Matthew 4:1-11 The Temptation of Jesus

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." (Matthew 4:1)

It seems strange that immediately after Jesus Baptism, the Spirit who attested him as the Son of God led him into the wilderness to be tempted. We are often so familiar with the stories that we don't let it really have the impact it should have. So imagine what it must have been like. What we've already learned of Jesus in the book of Matthew is that he was descended from Abraham through the Davidic line. He was born of a virgin and an angel told Joseph that Jesus would save his people from his sins. Hostile people tried unsuccessfully to kill him when he was only a toddler, and God saved him by warning Joseph to flee to Egypt. Then the story skips all the intervening years and brings us up to the time Jesus began his ministry. The very first thing that Jesus does in his ministry is to be baptized. As I mentioned in the previous post, by submitting to this rite (which was supposed to be for repentant sinners) Jesus identified with his people. He humbled himself and took on the identity of sinners--foreshadowing that great exchange where his righteousness is imputed to us. Then, after being baptized the Holy Spirit leads him out to be tempted in the wilderness. Let this sink in. Let's think of the who, the where, the when, and the why to help this sink in. First, this wasn't Satan seeking an opportunity to to tempt Jesus; it was God, as a part of his eternal plan, leading Jesus out to be tempted.  Next, it happened right after the baptism and before he publicly started his ministry. So, it was necessary that he go through a testing before he began his ministry. This was a part of the path that he must take to accomplish the goal of God. Then, Jesus went into the wilderness. This is significant. It points to one of the ways that Jesus is the fulfillment of Israel. Just as Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness, Jesus spent 40 days in the same place. Maybe not exactly the same geographical location, but the same term is used. Finally, the purpose of all this is to be tempted. Now this is puzzling. How can God be tempted? Could Jesus have really sinned? Was it even possible for him to fail this test? I don't think that's the point. Again, just like Jesus' baptism, this tempting was another way Jesus identified with sinners. Jesus temptation was a necessary part of God's plan because it was through his temptation that we know that our savior can sympathize with us. The author of Hebrews make this point. Jesus is our high priest and he can sympathize with weak sinners because he was tempted at all points just as we are. This gives us at least two reasons to celebrate. First, When we face temptation, we can look at Jesus experience of temptation and see how we are to respond. We are to resist the devil as he did and as James tells us to. We are to delight in the law of the Lord as he did and as Psalm 1 tells us to. Also, it gives us confidence that Jesus loves us. We can be discouraged when we are tempted and we fail. Yet, because Jesus was tempted we know that we have a high priest who sympathizes with our weakness. He was tempted and he knows what it is like. He knows and has felt the very things we feel, and he went through it all without sin. We know that this one who sympathizes with us is our advocate, pleading our case before the Father. When we fail, this great high priest stands before the Father and tells him, "This one is mine, I identified with him and took his sin. His punishment is paid."

 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
 (Heb 4:15-16 ESV)

Matthew 3:13-17 What the Baptism of Jesus Means for Us

"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him." (Matthew 3:13)

One of the most puzzling things about the life of Jesus is his baptism. John baptized people for repentance who confessed their sins, yet Jesus was absolutely sinless and he came to John to be baptized. You can understand why John would balk at the idea. Why would someone who was sinless submit to a rite that is intended for repentant sinners? Jesus answer--it was to "fulfill all righteousness." However, this seems ambiguous to us. What does it mean to fulfill all righteousness? Here Matthew uses the same word, to fulfill, as the fulfillment formulas which speak of the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies; however, this text does not follow that formula, and and there does not seem to be any Old Testament prophecy of a baptism for the Messiah. "Fulfilling all righteousness" must mean something else. Absolute certainty is not possible given the ambiguity of the statement, but it seems that there is consensus on a few things. First, Jesus was putting his stamp of approval on the ministry of John. By submitting to John's baptism, he demonstrates that John's ministry is a legitimate predecessor to his own. Second, Jesus is obeying the Father's will. This is evident in God's words from heaven immediately after the baptism. Third, Jesus baptism points forward to his death. The fact that Jesus was submersed under the water and then rose out of the water has the same symbolic significance as Christian baptism. In Christian baptism the immersion of the believer symbolizes Christ's death and burial and as the believer rises out of the water we symbolically see how believers have risen with Christ to live a new life. Jesus baptism presents this same picture. The one who would bring baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire began his ministry by being baptized--pointing to his own death, burial, and resurrection. Finally, in his baptism, Jesus identified with his people. As it was said, John's baptism was a baptism of repentance for those who confessed sin, and Jesus had no sin to confess. In his baptism, Jesus oneness with his people and his substitutionary atonement is foreshadowed. The one who took our punishment and who took our sin upon himself to bear God's wrath, submitted to the same rite of baptism that he commands all of his people to participate in. As believers are baptized, we announce to the world that we are united to Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. When Jesus was baptized, he announced to the world that he is united to repentant sinners. We can be thankful for Jesus baptism because it reminds us of the great exchange. He took our sin and we have received his imputed righteousness. In our union with him we we truly live, and our old selves have died with him.

