Lettsom Inn

Jesus calls Matthew

As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, “Follow me.” He got up and followed him.

 This is a very short testimony.!!

Jesus was walking down the street and He passed the office of a man called Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector.

Jesus said two words to Matthew.

“FOLLOW ME”

Matthew got up and followed Jesus.

He left his papers, he didn’t even tell the boss.. He just walked out of the office and never looked back and never went back to the office again. Matthew followed Jesus for three years, until Jesus died on the cross. He saw amazing things and learned how to enter and walk with God in the kingdom of heaven.

A better person?

Was Matthew a better person for following Jesus straight away?

Matthew was a sinful person like everyone else. The Holy Spirit showed him he must respond to the call of Jesus. Matthew was wise and answered that call straight away. Many people wait to hear the call another time. They put it off.

“later….”

“another day when I’m ready…”

We must answer straight away, because the call might never come again. There are people who heard the call of Jesus to follow Him, and they did not answer. They never heard the call again…

Matthew was a wide man and was willing to leave it all behind and follow Jesus.

A new life

So, that was it. He never went back to his job again. He spent the rest of his life, following Jesus, seeing the miracles, listening to teaching, and living a life of faith as he followed his Master.

What did Matthew leave behind?

Matthew became someone who actually wrote down the Scriptures, which we can read.

He was an unlikely convert because of his job, he collected taxes for the Roman authorities, who had invaded the land of Israel.

People hated tax collectors, because they hate paying taxes, and they hated the Romans even more. Tax collectors were dishonest and often used the opportunity to collect some extra cash for themselves.

We don’t know if Matthew was like this, but he probably was. Remember Zacchaeus? He was also a tax collector, and a thief. Jesus called him down from the tree and went to his house and forgave him and changed his life.

Jesus often associated with people who were not approved of.

It happened as he sat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. 

But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

 Jesus was greatly disapproved of, by the religious leaders of His day. They used every opportunity to try to trap Him and make Him fall. They couldn’t. But this was a wonderful opportunity, because Jesus was eating and associating with sinful people. They criticized Jesus openly. Jesus replied that sick people need a doctor, but people who are well don’t.

Jesus was not saying the Pharisees were well, they certainly were not spiritually well. But the Pharisees thought, falsely, that they were right with God. Jesus was saying that He is the remedy for sin sick people. He can cure them and He will cure them. That is why He is with the “sinners” because they recognize they need a spiritual doctor, and will believe in Jesus.

He tells the Pharisees to learn this lesson. This would have offended their spiritual pride….

God wants to show us mercy and forgiveness..

Jesus shows mercy and forgiveness to these sinful people. He forgives them. Jesus does not want our self-righteous sacrifices, but hearts that will bow to Him, believe in Him, and repent.

These self-righteous Pharisees, were not repentant, but trying to impress God with their foolish sacrifices, which God hates. They think they are righteous….

The “good” people…

Jesus said He did not come for good people, but for sinful people. Thereby condemning the Pharisees with their own foolish self-righteousness.

How hard it is to come to Jesus. We don’t want to think we are too bad. We think there are some good things about us, but the good things we think of, are really just selfish and proud.

If we want to get this sorted out, we must come to Jesus when He calls us, and take our place as sinners and repent of all our evil ways. He will make us new and give us His power to live rightly.

Like Matthew?

It is for anyone who wants it.

Matthew just left his old life behind. It had no value to him anymore, because he heard Jesus calling him and was ready to go.

Have you heard the call of Jesus?

Have you responded to Him, or are you putting it off?

 Matthew had no regrets, and was able to bring his friends and colleagues at work to Jesus too. When we follow Jesus we get we get all His blessings and His power. The things we leave for His sake, don’t even matter….

JESUS heals the paralysed man

He entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city. Behold, they brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven you.

 Behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man blasphemes.” Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven;’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk?’But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…”

 (then he said to the paralytic), “Get up, and take up your mat, and go up to your house.” He arose and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Look at this picture of the man who was paralyzed and immediately after Jesus spoke to him, can lift all his belongings and walk away.!

BROUGHT

His friends brought him to Jesus. His friends had faith that Jesus would heal their disabled friend. Jesus saw their faith. The Lord Jesus then did the greatest miracle of all- He forgave the man his sins.

There were people standing about who did not believe in Jesus and saw Him as a charlatan. They didn’t believe who He said He was and believed the miracles were from the devil!

Such is the strong desire to keep God out of our lives.

EVIL THINKING

Jesus knew what they were thinking, and told them that their thoughts were evil. All unbelief is evil. We all have it, and we must fight against it and believe what God tell us in His Word the Bible.

The trouble with us as fallen humans, is we want to see the proof. You cannot really see the physical proof that someone is forgiven, because it is a spiritual act, a change in the inner person. Jesus is not willing that even these ungodly, unbelieving people will be lost. He teaches them an unforgettable lesson.

FORGIVENESS

 He points out that it is easy to say “your sins are forgiven”because no one will really know. You can’t see the change. You could say those words and be a pretender.

However, You cannot say to a paralyzed man, “get up” and pretend that action! If you tell the man to get up, he must get up for everyone to see.

Jesus says, He is going to show the on-lookers that He is who He says He is.

He tells the Paralyzed man to “GET UP!”

“GET UP-     LIFT YOUR BED AND GO HOME…!!”

If you have not used your muscles for a long time, you can’t do any of those things…

BUT the man did what JESUS said…

The man got up from his sick bed, folded it up, and walked home with it… this is a total miracle. Jesus has healed him completely.

This man got this amazing healing, but he got much more… he received forgiveness of sins. He got eternal life, just because he believed. It could seem that it was because the friends believed, that the man was healed. They brought him to Jesus. But the man went with them. The man was forgiven because he believed, but the fact that the friends took him, was also important.

Who do I bring to JESUS?

Who do I pray for and witness to?

God will take account of that in His eternal purposes and will not pass over those we pray for and speak to.

These were faithful friends. They were loving towards their paralyzed friend, who couldn’t get to Jesus on his own.

Because they took the man who needed Jesus, he was healed and forgiven completely. How glad those friends must have been.

UNBELIEF

The crowds standing around marveled at the miracle. It wasn’t something you could miss. They glorified God because of what they had seen, but not because of what they had not seen…!

They still didn’t realize who Jesus was and is. They believed in the miracles, but not in the spiritual work and forgiveness and faith in Jesus.

It is easy for us to be attracted and marveling at the outward appearance of things. It is easy to be duped into thinking something is of God, when it is not. We see the outward show, but miss the inner working of the Holy Spirit.

It is crucial that we have faith in Jesus only and in who He is as our God and Saviour. We must come to Him on these terms only.

Be careful not to be impressed with the outward show of some people who profess God’s power and presence. The way to Eternal life, is by faith in JESUS and the repentance for our sins.

TWO BLIND MEN

As they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. Behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!” 

The multitude rebuked them, telling them that they should be quiet, but they cried out even more, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!”

Jesus stood still, and called them, and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” They told him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received their sight, and they followed him. Matthew 10

THE CROWD

No matter how many people came to Jesus, the Scripture tells us that He healed them all. Except for places where there was little or no faith. Anyone who comes to Jesus must believe who He is and the He is able to forgive them and cure their spiritual disease of sin.

It is the same for us.

TWO BLIND MEN

On this particular day, Jesus left the city of Jericho and a huge crowd of people followed Him out onto the road. One this particular road, sat two blind men and they were there for a reason. They were destitute. They were poor, sick and blind. They could not provide for themselves and had no hope in this world. They heard the crowd talking and realised that Jesus was passing by in front of where they were sitting. They had heard all the stories about Him, and knew He could heal them and make them whole again.

