Alright, this prophecy stuff is tough to get through,
because it takes so long to cover all of the awesomeness! I’m going to pick up
in Matthew chapter 4[1],
with Jesus’ temptation and our last prophetic passage. Feel free to follow
along!
After Jesus is baptized by John, He is tempted by the devil
in the wilderness. I’m not sure that we can understand by human knowledge why
it was to be this way, but there are some significant things that we get to
learn about Jesus and who God is from this episode. One significant fact is
that Jesus, being fully God and fully man, was tempted with opportunities to
sin. Hebrews 4:15[2]
tells us that, because Jesus was tempted, He is able to understand and
sympathize with us when we endure temptation. Yet, because Jesus lived a
perfect life without sin, He alone is able to stand between us and the holiness
of God the Father as an advocate on our behalf- for those who have placed their
faith and trust in Him. Another significant fact is that Jesus used Scripture
that He had memorized to fight off sin in the moment of temptation, and we can
learn to fight off temptation ourselves by following His example.
Satan, described in Matthew 4 as the tempter, came to Jesus
in the wilderness after He had been fasting for 40 days and challenges Jesus’
pride by insulting His identity as the Son of God. He says in Matthew 4:4
“If You are the
Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
Jesus answers by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3,
“Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Deuteronomy 8[3]
consists of the words of God given to Moses, who is in turn speaking them to
the nation of Israel, establishing the Law. Israel was to remember the Law of God and to
obey it carefully, learning from the mistakes of their past as they wandered
the wilderness and waited to go into the Promised Land. Moses reminds them of
the events that happened in Exodus 16[4],
when God humbled Israel with hunger so that they would learn to trust in the
Lord alone for provision. The Exodus passage tells us that the Israelites were
grumbling against the Lord, who delivered them from slavery in Egypt, because
there was no food in the wilderness. God responds to these grumblings by
providing “manna” bread in the mornings and meat in the evenings, until the
Israelites were stuffed full! The lesson that Moses then establishes in
Deuteronomy 8, the passage that Jesus quotes, is that men are supposed to trust
in God for provision more than they trust in their own power, craftiness, or
sinful scheming. It’s a reminder for us to trust in the Lord above all else and
not to trust completely in our own strength or means.
Satan responds by playing Jesus’ Bible-quoting game right
back at Him, misinterpreting Psalm 91:11[5]
to say that Jesus could throw Himself off of a high pinnacle to the safe hands
of angels who would catch Him, all in order to prove to Satan that Jesus is really
the Son of God. Psalm 91 is a song of praise to God for His faithfulness to
protect His people, but it is NOT a promise that God will always prevent all
forms of harm from happening to His people. Jesus responds by quoting
Deuteronomy 6:16 “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”[6]
which again is Moses’ commandments to Israel about how they should live.
This time, Moses is directly referencing the time when in Exodus 17[7]
the Israelites tried to test God in doubt of His existence by complaining and demanding
for water to drink. It’s a reminder for us not to lash out in doubtful defiance
against God by demanding things of Him. If we are experiencing doubt about God
in our lives, we should take it to Him openly in prayer with respect and honor
for Him in the midst of our doubt.
Finally, Satan shows Jesus the kingdoms of the earth and
offers them in return for Jesus’ worship to Satan. Jesus responds by refusing
and dismissing Satan, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13[8],
“You shall worship
the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.”
There is no one and nothing worthy of our worship and
adoration, other than the one true, living God, the Creator of heaven and
earth. Satan will try to get you to put things or people in the place of God in
your life, the place of your utmost value, time, and energy. Resist temptation,
for God alone is worthy of our utmost value, time, and energy!
After Jesus leaves the wilderness and hears that John the
Baptist has been arrested, He begins preaching in Capernaum by the Sea of
Galilee, an area which falls in the tribal territories of Zebulun and Naphtali.
Matthew says that Jesus’ ministry in this area fulfills a prophecy from Isaiah
9:1[9],
which says:
“But there will be
no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time He brought into
contempt the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, but in the latter time He has made
glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the
nations.”
There is a slight difference between the original passage,
Isaiah 9:1-2, and the quoted passage, Matthew 4:15-16, and this happens
occasionally in the Bible but it’s not cause for concern! As Matthew cites and
applies ancient passages of prophecy to the events of his day, he does not
change or distort the meaning of the original passage. This is a key to
remember! Although there may be slight discrepancies throughout the Bible, the
meaning of its passages are never distorted or compromised.
Both Isaiah and Matthew are referring to the days when the
lands of Zebulun and Naphtali were conquered by the Assyrians. In “Powerful
Prophecy part 1”, we got to see Judah under pressure from Israel and Syria;
King Ahaz, in his distrust of God, trusted rather in paying Assyria to attack
his enemies. This was also a part of God’s action, who used the Assyrians to
discipline Israel (including the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali) for their
idolatry and sin. In “Powerful Prophecy part 2”, we see that God used the “hired
sword” of Assyria to invade Judah as well, as a consequence of Ahaz’s doubt.
However, the faith of Ahaz’s son King Hezekiah spared Jerusalem, even though
Hezekiah’s pride brought the foretelling of Judah’s destruction at the hand of
the Babylonians. God’s people, both the northern portion of “Israel” and the
southern portion of “Judah”, served in bondage for many long years because they
failed to worship the one, true God. But God never gives up on His people!
Matthew rejoices in the fulfillment of God’s promise, and we can too! Because
Jesus started His ministry in the city of Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee, God’s
faithful promise was fulfilled: The people of a war-torn land, characterized
for its past mistakes, was being visited by God himself in love, sacrifice, and
proclamation of the forgiveness of sins.
If you feel as though your past mistakes define you, and
your past sins are too great to bear, take heart! We are all sinful and are all
a hopeless people dwelling in a land of deep darkness. We get to see the great
light of JESUS in our lives too. You are not forgotten of God, you are loved by
Him!
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