"For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin." (Romans 6:5-6)

Matthew 3:1-12 A Confrontational Preacher

"In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" (Matthew 3:1-2)

Before Jesus began his earthly ministry, he was preceded by a prophetic forerunner--John the Baptist. Luke tells us of the circumstances of John's birth and that he was filled with the Spirit from birth. Then each of the gospel accounts preface the ministry of Jesus with the ministry of John. He was the one who came to preach and prepare the way for the Messiah. Though he denied being the returned embodiment of Elijah, Jesus acknowledged that John was the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy that the LORD would send Elijah before his great and awesome day arrived. 

John came as a strange figure. His father was a priest, but this preacher wouldn't follow in his father's ministry methods. Rather than being a participant in the sacrificial system, John went out into the wilderness and proclaimed a message. Why would he go to the wilderness? This is not where you would expect someone to go find a crowd. If you want a hearing, go where the people are, right? Go to the cities--the population centers of bustling activity. No, John would not have that. He went to the wilderness, to the forsaken places, and there he proclaimed a message of repentance. 

In spite of his unlikely place to perform his ministry, John gathered a following. People saw this strange man who dressed in camel's hair and a leather belt, who ate locusts and wild honey, and they left their cities and went to the barren places to hear his preaching. Lesson 1: You don't have to make things easy on people to get them to come, if what you are preaching is worth hearing, they will come. 

John's message was no easier than his lifestyle. He preached repentance and he baptized his followers. It's uncertain where John got this from. There were ritual washings for purification within Judaism at the time, and proselytes were sometimes baptized, but John's baptism was different. If there was a link to proselyte baptism, it communicates something radical. John was telling Jews that if they wanted to be be right with God they had to repent and convert. 

Lots and lots of people came out to see John. Maybe some wanted to see the spectacle, but many came to be baptized and they were confessing their sins. Among those who came out to see John were the religious leaders. The Pharisees and Sadducees were not two groups you would expect to be together. The Pharisees were conservatives. They were radically devoted to the study of God's word. They accepted all of it. They believed the Torah (the first five books of Moses) and all the prophets. They heard the message of the prophets and the warning they gave because of the sins of the people, and they responded with a legalistic devotion to living out the law--and not just the law but all the traditions associated with it as well. The Sadducees were liberals. They didn't believe in an afterlife. They only believed in the Torah and they were mainly among elites and the rich. The two groups would not usually be together on anything, but here we see they were both curious to see what this prophet was doing out in the wilderness, so they too came out to see.

John didn't do what you might expect when he saw these religious leaders. You might expect that he would say, "I'm so glad you are here. Come and join us." But no. That isn't John's response. Rather, he calls them names. He doesn't just call them any names, he calls them a brood of vipers. Now, not everyone accepts the validity of this, but considering the conflict that is set up in Genesis 3 between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, I think it's likely John was telling them they were the seed of the serpent. They were the enemies of God's people. They were children of the devil. Not exactly a warm welcome. Then, as if to anticipate their objection, John says, "don't presume on saying we are Abraham's seed." John tells them that the fact that they had the right religious pedigree didn't help them a bit. What matters is fruit. The fruit in the lives of these religious leaders revealed who's children they really were. John told them that if they wanted to escape the coming wrath they only way they would do so would be to truly repent and turn from their former way of life. They had to have fruit that corresponded with repentance. If their repentance is real, they will humble themselves and they would become as children.

John warned them that the time was coming when someone greater than himself was coming. He wouldn't just preach repentance and baptize with water. He would baptize with Holy Spirit fire. The image is that figuratively, fire comes down on the one who is being immersed in the Holy Spirit and burns away the chaff. He will do this among groups. The sheep will be with Christ in paradise, and the goats will be thrown into eternal fire. And he would do it with individuals. When a person is born again, they are baptized in the Holy Spirit, the old man dies and is burned away, and the new man, the product of the new birth, the fruit of repentance is all that remains. 