You also have heard the good news about Jesus, and you know He can heal you. He can forgive your sin and cleanse you. He can make you a  new person and bring you into His family. You don’t have to do anything, but call out to Him.

THE REQUEST/PRAYER

 These men called out, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David.” These men knew who Jesus is. He is the long awaited Messiah, the holy one of God, from the line of David. They know who He is and they believe what He can do. They know He is merciful, willing and able. This is why they call out to Jesus as He walks by.

Do you know who He is? Do you realise what He can do for you?

The crowd of people were annoyed at the shouting out. They thought Jesus was not interested in such people. They were embarassed at the fuss these blind men were making. So they all told the blind men to be quiet. They had no regard for these blind men, and thought perhaps they were blind because they were sinful. But Jesus knew why they were blind. It was for this very reason that was happening before them. Jesus knew what would happen in the lives of these men, and the glory of God was going to be seen in them.

This scenario with the two blind men calling out to Jesus, is going to show the crowd and us, what Jesus is like and what He can do.

All these things recorded in the Scriprutres are to show us God and to learn His purposes in the history of human lives.

GODLY PERSISTENCE

When the blind men heard the crowd rebuking them, they shouted all the louder..!! They were not going to be put off, and they were not going to miss the blessing. They shouted louder than every… “Lord have mercy on us, you son of David.”

These men were not going to let Jesus pass them by. So also we must ensure we do not miss our opportunity. If they had been intimidated by the crowd, they would have missed their healing.

We can be easily intimidated by other people and we are easily swayed from trusting in Jesus. Dont’ be put off!!!

JESUS HEARS

Jesus heard their cries, and stops walking and stands in front of them. Jesus listens to the cry of every soul that seeks Him truly. He never turns anyone away. Jesus call to the two men.

When Jesus calls us, we must listen and respond and not miss our opportunity. Don’t put it off if the Lord Jesus calls you to come to Him. It is dangerous to miss an opportuntity. It might not come again.

The blind men do not miss thier opoortunity.

Jesus asks them a queston.

“What do you want me to do for you?”

We must be clear about what we want from God. We want spiritual cleansing and that the eyes of our hearts are opened. This is our greatest need.

The two blind men reply very simply.

“Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”

They wanted to be able to see. They knew they needed a miracle from the Lord Jesus, so that they could see Him clearly and truly.

This also is our need. We will not see Him in realty and truth, if our souls remain blind. Only Jesus can open our eyes, to see His truth, and that He Himself is the Truth.

THE BEAUTY OF JESUS

Now we see the beauty of the Lord Jesus. He is not cold, or callous or harsh. His heart goes out to these blind men, and His compassion moves Him to act.

Jesus touches the eyes of the blind men, and they are blind no longer. When Jesus touches them, they are no longer blind. Immediately the men could see. They saw Jesus first in all His glory and compassionate love. They were changed men and loved the Saviour who had opened their eyes and dispelled their blindness.

They didn’t stay by the side of the road, but followed Jesus everywhere. Now they were awakened and had full sight, they only wanted to be with Jesus and to be like Him.

If you are a Christian, this is what you should be doing. Following your Master and Saviour, to whereever He sends you. Obedience is the key and a life lived in faith and love to Christ.

If you are not a Christian, you must see your need and call out to Him.

He will not pass you by

 Jesus will take away your blindness and give you love for Him, that will allow you to walk your life in faith with Him.

The faith of the Centurion

When he came into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking him, and saying, “Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, grievously tormented.”

 Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

 When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to those who followed, “Most certainly I tell you, I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel.

 I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven,but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.” His servant was healed in that hour.   Matthew 8:5-13

LEADER

A Centurion was a leader in the Roman army. He had to fight well and be prepared to die for his country. But he also had to look after his 100 men under his command. He had to be organized and able to take orders and obey them. If he didn’t obey, he would loose his job and maybe also his life. He was dedicated to the army and was prepared to die for any of his men, and he taught them to be prepared to die in wars and battles as well.

