“Christ In the Wilderness”
Ivan Kramskoy
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Holy Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. Luke 4:1-2
[Yes, we re returning to the temptation story again this week. There are a couple more points that I wanted to draw out before moving on.]
INTRO: These first two verses set the stage for the episode that follows
The camera zooms in on Jesus first – his name appears as the story begins
– he is a long way from home, from family, and from the old neighborhood
He is being guided through a transition
– he’s not in charge of this moment in his life, but he’s ready
– he braves the desert alone, subjecting himself to two opposing forces read more…
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you
“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 12:50
What do you suppose the disciples of Jesus were doing at the moment he stretched his hand toward them and said, “Behold My mother and My brothers!”? They were probably doing what we are doing right now; that is, trying to get to know him, to learn from him, and to figure out what God wanted from them. They certainly were not trying to look religious or act pious. Nor were they busy doing “ministry”–at least not at that moment. read more…
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. Luke 4:1-2 (1-13)
INTRO: We return to where we left our bookmark
Jesus is on the move and he goes from his baptism directly into the wilderness
Even if we had never heard this story before, there is something about it that sounds familiar
– we can detect a series of events in Jesus’ movements that are typical of folk tales from ancient times to today
read more…
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you
. . . no sign will be given to [this generation] but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:39-40
Jesus used words in a way that both revealed and concealed his meaning. When asked for a sign, he referred to himself in the third person as “the Son of Man.” He did not say he would be crucified and laid in a tomb, but that he would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Nor did he mention his resurrection even though it is implied in the short span of time that he would be under ground. read more…
Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” Luke 3:21-11
INTRO: This last week I read the story of the flood and realized we had to return to Luke 3
Jesus’ baptism deserves a closer look
– Peter saw a correspondence between the Genesis flood and baptism (1 Pe. 3:20-21)
– the flood gave the earth a good bathing – it washed away human corruption
Think of the Earth after the flood as a “sterile field”
– it could have remained disinfected if God had not spared Noah and his family, because they carried in their hearts the germ of human corruption read more…
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you
Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. . . The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. Matthew 12:33, 35
First of all, let’s be clear regarding the people who had critized Jesus. They were “good people” in terms of their devotion to God and the Scriptures (v. 24). When it came to following God’s commandments, they were the best. How is it that these upright and deeply religious people could say evil things about Jesus? read more…
Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also bapized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” Luke 3:21-22 (read entire chapter)
INTRO: From the end of chapter 2, the story jumps ahead, skipping eighteen years of Jesus’ early life
Verses 1-3 give us the geopolitical setting for John’s story
These names of people and places are like vectors that help us locate the story in its historical and cultural context
– a hierarchical and oppressive system and at all levels in the service of Rome
Luke isn’t writing a history as we think of it–that is to say, he isn’t marking a point on a “time line”
– he’s telling a story, so his concern is not a date, but what this situation means to the characters
– in verses 19-20 we will see how politics affect John the Baptist
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you
Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. Matthew 12:22
In this story we meet one of the many anonymous characters that appear in the gospel. In this instance, a man who was blinded and silenced by demon-possession was brought to Jesus. It is beautiful to see how people had learned to take their problems and hardships to Jesus–even the most severe cases. read more…
And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Fathers house?” Luke 2:49 (read 2:21-52)
INTRO: For many years, my parents had a stable Sunday routine
We would go to church, go out to lunch with other families, swing by the store for the Sunday paper on our way home, nap, and then return to church for the evening service
– the predictability of a routine can be boring, but it can also comforting
– if our weekdays are chaotic, then falling back into a routine on the weekend helps to restore our sanity
One Sunday Dad pulled up to the front of the grocery store and I jumped out as usual read more…
Daily Meditations From the Scriptures