John's message is still a hard message. It tells us not to presume on the faith of our family heritage. If we will be accepted by God we will personally and individually bear the fruit of repentance. It tells us that being religious is dangerous. The religious leaders were who John called children of the devil! Just because someone is a preacher, a deacon, a Sunday School teacher, or because they walked an aisle doesn't mean they are right with God. Only the one who responds in repentance and faith in Christ will survive the oncoming fire of baptism. 

"His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." (Matthew 3:12)

Isaiah 6: A Vision of a Holy God

"And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; 

the whole earth is full of his glory!'" Isaiah 6:3

For the last two weeks at WBC, we've been looking at Isaiah 6. In this chapter, Isaiah sees a vision of a holy God, he is blown over by his own sinfulness in the presence of this God, and he is cleansed at the initiative of God by the coals of a sacrificial atonement. Then Isaiah is called and commissioned to preach to God's people who would be stubborn and refuse to listen to his message. God tells Isaiah that he is to continue to preach this message until His destructive judgement is utterly poured out on the land. Yet even then, God gives hope that there would be salvation that would come through the Seed of the Woman--the Son of David.

Listen here and join us in the worship of this Holy God. 

Matthew 2 The Magi and the King

"Now After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'" (Matthew 2:1-2)

Every Christmas we get cards and we see nativity scenes depicting three kings bringing their gifts to Jesus in the stable the night he was born. However, this conflates texts that happen at different times. When the magi visited Jesus it was some time after his birth. Jesus would have been a young toddler, and judging from Herod's plot to murder him, he may have been up to 2 years old when they finally arrived. The magi didn't come to see him in a manger, they came to a house and found him with his mother. They were not kings, but they were wise men. 

These wise men were probably similar to the wise men that we read of in the book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar had many wise men whom he sought counsel from when he wanted to have his dreams interpreted. It was probably customary in Babylon for the rulers to have courts of these wise men, but how would they have known to look for a child born king of the Jews? They were probably not in the dark. The Jews had been exiled to Babylon in 586 BC and continued to have a Jewish population even after they were allowed to return to their homeland. These wise men could have learned about the expectation of a Jewish Messiah from the Scriptures used in the synagogues of Babylon. 

So, some time when Jesus was a toddler he was visited by these magi. They were foreigners--Gentiles--astrologers--and they came looking for this child who was born king. When they came, they didn't come straight to Bethlehem. They came to Jerusalem. They probably expected that a king would be found in the capital city, in a palace, but when they got there, no one seemed to know anything about this child king. Herod was the king, and he was paranoid. He killed his own wife, and he killed two of his sons because of his paranoia. One of the ancient historians said that it was better to be Herod's dog than his son. When the magi mention that a king was born, Herod's paranoia kicked into gear. He was already scheming to kill anyone who would challenge his rule. So he asked these magi to report back to him what they found. Herod called on the chief priests and the scribes to find out what these magi were talking about. These religious leaders had the right academic answers. They could quote the Old Testament and tell the magi to go to Bethlehem to find the new king. Yet one wonders, why were these religious leaders to apathetic. Why didn't they come along to worship Jesus too? They knew the prophetic expectation, but they didn't seem to care much that these gentiles came along saying that the Messiah had been born. 

So the magi made their way toward Bethlehem, and when they came to the house where the child was they worshiped Jesus and they gave him gifts. There's more that can be said here, but I want to draw attention to the contrast. These Gentile astrologers came and worshiped this new born king. The reigning king of the Jews who was appointed by Caesar wanted to kill him, and the religious leaders could care less. People still respond to Jesus in the same way today. Probably most people are in the place of the religious leaders. If you ask them what they think of Jesus, they may be able to spout an academically accurate answer. He's the Son of God. He's the Savior. But if you look at their lives there is no evidence that they really care about that. They are apathetic, and aren't moved to worship Jesus. Then others are in the place of Herod. They are hostile, and they are vocal. They want nothing to do with Jesus or God. They don't want anyone else to talk to them about Jesus. These may be relatively few, but in actuality, all of us, apart from God's grace are in this position. We all stand with our fists shaking at God and demand that he give us our way. We are rebels at heart, and we would rather kill God than worship him--unless He first does a work in us that calls us to worship him. Then there are the magi. These are the ones who would be far off and distant from God. They were not the Jews who had access to the Scriptures. They were pagans, yet they were drawn to Jesus, and they fell on their faces and worshiped him. These magi are the picture of all true Christians. Believers are those who are drawn into the worship of Jesus. We fall on our faces before him and are in awe. We give him our all as an act of worship--not because we are great people, like a king--and not because we are religious intellectuals with all the right Bible answers--like the scribes--but because we saw his star--we hear his voice calling to us--and we cannot help but bow down and worship the God who took on flesh.  