GOOD

This man was also a good man, who cared for his men and his household. The Centurion came to Jesus to seek for healing. A member of his household, a servant was very ill and had been paralysed so that he could not move. The servant was in a lot of pain.

SUCCESSFUL

This very successful commander in the Roman army was concerned about his servant. That tells us something about him. He was a soldier and led the troops into battle, but he had a soft heart and was very worried about this servant who was part of his household.

The Centurion finds Jesus and asks him to heal the servant. Jesus replied that He would come and heal the servant. It is not clear if the servant is male or female. It doesn’t really change the story.

BELIEVING

When Jesus said He would come with the Centurion, the centurion gave a reply to Jesus.

He said to Jesus, “Lord I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.” Why does the centurion say this?

The Centurion recognizes that he is a sinful man, and he also recognizes who Jesus is. He totally believes that Jesus can do this miracle, and he knows he does not deserve to ask for it. He knows who Jesus is, and has heard of His power to heal and forgive. The Centurion has true faith and puts his trust fully in Jesus.

He says to Jesus, “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

We can see how much the Centurion believed and how he understood the power of God. Remember this man had never been in the synagogue or been taught from the law of God. He saw Jesus and he believed. His faith was real because of how he reacted to what he saw and heard. It was very straightforward to him.

The Centurion believed in the Word of God even thought he had not been formally taught it. He knew that if Jesus just spoke the word, the miracle would happen.

Jesus was amazed at this man’s faith. Jesus said He had never seen such faith, not even in His own people the Israelites. This shown us clearly what Jesus is looking for in us. He is looking for straight-forward faith and obedience. Its not complicated.

This faith is not worked up in us, but is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This faith did not come from the Centurion. Faith does not come from us, but from God. God opened the eyes of the Centurion so that he could see Jesus. When he saw Jesus, he then believed.

We need to believe….

Jesus said that there would be many worthy people from the Jewish people who would loose their opportunity to be in the kingdom of God, because they wouldn’t believe. These are people who have heard the gospel time and time again, but will not come to God and seek forgiveness through what Jesus did for them.

Jesus said they would be cast into outer darkness. They saw much light, but it never entered their souls.

On the other hand, Jesus talked about a huge company of people who would come from every place on the earth, and would sit down with Him and all God’s people.  These are the people like the Centurion. They have seen and heard and believed. They would not necessarily be the Jewish people. Just because you are born into “good” or “christain” family, does not mean you will be in the kingdom.

The Jews believed that they were the chosen ones and they believed that their good works and their following the law of God would save them. The leaders actually persecuted Jesus and ended up having Him killed. They had no faith….

This Gentile soldier has the greatest faith. Jesus commends him for it and answers his prayers. This is the worldly view turned upside down.

FAITH

God is looking for faith. Without faith it is impossible to see God. Without faith we are no where.

We can read the Bible every day and pray and try to be good, but its no good.!!

Without faith, there is no forgiveness or new life.

This Centurion has no name in the Bible, but he has the greatest commendation of all.

THE GREATEST FAITH

 The cost of following Jesus

“Now when Jesus saw great multitudes around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side. A scribe came, and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”   Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”    Matthew 8:18-22

Jesus sees a great crowd who had come to see and hear Him. See had come to see a spectacle; some to see other people being healed; some wanted to be healed themselves; some wanted to hear His words; some believed in Him. Jesus knows the intentions and thoughts of every heart. He told His disciples to go to the other side of the lake and he remained to spend time with His father and pray.

A religious leader came to Him and told Jesus he would follow Him everywhere he went. He was dedicated to Jesus and wanted to keep in His presence and learn from him. The Scribe called Jesus “Teacher” so he recognized that Jesus was different from other teachers he had heard.

Again, Jesus sees the intentions of this man’s heart. Jesus seeks to show the man the reality of what the man is seeking.

