Today I met Andy J at the bank and we talked about Luke 4. The amazing thing about Jesus being tempted in the desert, I think, is that a lot of times we’ve been ripped off and analyze what the temptations represent or what they symbolize and the way He resisted w/ God’s Word or how Satan knows the scriptures blah blah blah.
It’s enough for me to realize that Jesus was tempted. And he wasn’t tempted like my co-worker that doesn’t want me to leave the box of donuts near his cube. This was God, in the flesh, so he was weakened and gave up some of His power, being tempted to cheat the plan.
In the Miracle Maker, a claymation Jesus movie, the do a really good job of showing Jesus being tempted. At the end He is hollering at the top of His lungs, “You shall not…put…the Lord…your God…to the test.” and He says that twice, almost forcing it out. Every time I see it I get tears in my eyes, because you really don’t know if He’s saying it to the devil or if He’s saying it to Himself. It really is a struggle for Him to resist.
I don’t know how to explain how one part of the Trinity could rebel or turn against God, but it was possible. It was entirely possible for Jesus to bow down to Satan. If it wouldn’t have been possible, then it wouldn’t have been a temptation. God’s own right hand angel turned against Him, His own son had the opportunity to do it too, but He didn’t.
And that’s the amazing thing. Jesus was fully man and had all of the limitations that we have as men (and women.) As He was a man, He had a perfect relationship with God, and in that relationship GOD did a ton of things through Jesus.
He was tempted to do something, and I don’t think His resistance had anything to do with some rational reasoning as to why we should all resist Satan. He resisted because He knew that was what the Father would do. He resisted because the things Satan suggested weren’t right, and He was willing to die rather than do even one thing that was not in alignment with the Father.
Luke 3:3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 3:4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
Luke 3:5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
Luke 3:6 And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’”
Is. 40:3 A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Is. 40:4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
Is. 40:5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Whenever a king would go out into his kingdom, his subjects would go ahead of him and fix the roads that he would travel on. I saw something similar happen in Central Asia. We had some friends that lived on this really nice asphalt paved street. It was different from every single street all around it, except for the main thoroughfare through town that it was perpendicular to. I found out that the President of said country once came down that road and gave a gift to something like the oldest surviving veteran from WWII or something. Anyway, the week before the president came, they asphalted the street.
John the Baptist is preparing the way for the Lord. Preparing the way…so what is his prep?
Repent, quit cheating, share your extra coat, be content with your pay, don’t steal extra for yourself, and the most haunting for the people at the time, really…That the sons of Abraham aren’t the ones born in certain families. The children of Abraham are created by God.
This is definitely preparing the way for Jesus and His message. The great part isn’t that John is getting them cleaned up so that they look good for Jesus, he is getting them ready to leave the vain acts of the Law and to come to know God again.
He is cracking the hard boiled egg so Jesus can come and peel it.
I think we have a lot of these guys nowadays that come through and shake everyone up so we can fall and settle in new ways. The hard part is that John got taken out and his teaching slipped away as Jesus became stronger.
Today the crazy guys come and shake everyone up so we can come down and settle in new ways, but then they stick around for a long time, trying to keep their message as current and cool and different as it was a few years ago, and things just become weird.
Some of you might know some of the people I’m thinking of. Very radical thinkers and full of great ideas that helped us reshape the kingdom, but now we’ve rethunk and we need someone else to come along and show us how to live the new stuff out.
