and then read the passage for today.
Dear God, thank you for today.
Thank you for bringing us all here.
We pray, God, that as we read, as your word is read and preached, oh God,
that you would just speak to us individually, God.
Lord, we know that your word is alive and active, God.
We pray that, yeah, we would really see you and know you
and that your truth, oh God, would be made alive in our lives today.
In Jesus' name.
Okay, so I'm going to read from Luke 3, starting from verse, let's say, 21 to 413.
Now, when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized
and was praying, the heavens were opened,
and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dog.
And a voice came from heaven,
You are my beloved son.
With you I am well pleased.
Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about 30 years of age,
being the son of, as was supposed, of Joseph,
the son of Heli, the son of Metathat,
the son of Levi,
the son of Melchi,
the son of Janiah,
the son of Joseph,
the son of Metathias,
the son of Amos,
the son of Nahum,
the son of Esli,
the son of Nagaiah,
the son of Math,
the son of Metathias,
the son of Simeon,
the son of Josek,
the son of Judah,
the son of Joannan,
the son of Reza,
the son of Zerubbabel,
the Rons of Sons,
the son of Sheltiel,
the son of Mirai,
the son of Melchi,
the son of Adai,
the son of Kosam,
the son of El-Madan,
the son of Er,
the son of Joshua,
the son of Eliezer,
the son of Jorim,
the son of Mat Corinthians,
the son of Levi,
the son of Simeon,
the son of Judah,
the son of Joseph,
the son of JahХ notice,
the son of Eliakim,
the son of Meliah,
the son of Mena,
the son of Matatha,
the son of Nathan,
the son ofman,
the son of David,
the son of Jesse,
the son of bat,
the son of Boaz the son of Salah the son of Nashih the son of Aminadab the son of Ajme the son of Arnie
the son of Hezron the son of Perez the son of Judah the son of Jacob the son of Isaac
the son of Abraham the son of Terah the son of Nahor the son of Saruk the son of Rheul the son
of Pellick the son of Eber the son of Shela the son of Canaan the son of Arfaxad the son of Shem
the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared,
the son of Mahalel, the son of Canaan, the son of Anos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
And Jesus, full of the Spirit, returned from Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days,
being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days, and when they were ended, he was hungry.
The devil said to him, If you are the son of God, command these stones to become bread.
And Jesus answered him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.
And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in the moment of time,
and said to him, To you I will give all these authority and their glory, for it hath been delivered to me,
and I give it to whom I will. If you then will worship me, it will all be yours.
And Jesus answered him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.
And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him,
If you are the son of God, throw yourself down from there, for it is written,
He will command his angels concerning you to guard you.
And on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against the stone.
And Jesus answered, It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.
And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
This is the word of God.
Thanks.
Imagine meeting someone that's just gleaming with glory and charisma.
And surely you think to yourself, This is a VIP.
This is an important person.
And that person walks right up to you with such gravitas that you feel tempted to bow down in his presence,
almost to worship him.
And that's what we see in Revelation chapter 22, verses 8 to 9.
And after encountering an angel of God and hearing his words and seeing his visions,
Apostle John says,
When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me.
But he said to me, You must not do that.
I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book.
Worship God.
This great personage is merely a servant.
Who then is the king that this servant ministers to?
If this is the manner of the servant, what kind of a person could this king be?
If this is the butler, what kind of a person is the master of the house?
That's kind of where we find ourselves here in Luke chapter 3, 21.
Because in chapter 3, earlier in chapter 3, we met John the Baptist.
And we were told about his birth, that he will be great before the Lord.
And his birth was attended with such remarkable circumstances that murmurings and rumors about him spread all over the town and the entire region.
And people were openly wondering to themselves,
What then will this child be?
The people were in expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John whether he might be the Christ.
Luke chapter 3, verses 15 to 16.
But John answered them all, saying,
I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming,
the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
So in the ancient Near East, right, the desert climate,
people's feet were clad with open-toed sandals,
and so it would always become caked with dirt.
And so washing the feet, therefore, was a daily necessity,
but this was considered such a demeaning task
that Jews insisted that even slaves were not,
Jewish slaves were not worthy of this task.
That you should only have Gentile slaves do this,
and Jewish slaves were not allowed to wash people's feet.
And yet this great personage, this seeming VIP, the John the Baptist,
says, I am not worthy to untie the sandals of this one who is to come.
And so that's whom we are about to encounter.
This great Jewish prophet, the powerful man of God,
whom openly many wondered whether or not it was the Christ,
says, no, this master is coming.
It is not I.
And that's whom we meet in Luke chapter 3, 21 to chapter 4, verse 13.
And in this passage, we learn that Jesus is the Son of God
who represents and restores humanity to their rightful relationship with God.
That's the main point of this passage.
And we'll see that in three parts.
First, we see the announcement of the Son of God.
Second, we see the ancestry of the Son of God.
And third, we see the allegiance of the Son of God.
In verses 21 to 22, we say that,
Now when all the people were baptized,
and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
the heavens were opened,
and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven,
You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.
In the parallel passage in Matthew chapter 3 and Mark chapter 1,
We also learn that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus after he was baptized.
So that's the same.
But Luke gives us the additional detail that it was, in fact,
after Jesus was baptized,
and while he was in the act of praying to God,
that the heavens were opened,
and the Holy Spirit descended on him.
And a voice came from heaven.
So God saw it fit to include four gospel accounts in Scripture,
because each has its particular emphasis.
And this emphasis on prayer is Luke's particular contribution.
So in the pivotal moments of Jesus' life and ministry in the Gospel of Luke
are all preceded by prayer.
