The Baptism & Temptation of Jesus

Information is needed in almost every day, all within years of founding the Corinthian congregation needs to see them reformed to Be surprised the church is performing regularly in the history of the church. Sometimes that reform is more the nature of a revitalization, but I think people have, especially in America, been to content to be satisfied with entertainment and with shallowness and we need a seriousness about God about Christ and about his word and I think should be drawn again to passionate interest in the word is gonna take a major reformation of the church today.

My hope is that this series will serve the church by causing people to reflect on what the church ought to be.

According to the word of God, the necessity of reforming the church teaching series with W. Robert Godfrey visit Lincoln here.org/teaching series to learn more today on Renewing Your Mind. Satan is obviously raising the question here.

Are you really the son of God, and if you really are the son of God Fulton from the stones in the bread the problems with Jesus's baptism. Satan took every opportunity to attempt them and taking them the evil one strategy to question God's truthfulness was exactly the same will be used in the garden of Eden. The difference in outcomes, however, could not be more profound. Dr. RC spell may have mentioned that the gospel give us little information about the early years of Jesus life here of his infancy.

We see him in the temple only 12 years old and then the next time we see Jesus is when he comes to the Jordan River to be baptized by John at least 30 years old. While the Bible does tell us that he grew up as the child of Joseph and Mary and that presumably he grew up in a carpenters environment and that can be a little bit misleading to us is fascinating. When we look at the teaching of Jesus parables. They teach us. For example, that he constantly draws his material from the normal patterns of life, of his day, many, many references to agriculture, but the number one reference in Jesus teaching two images drawn from the society of his day is from the field of stone masonry and that could be a little bit surprising to us because we don't think of Jesus as being in the construction business but rather of his having been a carpenter, but therein is the rub. The carpenter in these days was not simply a cabinetmaker or one who works with woodwork, but he was chiefly a builder and there was a quite arduous task where the trees were cut down by the carpenter and they were prepared for the blocks of lumber and big stones were used for building and so on and in those days you didn't have the sophisticated equipment that are laborsaving devices, such as we have today. So the assumption of the historians is that she says given this kind of environment in his early manhood would've been quite strong and firm human specimen that he would've been probably very muscular.

As a result of the trade in which he had been himself trained will in any case, we've seen part of the significance of the baptism of Jesus. Inasmuch as Jesus came presented himself to John by the river Jordan and John protested against his baptizing Jesus and wanted Jesus to baptize him and we recall that Jesus said no suffered knowledge on this is necessary because I have to fulfill all righteousness.

There is that significance to the baptism that Jesus is willingly and voluntarily submitting to every dimension of the law of God. But there's another important element that we have to understand with respect to his baptism, because we are told, on the occasion of his baptism that the Holy Spirit descends from heaven in the form of a dove upon Christ.

This is his ordination. This is his divine commissioning for his messianic vocation. This is when the spirit of the Lord comes upon him to make him God's anointed, or God's Christos because the title Christ means the anointed one.

