This week we look at the “Temptation of Jesus”, and turning to Barnes Notes discover some interesting viewpoints. The book of Mark has only three verses about this, the more detailed writings being in Matthew and Luke. We will examine Barnes Notes for our blog references this week. Consider that all three books point to the fact that Jesus went into the wilderness alone. He was alone during the temptations until He sends Satan away at which time the Angels came to attend to him.

Fact, at some time Jesus had to share his time in the desert with his disciples or there would have been no record of the temptations. Imagine our Lord telling about this time in his life. I am sure from past reading of the ministry of Jesus, he would have used this story to teach his disciples about the ways the devil can come against us. Imagine also that here is Jesus, just baptized and God declaring “and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased( Matthew 3:17) and here he is suddenly being tested by the devil just as we all are at times in our lives. The humanity of Christ, God incarnate among us. As the song says “I Can Only Imagine”.

First let’s look at the word tempt as used here. It means to try, to endeavor, to attempt to do a thing. In these verses the devil attempts to draw Jesus away from virtue or plainly said from the Father, from God. These temptations are not so much about sin as they are about obedience. Satan knows that disobedience opens the heart and mind to sin and sin separates us from God. Next it is written that he fasted for forty days. “Fasted-Abstained from food”. There have been commentaries that suggested otherwise but Luke puts that to rest. “Luke 4:2 – for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.” There are other things that have been written that suggest that Jesus only came to the realization of self and his call upon his baptism. I will leave that to the scholars and go with one certain thing. “ – Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.” (Mark 1:12) True calling requires a time of preparation and immediately Satan sought to tempt Him.

In verse 3 (Matthew 4) we find the first of the three temptations. Why be hungry you have the power to fix that! We know our Lords answer to that. He went to old testament scripture.  “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

 The following is from Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible:

– Satan often takes advantage of our circumstances and wants to tempt us.

 –Satan‘s temptations are often the strongest immediately after we have been remarkably favored. Jesus had just been called the Son of God, and Satan took this opportunity to try him.

 –His temptations are plausible. They often seem to be only urging us to do what is good and proper.

 –We are to meet the temptations of Satan, as the Savior did, with the plain and positive declarations of Scripture. We are to inquire whether the thing is commanded, and whether, therefore, it is right to do it, and not trust to our own feelings, or even our wishes, in the matter.”

 The second temptation places Jesus on the very pinnacle of the temple. Satan tells Jesus to throw himself off, no harm will come to you if you are the son of God. It is written – “He shall give his angels charge concerning thee …And in their hands they shall bear thee up – Lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone –.”

Again the Savior replied to Satan using Scripture – a passage which expressly forbade an act like this. “Matthew 4: 7 –Again it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” Jesus once again reaches back and quotes from “Deuteronomy 6:16 – “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test” One last point before we move on from Albert Barnes.

“It is true, indeed, that God aids those of his people who are placed by him in trial or danger; but it is not true that the promise was meant to extend to those who wantonly provoke him and trifle with the promised help. Thus, Satan, artfully using and perverting Scripture, was met and repelled by Scripture rightly applied.”

Moving to Matthew 4: 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name”. (Deuteronomy 6:13)

 Once again Jesus turns to scripture and Satan is driven away. Three temptations, the first one to a necessity, food, Jesus was hungry. The second to the protection of God when in great danger. The third is far more serious. It was a proposition that the Jesus should worship the devil, turn from the father and bow down before the Prince of wickedness and give him homage. But as we have read in Deuteronomy this was plainly forbidden. Albert Barnes gives these words of wisdom.

(a) That no one is so holy as to be free from temptation, for even the Son of God was sorely tempted.

(b) That when God permits a temptation or trial to come upon us, he will, if we look to him, give us grace to resist and overcome it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 – No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

 (c) We see the art of the tempter. His temptations are adapted to times and circumstances. They are plausible. What could have been mere plausible than his suggestions to Christ? They were applicable to his circumstances. They had the appearance of much piety. They were backed by passages of Scripture misapplied, but still most artfully presented.

(d) One of the best ways of meeting temptation is by applying Scripture. So our Savior did, and they will always best succeed who best wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, “And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”( Ephesians 6:17)

 Temptation is Satan’s way of drawing us away from God and opening the heart and mind to sin. The story of the “Temptation” provides a remarkable link to our blog of last week. That reading, studying and living scripture is important to living a Holy Life. Temptation leads to sin and sin separates us from God. Come back next week, there is always room in the pew.     jk

Reference: Albert Barnes

 

In the English Standard Version there are 53 references to verses that contain reference to scripture in the New Testament. Other versions can have as many as 59. One of the most referred to and familiar to all of us is 2 Timothy 3:16 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…..” We cannot overlook the fact that even in the Old Testament writings God wanted his people to keep His words close.