So before choosing his 12 disciples,
who will go on to become the apostles and the foundation of the church,
it says in Luke chapter 6, 12,
that all night Jesus continued in prayer to God.
Immediately before Peter makes the breakthrough confession
that Jesus is the Christ of God,
Jesus was praying alone.
And just before Jesus is transfigured with dazzling glory of God
and joined by Moses and Elijah on the mountain,
it says in Luke 9, 29,
Jesus was praying.
It was after Jesus finished praying in Luke chapter 11, verse 1,
that he teaches his disciples how to pray
with the motto of the Lord's Prayer.
And finally, before his impending arrest, trial, death, and resurrection,
it says in Luke chapter 22, 41,
that Jesus knelt down and prayed.
Why does this happen?
Luke is intentionally driving home a point with this,
because like the petals that the flower girl drops
in preparation for the entrance of the bride,
like the light that breaks on the horizon at dawn
before the rising of the sun,
God has appointed that prayer in the life of the spiritual person
to be the forerunner to all of his blessings.
We take for granted what was given to us
if we receive it without asking,
but we cherish it
if it's given to us after much seeking.
Like parents who are ready to give what is good to their children,
but only ways that they would ask,
because in the act of asking and giving,
there's a deepening of love and trust.
Our Heavenly Father stands ready to bestow what we would ask,
ready to bestow on us every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places,
awaiting that we would pray.
And so this is really a side point here,
but we are creatures of time,
and so we like to mark days and weeks and years,
and often we make resolutions for the new year,
when January 1st comes.
And so let me remind you that we're also creatures of habit,
and so I want to ask you a question.
Do you have a habit of daily prayer?
Have you set aside regular time and place to pray?
Because you have not set a deliberate course to pray,
then you have planned not to pray.
Not to guilt trip you,
but this is,
I sincerely wish that we would all take advantage
of the privilege that prayer is,
seeing this pattern of blessing that follows it
in the Gospel of Luke.
And in verse 22,
it tells us that while Jesus was praying,
the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form,
like a dove,
and a voice came from heaven.
You are my beloved son,
with you I am well pleased.
The word bodily describes the form
in which the Spirit descended.
It had substance,
so it was visible to everybody.
And then the phrase,
like a dove,
describes the manner in which the Spirit descended.
So he did not descend as a dove.
It says that he descended like a dove.
It's describing the manner in which he came down.
And there are significant parallels
between this account
and the account of creation in Genesis 1.
First, in Genesis 1, verse 2,
it uses bird language like here.
It says that the Spirit of God
was hovering over the face of the waters.
And in that moment,
as the Spirit is hovering like a bird,
God speaks creation into this existence.
And so something that's similarity,
that parallel is suggesting
that something of cosmic significance
is brewing right now
in Jesus' baptism
and while he's praying
that the Spirit of God is hovering
and God the Father speaks.
This is a turning point, really,
in human history.
Because the Jews had reckoned,
starting around 435 B.C.,
after the death of Malachi,
Israel's last prophet,
that God had ceased speaking.
The Jews during this time of Jesus
believed that since that time,
God had only spoken to them
through faint whispers,
these echoes.
God never spoke to them directly.
Because of that,
even the so-called prophets
or the people who spoke,
those words were not considered
divinely authoritative
like the previous sayings
of the prophets.
But here, once again,
the voice of God
is heard directly.
Heaven at long last
breaks those hundreds of years
of silence.
And God the Father's announcement,
this dramatic speech,
concerns Jesus' sonship.
He says,
You are my beloved son.
With you, I am well pleased.
So here we see a glimpse,
an early glimpse,
of the triune God,
the Trinity.
The loving Father,
the beloved Son,
and then the Holy Spirit
who bestows and betokens God's love,
who's a token of God's love.
So this is an announcement
of Jesus' divinity.
He's the divine Son.
He is the Son of Man,
as we saw,
but He's also the Son of God.
And as such,
He stands here
as the Son of Man
and Son of God
who bridges heaven and earth
and connects God to man.
Where He stands,
where Jesus stands,
the heavens open.
Where He stands,
the Father speaks.
And where He stands,
the Spirit descends.
He is the one mediator
between God and men.
And He's the one
that establishes
that broken communication line
between God and men.
He's the one
who stands in the gap.
He's the Son of God
who represents
and restores humanity
to their rightful relationship
with God.
And this language of sonship
not only communicates
His divinity,
His divine sonship,
but also communicates
the fact that Jesus
is the Messianic King.
It communicates His role.
Because in the prophecy
of Psalm chapter 2
verses 7 to 8,
it said,
God said concerning
the Messianic King,
You are my Son.
Today I have begotten you.
Ask of me
and I will make
the nations your heritage
and the ends of the earth
your possession.
And also in the Messianic prophecy
of Isaiah 42.1,
God said,
Behold my servant
whom I uphold,
my chosen,
in whom my soul delights,
I put my spirit upon him.
He will bring forth justice
to the nations.
You can think about
what's happening here
this way.
So when you're applying
for a job somewhere,
it's kind of helpful
to have an endorsement
from the CEO
of the company.
And when you're,
so this is God's endorsement
of Jesus' ministry
as the Messianic King
who begins his ministry
here after this.
And because Luke writes
in his sequel,
the Acts of the Apostles
in chapter 10,
verse 37 to 38,
that the early Christians
saw this instance,
the Jesus' baptism
and the God the Father
speaking from heaven
to affirm his sonship,
that this was a significant event
that proved the identity
of Jesus to the watching eyes.
And they describe this event
as the time
when God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit
and with power.
