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Before Jesus began his public ministry, he was led by the
Holy Spirit into the wilderness just after he was baptized by John the Baptist.
Jesus told John who was reluctant to baptize him because he didn't feel worthy
of baptizing the son of God, that he needed to be baptized in order to fulfill
the Old Testament prophecies. When John the Baptist baptize Jesus in the Jordan
river, this occasion marked by an audible voice from heaven, was the declared
approval by God that this was in fact his son.
As you'll see in these scriptures, the character and
obedience of Jesus are tested through a series of temptations by Satan in the
wilderness. What's interesting to note is that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan and to drink nothing but water for
40 days and nights. You can imagine how voraciously hungry Jesus must have been!
The Testing Of Jesus By Satan
in chapter 4, we see Satan trying to tempt Jesus into sinning.
Satan is trying very hard to keep Jesus from being that perfect, sinless
sacrifice on the cross that would save the world from an eternal death and hell.
Can you imagine being without food for 40 days and nights? The hunger pains
must have been horrible! And the first temptation that Satan throws at Jesus is
about food. He says, “If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves
of bread.” It's a good thing that Jesus knows the scriptures better than Satan!
Jesus countered this temptation by quoting scripture that says that people need
more than literal bread in their lives, they need to feed on the spiritual bread
from the word of God.
Being frustrated by this, Satan decides to take Jesus
somehow to the temple in Jerusalem to the top of the pinnacle of this building.
Again, Satan tempts Jesus by daring him to jump off the building! What is
interesting here is that Satan actually quotes the scriptures trying to
convince Jesus using scriptural evidence that it was OK for him to jump.
However, Jesus knew the scriptures better than Satan! Any rebukes Satan by
quoting another scripture stating that it was wrong to test God. I could only
imagine how angry and frustrated Satan must have been at this point!
As a last-ditch effort, Satan decides to take Jesus to some
high mountain where he could view most of the kingdoms of the world. In an effort
to get Jesus to sin, Satan once again says, in “I will give it all to you if
you will only kneel down and worship me.”
I think it's important to note that Satan knows the
scriptures better than you and I will ever know them! That's why it's
critically important that you read the scriptures and truly know what they say!
Satan has tricked many people into twisting scripture for their own pleasure
and purpose that is in opposition to God. Many cults have started this way. If
you're not reading the scriptures on a regular basis, you'll become a fertile
field for Satan to confuse you and confound you about what is truly right. And
in fact he can use the scriptures against you!
Several times we see the fulfillment of Old Testament
scripture throughout the book of Matthew. This is because Matthew has the
number one purpose of trying to convince his people, the Jews, that Jesus truly
is the Messiah they've been waiting for.
By the end of chapter 4, we see Jesus calling his disciples
to the incredible task of following him for the next 3 1/2 years. Two sets of
brothers are called and both sets are fishermen by trade. The first set of
brothers are Peter and Andrew. The second set of brothers are James and John.
Jesus and his disciples began traveling, not through the Israelite nation, but
rather through Galilee which was an area with few Jewish people and many Gentiles.
As you know, the Israelites hated the gentiles. The Jews thought themselves
very special because they were the “children of God” and the gentiles were
nothing more than pagans. However, the
beautiful thing about Jesus is that he is out to reach the whole world with the
gospel of Christ! Jesus came not to heal and preach only to his people but to
also reach out and love, heal, forgive, and lead people who are pagans into a
relationship with himself and God the father!
As we move into chapter 5, we hear and read one of the
greatest sermons Jesus ever preached. It is often called, the sermon on the
mount, the Olivet discourse, and the beatitudes. It is here where Jesus teachers
some of the most profound truths ever heard by human ears. He teaches things
that are often the opposite of what the religious leaders we're teaching during
his day. This is why so many people were drawn to Jesus, along with the fact
that he healed every disease among the crowds of people that thronged to hear
him preach. The first 10 verses of
chapter 5 are often called, “The Be Attitudes” By many preachers because this
is where Jesus teaches us how to live or “be”.
