For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Matt. 4
I have long been aware that Jesus countered the devil’s temptations with God’s truth. What I haven’t really paid attention to before is that fact that the truth Jesus used was directly related to the law. He didn’t quote Psalms or some other prophecy, as the devil did, or the Proverbs of wisdom. He turned to the law.
In wondering about the significance of this fact, it occurred to me that Eve also repeated God’s command to the Tempter in the Garden. Unlike Jesus, however, she ultimately chose Satan’s lies over God’s command. It was because of her failure to follow God’s law in His Garden of abundance that Jesus later faced the same Tempter in the wilderness. If, then, the law God gave to Moses shows us our unrighteousness, that same law shows Jesus’ righteousness. That is what I see in this wilderness encounter. Furthermore, it is because Jesus was proven righteous by the law that He was able to make Himself a sacrifice to extend that righteousness to those of us who stood condemned by that law.
It is also interesting to note that when Jesus began to preach, His message was the same as John the Baptizer’s. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matt 4:15b and Matt 3:2). As we saw yesterday, however, Jesus’ ministry went beyond the call to repentance. Unlike John, Jesus gave the power to turn that repentance into a fruitful, redeemed life.
Is. 41-42
How did Jesus fulfill this prophecy about the Servant of the Lord? See Matthew 12:15-21. God’s word against the nothing, worthless idols: “Tell us, you idols, what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods.” (Is. 41:22-23a). God’s word concerning Himself: “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” (Is. 42:8-9).
Why do we look to what cannot save? We have a God who has proven Himself in so many ways. He has declared both former things and what is yet to be. Some of what was yet to be at the time of these prophecies has now become the former things that have taken place. Some remain yet to be. God’s servant will indeed establish justice on the earth. We know because we see Jesus as the new thing God announced to us before He came to be. Before that justice could be established, God told His servant – and us – what must first take place.
“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” (Is. 42:6-7). Jesus is God’s new covenant for all people. He is the spiritual restoration that came to save God’s remnant from the justice that is yet to be.
Ps. 111
Take some time to ponder the great works of the Lord (v. 2) and delight in them. “He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever – holy and awesome is His name.” (Ps. 111:9). Jesus is clearly at the heart of this statement! And I love how this Psalm, written years before Jesus came, makes this statement in the past tense. To me that is evidence of the certainty of God’s promises. They are certain because, from His timeless perspective, they have already happened. Thus, our redemption through God’s new covenant of grace in Jesus Christ can never be prevented and can never be undone. And that is God’s greatest work of all!