Now, the language
of anointing
conveys the kingship
because in the old days,
kings were anointed
at their inauguration.
So this, in effect,
is Jesus' royal inauguration.
The king is coming
into his kingdom.
He's being anointed
by the Holy Spirit.
And this is not,
by that I don't mean
that Jesus is becoming
the Son of God here.
He is the eternal Son of God.
He was born the Messianic King
as Luke chapter 1 and 2
made clear.
But this is when
he is formally recognized,
legitimized,
and announced to the world
and presented to the world
as the Son of God on earth.
That's the announcement
of the Son of God.
And after the announcement
of the Son of God,
we see the ancestry
of the Son of God
in verses 23 to 38.
Nowadays,
genetic testing websites
like 23andMe
are getting very popular,
right?
With many family tree records
having been lost.
People are curious
to find out
where they come from
because our ancestry
reveals something
about ourselves,
right?
DNA tests.
Nowadays,
are fairly comprehensive.
They reveal
our congenital health risks,
carrier status for genes
that we could pass on
to our children,
as well as,
of course,
reveals our ethnicity
and who our relatives are.
And likewise,
Luke here,
for a similar purpose,
includes the ancestry
of Jesus.
He has to reveal
something about him,
to tell us
who he really is.
And verse 23 says
that Jesus,
when he began his ministry,
was about 30 years of age.
This is not a throwaway statement.
Luke doesn't provide
an exact age
at which Jesus began
his ministry,
but instead provides
an approximate number
and he rounds it to 30.
And this is intentional
because according to
Numbers chapter 4,
verse 3,
30 was the age
at which priests
were allowed
to enter into the priesthood.
According to Ezekiel
chapter 1,
verse 1,
30 was the age
when Ezekiel,
the prophet,
was called into
his prophetic ministry.
And according to
Genesis 41, 26,
and 2 Samuel chapter 5,
verse 4,
30 was also the age
at which Joseph
and David,
respectively,
began their reign
as rulers,
as kings.
So Luke is telling us
by this,
that Jesus began
his ministry
at about 30 years of age
to connect
Jesus' inauguration
with the three major offices
of the Old Testament era,
priest,
prophet,
and king.
Jesus is the one
who comprehensively
encompasses
and ultimately fulfills
all the priestly,
prophetic,
and kingly offices
among God's people.
He's the one
who fulfills it all.
He's the one
whom we have been
waiting for.
And at 30 years of age,
he enters his service.
And Jesus was,
according to
the rest of verse 23,
the son,
as was supposed,
of Joseph.
The parenthetical remark,
as was supposed,
is an acknowledgement
of the virgin birth
of Jesus.
Jesus was legally
reckoned the son
of Joseph,
but he was not actually
the biological child
of Joseph
because he was born
of the virgin Mary.
And the point
was made
very sharply
earlier in chapter 2,
verse 48, 49,
when Mary asked
Jesus,
Son,
why have you
treated us so?
Behold,
your father and I
have been searching
for you
in great distress.
But then Jesus
responded
by saying
to them,
Why were you
looking for me?
Did you not know
that I must be
in my father's house?
Jesus explicitly
claimed
his divine
sonship
over and above
his sonship
to Joseph
and Mary?
And then
from here
through verse 38,
we see this,
he's trying
to ask
his ancestry
as the son
of God.
Now,
it's,
at this point,
I should address this
because you might
be aware of it already
or it will come up
as you're reading
the scriptures
because the gospel
of Matthew
also provides
a genealogy
of Jesus,
but the two lists
are actually
quite different.
For example,
Matthew lists
41 male heads
of families
while Luke
lists 57.
From David
to Jesus,
there are,
in fact,
only two
overlapping names.
And the discrepancy
begins immediately
with Joseph's father
because Luke
chapter 23,
verse 23
says that
Joseph
is the son
of Heli,
but Matthew
chapter 1,
16
says that
Joseph's father
was,
in fact,
a man named
Jacob.
This sets off
two kind of
deviations
that don't converge
again until
King David.
And in order to
understand this
discrepancy,
we need to address
a few things
about ancient
Jewish genealogies
in general.
First,
the word father
can be used
narrowly to refer
to one's immediate
biological father,
or it could refer
more broadly,
as we do in English,
to one's ancestor.
And likewise,
the word son
can narrowly refer
to one's immediate
biological child,
but it can also
refer more broadly
to one's descendant.
It's the same
in English
as in Hebrew
and Greek,
which is why
Matthew can say
in chapter 1
that Jesus
is the son of David.
David is not
his immediate father.
David is his ancestor.
So that's the first point.
Second is that
genealogies
are not always exhaustive.
In fact,
they are often selective.
For example,
Matthew explicitly says
in Matthew chapter 1,
verse 17,
so all the generations
from Abraham to David
were 14 generations,
and from David
to the deportation
to Babylon,
14 generations,
and from the deportation
to Babylon
to the Christ,
14 generations.
I don't know
if you're following
the pattern,
but there's obviously
an organizational scheme there.
He's not just listing
all the names.
He's intentionally
giving 14 names
from each major eras
of Jewish history,
of Israel's history.
And I think
the organizational scheme
comes from Gematria.
Gematria is a method
by which Jews
assigned a numerical value
to each Hebrew letter
so that someone's name
can be added up
and given a number value.
So according to this method,
the name David
has the numerical value
of 14.
Which is likely
why Matthew lists
three sets of 14s
to prove that Jesus
is indeed
the son of David
as Matthew begins
his book with
in chapter 1,
verse 1.
The book of the genealogy
of Jesus Christ,
the son of David.