1. Persecution - Jesus told us it was a blessed thing
to be persecuted for our faith in him. Nobody likes to be persecuted. But Jesus
tells us there is a special blessing in being persecuted for our faith in him.
The religious leaders were probably shocked by this and many preachers today
don't like to teach their congregation about how blessed it is to be persecuted
for Christ’s sake.
2. Be salty. Jesus told us to be salt in this world.
Salt is not only used as a flavoring but also as a preservative. Jesus meant
that he wants us to flavor the world with the good news of salvation and to
preserve morality and justice.
3. Be light. Jesus told us that we should be lights
in the world leading people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. He warned
us not to hide our light but to let it shine so that all the world could see
his glory! Are you being a light for Jesus?
4. Obey and Teach God's Law. Jesus had a stern
warning to his audience that they needed to be better in their spiritual lives
than the religious leaders that taught them. This probably confused the people,
but Jesus knew the hearts of the religious leaders who were more political in
nature than spiritual. Jesus wanted his audience to know that they needed to be
pure in heart and not faking spirituality like the religious leaders were doing.
Remember, Jesus knows the heart of all men! And he was telling them that if
they wanted eternal life that they had to be better in their spiritual lives
than their leaders.
5. Get Right with Others. Jesus told the crowd in
verse 23 how important it was to be in unity with each other. He told the crowd
that if someone they knew had problems with them that they were to drop the
sacrifice on the ground, go to that someone, seek forgiveness, and then come
back and offer the sacrifice to God. Jesus said that this must be done before
God would accept their sacrifice. Have you offended someone? If you have, when
will you make sure that there is unity and forgiveness between you and the
other person? If you want your prayers heard and you want God to work in your
life then you must be pure before God.
6. Don't Get Even. It must have been incredible to
hear the words from Jesus when he said that we were to be kind and gentle and
forgiving to those who hated us and persecuted us. He said if someone slaps you
on the cheek you should turn and give him the other cheek also. You can admit,
this would be strange teaching in Jesus’ day. Do you take matters into your own
hands? Or when someone offends you or hurt you do you leave it up to God?
In chapter 6 we learned some valuable lessons on giving,
praying, forgiveness, fasting, our rewards, and the importance of not worrying.
Throughout these last three chapters we've learned a lot of things. But before
I close out this devotional, let me say a few things about these items that are
addressed by Jesus in chapter 6.
First of all, Jesus tells us that when we give to
others or give at church that we should do it privately and without fanfare,
pride, or telling others what sizable gifts we're giving.
Second, Jesus talks about prayer and how it should be
private as well. It should not be something you do to make yourself pious in
front of others. Some of the best prayers I've heard we're not from people who
were trying to pray to impress others but rather they were mighty prayer warriors
who spent a lot of time in their prayer closet or private place learning how to
pray to God.
Third, we learned that if we want to be forgiven by
God we must first learn to forgive others. If you're not willing to do that,
then why should God forgive you? Is there anyone that you need to forgive?
Fourth, Jesus gives us a lot of comfort at the end of
chapter 6 when he talks about worry. He knew one of the major problems we all
face is worrying. We worry about our jobs, about money, about our children,
about a home, about relationships, and many other things.
Why We Shouldn’t Worry
1. God commands us not to worry in verse 25.
2. God finds us to be the most VALUABLE thing on earth! Because
you're so valuable to God, Jesus says it doesn't make sense to worry!
3. God wants us to be different than the pagans who
constantly worry how about food, money, clothing, and all the other things in
life.
4. God knows your need better than you do!!! So if God knows
your need better than you do then why do you need to worry and repeatedly pray?
While God does want us to pray under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and
even though persistent prayer is another thing God tells us we should do, we
should do it all without worry. What are you worrying about today?
What verses stood out to you that were meaningful and
convicting?
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