Lesson 7<\/p>\n
A Testing Time<\/p>\n
Luke 3:21 \u2013 4:14<\/p>\n
As proof that baptism does not save a person is indicative of the life long struggle that each of us have with the temptation to sin.\u00a0 I would like to think from the point in time of my baptism that my walk would have been easier, but it is not true.\u00a0 Thankfully salvation is based on the grace of God and not how I act every day. Each day I face the challenges of this world just as Jesus did in the desert.\u00a0 The difference is that I have all too often given in to the temptations to lie, become angry, prideful and a host of others.\u00a0 There is no reason to air any dirty laundry in this context because God has allowed me to put whatever I have done behind me.\u00a0 Thankfully God now continues to forgive me when I do fail Him. \u00a0He is also teaching through His word to live in a more trusting relationship with Him depending on the Holy Spirit to keep me from falling.<\/p>\n
The church cannot get caught up in the challenges that face Jesus in the desert.\u00a0 Although the temptations the devil proposed to Him were of greater intensity, the essence of each of them is prevalent among us.\u00a0 I will just mention one that seems to exist in every church.\u00a0 It is to brag about our size.\u00a0 We often inflate the number of people on the role forgetting that sadly those who are active are actually a fraction of those who call themselves members.\u00a0 We also may brag about the programs that we offer.\u00a0 Either of these may cause us to give false impressions of what is taking place within the body.\u00a0 Let us be true to what is accurate so that we may be good witnesses for Jesus in the world. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Two major events in the life of Jesus would thrust Him into the world.\u00a0 The first was His baptism by John.\u00a0 The second involved His time in the desert in which He faced the temptations of the devil.<\/p>\n
Luke 3:21-22<\/p>\n
Luke wrote that all the people were baptized.\u00a0 This would not mean of course everyone in Judea, but those who were present with him who saw a need to repent.\u00a0 It is doubtful that the religious leaders would have submitted to such a ritual.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that point Jesus came to be baptized by John.\u00a0 No one knows why He felt the need to receive the baptism of forgiveness since He was perfect and did not need to repent of any sin.\u00a0 There are all kinds of answers but the best explanation seems to be that it was a symbol of His identification with those He had come to save.\u00a0 In Matthew John is reluctant to baptize Jesus and has to be persuaded to go through with the act. (See Matthew 3:13-15)\u00a0 Although not mentioned in the other gospels Jesus is once again found praying.\u00a0 Here again Luke does not go into detail about the actual content of the prayer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As He came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him.\u00a0 The dove that came on Him was not for His benefit but those who were observing what was taking place.\u00a0 In John, the apostle wrote that the dove was a sign to John the Baptist.\u00a0 By it He was able to recognize that Jesus was the coming Messiah. (See John 1:29-34)<\/p>\n
The final thing that happened at the baptism was the voice that was heard from heaven.\u00a0 God the Father announced His approval of His Son. The Father was not just referring to the baptism but to life that Jesus had lived up to that point and the task ahead of Him.<\/p>\n
Luke 3:23<\/p>\n
Thirty years old seem to be an important age in the life of the Jewish world.\u00a0 Besides Jesus others began their careers at that age.\u00a0 The priests would have begun their work at the age of thirty.\u00a0 David became king of Israel at that age.\u00a0 So Jesus began His ministry at the point when He could relinquish the responsibilities of his family into the hands of His half brothers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luke also indicated that to the outside world in which Jesus lived, Joseph was considered his father.\u00a0 Evidently Joseph had adopted Jesus as his own son.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luke 3:24-37<\/p>\n
While Matthew begins the genealogy of Jesus at Abraham, Luke begins with Jesus and works all the way back to Adam. Matthew\u2019s primary goal was to show Him as the rightful heir of the throne of David.\u00a0 Luke on the other hand saw as the fulfillment of what the first Adam was intended to be. He was the second Adam (Man) who was to re-establish man to the position that he had lost when Adam fell in the Garden of Eden. (See Romans 5:12-14; 1 Cor. 15:21-22)<\/p>\n