 

 

The Torah, or the Pentateuch, is the central reference of the religious Judaic tradition. The Torah consists of the foundational narrative of Jewish peoplehood: their call into being by God, their trials and tribulations, and their covenant with their God, which involves following a way of life embodied in a set of moral and religious obligations and civil laws. Just as we do today when we carry our bibles, the Jew in that day carried God’s word with him.

Phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. They are worn by male observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. God’s word was the very center of Jewish life. Our world of communications today offers many choices of ways to read, study and obtain knowledge about most any subject and  increases the ways we get information to people and increase their knowledge of what we are about.

The church today is blessed that there are so many ways to reach the churched and un-churched. There many Christian writers and authors who now have access to a large market of readers and while I haven’t counted the many ways available to take the written word to the people, it exceeds anything we may have imagined just a few short years ago. This is all good and I do not seek to marginalize any method used to lift up the word of God and make it available to as many as possible. One thing we must do is to use every resource available to take the Good News to the world. I do have one concern to share with you in today’s blog. Because of the proliferation of reading and study material and commentaries, which I use often, I have noticed less reading and studying of the bible itself. We now have the bible on iPhones, iPads, computers and even computer disks. We have also developed a habit of using bible studies from books written by a favorite author and while these are a great learning tool they lack one thing. So what is that thing and what is my concern? Context, that is my concern. The Bible is best understood in its total context. Often scripture is used to prove a point or elevate a position of a person or group by pulling one or a few verses to serve their purpose. Context is important because of what it does….context is the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.

I use Bible Gateway to look up scriptures and also the many tools they offer to help in studying the bible. When I chose this subject as this weeks blog I entered the word scripture in one of their search engines. In every verse of scripture listed per my request was three options. ” Context, Verse, Full Book.” What does “context” mean? One more time!

“The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.”

Reading our bibles strengthens our relationship with the word as written and does these three things.

1. Scripture inspires: Luke 24:32 “They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
2. Scripture tells about Jesus and brings the good news of salvation: Acts 8:35 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.”
3. Scripture can teach, lift us up and give us strength: Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

There are so many ways to study the bible and all are worthy of consideration but I encourage you to read “The Book”. Keep the written word of God close to your heart and ever in your mind.

Hope to see you here in the Pew next week,

jk

References: Wikipedia / Bible Gateway

 

Back in the day there was a radio personality that was very much respected and loved by a lot of people. His name was Paul Harvey and I actually got to meet him. I don’t know when it started but he had a series on his program called “ The Rest of the Story”. The story about the woman at the well is one most of us are familiar with. I like to use the term “beyond the words” but today I will invite you to come with me for “The Rest of the Story”. As we read in John 4 the encounter takes place at a well. We can imagine that Jesus is tired and of course having walked most of the morning he is thirsty and hungry. He had sent his disciples into the village to buy some food. So we find ourselves reading a rather ordinary story about a meeting of two people but if we seek the rest of the story we will find that few stories in the gospel record show us so much about the character of Jesus.

John shows us the reality of Jesus’ humanity. Jesus was tired and the journey so far had been difficult, he sat by the side of the well exhausted. John shows us a Jesus that struggles just as we do. John shows us someone who was tired and had to go on, just like we do in this earthly life.

John shows us the warmth of Jesus’ sympathy. Had it been an ordinary religious teacher, or one of the orthodox religious leaders of the day, the Samaritan woman would have fled in embarrassment. She did not perhaps because she had at last met someone who was not a critic but a friend, one who did not condemn but who understood. His very countenance put her at ease. It shows us Jesus as the breaker-down of barriers. The quarrel between the Jews and the Samaritans was an old, old story. Way back about 720 BC, the Assyrians had invaded the northern kingdom of Samaria and had captured and subjugated it. There are many barriers but we won’t go into that detail at this point. The simple fact was that Jews and Samaritans avoided each other at all costs.  But there was still another way in which Jesus was taking down the barriers. The Samaritan was a woman. The strict Rabbis forbade a Rabbi to greet a woman in public. A Rabbi might not even speak to his own wife or daughter or sister in public. Not only was she a woman; she was also a woman of notorious character. No decent man, let alone a Rabbi, would have been seen in her company, or even exchanging a word with her – and yet Jesus spoke to her.

There is one more interesting “rest of the story.” Troubled by the attention from the Pharisees, which by the way was not in any way good, Jesus sets out to leave Judaea and return to Galilee, the quickest way being through Samaria. He finds himself at a town in Samaria called Sychar around noon time, tired from walking all morning, the heat and thirst was taking a toll on him and the disciples. Sending the disciples to get food from the nearby town, he had set down to rest when the woman came to the well. William Barclay sums these verses up best as to why this is “the rest of the story.”

