Jesus in the Wilderness

Posted on August 9, 2024 by Don Merritt

Matthew 4:1-11

After His baptism by John, Jesus heads out to the Wilderness (desert) to be tempted by Satan. In this narrative, we see once again Matthew’s fondness for connecting his story about Jesus with the history of Israel, in this case, with the 40 years of wandering. I truly doubt that God was, as some might suggest, testing Jesus to make sure that He could be fully trusted; it was a little late for that. Instead, it seems to me that God was drawing a contrast between the faithfulness of Jesus His Son, and the people who for forty years wandered in the Wilderness because of their lack of faithfulness to God. In fact, we will see this faithfulness in Jesus all through the story of His life.

Satan plays an interesting role in all of this, but then he played a behind the scenes role in the original story as well, as seen by the constant grumbling and complaining of the Israelites. In our story, Satan interacts with Jesus in the role of tempter; yes, he seems focused on pulling Jesus away from His Father and into Satan’s orbit and service. I can’t say whether or not Satan really thought he could succeed in this; he must have known it was a long shot, but he tried.

The drama begins after Jesus has fasted for forty days and forty nights. Now that Jesus is really hungry and physically weak, Satan drops in to taunt Him saying “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”  Jesus replies by quoting Deut. 8:3: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

If Jesus can quote the Scriptures, it might interest us to know that Satan can as well, and in his second taunt, that is exactly what he did, after transporting the scene to the highest point of the Temple:  “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” (cf. Psalm 91:11-12)

Jesus isn’t buying Satan’s twisting of the Word of God, this time quoting Deut. 6:16: Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

At this stage in the story, Satan is about to get to his actual point; it was never his mission to test Jesus to see if He was really the Son of God; he knew exactly who Jesus was, after all, why else would old Herod have been so anxious to kill Jesus as an infant? No sir, Satan knew exactly who he was talking to, and his whole reason for being there was to try and “turn” Jesus, to gain His worship, just the way he had “turned” Adam and Eve, and so he comes to his point:

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” (4:8-9)

When we think about this, it seems a little strange for Satan to make such an offer as though he actually held the power to deliver on his promise, but then he is a liar and the father of lies. Jesus, as God’s Son is heir to the entire universe and beyond, but His path to His destiny is not by stealing or betrayal, it is the path of service, a path that, as we will see, leads to the cross. This is the path that Matthew is leading us on through the rest of His account of Jesus’ story, but even more than that, it is our path as disciples of Jesus today, for we too have become co-heirs with Christ to everything, but our path to inheriting everything is not through stealing, scheming or conquest, but by the path of service.

At this point in the story, Jesus is done with Satan:

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. (4:10-11)

Quoting Deut. 6:13, Jesus equates Satan’s “offer” with idolatry and dismisses him. An obvious, but often overlooked aspect of this is that even in His weakened condition, Jesus told Satan to leave, and Satan obeyed.

Interesting isn’t it?

So here we are, followers of Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and we think we have so many problems and that the devil is so strong, unstoppable and alluring, but all of that is the devil’s lie! What did James say about this?

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

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The Next Move

Posted on August 9, 2024 by Don Merritt

Here we are at the chess board, looking intently at the pieces on the table and trying to plot our next move… but this is no game−  it’s life.

Each of us has life moves to make; each of us needs a strategy and a plan…

Some people go see their financial advisor to make their plan.  Others speak with their public relations team or their marketing guru.

Paul had a different idea:

 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Philippians 3:14-16

In context (3:1 ff.) he was talking about the ultimate attainment of eternal life in Christ, saying that he hadn’t yet attained it since he’s still living in the physical body.  Then he slipped in that last little line: “Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”

What have we already attained?

We have attained relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  We have attained an inheritance of eternal life and we are His servants on this earth.  As such, it seems that Paul is saying that we need to live accordingly, not trusting in the physical aspect of life but in recognition of the spiritual significance of our relationship with Christ.  Thus, things like financial or business advice might have their place, but it isn’t in planning “life.”  Life is not about our image that we attempt to project to others, it is about the reality of the way we live and behave.

This is the Day!

What’s our next move? To follow Jesus Christ!

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Jesus Appears on the Scene

Posted on August 8, 2024 by Don Merritt

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

Matthew 3:13-15

So far, we have seen John’s ministry and teaching, and we have seen the response of so many people to his work. Then Jesus bursts onto the stage. It is abundantly clear in verse 13 that Jesus departed from Galilee for the express purpose of receiving John’s baptism during the time that he was preaching in the wilderness, and it is also clear that the work of John is linked strategically with the arrival of Jesus.

John’s reaction to this does him considerable credit; he seemed to be surprised that one so much greater than he would want to submit to his baptism. Rather, John knew that he needed what Jesus could offer; not the other way around. That is when Jesus speaks for the very first time in Matthew’s Gospel; for the time being anyway, it was right and proper that Jesus submit Himself to John’s preparatory baptism so that all righteousness could be fulfilled.

It seems clear, at least to me, that Jesus wasn’t making any sort of legal argument, for there was no Jewish Law that said He had to be baptized, there wasn’t any specific prophecy that had to be fulfilled or anything like that, rather it was righteous for Jesus to submit to the baptism of John to prepare Him to step forth from the shadows into the bright lights of His own ministry as the Messiah, the Son of God, for you see, Jesus was not there to do His own will, but to submit to the Father’s will and purpose. Isn’t it interesting that when Jesus, in obedience, submitted to John, and that John then submits to His request to be baptized?

So then, why did God want this little scene to happen?