The genealogy that Matthew provided is believed to be through the line of Joseph from David.\u00a0 Luke provides the line of Jesus through Mary.\u00a0 This is one of the ways that the variances in the two genealogies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luke did not neglect the importance of any member of the lineage of Jesus, but in every case showed that He was the total fulfillment of all of God\u2019s promises.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Luke 4:1-2<\/p>\n
Following His baptism Jesus left the Jordan River.\u00a0 He had been in the presence of His Father and received His blessing.\u00a0 Luke wrote that because of what had just occurred that Jesus was full of the Spirit and ready to embark on the journey ahead of Him led by the Holy Spirit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before beginning His actual ministry the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness where He faced the temptations of the devil for forty days. His time with the devil was more than the three temptations upon which so much emphasis is given.\u00a0 Leading up to those three the devil was attempting to wear Him down spiritually.\u00a0 For all of the forty days He fasted, having nothing to eat.<\/p>\n
Luke 4:3-4<\/p>\n
Knowing that Jesus was physically weak, the devil tempted Him to use His power for His own personal benefit. He began two of the temptations with the statement, \u201cIf you are the Son of God, \u201c use Your powers to ___________. (See Matthew 4:3 & 6) Jesus used Scripture to refute the devil in all three of the challenges placed before him.\u00a0 Luke shortened what Jesus said which is found in Deuteronomy 8:3.\u00a0 Matthew adds to the words \u201cMan shall not live on bread alone,\u201d he included but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.\u201d\u00a0 Later in John\u2019s gospel Jesus told His disciples that, \u201cI have food to eat that you do not know about.\u201d (John 4:32) He then continues that, \u201cMy food is to do the will of the one who sent Me and to accomplish His work.\u201d (John 4:34)\u00a0 In both places He was making the point that material possessions that were so important to the devil did not control His life.<\/p>\n
Luke 4:5-8<\/p>\n
Jesus was led up onto a mountain top and shown all the kingdoms of the world.\u00a0 This was probably a vision put before Jesus for this would be impossible physically.\u00a0 In a way the devil was right in his statement he was in control of the kingdoms of the Cosmos (the world systems).\u00a0 From the time of the fall the worldly societies have been dominated by him.\u00a0 They belong to him only because God has allowed it. In the desert, however, the devil was about to have the power taken away from him, unless he could get Jesus to submit to him and worship him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jesus was not about to have any part in what the devil was doing.\u00a0 He refused to worship the devil.\u00a0 His answer was once again taken from Scripture. Notice, Jesus did not argue with the devil or condemn him but used God\u2019s word to speak to the heart of the issue.\u00a0 Here He quoted from the second giving of the Law in Deuteronomy.\u00a0 He said, \u201cYou shall worship the Lord Your God and Serve Him only. (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20)\u00a0 Of course these were first spoken by God on Mt. Sinai when He told the people, \u201cYou shall have no other gods before Me.\u201d (Exodus 20:3)<\/p>\n
Luke 4:9-12<\/p>\n
The devil\u2019s last attempt to discredit Jesus at that time took place in Jerusalem.\u00a0 Jesus was transported to the city and carried to the pinnacle of the Temple.\u00a0 Because Jesus had used Scripture to counteract the attempts of the devil, he decided to switch tactics and quote Scripture himself. The problem, as always, was the devil twisted what was written in the Bible for his own purpose.\u00a0 In this case he turned the words in Psalm 91:11-12 as a test of whether God truly loved and would protect His Son.\u00a0 He took that small section completely out of context.\u00a0 The verses are actually talking about the fact that God would keep a person who trusted Him secure in that relationship.<\/p>\n
What the devil was asking Jesus to do was to promote Himself by jumping from the temple. It would be a way of jump starting His ministry by a spectacular act.\u00a0 He would become an overnight sensation, but the whole purpose of His coming would be defeated.\u00a0 He did not come to perform tricks to entertain crowds.\u00a0 Those types of people are soon forgotten if they do not continue to perform greater and greater stunts. See John 6 to see how Jesus spoke to those looking for a handout.<\/p>\n
Jesus responded by letting the devil know what he was trying to do.\u00a0 He told him first of all to get lost. (Matthew 4:10)\u00a0 Then He told him that the one who truly wants to be in God\u2019s hands is the one who does not need to test God to see if He really cares.<\/p>\n