So in other words,
there's a scheme.
These genealogies
don't list all the names.
They leave some names out.
They're selected.
That's the second point.
The third point,
which is crucial
for understanding this,
is that Jews
practice
levirate marriage
as stipulated
in Deuteronomy 25.
This meant that
when a man
who is married,
if he dies
without a son
to carry on his name,
it was his brother's
duty to produce
a son for him
by taking his brother's
surviving wife,
the widow,
as his own wife.
Now this was,
this seems strange
and foreign to us,
but this was
an important custom
in Israel
because the Jews'
inheritance
in God's promised land
was directly tied
to their ancestry,
the tribe that they
belonged to,
the family that they
belonged to.
So if they had no son,
if the man had no son
to his name,
it would mean that
his family
and all of his
progeny
would be permanently
blotted out
from the record
of the nation of Israel
and God's
intended promises.
So this,
so this is why
the Levirate marriage
was important,
but this can obviously,
you can figure out,
complicate some genealogies
because if,
if a son of a Levirate marriage
would,
because son of a Levirate marriage
would be considered
legally the son
of the deceased man,
the dead man,
but physically
he would be
the son of his brother.
You guys see that?
Now why,
why are,
why is this important?
So all these,
with all these factors in mind,
we can make sense
of the discrepancy
between Matthew and Luke.
Uh,
several plausible explanations
have been proposed
throughout church history.
I,
the one that I like best
that I think is the best
explanation for it
is that Matthew
is providing
the royal genealogy.
So the line of people
who would have been
the legal heirs
to the Davidic throne.
And while Luke
is providing
the physical genealogy,
the line of people
from whom Joseph
was physically descended.
So then even though
Jacob was the legal
heir of David,
uh,
because he died
without a son,
his relative,
perhaps a brother
or a half-brother,
Heli,
had a son
in his name
through Levit marriage
to Jacob's widow.
That was Joseph.
Which is why
Matthew and Luke
would be both correct
in saying that
either Jacob
was the father of Joseph
or Heli
was the father of Joseph.
Um,
this would explain
why Matthew's
and Luke's genealogies,
uh,
are identical.
They converge
and are identical
starting David and up.
I think it's because
Matthew is concerned
with preserving
the royal genealogy,
so after David
it becomes all messed up.
It would be different
from Luke and Luke and Mark,
but it's exactly the same
from David and onward.
Uh,
and this would also explain
why,
if you look at Matthew's
genealogy,
he includes all the kings
from Judah,
from David to Jequaniah,
but Luke's genealogy
contains no king of Judah
except King David,
right?
So I think this is
a good explanation
of the,
the deviation.
So,
notwithstanding
this discrepancy,
the point that they're
making is the same
and it's consistent
in Matthew and Luke
that regardless
of which method
you use to trace
their line,
Jesus' line goes
back to King David.
The point is that
Jesus is the rightful
heir to David's throne.
And not only to David,
from David to Abraham
there's perfect agreement
as well.
So Jesus is not only
the son of David,
he's also of the
seed of Abraham,
he's the fulfillment
of the promise
that God had given
to Abraham
to the nation
of Israel.
And Abraham is,
so Abraham is as far
back as Matthew goes
in his genealogy,
but from verses 34
to 38,
Luke goes back
even further.
So look at
verses 34 to 38
with me.
So he,
going back to
the genealogy
provided in Genesis
chapter 11
and 5,
Luke goes all
the way back,
it says in verse 38,
the son of Seth,
the son of Adam,
the son of God.
By going all the way
back to Adam,
who was created
directly by God
and therefore called
the son of God,
Luke is showing
that Jesus,
the true son of God,
identified with
all of humanity.
He,
like us,
is of the seed
of Adam.
The son of God
took on human flesh
and became
one of us.
He is in fact
the new
and better
Adam.
God created
Adam in his image
to rule
over the earth
as his representative,
God's representative.
But instead,
Adam rebelled
against God
and sought to
rule for himself,
sought to do
his own will.
And because Adam
was the fountainhead
of humanity,
the first human,
he represented
all of us
in God's creative design.
So when he said
he failed
every single
one of us
so that everyone
after him,
that's all of us,
is born into sin.
But Jesus comes
as the new
and better Adam,
the son of God,
who represents
and restores humanity
to their rightful
relationship with God.
Look at Romans 5,
12 to 29.
He puts it this way.
Therefore,
just as sin
came into the world
through one man,
Adam,
and death
through sin,
much more
will those
who receive
the abundance
of grace
and the free gift
of righteousness
reign in life
through the one man,
Jesus Christ.
Therefore,
as one trespass
led to condemnation
for all men,
so one act
of righteousness
leads to justification
and life
for all men.
For as by the one man's
disobedience
the many were made
sinners,
so by the one man's
obedience
the many will be
made righteous.
if you are
a human being,
which all of you are,
right,
then you are born
identifying
with Adam.
You were born
identifying
with his fall.
And as sinners,
we all deserve
God's judgment.
But God sent Jesus
as the new Adam.
See,
imagine failing
over and over again
for generation
after generation
after generation.
Every man
and every woman
had failed.
Here is God's plan
laid up for them
and every single one
of them had failed
and we were without
hope and lost.
No way of being
reconciled
and gotten restored
to right in relationship
with him.
But finally comes
that one man
who can restore us,
who can represent us,
who can fulfill
God's desire
and that's Jesus
the new Adam
and he succeeds
where Adam
had failed
by obeying
God the Father
perfectly
and dying
on the cross
for sinners.
So that all those
who renounce
themselves,
renounce their sins
and entrust themselves
to Jesus
may be forgiven
of their sins.