Life following Jesus will cost you…

 Jesus tells him that the foxes that live wild in the countryside have homes to go to. The foxes that are lowly and untamed animals have got a place to rest and stay and find shelter. Also the birds of the air have nests where they can find safe roosting, bring up their young and shelter from predators. But, says Jesus, I have nowhere to lay my head. Jesus has no home, no place of safety, no certain place to find rest, no certainty of any of the necessities of life. He felt no need of them, because he knew His father in heaven would provide all he needed.

Those who follow Jesus can expect the same kind of standard in this world. The Christian finds trouble in this world. The Christian lives every day in the faith that keeps them alive to God.

There is no response from this man, and we have no record of him joining the twelve disciples. The cost is great. The cost means giving up the right to everything. We must consider this before we choose the way of Christ. Jesus is not looking for people who put their hand up in a meeting, or people who think He is going to meet every need they think they have. The way of the cross is difficult, severe and can only be walked in the power of the Spirit. We cannot keep our salvation. No matter how we might think we can.

A disciple overhears this conversation. It seems to happen as they are leaving for the lake. The disciple asks Jesus for permission to go and bury his father. Some comment that the father was not yet dead! But the disciples is being honourable and truthful in asking this request. He needs to go and work out his family responsibilities to his dead father.

Jesus reply seems very strict and unyielding. Jesus tells the disciple to let someone else bury the dead. Let the people who are of this world and dead to God, do the things of this world. Jesus tells this disciple to “Follow me.”

“Follow me..”

is the price to pay for a God-orientated life in this stricken world. We do not belong to it and we are servants of Christ and not our own. There are always people who can do the earth bound things, the necessities of this world’s culture and social expectations. But the Christian has another agenda.

This is why we count the cost.

Too many start off well, but when the difficulties come and the real sacrificial way of life comes into our understanding, we back off. We want the blessings, but not the thorns and the pains of growing and saying “goodbye” to this world’s treasures.

We cannot follow Jesus and still hold on to worldly pleasures.

It sounds so hard a saying and impossible to do, and it is, without the Spirit of God, changing us and making us able to do things we cannot do. As we walk the pilgrim pathway, we walk in the power of God. He changes our desires to be like His desires, and we will have the pleasure and joy of knowing Jesus and walking with Him every day of our lives.

Some have no appetite for that prospect, and show their lack of love for Christ and careless attitude to a relationship with Him.

The Scribe at least came to Jesus and wanted to follow. Maybe he did follow and gave up his religious job and earth orientated views. Maybe he was willing to suffer loss for the sake of Jesus and was ready for a life of sacrifice. If he did follow, he is enjoying the presence of the Lord right now in heaven. We can be sure he never for a moment regrets leaving his sinful life and following His Master and Teacher.

Lord, help me to count the cost of following you and I will willingly follow you. You are my Saviour and I trust you, because of who you are. Give me the strength dear Lord, to keep following to the end of the pathway…

^{Jesus begins to preach}

^{Matthew 4:12-17 WEB     “}When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:  “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light;on those living in the land of the shadow of deatha light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9)    From that time on Jesus began to preach, 

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Jesus hears that John the Baptist has been put in prison. He knows what the outcome of that will be. Jesus leaves Nazareth and goes to Galilee to call His disciples.

Capernaum is a city in Galilee near to the Lake of Genesareth also know as the sea of Galilee. It is in the land of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. These areas were called “the village of consolation” and so it was for Jesus Himself lived there.

Where ever Jesus dwells is peace and blessing. Peace with God, and the blessings of Eternal life – not necessarily the blessing of this life, for many Christians have suffered loss for His sake.

The Jews regarded it as an evil place because they rejected Christ. They said great sinners live there, and people who do dark magic arts. But the prophesies of old said that Christ would come for there, from Galilee and the whole area would be filled with the glory of the Lord.

So, we see, Jesus the true Messiah, first appearing here to call His disciples and start His public ministry.