Luke 4:13<\/p>\n
Luke wrote that the devil left Jesus for a time in the future when he would once again do battle.\u00a0 Jesus had defeated the devil and he knew it.\u00a0 He left the battle with his tail between his legs to use and old saying.<\/p>\n
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If a church is truly alive for Christ we can be sure of one thing, the devil will make every attempt to destroy it.\u00a0 The basic temptations that Jesus faced of possessions, position and power are still prevalent in our lives today.\u00a0 We have to remember, as simple as it sounds, that the church is made up of those who if not careful will bring those attitudes into the body.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We need to be ready to answer our own temptations with God\u2019s words.\u00a0 What Jesus said to the devil is still valid today and worth repeating.<\/p>\n
If we continue to have this kind of heart then God will make us into a great church that reflects His name in our community.\u00a0 Our thoughts should always be to say to the devil, \u201cget lost\u201d you have no place in our midst.\u00a0 We belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God the Father.<\/p>\n
Additional Notes:<\/p>\n
M-Responds to the call of God as shown to him from His Word. Understands that the call is to carry out the purpose that God has for his life.\u00a0 The call is individual. The will of God is also for the individual, even though it may very well affect many others. (Luke 3:3-6, 16)<\/p>\n
\u00a0M-John the Baptist was motivated by the fact that he was fulfilling in his life what God had called him to be and do. (Luke 3:3-6)<\/p>\n
GC-A follower of Christ is to share what he has. (Luke 3:11; 6:30)<\/p>\n
GC-Honest (Luke 3:13)<\/p>\n
GC-Content with what we have (Luke 3:14)<\/p>\n
GC-Does not make false accusations (Luke 3:14)<\/p>\n
RT-When we understand the reality of baptism, man can only take part in the outward sign of the decision by being immersed in the water.\u00a0 It is God who changes the heart of man and brings about a baptism that takes place internally through the work of the Holy Spirit. This change of heart brings about a new attitude and altered behavior as he strives to serve Christ. (Luke 3:16)<\/p>\n
GC-Exhorts others with the teaching and preaching of the gospel (Luke 3:18)<\/p>\n
RT-Satan actually did have the limited authority he claimed on this earth as men had sold their souls to him. He has allowed men to have access to that authority.\u00a0 It is the authority to use and abuse, but not one that he can keep.\u00a0 Jesus later would say \u201cAll authority is given to Me.\u201d (Mt. 28:18) Matthew wrote further about Him, \u201cHe was teaching as one having authority.\u201d (Mt. 7:29)\u00a0 Man may worship Satan but Jesus never needed to or would submit to him.\u00a0 This world is Satan\u2019s playground and his pride will be his undoing along with all of his followers.<\/p>\n
RT-In the desert Jesus refused to turn the rocks into bread to satisfy His own need for food. However, there would come a day in the not to distant future when He would take a small amount of bread and increase and increase it by enough to feed 5, 000.\u00a0 It was to be an act of compassion for the people and not for himself. (Luke 4:3-4; 9:12-17)<\/p>\n
M-Man\u2019s foundation for life should be to be in God\u2019s Word, not just physical feeding. Doing what God wants and not trying to sway Him to follow man\u2019s misguided actions is the way he does not try to tempt God.\u00a0 His time should be spent in worship based on his love for God not on what the world has to offer.\u00a0 If man will have this kind of heart attitude, Satan will not be able to find a place in the life of such a man. (Luke 4:4-12)<\/p>\n
\u00a0GC-Never does foolish things, just to prove God\u2019s ability to protect one from the consequences of his or her actions (Luke 4:9-12)<\/p>\n
GC-Resist the temptations of the devil in God\u2019s name and he will flee from you (Luke 4:13)<\/p>\n
RT-Every empire that has received its power and instructions from Satan has and will fail. Jesus\u2019 kingdom which is based on obedience to His Father is never ending.\u00a0 Through Him the final victory over sin is assured. (Luke 4:5:8)<\/p>\n
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Lesson 7 A Testing Time Luke 3:21 \u2013 4:14 As proof that baptism does not save a person is indicative of the life long struggle that each of us have with the temptation to sin.\u00a0 I would like to think from the point in time of my baptism that my walk would have been easier, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-luke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":213,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212\/revisions\/213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}