So Jesus is now anointed for ministry and he is ordained by God and set apart to begin the vocation for which he had been sent into the world in the first place while the other element in the record of the baptism in the significant is that we are told that God spoke audibly from heaven on this occasion there three times in the New Testament where we have the record of God's speaking audibly and every one of these occasions the message is substantively the same. Namely, it is an announcement from heaven declaring she says to be his son. And so we read in the record that when the dove descends upon Jesus and the voice came from heaven. The voice announces this. You are my beloved son in new I am well pleased. Then the Scriptures tell us that immediately after his baptism, the same spirit that is anointed him the same spirit that is descended upon him now impels him or drives him into the wilderness to be tempted of Satan for 40 days and what follows in the gospel record is the story of the temptation of Christ. Now you will recall that we, at the very beginning of this series of duster glory considered the probationary period of Adam and Eve when they were in the garden and how they were assaulted by the serpent and the serpent prevailed over them and got them the sin that one of the most important motifs of the New Testament with respect to Jesus is that Jesus in his messianic office has to fulfill many responsibilities, one of which is to fulfill the role of the second Adam, or the new Adam. The representative of a new humanity and to achieve victory where the first Adam suffered defeat. And so, in behalf of his people. It is as it were, Jesus is driven back into the place of attempting and he is subjected to this rigorous test is like an ordeal of fire, through which he must pass in order to be qualified to go public with his ministry so that his first mission is not a public mission, but it's a private mesh undertaken in the desolate arena of the Judean wilderness, and if any of you ever had the opportunity to visit the holy land. I doubt if you could ever forget your visual impression of the Judean wilderness were the only indigenous wildlife includes wild rabbits, snakes and scorpions and a handful of birds sit. It is one of the most intimidating, desolate pieces of real estate on this planet and it was hinted that environment that the spirit of God drove Jesus to be alone now. I've talked many times about the comparisons and contrasts that exist between the tempting of Adam and the tempting of Jesus. Remember, the environment in which Adam and Eve were tempted the place or the setting of the assault of the serpent against them was in a gorgeous 4/garden paradise. They were attacked and assaulted by Satan in the midst of an experience where they were given the privilege of eating freely from all of the fruit of the trees of the garden, and yet the setting for the temptation of Christ is in this desolate wilderness and in the midst of a 40 day fast where he's not allowed to eat anything. When Adam was tempted, he had the support system of a companion, a helpmate that had been designed especially for him to to encourage him to support him.

Jesus endures the attack of Satan alone. Think of your own lives and think of how strong is your resistance to sin when you're alone or when you have people who can support you and so we see these stark contrast between the first Adam and the second Adam, the situation is completely different yet the thing that stands out to me that I don't want us to forget is the point of comparison. The point of similarity between the temptation of Adam in the temptation of Jesus. When Adam was Adam and Eve were there in their probation will recall that the serpent approached Eve with the question and the question was, has God said, you shall not eat of any of the trees of the garden. Of course God hadn't said that in initially as we said before he fought for the Angels and rebuked this distortion of the serpent synagogue and say that we set all the trees of our Waverley so that the point wanted to remember is that the point of attack of Satan against our primordial parents was the point of raising questions about the authenticity. The veracity and the trustworthiness of the word of God. That was the point of assault and when we then move across the centuries, and we see the revisitation of the serpent to the new Adam, we see that the point of attack is essentially at the exact same place. Hollis Satan Institute. The temptation he comes to Jesus with a question thinly veiled question we read these words in the fourth chapter of Luke and the devil said to him, if you were the son of God, command the stone to become bread. Not were normally accustomed to thinking that the force of this temptation simply deals with Jesus natural physical hunger and that Satan is trying to get them to break the fast to eat breakfast, which is what the word breakfast means that is to take advantage of his power to take advantage of his prerogatives as the son of God to turn the stones into bread that he may satisfy the pines of his hunger, but there's something far more significant going on here. Notice how the temptation is for you are the son of God. All that word could be translated since.

But the translators I think of rightly grasp the force of the statement by transcending it if because Satan is obviously raising the question here. Are you really the son of God, and if you really are the son of God Fulton turn the stones into bread, you have no problems.

What were the last words that we know of that Jesus heard in his human ears before he went into this place of the selection. Remember, this is my beloved son, God had spoken, and by his word.

He had declared Jesus to be his son and all the first assault against his integrity and against his mission is an assault on Jesus trust and faith and confidence in the word of God.

Are you sure this suggestion is for the son of God were you doing place like this one are you hungry, why are you alone. Why are you in the midst of such deprivation. Anyway, for God to treat his son. Surely you aren't the son has interesting to me that Jesus understands the significance of the question which we can derive from his answer. Jesus answered him, saying it is written, man shall not live by bread alone now supposed to just stop right there and said no I can't turn the stones into bread because I'm in the middle of a fast and though it's perfectly legitimate. On normal occasions to have breakfast when you're in the midst of this kind of test that's not allowed. So that's all right with me. I can survive in these days without any physical nourishment if that's what God wants me to do. After all, Satan man doesn't live by bread alone than he goes on to finish the statement but by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God is as if Jesus is saying I am the new Adam, the first Adam did not last very long.

