Monday, January 14, 2008
The Temptations
I was a little puzzled with the first point of today's reading. First, how can the devil attempt to confuse the identity of Jesus? Jesus was fully man but at same time he was fully divine therefore he should have known his identity, right? It was strange to read that Jesus had to repeat to himself the words of his Father, "This is my Son". Jesus has seen His Father and was sent by Him, how can he be tempted to think otherwise? Second, I always thought that we should always examine ourselves if we are truly children of God by comparing our actions and thoughts to the desires of God since no one knows for sure who are elected. Isn't it dangerous to think that we are children of God without thoroughly examine ourselves? Please feel free to share your thoughts, thanks.
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5 comments:
I think that there was absolutely nothing could tempt Jesus and made him fall. His power was much greater than the devil's, however I think he had to rely on God for the power to overcome the temptations. He recited the Word of God, which in and of itself has power to defeat the enemy. Correct me if I am wrong but...
Since Jesus was fully man, I think, time to time, he might had been burdened by the inconceivable task that he was sent to do on this earth, that was, Jesus had to carry sins of this world to the Cross and that was, he would be abandoned by God at the Cross. I think the devil tried to tempt Jesus with that regard that the devil himself knew why Jesus came as a man on this earth. I think the devil and its monstrous army tried to do everything in their power to stop Jesus from being an obedient Son who was sent by God to do His Will. Guess who failed?
I thank Jesus for the great example that we,too are able to overcome any temptations through the power that is found in the Word of God. Jesus defeated the enemy for us. Who are we afraid of? Absolutely nothing!
I think both Stott and IL has a point regarding Jesus' identity. As Stott mentioned, I could see how the devil was aiming to assault Jesus' identity. However, as Il mentioned, Jesus' identity could never be shaken-but was it? IL is right- Jesus' identity could never be shaken and I think that is the bottem line. The devil works to slander no matter who the target is. He throws his darts but does he know the outcome? In his rage, he merely tries all that he can to destroy anything that is good and pleasing to God. He threw his darts at Jesus but the important thing is Jesus overcame those attacks. Stott is sharring how he thinks Jesus may have dealt with the attacks but I don't think he's implying Jesus ever doubted His identity only that the devil made an attack on it. There's probably many things that went through Jesus' mind as He was tempted. He knows all the truths to counter all and any of the devil's attacks. But what is recorded is for our benefit. When we are tempted, we struggle to remember the God's truths and struggle to even believe in them and fight with them but as Stott shared, Jesus does not need to "discuss or to negotiate". He "Immediately, instinctively... rejected each temptation." Jesus did many things for our benefit that we might learn from Him and do like-wise. Regarding temptation, I agree with Stott. I think Jesus is teaching us to remember the words of God to drown out the voice of the devil.
There's much to meditate about concerning the temptations of Jesus by the devil.
The first temptation the devil presented to Jesus was to use his divine power as the "Son of God" to satisfy his hunger rather than to trust in God. The temptation was not primarily directed as his identity but rather to the previleges connected with his identity as the "Son of God". Now I don't know when Jesus came to a conscious understanding that he was the "Son of God" but I'm quite sure that he was not questioning or in doubt of his identity. Jesus seems to have known quite early who he was as seen in his reply to his bewildered parents, "didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house." (Luke 2:49). When the Father declared, "This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased", I think this was said to assure the Son not of his identity but to assure the Son of the Father's pleasure in the Son's obedience.
What we are to learn from this passage is that the temptation of Jesus was real and that the way he overcame his temptation was through the "promises" of God in the Scripture. However, we need to do more than merely "read" the Scripture as Stott suggested as the end of his reflection. We must meditate on it with discipline if the devil's voice is to be drowned by the voice of God. When Jesus quoted the bible to fight his temptation, he displayed a knowledge that was more than a cursory reading of the Scripture but a deeper meditation on the Scripture...
Conclusion: let us join together to read and meditate on the Word. That's what this blog is meant to encourage...to fight the temptation to give up!
Posted by Pastor James
Jesus had fasted alone for 40 days and nights in the desert. being fully human, His physical, mental and spiritual condition must have been severely weakened.
i can't help wondering whether during this physical fast, that Jesus also did not suffer from a withdrawal of God's conscious presence.
what i mean by that is that while God is always present with us, there are times we don't feel His presence consciously. these are definitely times of doubt and struggle.
as well, the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional aspects of our being are all connected. we have been made in the image of God, body, mind and soul. we cannot separate one from the other.
it is very hard to be doing well "spiritually" when we are physically exhausted. have you ever noticed in your life?
i think the temptation of Jesus at this point must have been very great. even the truths which we know to be beyond a shadow of a doubt can be called into question when we are so severely tested.
there must have been great temptation even for Jesus to question God about many things--His identity, God's provision of every need--much of the same things we question God about during difficult points in our life.
satan knew this so well.
but, as everyone has so astutely pointed out, Jesus prevailed because He put His hope in God's Word, above anything else.
this is the way out of temptation. and I thank Jesus that He showed us how to do it
perfectly.
we can be confident that if Jesus, being so severely tested, could overcome a direct assault from the devil, that we also have the power to overcome any and every temptation.
I think I can understand why the scripture was written that way. Actually I was confused just like Il about this kind of content issues. I think no matter how many times we are confirmed that we are indeed children of God and reminded of all His promises, we as humans will have the tendency to doubt and let things we see and hear determine our thought process. Especially living in this era of post-modernism, we are being fed daily by the world around us to give up our own choice and go with whatever feels good and seems good. I’m reminded by the text to stay strong in my identity as a child of God and look to Him even though there are many lights flashing left and right.
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