Mark 1:12, 13
Matthew 4:1-11
Luke 4:1-15
John 1:19-2:25
Jesus began His public ministry. However, before it started, “He was
led out into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the Devil” (Matthew 4:1). This intense
time of temptation was necessary to prove His sinlessness. As the “Second
Adam,” Jesus was able to resist that which the first Adam could not and, therefore,
Jesus would be able to undo all that had been ruined with sin (1 Corinthians 15:27).
As Jesus’ ministry began, the Gospel writers affirmed His divinity in
several ways. First, John the Baptist testified that He was the Messiah because
of what he had witnessed at Jesus’ baptism — the Holy Spirit descending upon
Him (John
1:32-34).
The next time John saw Jesus, He announced to everyone, “Look! There is the Lamb of
God who
takes away the sin of the world,” a foreshadowing of His sacrificial death on
the cross (1:29, 36).
The second affirmation of Jesus’ divinity came from his first disciples
— Andrew, Peter, Phillip, and Nathanael. “We have found the Messiah,” they said. “We
have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is
Jesus” (John
1:41, 45).
The third affirmation of Jesus’ divinity came in a series of events.
He revealed to the disciples His supernatural power by telling Nathanael where
he was before anyone found him (1:48), by linking Himself to Jacob’s ladder (1:51), by turning water
into wine at a wedding (2:1-12), by demonstrating great zeal for God’s house, the Temple (2:13-17), and by foreshadowing
His resurrection (2:18-22).
Daily Reflection
Let’s return and focus on the temptation of Jesus. This event was so
important that three of the Gospel writers chose to include it in their accounts of His
life. We can learn several things from Jesus’ experience here.
First, while God does not tempt us with sin, He does
allow the enemy to tempt us. While that sounds strange, we must trust that God uses temptation
for our good, not for our ruin. How can temptation be used for our good?
It is in times of temptation that we demonstrate our commitment to
God, whether or not we believe Him and trust Him. It is in our resistance of
temptation that we get to flex our faith muscles and build up immunity to
Satan’s ploys.
A second truth here is that temptation itself is not a sin. Jesus was tempted
but did not sin. Therefore, we too can be tempted without sin. It is in our
surrender to temptation that gives birth to sin and its consequences.
Third, Satan’s purpose in temptation is to get you to act
independently of God, which is what he did in the beginning. It is to replace God with
yourself and give yourself what you “need” or want without needing Him to do
it.
Fourth, in temptation Satan desires to exploit a weakness (Jesus was hungry),
undermine your priorities (get glory by jumping off of the Temple), or appeal
to your entitlement mentality (rule the kingdoms of the world). Which one of
these does he use most against you?
BiAY.org | Day 270 — 95 Days to Go
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