“the people living in darkness have seen a great light;”

 The people living in Galilee who have lived in spiritual darkness, and ignorance about the salvation of God, have now seen THE GREAT LIGHT… Jesus is the light of the world, that lights every one and shows the way to God.

Jesus spoke with them, preached to them, taught them, and opened the eyes of their understanding to see His glory and know Him and trust in Him.

So also with us, all these year later. We see Jesus lifted up in the Scriptures, and we are taught and shown who He is and how we can trust in Him. We also see Him to be the true Messiah and the only Saviour of our souls. Do we see the light and are we following Him?

“on those living in the land of the shadow of death”

 The people of Galilee have been living in a  land that is dark. The people sit in sin and under the condemnation of God. The live sinful lives and are facing the second death.

BUT, the light has come. They no longer have to suffer under the darkness and live in fear.

They have not looked for Him, but He has come to save them and will freely forgive them. Christ the light of God has risen in the land and He will illumine every soul that seeks Him.

“:a light has dawned.”

 And so it has. Not just for Galilee, or Zebulun or Napthali, but for the whole world. The light has dawned and continue to dawn in the lives of people sitting in the darkness – people like us…

We enter this world in darkness and we live in the shadow of death all our lives, until the Sun of Righteousness dawns on us. We live ruined lives, until we see the light of Christ and seek Him. We cannot see the truth of Scripture or the sinfulness within our hearts, until the light dawns and shines on us and shows us what we are really like.

Those who are wise will run to the light and be cleansed from the darkness of sin. We repent of our darkness and seek the light that can bring us into the eternal kingdom.

The light dawned on Galilee all those years ago and many believed. Has it dawned on us today?

Jesus brought a message.

How do we see and get this light?

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

 When we see our darkness and hate it enough, we will run to Jesus to seek forgiveness from our sinful self. We are able to repent, because the kingdom of God is near to us. It is here with us…

IT IS JESUS…

THE SAVIOUR OF OUR SOULS

Jesus can blot out the sin and darkness and remake us as Children of the Light.!!

Instead of sitting in the dark, we live glorious lives is the light. It is the light of God’s kingdom and not what this world considers glorious. Jesus has come near to us, how can we ignore Him?

Why sit all our lives on earth in the darkness and then face the ultimate darkness of an eternity separated from the light?

Let us put our trust in the Light and walk in that Light on and on into eternity.

The temptation of JESUS

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple,  and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you.’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”

Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.  He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me,Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”   Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.  Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee. Matthew 4:1-11 WEB

 The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in every way that we are tempted. Therefore He can empathize with us. He knows what we go through. He knows they power of temptation and how subtle it can be. He knows that we will not  prevail, unless we are supported by the Holy Spirit of God. Only the Christian can triumph over temptation. The unbeliever might beat it at first, but will eventually succumb to its power.

The Devil came to Jesus at this physically low point in His life. Jesus was not weak, but His physical state was not strong after fasting for forty days. Jesus had been spending time away from other people and had been fasting and praying for forty days. At that point the Devil chose the opportunity to try and bring Jesus down.

First temptation

The Devil tempts Jesus at His point of need. The Devil knows Jesus is physically hungry and so tempts Him to do a miracle and turn the stones around on the ground, into bread to meet the need. Jesus is physically hungry, but not spiritually hungry. He rebuffs the enemy with the bread of the Word of God.

But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

 Jesus is not fooled. The need of the physical is not met by mere food. The soul is not sustained by physical food. We are not only physical, but have a deep spiritual need of God, that goes far beyond anything this world can offer. We need the Lord. We always need the Lord. Jesus spends time with His Father, because that is what sustains Him.

If that is true for Jesus, then it is certainly true for us. Without the Word of God dwelling in us RICHLY, we are at the mercy of the enemy of our souls.

When Jesus quoted the Scripture to Satan, he backed off that temptation. He is a coward and runs away at the Word of God.