If you're here
this morning
and you have not
yet aligned yourself
with Jesus,
then Adam
is still your head
and your representative
and you will perish
as the object
of God's
righteous wrath.
but you can
align yourself
with Jesus
instead today
so that he
can be your head
and representative.
Then the penalty
of our sins
is laid on Jesus
which he paid
for on the cross
and his righteousness
and the rewards
that follow
are laid up
to us,
counted as ours.
That's why
1 Corinthians 15
22 says,
For in Adam
all die,
so also in Christ
all will be made
alive.
Are you in Adam
today
or are you
in Christ
today?
In Adam
is death
but in Christ
is life
everlasting.
So if you are
not a Christian
yet,
then this ancestry
of the Son
of God
is inviting you
to choose
Christ
and be restored
to a proper
relationship
with God.
So after telling
us about Jesus'
ancestry
in chapter 4
verses 1 to 13
Luke tells us
about the allegiance
of the Son
of God.
As the Son
of God,
Jesus displays
unyielding allegiance
to God the Father.
He says in
verses 1 to 2
of chapter 4,
read with me,
Jesus,
full of the Holy
Spirit,
returned from the
Jordan and was
led by the Spirit
in the wilderness
for 40 days,
being tempted
by the devil.
The devil
is a Greek
equivalent of
the Hebrew
word Satan
and it means
accuser
or slanderer.
It doesn't
merely refer to
demons
or evil
spirits
but to
Satan,
the head
honcho
of them
all.
But notice
the way
the sentence
is structured.
The devil
is not
the protagonist
of this
story.
Jesus is
and the Holy
Spirit is.
We're told
twice that
Jesus was
full of the
Holy Spirit
and he was
led by the
Holy Spirit
into being
tempted by the
devil.
It's the
Spirit's
fullness
and leading
that brings
Jesus to
40 days
to be tempted
by the
devil.
The devil
is simply
playing foil
to Jesus
in order to
highlight Jesus'
faithful allegiance
to the Father
as the Son of God.
This is insightful
for us
and we can apply
this to our lives
because being
tempted to sin
is not the same
thing as sinning.
If Jesus can be
tempted,
so can all of us
and we will face
many temptations
in our lives.
But in the midst
of all of that,
this is also comforting
because we see
that even in
our temptations
and trials,
even in the
toughest moments,
even when it
seems like the
devil is calling
all the shots
in our lives,
in fact,
the Lord God
is in charge.
The Spirit of God
is leading
sovereignly.
And so,
if you feel
discouraged by the
trials and temptations
that you are facing
today in your life
and your situation
now,
you can know
from this
in Jesus'
example that
God is
in control,
that God
is the one
that's in charge.
He is at work
in and through
all of that.
As Charles Spurgeon
once said,
the refiner
is never very far
from the mouth
of the furnace
when his gold
is in the fire.
The word
to tempt
can also be
translated as
to test.
And depending
on the context,
it can mean
to tempt someone
in order to
make them fail
and discredit them.
Or it can mean
to test someone
to show
their true worth
and approve
them and
accredit them.
So,
it has both
nuances here
because while
it's the devil
that tempts
Jesus in order
to discredit him,
the Spirit of God
leads him into this
to test him
so that he can
accredit him,
approve him
in preparation
for the ministry
that he's about
to begin.
And this period
of testing
lasted 40 days
which,
like all the other
numbers that we've
seen so far,
is not a
throwaway number.
It has symbolic
significance
and is used
frequently throughout
the Old Testament.
But the most
important connection
to the Old Testament
is that Moses
fasted for 40 days
before receiving
the covenant
law from God
on behalf
of God's people.
And also,
Israel,
God's people,
wandered in the
wilderness
for 40 years.
So here,
Jesus' 40-day
journey into
the wilderness
parallels the
journey of Israel
for 40 years
in the wilderness.
And since
Jesus
uses
scripture,
citations
from Deuteronomy,
which tells
about Moses'
40 days of
fast as well
as Israel's
journey in
the wilderness,
Jesus is here
being portrayed
as the
representative,
as a new
Israel,
the people,
the God,
the Son of God
who represents,
because Israel
is described
in Exodus
as God's
firstborn son.
And so here,
Jesus is the
new firstborn,
the new son
who represents
God's people
and succeeds
where Israel
had failed.
Now let's look
at the specific
aspects of the
three temptations.
It says at
the end of
verse 2 that
Jesus ate
nothing during
those days,
and when they
were ended,
he was hungry.
This is an
extended fast,
and remember
that while
Jesus is fully
God,
he's also
fully man,
and naturally
he was hungry.
And it is
at this
vulnerable moment
that the devil
palaces on him,
and he speaks
for the first
time in verse 3.
If you are
the Son of God,
command this
stone to
become bread.
We saw
earlier at
Jesus' baptism
that God the
Father said
that Jesus
is his
beloved Son,
and then in
the genealogy,
we saw that
Jesus is the
Son of Adam,
the Son of God.
So once the
main theme
of this entire
section is that
Jesus is the
Son of God,
and that theme
is running
through these
temptation accounts
as well,
because the
devil's temptations
hinge upon that
truth,
because it begins,
if you are
the Son of God,
and he repeats
that again in
verse 9,
if you are
the Son of God,
throw yourself
down from here.
Now, by asking
if you are
the Son of God,
the devil is not
questioning Jesus'
identity as the
Son of God,
because the
grammatical
construction,
this is what
Greek grammarians
call the first
class condition,
which means it
assumes that the
condition is true,
if you are
the Son of God.
