For a full description of the (Y3) reading plan, see the “About” page.
- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Matt. 4
I have mentioned before that the devil, in tempting Jesus, repeatedly tried to turn Jesus’ focus inward on Himself. Taking that thought a little deeper this morning, I note the specific ways the devil tried to do that. I believe it’s important, because that great liar comes at us with the same tactics. As I look at it, I see that the first temptation appealed to the human desire to provide for ourselves. The second appealed to our desire to prove ourselves. And the third, to our desire to prosper ourselves.
The lie here is that we can do any of those things. Even the Son of God knew that, as a human, nothing He provided for Himself could sustain Him, He had no boast in Himself but only in God, and those who try to elevate themselves will fall. If these things are true for Him, how much more so for us mere humans? The truth is, God is the One who sustains, defends, and exalts us. Nobody else can.
Luke 4
I focus on Jesus’ forty day temptation in the wilderness quite a bit because it seems so relevant to my own life. There is so much to learn, both in how the devil tempts and in how Jesus resisted it. This morning I noticed one more little detail that I haven’t considered before. It lies in verse 5. “So he took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” (Lk. 4:5). It’s that last part of the statement that caught my attention. “In a moment of time.”
I don’t know if the devil has the power to show us what will be or not, but I don’t think that’s important. The important thing to me is that a moment of time is generally all we can actually see. So the devil shows us snapshots of life and tries to convince us that whatever seems to be in that snapshot is true for all eternity.
The truth, however, is that those snapshots likely aren’t even true for all time. In fact, they may not even really be true for that moment. What I mean is that they likely don’t represent the whole truth, which can lead us to draw wrong conclusions – remember the story of the four blind men and the elephant. That’s why it matters that we keep our eyes on the end of the story, which God has revealed, at least in part, to us. It reminds us that we can’t trust the devil’s snapshots when we make decisions – big or small – in life. Instead, we need to rely on God for everything.
Luke 5:1-16
When reading through Matthew 4 this morning, the question came to mind as to why Simon, Andrew, James, and John dropped all they had ever known to follow Jesus when He called. Matthew makes it sound like Jesus just happened by, made the call, and they dropped everything on the spot and went. But really – there has to be a back story there! And according to Luke, there is at least more to it than Matthew presented. From Luke, we learn that Jesus was there teaching a crowd. The four men happened to be in the same area, cleaning up after a failed night of fishing. Since Jesus used Simon’s boat as a teaching platform, the men also heard His teaching. Then, when Jesus was done speaking, He provided the men with a miracle catch of fish. It was then that Jesus called and the men responded.
So there is definitely a backstory there. If you have ever watched, “The Chosen”, you have seen one creative possibility as to what that backstory might have been. The series is historical fiction, of course, with that backstory being some of the fiction part. However, I think it is built on the strong probability that Jesus met a need for those men. In having that need met, the men then realized that Jesus was also able to meet their greater need. That’s why Simon fell at Jesus’ feet declaring, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!” (Lk. 5:8b). Because honestly, whatever else it is that we think we need, none of it matters unless we come to Jesus to meet our true need – our sinful nature.
John 1:35-51
John gives a little more of the backstory to Jesus’ first disciples. As it turns out, they knew through John the Baptist that Jesus was the Messiah even before He performed the miracle of the fish. Thus, the miracle served to transform their knowledge into belief. I see a pattern in John’s rendition of the calling of these first several men. It shows me that people come to Christ the same way today that they did from the very beginning. It starts with someone who knows the truth pointing others to Christ. When they then go to Christ, it is He who moves them to likewise know and believe the truth. John the Baptist was the first to point the way. His simple statement of, “Look, the Lamb of God!” then started a domino effect that continues world-wide to this day.