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' "

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."

Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

A Little Background
Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is a powerful weapon for the believer.  When we began our study, we read in the “crown jewel” of Scripture that Jesus is “the life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).  The more I read the Gospels, the more I am convicted how often I squander a precious gift from God.  The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s perfect gift to mankind.  He is supreme—preeminent; all our needs are met in Him.   But this simple sheep is so often blinded to the simplest of truths.  Stay with me as we explore this priceless treasure.

We find a key that helps us unlock this treasure in 1 Corinthians 15.  In the beginning God created Adam and Eve and placed them in a garden.  He told them they could eat of every fruit in the garden except of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.   We know that Eve fell to Satan’s lie, ate the fruit, and gave it to her husband who also ate[2]—the “first Adam” according to 1 Corinthians 15:45.  But God Himself came to earth in human flesh to be a different or “the last Adam”.   God the Son—Jesus Christ—did what no other human could do.  In His perfect fusion of Godhood and humanity, He lived a perfect sinless life, then took the wrath of God on Himself on the cross so that we could be reconciled or brought back into relationship with God.

Here at the very beginning of His earthly ministry, the God-man, Jesus Christ, meets the onslaught of Satan through temptation just as our first parents did.  But Jesus is preeminent—supreme. The book of Hebrews tells us how Jesus is more excellent than any high priest [one who stands before God on our behalf] who came before Him.  “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all [points] tempted as [we are, yet] without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:15, 16)  Let’s discover the treasure!

Some Explanation
The first Adam, in the garden, and the last Adam, Jesus, both encountered temptation directly from Satan.  It is interesting that Luke 4 says that the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted.  Jesus’ encounter with Satan appears to be intentional by God.  In the same way that Jesus identified with us in baptism—although He had no need of repentance—through the wilderness experience, He identified with us in temptation.  It is interesting to see the parallels to Adam’s temptation in the chart below:

 Jesus’ Temptation
Nature of
temptation
Satan’s Bait to the First Adam
Genesis 3
Satan’s Bait to the Last Adam
Matthew 4
Food
Satisfy the flesh
Hasn’t God said, “You may eat of every tree?”
“Turn these stones into bread.”
Defiance of God
Putting God to the test
“You shall not surely die.”
“Throw yourself off the temple; the angels will lift you up.”
Godhood/Power
“You shall be as God knowing good and evil.”
“Worship me and I will give you the kingdoms of the world.”

Satan tempted Adam through his flesh (desire for the fruit) to ignore God’s command (His Word) and become “god” himself.  Jesus was God in flesh.  Satan’s temptation of Jesus was to cast off His humanity, use His divine nature and receive power and glory through Satan immediately. 

Observations and Insights
In all three temptations, Jesus Christ, who is the Word made flesh, countered Satan by the Word of God.  Do you think there is a weapon here that we can use, too? 

Two other Scriptures come to mind about dealing with Satan’s temptations. 
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  James 4:7   
Resist him [Satan], steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.  1Peter 5:9

James 4:7- begins with the word therefore. Here’s a little ditty that helps me in my Bible study: “If you find a therefore’, find out what it’s there for’”—so let’s read the context beginning in verse 6, “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:  “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”   And if you check out the context of 1 Peter 5:9, you’ll find exactly the same thing.  (Go ahead and check it out now—just scroll your cursor over the blue letters of 1 Peter 5:5-9.)

The emphasis here is humility—to humble oneself.  I notice what Jesus did NOT do.  He didn’t call upon His status as the Son of God, “Look here, Satan, I AM the Son of God—don’t mess with me!”  He didn’t drum up His own power or self-importance using any process or formulaic prayer to denounce Satan’s scheme.  Instead, in His humanity—that aspect that was in the throes of temptation—He simply spoke God’s Word. 

Does memorizing God’s Word and throwing it around like an amulet deliver us from temptation?  Of course not!  But Jesus did something throughout His ministry that IS the source of our deliverance.  He submitted to the Father and abided in Him.  Trusting in the Word, by faith—abiding in Him—takes humility.  It takes the willingness to admit we are weak and unable to withstand temptation in our own strength.  Abiding in Him also requires spending time in the Word and in prayer and obeying Him.

Brother and sister sheep, I confess that I have never had to contend with the temptation of any the “biggie” sins such as alcoholism or drug addiction.  But all of us must deal with the selfish lusts of our flesh in which every sin is rooted.  But if you struggle with a problem area, I recommend a ministry:  www.settingcaptivesfree.com  This ministry was begun by a man who had multiple addictive behaviors.  He became saved and found freedom from his bondages through understanding and faith in God’s Word.  He shares excellent Bible studies and Biblical principles.  These are free.  You are also invited to team up
Click to listen.
with others who have walked through the same problem you are facing, but that is optional.

I am studying the Gospels because I realize that all I need is in the Lord Jesus Christ, for God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  (2 Cor. 5:21)  What amazing love!  

Next: John 1:19-34


[1] Note:  Much of the Harmony readings will be pieced together like a puzzle putting the four Gospels together into one narrative.  I am copying the order from A Simplified Harmony of the Gospels, George W. Wright, Holman Bible Publishers, 2001.  However, I am using the New King James rather than the HCSB.  This order is from the research of Wright and is open to discussion.  Of course, you can also read the passages side by side separately if you prefer.
[2] Even though Eve was tempted, ate, and gave to her husband, God places the responsibility for that sin squarely on Adam’s shoulders.  God called to Adam in the garden and held him responsible for the incident.  In 1 Cor. 15 we see this incident described “in Adam” not Eve.