It's assumed
that that is
true.
He is the
Son of God.
So it could
really better be
translated as,
since you are
the Son of God,
since you are
the Son of God,
do this and
this.
So the devil is
certain that
Jesus is the
Son of God,
and the devil
knows that
Jesus knows
that he is
the Son of God.
He's not
playing, you
know, dare
game or using
reverse psychology
to make Jesus
sin.
He's saying
that he's
rather trying
to get Jesus
to misuse
his prerogative
as the Son of
God and
act independently
of his
Father's will.
The first
temptation is
a temptation
of appetite.
Right?
There's nothing
wrong with
the appetite
for bread
in and of
itself.
God designed
us to be
hungry for
food,
but Jesus
is here
tempted to
doubt God's
provision for
him and to
provide for
himself.
It brings
into question
the way God
is leading
Jesus into
the wilderness
for testing.
Right?
We can see
this in the
way Jesus
answers the
devil in
verse 4.
It is written,
man shall not
live by bread
alone.
Right?
Jesus is here
quoting from
Deuteronomy
chapter 8
verse 3
where Moses
tells the
Israelites,
he humbled
you and
let you
hunger and
fed you
with manna
which you
did not
know nor
did your
fathers know
that he
might make
you know
that the
man does
not live
by bread
alone.
But man
lives by
every word
that comes
from the
mouth of
the Lord.
God humbled
the Israelites
by letting
them experience
hunger and
then instead
of giving
them all the
food that
they will
need for
their entire
journey of
wilderness,
God gave
them just
enough manna
to last
them one
day so
that every
single day
they would
be forced
to depend
on God
for his
daily
provision.
This was
intended to
make Israel
depend on
God and
look to
him.
they were
to learn
humility and
submission but
instead of
learning to
depend on
God they
learned to
rebel against
God, to
grumble,
complain,
to unbelief.
Jesus is
facing the
same temptation
here.
The devil is
asking him
aren't you
the son of
God?
Aren't you
starving?
Where is
your father?
Doesn't he
care?
Doesn't he
provide for
you?
Take things
into your
own hands.
Here you
can provide
for yourself
better than
he can.
Turn this
stone into
bread.
This is
representative
really of
all the
temptations
of any
kinds of
temptation
that we
face as
well.
Temptations
of appetite.
What are
your appetites
that have
grown in
ordinate in
your life?
That's
become unruly.
The devil
tempts us
in similar
ways.
Aren't you
a child
of God?
Where is
your father?
Aren't you
lonely?
Date that
non-Christian
girlfriend.
Marry that
man that's
no good
for you.
Take things
into your
own hands.
Don't wait
on God
and trust
in his
provision.
Aren't you
in need?
Don't you
want to
eat at
those nice
restaurants?
Don't you
want to
buy those
clothes?
Don't you
want to
feel more
attractive?
Don't you
want to be
perceived as
more successful?
Don't you
want to
lust after
that woman
and fantasize
about her?
Don't you
want to
drink that
extra pint
of beer
that will
tip you
over the
edge?
Why are
you
depriving
yourself
of all
these
things?
Where is
your father?
Aren't you
a child
of God?
Why isn't
he caring
for you?
even if
you're
trying to
meet a
genuine
legitimate
need that
you really
have?
Is your
posture
toward God
of humble
dependence
clinging to
him for
his provision
looking to
him as
your Lord
and as
your God
and as
your King
or are
you taking
things into
your own
hands?
In
Matthew 6
25 to
34
Jesus says
therefore I
tell you
do not be
anxious about
your life
what you
will eat
or what
you will
drink
nor about
your body
what you
will put
on
is not
life more
than food
and the
body more
than clothing
but seek
first the
kingdom of
God and
his righteousness
and all
these things
will be added
to you.
You seek to
satisfy your
appetites more
than humbly
obeying God.
Are you
seeking and
advancing the
kingdom of
God in your
life or are
you merely
in a
serial pursuit
of satisfying
your appetites?
That's the
first temptation
the temptation
of appetite.
Yes we
need bread
for life
but life
is not
for bread.
The point
the purpose
of our life
is to do
the will
of God
which is why
Jesus says
in John 4
34
my food
is to do
the will
of him
who sent
me
and to
finish
his work.
that's
my food.
That's
what's
prior.
That's
what's
most
important.
The second
temptation
is a
temptation
to
ambition.
It says
in verses
5 to 7
and the
devil took
him up
and showed
him all
the kingdoms
of the
world
in a
moment
of
time
and
said
to
him
to
you
I
will
give
all the
authority
and their
glory
for it
has been
delivered
to me
and I
give it
to whom
I
will.
If you
then
will
worship
me
it
will
all
be
yours.
Some
people
ask
at this
point
whether or
not
Satan
is
bluffing
here
because
they
don't
really
think
that
Satan
has
this
kind
of
power
to
offer
Jesus
all
the
kingdoms
of
the
world
and
their
glory
but
I
think
it's
kind
of
missing
the
point
of
the
narrative
to
ask
that
question
because
Jesus
obviously
treats
it
as
a
real
temptation
and
this
is
consistent
with
the
fact
that
the
devil
is
described
in several
instances
throughout
the
New
Testament
as
the
ruler
of
this
world
this
doesn't
mean
of course
that
the
devil
is
a
rival
authority
to
God
he
says
that
all
this
authority
and
their
glory
has
been
delivered
to
me
meaning
the
devil
has
subordinate
authority
to
God
and
has
nothing
but
that
which
God
himself
has
delivered
to
him
has
allowed
him
and
permitted
him
to
have
so
it's
interesting
though
here
that
Luke
ties
all
of
this
world's
authority
and
glory
the
political
institutional
powers
he
ties
it
to
the
devil
that
this
world
is
under
the
devil's
influence
until
it's
wrested
from
his
control
by
the
returning
king
when
he
consummates
his
kingdom
on
earth
that's
why
it's
a
mistake
for
us
as
Christians
to
conflate
the
kingdom
of
God
with
any
of
the
kingdoms
of
this
world
it
doesn't
matter
how
nice
or
great
these
earthly
kingdoms
are
we
can't
ever
conflate
the
two
entirely
because
even
though
we
can
influence
the
kingdoms
of
this
world
by
varying
degrees
we
could
never
put
our
hope
and
trust
entirely
on
them
because
that's
not
the
kingdom
of
God
the
main
thrust
that's
a
side
point
the
main
thrust
of
this
temptation
is
authority
and
glory
in
this
world
because
Jesus
actually
has
been
promised
authority
and
glory
he
is
destined
to
rule
as
the
son
of
God
as
the
messianic
king
so
once
again
it's
not
wrong
for
the
son
of
God
to
seek
these
things
the
problem
is
in
the
way
in
which
the
son
of
God
claims
this
authority
and
glory
because
God
the
father
has
appointed
that
his
son
would
attain
glory
through
the
humiliation
of
the
cross
and
through
his
death
because
God
the
father
has
appointed
that
his
son
would
attain
authority
through
service
but
this
is a
temptation
to
short
circuit
that
divine
ordained
process
aren't
you
the
son
of
God
isn't
all
this
authority
and
glory
supposed
to
be
yours
well
then
take
it
I
offer
it
to
you
here
all
you
have
to
do
is
renounce
your
allegiance
to
God
pledge
your
allegiance
to
me
bow
down
to
me
and
worship
me
and
Jesus
answers
the devil
by quoting
scripture
once again
in verse
8
it is
written
you
shall
worship
the
Lord
your
God
and
him
only
shall
you
serve
this
is
a
quotation
from
Deuteronomy
6
13
to
14
and
recalls
Israel's
idolatry
in the
wilderness
in
Exodus
32
when
they
make
golden
calf
and worship
it
as
their
God
in
Moses
absence
when
he
was
receiving
the
covenant
laws
actually
fasting
they
recognized
that
they
need
divine
sponsorship
in order
to be
successful
in their
conquest
of the
promised
land
but
since
their
conquest
was not
about
the glory
of God
it was
not about
pursuing
God
but because
it was
about
their
national
glory
as
Israel
because
it was
for
them
and not
for
God
they
quickly
when
they
realized
that
God's
not
with
him
this
golden
calf
this
temptation
is
about
ambition
selfish
ambition
leads
to
idolatry
and
whether
or not
we have
godly
ambition
or
selfish
ambition
is
revealed
by
what
costs
we're
willing
to pay
to
fulfill
that
ambition
are
you
willing
to
compromise
your
principles
in order
to
climb
the
ladder
of
success
yes
you
want
to do
great
things
for
God
that's
great
but
is
that
really
for
God
or
is
that
for
you
yes
you
want
that
promotion
yes
you
want
that
job
yes
you
want
to
get
into
that
school
but
is
that
really
for
God
or
is
that
for
you
are
you
willing
to
neglect
your
love
for
God
to
put
your
pursuit
of
God
on
the
back
burner
so
that
you
can
pursue
those
things
if so
that's
an
indicator
that
you've
succumbed
to
this
temptation
of
ambition
Jesus
refused
to
serve
himself
the
Lord
only
he
says
I
will
serve
the
third
and
final
temptation
we
see
is
the
temptation
of
affirmation
he
says
in
verses
9
to
11
and
he
took
him
to
Jerusalem
and
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
will
command
his
angels
concerning
and
on
their
hands
they
will
bear
you
up
lest
you
strike
your
foot
against
the
stone
perhaps
catching
on that
Jesus
was
answering
all his
temptations
satisfactorily
from
scripture
the devil
tries to
turn
scripture
against
Jesus
and quotes
from
Psalm
91
verses
11
to
12
as
the
third
century
Christian
pastor
and
scholar
origin
once
said
the
devil
like
heretics
is
quick
to
quote
scripture
the
fact
that
you
can
quote
scripture
doesn't
necessarily
mean
that
you
are
saying
something
that
is
actually
scriptural
because
people
often
misquote
scripture
and
manipulate
it
for
their
own
purposes
as
my
preaching
professor
in
seminary
Haddon
Robinson
recently
passed
away
he
used
to
say
the
text
without
its
context
is
a
pretext
in
its
original
context
Psalm
91
spoke
about
how
God
will
guard
and
protect
us
as we
walk
with
him
and
trust
in
him
right
the
psalm
called
for
humble
submission
dependence
on God
walking
with him
entrusting
yourself
to him
but the
devil
is
tempting
Jesus
instead
to
presume
on that
and to
take
things
out of
God's
hands
and into
his own
this is a
temptation
of affirmation
that puts
man
not God
at
the center
it puts
man on
the driver's
seat
aren't
you
the
son
of
God
make
God
prove
his
care
and
protection
by
jumping
off
the
temple
notice
that
the devil
doesn't
just
take
him
to
a
high
mountain
any
high
mountain