Redeeming Jingle Bells

Christmas is about Jesus, and Christians should always remember to make Christ the center of all of our Christmas celebrations. So what do we do with those songs that don't necessarily make any reference to Christ? Should we exclusively sing only songs about Jesus in a manger? I think that should be the predominant practice within the worship of the church; Christmas songs we sing for worship should all be about Christ. However, let me ask a followup question. Is there any place for Christians to sing the other songs of the Christmas season? Can't we just have fun and enjoy the festivities? I think there's a place for that. Christians shouldn't be scrooges with our faces all sour, ready to pounce on others in a legalistic fashion when they don't meet our expectations. Rather, we should be gracious to one another. 

 

So, what about Jingle Bells? The truth is, this song wasn't even written as a Christmas song at all. It was originally written for Thanksgiving. It's really more about the winter season. How should we think of children singing Jingle Bells in a church Christmas program? To tell the truth, I have mixed feelings. At first glance, nothing about the song lends itself to the Christmas story, so I lean toward excluding it in favor of other more explicitly Christian Christmas songs. However, as I have pondered this question throughout the week I see that there is a connection between Christmas and bells. Not necessarily a biblical one, but at least a Christian one. This connection is more readily seen in the song "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." 

 
I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, and wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along The unbroken song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way, The world revolved from night to day, A voice, a chime, A chant sublime Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said; "For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men."

 The bells that this song mentions are the church bells throughout the land. These bells were a reminder of the gospel herald ringing forth the message of the Gospel. Though the world is filled with wrong and hate, the expansion of territory marked with churches with their bells reminds us that as the Gospel rings forth, all the wrongs will one day be made right. The one who was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger will one day come back riding a white horse and with a sword coming out of his mouth and he will then bring eternal lasting peace on earth.

So, while it isn't the express purpose or intent of the song Jingle Bells, out of forbearance and patience I will hold my tongue when the children sing Jingle Bells. And as I listen, I'll remind myself that these jingling bells just may be on the feet that carry good news.

Micah 5: O Little Town of Bethlehem

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." (Micah 5:2 ESV)

Micah was roughly contemporary to Isaiah. Their ministries covered the same kings, though Micah may have come a little later than Isaiah. Micah's name meant, "Who is like Yahweh?" Even his name is significant to this messianic text. It is in this name that we see the rock of the prophet's confidence as he proclaims this Davidic figure who would come from Bethlehem. The book of Micah ends in the question that is his name. Micah 7:18-20 says, 

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old."

Of course the answer to the question is no one. No one is like Him. Yahweh stands alone among the gods as the one who has shown his covenant loyal love to his people. For the sake of his name he keeps his promises to Jacob and to Abraham. Though Israel and Judah had sinned, God would be faithful to his promise because he cares most adamantly about His own name. He will keep his covenant promises--not only to Abraham and Jacob, but to David as well. He promised David that their would be a son who would come from his body who would sit on his throne forever with an unending kingdom. This is where Bethlehem comes in.

The Assyrians were a threat to Israel and Judah. They destroyed Samaria and things got very bad for Judah--though there remained a king on David's throne. In 5:2, Micah says that though Bethlehem is small, it will be the birthplace of a coming ruler. Bethlehem was significant because it was the birthplace of David. It was called the City of David. When the little village of Bethlehem is brought up, it reminds the reader of David and all of the promises to him. Micah is telling God's people not to place their confidence in Jerusalem or their earthly king to save them. The earthly king will be stricken on the cheek, but a messianic King would one day come whose origins were just like David--the man after God's own heart.

Who is like Yahweh? He does not do things like you would expect. He didn't send His Son to be born in the palace in Jerusalem, He came to the lowly little obscure town. The messiah would come from humble beginnings.

Jesus held nothing back for us. He gave up the riches of heaven to become poor for us. He gave up the security and safety of siting by His Father's side to come and be threatened by a narcissistic murderous king. He left the comforts of glory to come down and be laid in a dirty feeding box. Who is like Yahweh? There is no God like the LORD of glory who sent his only Son to come and die for us.

 "And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. and they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace." (Micah 5:4-5a)