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The journey of Jesus from Jericho to Jerusalem is a deeply moving account of faith,…
Tag: Obedience
“He came to this low ground of sin, sickness, and sorrow. . .” Here is a beautiful slice of poetry which a brother incorporated into his prayer. Low ground . . . the world of man; “You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands.”(Heb. 2:7 / Ps.8:5-6) Low ground . . . Jesus’ world; “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” (Heb. 2:9) Though angels could dine with mortals (as when they met with Abraham at Mamre), they were not made lower than their station.
It is safe to say we are living through a period of time where men are malcontent. Every city seems to be facing challenges both politically and fiscally. Some individuals are going to work wondering whether or not that will be their last hour of pay before they are let go. Thus, society appears to be in a constant state of turbulence, seeking to find the one entity to blame for all their problems. There is very little peace, and even less patience.
In Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4 an event from Christ’s life is recorded which details three temptations that He endured directly from Satan. While there are other places within the Scriptures that seem to imply temptations were prevalent in His life (Luke 22:42), only this occasion directly shows Christ interacting with Satan one on one. It is a very intriguing passage, because it proves to us without doubt that Christ went through the same hardships, trials, and temptations that we go through each and every day. Christ also shows us that with God’s help we can avoid sin. No one forces us into sin, and God’s precepts give us guidance in how to overcome temptation. Therefore, we are left with no excuse for sin. There are many such lessons we could draw from this account. I want to notice five important points that I hope will cause us to think about temptations and trials in our own life.
The Wrath of God is real and powerful. The Hebrew writer tells us that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31) Many in the denominational world seek to minimize or even eliminate the Wrath of God from the nature of God. I have often seen and heard comments about “the God of the Old Testament” being much different than the God of the New Testament. But this is something that is simply not supported in scripture. James 1:17 tells us clearly that He is without variation or shadow due to change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. In fact the wrath of God is as much a part of the nature of God as His Love, Mercy, or Grace. God would not be God without the wrath of God.
As mentioned in my previous post, Christ called his disciples to Him. Other rabbis of that era spent years gaining a reputation and the prestige necessary for students to call on them. The Lord’s model is the exact opposite. I think there are some interesting things that might shed some light as to the differences. The teachers of the Law in Christ’s time were backwards in a lot of ways. Traditions that were younger than the Old Testament itself were given equal weight to those scriptures. Many of those traditions weren’t even Jewish in origin, much less scriptural, as some were pinched from Babylon and Persia–especially regarding the more esoteric aspects of understanding the cosmos and such. The Greeks also influenced Jewish thought, like Philp of Alexandria.
The offerings of animal sacrifice were preparatory for the coming of Christ. They at once demonstrated the need of blood to atone for sin, and the insufficiency of animal sacrifice to bring about the desired change in man’s condition.
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For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
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For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
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But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. (Heb.10:1-3)
In Christ’s time the Greek word mathetes described apprentices, one adhering to one of the many Greek schools of philosophy, one who kept the company of a particular teacher or simply subscribed to that teacher’s doctrine even if far removed in space and time. There were groups of students who continued their teacher’s traditions after he died (such as was the case with Socrates). This type of commitment usually entailed passing on his wisdom and sayings. As today, one need not be a religious figure to gain and accept disciples. In the rabbinic spheres, the talmid devoted himself to the study of Scripture and the precepts of his particular tradition–one that had been passed to him from his instructor. Disciples were highly esteemed among the Jews of Christ’s time, especially if his rabbi was highly regarded. Most rabbis were, some more than others, and this regard was extended to his followers to a lesser degree until his period of listening and learning was over and he, in turn, began to teach as well.
In Matthew 12 we see three different instances where the Pharisees tried to find fault in Jesus and in his disciples. The last instance they accused him of casting out demons by the authority and power of Beelzebub. In other words, they were saying, “Satan is behind the words and power of Jesus.” Jesus then begins (v25f) to prove why it is that he cannot be casting out demons by the power of a demon. Starting in verse 33 we read, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.” We should not expect good things to come from someone who does not practice good. For example, we would not want to encourage a habitual traffic offender to become a driving instructor. A tree is known by its fruit.
No one can escape the truth. We are, by nature, fashioned to understand and respond to the truth. Whether we want to admit or not, we know this is a good thing. It points to the high order of life which God has given us. “God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.. . . I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High.” (Ps.82:1&6) The 82nd Psalm was written as an admonition to the children of Israel. Man has divine origin not only because he is derived from God in creation, but because man shares in divinity. When man was created, he was made like God. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Gen.1:27)