Living by the word of God. But my task my vocation is to fulfill the original destiny and purpose of the human race to live on the basis of every single word that comes from the mouth of God and what is that compared to bread and so Jesus focuses the question in his response to Satan on obedience to the word of God that we need to understand that because I hope that were not having this overview of sacred Scripture does the glory just out of a casual kind of interest in a historical document convinced that what we're looking at here is nothing less from the very written word of God and we are required and obligated not only to know it live by every word that comes to us from God than the devil taking him up on a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and the devil said to him, all this authority I will give you and their glory for this is been delivered to me and I give it to whomever I wish.

Therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be yours and Jesus answered and said to him, get behind me Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. It's as if Satan is saying look for the son of God. Why should you have to suffer in order to be king. Why should you have to go through humiliation in order to experience exultation. I can give it to you without pain without suffering without humiliation and without your becoming the suffering servant of God, I'm in charge of all the kingdoms of this world.

I can set you up for coronation immediately and all it requires. You don't have to run around giving's lavish obeisance to me all the time just a little genuflection here just Bolognese first, second, and I give it all to them. And there's no cross there is no Via Dolorosa you don't have to set your face is a flint toward Jerusalem. Remember later on at the Caesarea Philippi confession after Jesus asked his disciples, who do men say that I am Peter gave his confession the power of the Christ the son of the living brought in Jesus and your Peter your the rocket on this rock I will build my church. A few minutes later, Jesus tells them the asked to go to Jerusalem suffer by Pierce is no way Jesus turn Rossa get behind me Satan is here comes again the offer of the kingdom without suffer, but was significant in Jesus answer here is that he said it is written first to template both case, he withstands the suggestions of Satan by quoting the word of God because the phrase it is written in the Scriptures is simply a technical term some idiom that every Jew understood meant the same thing as the words the Bible sets such as written down on parchment somewhere in some literary anthology to say it is written, means it is written in holy Scripture. And so Jesus is saying the same. Satan I can't do that and I just told you I have to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God and the word of God says that we are not to serve anybody or worship anyone but God, you're not God, so I can't do this now Satan is getting frustrated and really the third temptation he brought him to Jerusalem, set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, he shall give his angels charge over you to keep you and in their hands they shall bear you up. Bless you – your foot against a stone. Hello.

Satan is more subtle than any of the beasts of the field. Jesus likes to quote Scripture. Jesus likes to make his case by appealing to the Bible, Satan knows the Bible seems tired of hearing Jesus say it is written, it is written sentences on what the Bible says it is written, the Bible says that he will give his angels charge over you, lest you dash your foot against the stone.

So let's see if the word of God is true. Let's see if what it says there is written really comes the past. Let me throw you down from the pinnacle of the temple and let's wait for the Angels to catch you. Let's see if the Bible is true how Jesus is. But Satan not only do we have to believe in the nature of biblical authority. We also have to understand proper hermeneutics rules for interpreting and the overarching basic role of biblical interpretation is that Scripture interprets Scripture and you must never set one portion of Scripture. I guess another portion Scripture and what you've given me is just part of what the Bible says yes. The Bible says that the Angels will be given charge.

They will take care of me and all that but the Bible says also. Also not tempt the Lord thy God also not put the Lord to the test and if I jump from this temple. I'm putting God to the test. Allowed to do that actually Satan when I'm supposed to do is trust without jumping that God will in fact keep his word and the devil had ended, every temptation, he departed from him for a season. Jesus is victorious in one of the things that I find so marvelous about this story is that after Jesus withstands all the temptations of Satan and Satan leaves the first thing that happens is that the Angels of God here administer by God, should the proof of his own Angels were there. Jesus didn't have to jump from the temple and the word of God was fulfilled when the Angels administered Jesus the second Adam withstood the temptation and was victorious. Our redemption depends on the victory of Christ in the passage we study today.

We have found great encouragement this week on Renewing Your Mind is Dr. RC Sproul is taken is through the early New Testament from his series duster glory. It's a study tour of the entire Bible and only taught 57 lessons in the series. More than 21 hours of teaching. We are called to be people of the word and duster glory equips us to master the Scriptures so that the scriptures can master us. We like for you to have this eight DVD set for your own library when you give a donation of any about today.

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