Matthew shared how John the Baptist was baptizing people in the Jordan river and telling them about the one who was coming. Matthew then declared, “Then came Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of you, and do you come to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry”, and in chapter four and verse three of his book, Matthew shares about how, “the tempter came” to Jesus and told Him to “command that these stones be made bread” where we read:
And
when the tempter came to him, he said, If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones be made bread.
The verse reads, “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If you are the Son of God, ...” Matthew began with the words, “and when” which means “and at the time and moment” “the tempter” or “the tester of one's faith, virtue, character who entices to sin” “came” which means “appeared, arose and came on the scene” “to him” which refers to “to Jesus”, “he said” or “the tempter uttered, proclaimed and declared”, “if you are” which means “whether, since or forasmuch as Jesus is” “the Son” or “the supreme love of God who is united to Him in affectionate intimacy, privy to his saving councils and obedient to the Father's will in all his acts” “of God” which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity”. Matthew shared how “the tempter” or “the devil” appeared to Jesus and recognized the idea of Jesus being God's Son.
The verse goes on to say, “... command that these stones be made bread.” Matthew continued with the word, “command” which means “speak, tell and bring word” “that these stones” or “that the small stones within the wilderness” “be made bread” which means “will become, appear and be assembled as food composed of flour mixed with water and baked”. Matthew shared how “the tempter” challenged Jesus to turn the “stones” or rocks around Him into nourishing “bread”.
When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we realize Jesus' physical body was longing for nourishment. His “flesh” desired “food”, and the appeal of “the tempter” or the “devil” was for Him to satisfy the longing of His “flesh”. This was the first of three areas in which the “devil” tempted Jesus. God knows we have “fleshly” bodies, and the body appetites and drives are in constant need of satisfaction, so, God allowed Jesus, who “fasted for forty days and forty nights”, to be “tempted” in His flesh by “the tempter”. God's desire to “save” mankind was so great that He allowed Himself to be “tempted” in “all points as we are”, and we continue to study Matthew's words we shall find how His Son Jesus passed every test so that we might believe and trust in Him and live with Him for all eternity.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus tells the tempter, “man shall not live by bread alone” so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment