The work of The Spirit.
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| Bernini: "Descent of the Spirit" Image Dnalor, Creative Commons license |
experience
Jesus has just made a public declaration of his willingness to identify with fallen humanity – by taking on a baptism that in every other case was “for the forgiveness of sins”. His cousin, John, had said “You should not be coming to me for baptism, you should be baptising me.” Jesus did it, not as an act of “repentance from sin” but “to fulfil all righteousness” (v 15). His baptism was “part of his life of obedience” (Green) By submitting to baptism, Jesus acknowledged God's right to demand “total consecration of life and holiness of character”. As the sinless Son of God he was setting his face on the journey towards the Cross, right there and then in the river Jordan.
And when he had taken that step, the Holy Spirit had come upon him, seen like a dove landing on him. And the voice from Heaven had said “this is my Son in whom I am well pleased.” What an amazing moment. Incidentally it was a moment of Trinitarian blessing. God the Son, committed to his earthly ministry, is empowered by God the Spirit, and affirmed by God the Father.
I want us to have our encounters with God: the be filled with the Holy Spirit; to know that our Heavenly Father is pleased with us; to be like Jesus, set upon doing what we are called to do. I want us to have these moments of intense spiritual blessing. In fact Paul says (Eph 1. 3) that “God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” But you know what? These times come with a health warning.
The Spirit led Jesus into the desert.
Jesus' journey into the desert was the work of the Holy Spirit. Matthew Mark and Luke all agree about this, although the language they use is subtly varied. Mark says the Spirit thrust Jesus into the desert; Matthew says the Spirit led him into the desert, to be tempted. Luke says the Spirit led him in the wilderness. The desert – the place of solitude, silence, self-discipline and even struggling – is just as much a place where the Holy Spirit can work as the river or the mountaintop. The Holy Spirit will take you to places of solitude and lonesomeness, where you can learn to discern the difference between hear the voice of God, the voice of the enemy and the voice of your inner heart desires.
We need these times of solitude – even after such a difficult time of testing, Jesus never lost his taste for time alone with his father. Michael Green says “The desert is the place where we meet God.” In Revelation 12.14 the woman (who represents the Church) is sent into the desert to be taken care of.
So let's not be afraid of the “Desert”. We can be tempted anywhere. Jesus was also tempted when one of his followers told him that suffering and death could not happen to him – so much so that he said to Peter “get behind me, Satan!” (Mt 16. 23) Let's not be afraid of those times when everything is hard work and the fruit is limited. Let's not be afraid of the times of solitude and silence. The Spirit leads us into that place, and in that place.
And when we experience temptation, let's not imagine that somehow we have lost contact with God's Spirit or are outside of God's will. Part of the experience of the spirit, is the experience of being vulnerable to the enemy's temptations. Indeed, as we shall see, there are particular temptations that present when we know the power of the spirit in our lives and that have to be overcome in our own minds, if we are to be safe and ethical handlers of the dynamite that is the true power of the spirit. Michael Green notes, “Temptation builds spiritual muscle.”
The cause of temptation
The reality of warfare.
The temptation was a Spiritual experience not just a psychological one. Now the enemy can use people (Mt 16. 23) and he can use the processes of our own minds – so much so that James said “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (James 1. 14). But let us not run away with the idea that temptation is simply a matter of recognising our own weaknesses and “desires”. We have an enemy who wants to destroy us – just as he wanted to destroy Jesus – physically, spiritually, emotionally, morally. And that enemy is no gentleman. He will exploit our weaknesses. He will pervert our strengths.
The core of temptation
Let's look at the temptations in detail: what do they mean?
1. Wilderness bread: “Turn these stones into bread”
Many rabbis believed that when Messiah came there would once again be “manna in the desert.” So the enemy comes along and suggests to Jesus “Hey, Son of God – you don't need to go hungry; do the 'manna in the desert' thing now.” The temptation is to take the quick and easy way. To get personal comfort through the power of God and by cashing in on the old promises. Christians who have had times of blessing and dramatic answers to prayer can be tempted to feel that the power of God is there to be used for their own comfort. We can all be tempted to pray selfish prayers, simply askign for things that will make us feel good.
2. The roof of the temple; “Throw yourself down”
Another belief about messiah was that he would “stand up on the roof of the holy place”. So the enemy takes him up to the pinnacle of the temple – and suggests that Jesus jump off, claiming the angel protection promised in Psalm 91. 12. He tempts him to do something really spectacular that will draw a crowd. The Church can so easily be tempted to find a strategy for filling the pews, attractig a crowd: so we sometimes resort to pulling "Stunts" of one kind or another. Of course we don't call them "stunts" but "profile-raising activities". Now there is a place for special events, but they must be undertaken in a spirit of wervice to our community, not simply to draw attention to our ministry.
3. Striking a deal. “Bow down and worship me”
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| View from the top of Schiehallion. Image by G Lilly |
In the end the enemy shows Jesus the kingdoms of the world and promises to hand it all over to Jesus... if he will bow down to Satan, just once, just for a second. The bait isn’t' so much about getting wealth and power: it's about achieving what he came to achieve: it's about establishing God's rule – over all the earth. The temptation is to achieve this by compromise with the very enemy Jesus had come to remove. “If you worship me, I'll go away...” Michael Green sums it up brilliantly: Satan tempts Jesus “to gain universal dominion back from the usurper Prince, but to do so by striking a bargain with him rather than by striking him through the heart with the wood of the cross.” God's word says “Worship the Lord young God and him alone!”
The temptations to be selfish, to opt for the sensational and to compromise come to all Christians but they are recorded here so that we may witness the testing of god's son . He was tempted to bypass the cross, to short-circuit the path of obedience, and to adopt the role of Son and King without stooping to the role of the suffering servant. And that sums it up. Whether it's temper, sex, money, lying, temptation is always about bypassing the cross.
The cure of temptation
Well, there isn't one! Temptation will always be there. It may change as we get older and our bodies, minds and circumstances change. But always we will experience that pull to “bypass the cross”.
But we can triumph over temptation, and Jesus shows us how.
1. Get committed.
Settle your mind on submission to God. Jesus had already fixed in his mind which way his life was going to go.
2. Get equipped.
Three times, Jesus responds to the temptations “it is written...” The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Do you know where the three quotations Jesus used come from?
Dt 8. 3 man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord
Dt 6. 16 You shall not put the Lord your God to the test
Dt 6. 13 Fear the Lord your God, serve him only
It looks as if Jesus was particularly steeped in the book of Deuteronomy at this point: he may even have been reading these chapters – which for Jesus would probably involve regular visits to the synagogue. The Spirit took the words that Jesus had stored up, and used them against the enemy. The way to victory is to know the Bible well, and to know it freshly, through regular reading, listening, and study. We need to use the Spirit's sword, to avoid the traps of selfish, sensational or compromised living. And there is one last thing to encourage us. If we resist, he will flee.
© Gilmour Lilly February 2015
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