would
have
done
if
it
were
just
about
jumping
off
and
trusting
him
but
he
takes
him
to
the
pinnacle
of
the
temple
why
because
that's
the
house
of
God
here
surely
God
is
in
this
place
let's
do
a
little
trust
fall
throw
yourself
make
God
prove
his
care
and
protection
for
you
but
Jesus
once
again
rebuffs
Satan
with
scripture
he
quotes
from
Deuteronomy
616
in
verse
12
it
is
said
you
shall
not
put
the
Lord
your
God
to
the
test
Deuteronomy
616
mentions
this
that
you
shall
not
put
the
Lord
your
God
to
the
test
as
you
tested
him
in
Massa
and
about
this
incident
this
is
when
the
Israelites
doubted
God's
provision
of
water
they
said
there's
no
water
to
drink
in
this
wilderness
it
would
have
been
better
for
us
to
stay
in
Egypt
why
did
you
bring
me
out
of
Egypt
and
about
this
incident
Exodus
17
7
says
that
and
he
called
the
name
of
the
place
Massa
in
Meribah
because
of
the
quarreling
of
the
people
the
temptation
of
affirmation
is
the
Lord
among
us
or
not
does
God
care
about
us
or
not
Jesus
is
being
tempted
to
test
the
father's
approval
of
him
as
his
son
rather
than
trusting
him
and
Satan
trying
to
get
him
to
create
this
artificial
situation
to
force
God's
hand
to
show
his
care
how
often
do
we
do
this
if
you
heal
me
if
you
heal
my
child
of
this
disease
then
I
will
know
that
you
are
there
for
me
and
care
for
me
if
you
do
this
for
me
then
I
will
believe
if
you
do
this
for
me
then
I
will
know
and
I
will
be
your
loyal
servant
me
puts
man
at
the
center
instead
of
submitting
humbly
to
God
and
following
God
as
the
center
and
the
driving
point
of
our
lives
Jesus
succeeds
here
where
Israel
had
failed
and
this
should
be a
consolation
for
us
because
how many
times
have
we
fallen
to
all
of
these
temptations
the
temptations
of
affirmation
of
ambition
the
temptations
of our
appetite
we have
fallen
again
and again
so that
we have
no hope
of being
reconciled
to God
but that's
why Jesus
came as a
representative
and it
says in
verse 13
something very
provocative
and when
the devil
had ended
every
temptation
he departed
from him
until
an
opportune
time
Jesus
is not
confronted
directly by
Satan
the devil
between
chapter 4
verse 13
here and
chapter 22
verse 3
in the gospel
of Luke
he does
confront
minor demons
and unclean
spirits
in between
but
there's no
direct
confrontation
with Satan
the devil
when
does
Satan
return
why
is the
statement
here
because
the
opportune
time
is when
Jesus
is taken
to the
cross
because
we have
failed
because
we had
succumb
to the
temptations
of appetite
and of
affirmation
and ambition
because we
have failed
in these
ways
someone
has to
stand
for us
someone
has to
pay
for our
sins
someone
has to
stand
in our
place
to bear
the
punishment
the guilt
that we
have incurred
for ourselves
and so
that opportune
time comes
this son
of man
this son
of God
who should
never
be
never be
subjected
to the
work of
the evil
one
who should
never be
subjected
to the
penalties
of sin
to him
that moment
that should
not have
come
comes
because he
takes our
place
and dies
on the
cross
in our
stead
and so
that
for all
those who
repent of
their sins
and believe
in Jesus
Christ
we become
adopted
children
of God
he takes
runaway
slaves
and adopts
them as
his own
through
Jesus
Christ
he takes
rebels
and restores
them to
as heirs
of his
inheritance
that's what
God the
father does
through his
son
Jesus
Christ
because
Jesus
is the
son of
God
who
represents
and restores
humanity
to their
rightful
relationship
with
God
long
after
that
voice
from
heaven
saying
this
is
my
beloved
son
have
faded
and receded
into the
background
in the
wilderness
of 40
days
of fasting
and when
he's receiving
these temptations
Jesus
must hold fast
to his
identity
as the
son of
God
and that's
our
calling
for us
as well
when you're
tempted
in these
ways to
neglect
that
when you're
tempted
to question
when the
devil asks
you
aren't you
the child
of God
does God
really care
is he really
with you
you must
remember the
voice of God
that says
this is my
beloved
child
perhaps you're
telling yourself
sure if I
heard the
voice of
God
speaking from
heaven
announcing that
I'm the
child of
God
well then I
too will
have unwavering
faith
like Jesus
but we
do have
that assurance
because Romans
8 15
to 16
tells us
this
we have
we do not
receive
the spirit
of slavery
to fall
back into
fear
but you
have received
the spirit
of adoption
as sons
by whom
we cry
Abba
father
the spirit
himself bears
witness with
our spirit
that we
are children
of God
this is not
projected
there but
continues in
verse 17
if children
then heirs
heirs of
God and
fellow heirs
with Christ
provided we
suffer with
him in order
that we may
also be
glorified
with him
we have
the very
spirit of
God
the same
spirit of
God who
descended like
a dove
unto Jesus
we have
the very
spirit of
God
indwelling
us
and assuring
us
that we
are adopted
children of
God
so that we
can cry
out to
God the
father
as Abba
father
and that
we can
be assured
that we
are heirs
with Jesus
Christ
that he
is our
fellow heir
that he
is our
brother
in the
kingdom
of God
that we
will be
glorified
with him
because we
have that
assurance
we can
stand fast
in temptations
hold fast
to our
identity
we are
children of
God
take a
moment now
to just
reflect on
that reality
in what
ways has
Satan
challenged
your identity
in Christ
in what
ways have
you
failed to
trust
Christ
as the
son of
God
who
restores
you
to right
relationship
with him
take a
moment and
afterward we
will respond
by praying
out loud
together
as a
church
you