“To a Jew, this was an amazing story. Here was the Son of God, tired and weary and thirsty. Here was the holiest of men, listening with understanding to a sorry story. Here was Jesus breaking through the barriers of nationality and orthodox Jewish custom. Here is the beginning of the universality of the gospel; here is God so loving the world, not in theory, but in action.” (William Barclay Commentaries)

Overwhelmed by what Jesus had told her up to this point and no way of really understanding what he has said, verses 26-30 are explained by this commentary from William Barclay.

Do we as Christians, even when weary and thirsty, follow the example of Christ? Do our actions show God’s love for the world and all its people and will we recognize the truth when it comes among us? Or will we too be bewildered and without understanding. 

Hope to see you in the pew next week. jk

References: William Barclay’s Commentaries

 

 

The Democrat and Republican conventions are over for this election year…..can I get an Amen For that? Presidential elections are always an interesting time so first let’s look at Politics. What I always thought was a religion thing was in reality a political thing. All of us have heard the phrase “don’t discuss politics in church”. Politics is all about influence, getting and keeping power, people who are part of the government, and what it should do and a person’s political thoughts and opinions.

*In 1954 when Lyndon Johnson was a U.S. senator the then Democratic minority leader, introduced an amendment to Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code dealing with tax-exempt charitable organizations, including groups organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literacy and educational purposes, or to prevent cruelty to children or animals. It said, in effect, that if you want to be absolved from paying taxes, you couldn’t be involved in partisan politics. The law says all such organizations “are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.” That includes contributions to political campaigns and any form of public statement for or against a candidate or group of candidates. Just a quick thought, it hasn’t worked to well on the “obey” the law side. First observation:  Politics are most often a divider of people.”

Saw a sign in front of a church that has stayed with me for years. “Have you tried Religion?  Now come in and try Jesus.” I thought there was message there, I thought it was a clever play on words. Never gained any traction among the folks. I’m sure some of us have heard or even said “ole (you use whatever name you like) got religion the other day and is going to church now.” Religion according to Webster is: the belief in a god or in a group of gods, an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group.  A few years ago I quit asking people what religion are you. Let’s look at that definition again.  “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group.” Everyone has a different approach to this thing called religion. Second observation: Religion can be a divider of people.

Hebrews 11:1King James Version (KJV)

11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

 I find no fault in turning to others to express a certain point or helping me to acquire knowledge to share and pass on to others. While commentaries are interpretations or analyses of scripture by educated scholars, they can also be the result of prayer and seeking of the Holy Spirit. Mathew Henry is one of my favorites. Read what he has to say about faith.

Matthew Henry Commentary

11:1-3 Faith always has been the mark of God’s servants, from the beginning of the world. Where the principle is planted by the regenerating Spirit of God, it will cause the truth to be received, concerning justification by the sufferings and merits of Christ. And the same things that are the object of our hope, are the object of our faith. It is a firm persuasion and expectation, that God will perform all he has promised to us in Christ. This persuasion gives the soul to enjoy those things now; it gives them a subsistence or reality in the soul, by the first-fruits and foretastes of them. Faith proves to the mind, the reality of things that cannot be seen by the bodily eye. It is a full approval of all God has revealed, as holy, just, and good. This view of faith is explained by many examples of persons in former times, who obtained a good report, or an honorable character in the word of God. Faith was the principle of their holy obedience, remarkable services, and patient sufferings. The Bible gives the most true and exact account of the origin of all things, and we are to believe it, and not to wrest the Scripture account of the creation, because it does not suit with the differing fancies of men. All that we see of the works of creation, were brought into being by the command of God.

Hebrews 11:1 Commentaries

 I see no divider within this statement about faith. Pay attention to the last section in bold print. We are to believe and not take away the account of creation because it does not fit our agenda. I believe that applies to all scripture, especially those instructions given to the Patriarchs of the faith by God. Faith is a unifier. Faith brings us together, faith helps us to endure those things, people or situations, we face in this life. We will see and hear much in the weeks to come. Politics will divide us, doctrines and procedural differences within the Religious community will divide us. Like in the Athens of old we will gather in different groups to debate those things that divide us and in some instances become even more divided. What if we just stepped  back, acknowledge that God is in control and follow this advice written long ago:

Philippians 4: 8,9

8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

 See you next week and keep the Faith,

jkc

References: Matthew Henry Commentaries / Webster Dictionary / Panorama Bible / Wikipedia / biblehub.com