Second temptation

So Jesus uses the Scripture to thwart the Devil’s plan. Satan changes tack here. He decides to use the Scripture to try another trick.

This is a more subtle temptation. Evil people can twist Scripture to make it fit what they want to do and say and live. Many people are led astray by the false words spoken to them, which are Scripture taken out of context and twisted. The Word of God is manipulated to keep people from entering into a real spiritual life with God. We can hear many words like this on the media today. There are plenty of people who try to make a name for themselves, and get many people to follow them. There are big churches with “ministers” who preach a false gospel and so they lead many people astray.

Satan is doing this here.

He takes Jesus to the very top of religious life and shows Him how popular He could be, how everyone would admire Him is only Jesus would do what the Scripture says.!! Of course in this context it is not what the Scripture says!! It is the devils twisted words…

Satan tells Jesus that God will never let Him be destroyed and will send supernatural powers to sustain Him. Angles will come from heaven and catch Him and everyone will be amazed….

Should Jesus do it?

Why not? The Scripture does say these words…

 ‘He will put his angels in charge of you.’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’”

 The ministering angels of God have protected Jesus in His life, as with all His redeemed people. What the devil is saying is true, but the consequences of it would be evil. Jesus must die and rise again. Any deviation for this is evil and against the plan and purpose of God. When Peter suggested he would keep Jesus from dying on the cross, Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan!!”

 Also we are warned about tempting God. We must follow God’s ways as is our calling, but not calling down supernatural events to sustain us or justify what we are doing. There are those who name the name of Christ in these days, who also do this.

Jesus mildly replies.  “You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”

 The humility of Jesus. He did not speak lofty words, or argue with Satan, or try to justify His words, but silenced the Tempter with eight words.

“YOU SHALL NOT”

The holy law of God always prevails.

Third temptation

The physical temptation did not work, the religious temptation did not work, so Satan goes for blatant godless power in this world. The Devil takes Jesus to a high mountain and shows Him the power of the accumulation of authority in this world. Not just the present Roman power, but all earthly rule and authority.

“I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”

In a moment Satan was able to present Jesus with this illusion. Then Satan says he will give them to Jesus if Jesus will just give Satan recognition and the right to do so…

The illusion is fleeting and the temptation fast, because Jesus is already the Lord of everything. Authority is not Satan’s to give.! The absolute cheek to presume he can trick Jesus. It mirrors the chief sin that brought Satan down in the first place. He wanted to be God.!

This is a powerful temptation in these days of our lives. He continues to tell us we can have anything we like. We can be lord of our own lives, if we just give in to him and enjoy what he has to offer. Satan will do anything to wreck your life. He will promise you anything, even good things and worthwhile things, if only you will do what he says and not what God says.

It is very subtle and we must test our motivations very carefully.

Satan is not in control. 

He has to ask permission of God to do anything… any event recorded in Holy Scripture we see him having to ask God to trouble people. When God permits His people to be troubled, they grown in grace and faith. So even the evil of Satan, does the work of God.!

At this point, Jesus will not tolerate the presumption of the evil one any longer. Jesus will not allow the Devil to continue to grasp for the place of God in this world, or in the lives of people. Jesus speaks with total abhorrence and hatred of Satan’s irreverence in the presence of God.

“Get behind me,Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’” 

 GO AWAY SATAN!

 When Satan troubles us, that is all we need to say.

Worship God alone. Love God alone. Fear God alone.

We see Jesus here in this passage as the all-conquering Saviour and the Lord of every humble soul that trusts in Him.

He alone is worthy.

Let us make sure we belong to Him and are daily seeking His grace and pardon. We must walk worthy of His name and listen to no other voice.

The centrality of the Holy Scriptures in our lives, is absolutely key. Jesus knew the Scriptures and used them as ammunition against the tempter. He did not use complicated reasons or apologetic arguments to counter the temptations, but the straightforward Word of God that every Christian can use.

We must know those Scriptures too…..