Come Follow Me (Jan 30-Feb 5) Matthew 4, Luke 4-5 | Missile Defense System – powered by Happy Scribe
Once upon a time, there were three great and exceptionally righteous kings. One stood head and shoulders above the rest, but was still humble. One was an amazing fighter, musician, and poet, and the last was the wisest of them all. Yet even, or especially, because of their great power, blessings and wealth, sin came a knock, and each king fell. Yes, Saul’s vanity and pride puffed him up, so he began doing things against God’s ways, becoming murderously jealous of David.
And the great David gave in to his physical appetites, took another man’s wife and killed her husband. And Solomon, well, he became so entangled with his wives and stuff that he, too, lost his way. But fortunately for us, there was a fourth king who overcame all three of these great temptations.
Now, after Jesus’s beautiful baptism, he’s led by this spirit physically separating himself from the world to the wilderness for 40 days to pray, fast and get extra close to God in preparation for his great ministry. And for most of us, going without food for 24 hours can feel like the end of the world. So no doubt, Jesus, who’s human like us, is at a truly vulnerable time. When Satan appears at the end of his fast, of course, he starts working on Jesus’s bodily desires, tempting him to turn rocks into bread, using his priesthood power for his own gain. But Jesus, now 30, knew God’s words like forwards and backwards, so they were there in his mind like a missile defense, ready to knock down Satan’s garbage.
And so this test begins, and Jesus gives a perfect reply from Deuteronomy. It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
Yes, we truly can overcome all our body’s desires, whether it be our lusts, tiredness, or anger. And fasting helps us to accomplish that. Then begins round two. Enter the great universal sins of pride and vanity. And for this, Jesus is now at one of the most spectacular places, the pinnacle of the temple.
And Satan deviously questioning Christ’s divinity, says, if you are the Son of God and if you jump, not only will the angels catch you, but you look totally amazing to all the people, and they’ll quickly know you really are God’s son. But Jesus already knows who he is and shows the opposite of pride, acting rather than reacting as he quotes Moses, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Finally, Satan throws it all in, literally offering him all the worldly riches and possessions. But were they really his to give? Still, a lowly carpenter may have at least thought about it, but with his great powerful voice, he now cast Satan away. Get thee, Hen. Satan.
There is only one Lord God. Isn’t it awesome that as our true king, one of the first things Jesus shows us is how to sacrifice these three sins? The great kings of old fell to. But we humans can be so much like velcro. Sin is everywhere, trying to hook us like, oh, no, here’s another chocolate.
Donut and I ate three for breakfast already. Don’t. Jesus was tempted, so we know that feeling temptation isn’t sin. But like he showed us, we can put distance between ourselves and the world. Sometimes it’s physical distance, and sometimes it’s quiet time.
With prayer and the words of God to create the barrier we need. Even so, for most of us, it takes a big, sustained effort to separate ourselves from the cares and temptations of the world. Speaking of separating from the world, the fisherman who had become the great apostle Peter had to learn to let go of what he thought were the most important things. But he had some help. You remember the story.
Peter and his brother Andrew worked hard all night and didn’t catch a thing. Then Jesus got in their boat and told them to go out into the deep water and let down their nets for a catch. Andrew had been at Jesus’s baptism, so maybe he knew something amazing was about to happen. But what was Peter thinking? Maybe something like, who is this guy?
You can’t catch fish during the day. How am I going to pay my bills? This rabbi preaches pretty good sermons, but he doesn’t know anything about my situation. The other fishermen are going to think I’m crazy. Besides, I’m hungry, and, man, it’s hot out here.
I don’t have time for this. But then the miracle happened, and Peter realized he’d been so focused on the world that he didn’t recognize who was right in front of him. I am a sinful man, O Lord. Fear not. From now on, you will be a fisher of men.
Peter, Andrew, James and John accepted Christ’s calling to devote themselves to his kingdom and immediately left their boats to follow Him. Our calling and mission in life probably isn’t the kind that requires us to leave our jobs. After all, we need to live in the world. But Jesus’s example, dealing with temptation and his invitation to follow Him is the power to be free to act and not react. The world needs us as his disciples, and we’re about to witness the amazing adventure as these disciples become apostles.
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Guest Author
dyejo