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:16-17

Jesus submits to John’s baptism, John submits to Jesus’ request to be baptized, Jesus is immersed… and as soon as He comes up out of the water, heaven was opened. It seems to me that this is one of those “wow” moments…

“Heaven was opened” is used several times in Scripture to signal a divine revelation (cf. Ezek. 1:1; Is. 63:19; Acts 7:56; Rev. 4:1) and this time is no different; God has a little announcement to make. First, the Spirit descends upon Jesus “like a dove” and alights on him. Some have suggested that this is when Jesus actually became God’s Son, but to me that seems unlikely, particularly considering the great pains Matthew has gone to already to show the Sonship of Jesus from the time of His conception. What seems more likely to me is that this anointing of the Holy Spirit is done in conjunction with His commissioning, which follows immediately when the voice of God speaks forth from Heaven pronouncing His pleasure with His Son.

It isn’t every day that you see all three Persons of the Godhead manifested together in one place at the same time: Thus began the earthly ministry of Jesus, the Messiah.

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Misty Mornings

Posted on August 8, 2024 by Don Merritt

There’s something about a misty morning that grabs the imagination, don’t you agree?  The day is stretched out ahead of you, but it’s hard to see exactly where it will lead; will it be a good one, or will it be rough sledding?

It’s almost a metaphor for life.

What are those shapes ahead?  Where is this road; where does it go?  It looks straight and level, but is there a curve lurking that I don’t expect?

Misty mornings make a routine day seem a little mysterious; a little adventurous.  That might seem scary to some, but to me it’s more of an adventure than anything else- exciting!

Our days can be unpredictable, that’s for sure, but our destination is not, for our walk with Jesus Christ will lead us through some rough terrain, but it leads us to a glorious home.

Even though I walk
    through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Psalm 23:4-6

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Preparing the Way of the Lord

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Don Merritt

Matthew 3:1-12

Matthew skips over nearly 30 years between 2:23 and 3:1 and in so doing he has emphasized for us his priority on the identity and role of Jesus over that of providing mere biographical information. This is further emphasized for us in that Matthew picks up all these years later not with Jesus, but with John, for John’s story serves to underscore the messianic role and function that Jesus will fulfill.

A common form of Jewish messianic hope is represented by the notion that Elijah would return as a precursor to the arrival of the Messiah (cf. Matt. 11:14; 17:10-13; Mal. 3:23-24; 4:5-6). Matthew takes care to present John in this light to underscore ultimately, the identity of Jesus, for in presenting John as he did, Matthew shows that John’s emergence upon the scene marks the beginning of a whole new paradigm in Israel. Consider the fact that John has come to the territory of David (3:1) in the spirit of Elijah (cf. 3:4; 2Kings 1:8) preaching a message of repentance (3:2, 7-10; cf. Mal. 3:1-5; 4:5-6), in the context of the nearness of the Kingdom (3:2) and the ultimate judgment of the “mightier one” to come (3:11-12).  As Matthew’s story continues to unfold in the chapters that follow, John’s work will continue to give us focus on the character and mission of Jesus (cf. 3:14; 11:1-19; 14:1-12; 16:14-20; 17:9-13; 21:23-27). Matthew breaks his description of John the Baptist into two parts: 3:1-6 highlight John’s ministry, and 3:7-12 his message.

3:1-6: There is no coincidence in the fact that John appears in the “wilderness of Judea” (or “desert”) for it had long been expected that the precursor to messiah’s arrival would come from the Wilderness (Is. 40:3-4; 42:14-55:13; Ezek. 20:33-44; Hos. 2:14-15). This also provides us with a connection between Moses in the Wilderness and the story of Jesus. The Kingdom of Heaven (mentioned by Matthew 33 times in his Gospel) was near; there was urgency in John, an urgency that came from the very nature of his calling, as seen in the quotation from Isaiah 40:3.

John is further connected to the prophets of old in Matthew’s description of his wardrobe and menu. His dress is associated with that of Elijah (2Kings 1:8; cf. Zech. 13:4). His menu is that of a prophet fully consecrated to God. The impact of John’s ministry out in the desert was profound indeed; people came from all around to hear his message. They not only heard it, but they responded to it as well, confessing their sins and repenting, being baptized in the Jordan River.

3:7-12: Yes indeed, John’s ministry was having quite an impact, and when a radical message has a significant impact upon the people, the authorities will be looking into the situation, and that is what happens in these verses. Matthew tends to present the Pharisees and Sadducees as a united front throughout his Gospel, but to be sure, they would have only been united if they felt threatened, for they were rival factions that didn’t usually see eye-to-eye on very much. John, as Jesus would later, saw right through their façade.

In verses 7-10, John essentially launches a broadside at them; his message, crafted in apocalyptic terms they would understand was simply that they must repent of their unrighteousness like everyone else, or face judgment. This is made even clearer in vv. 11-12 where John clearly tells them that his baptism is all about repentance, but there will shortly appear one who is far greater than he, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. There are various interpretations of the issue of “Holy Spirit” and “fire” that John speaks of here and whichever you prefer is fine by me. As for me, as simple-minded as I am, I simply see a very tight context here that is illustrated in verse 12:

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Using a simple agricultural metaphor that would be understood by most anyone in that day, John is telling the religious leaders that they will soon be able to repent and receive Jesus’ baptism and the Holy Spirit, or they can refuse and face the consequences; it would be their choice, just like it is our choice. This same tension will come up time and again in Matthew’s story.

In the next scene, John will have an entirely different kind of visit; see you there!

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“You must follow me”

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Don Merritt

The other day I was reading John 21 which is really a simple story of the resurrected Christ appearing to seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee; it’s a story that is very familiar to everyone, and contains a passage that the preachers preach often (John 21:15-19).  In this passage, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, and each time Peter says that he does, followed by Jesus saying either ‘feed my sheep’ or ‘feed my lambs’.  The third time Jesus asks, Peter’s feelings are hurt because Jesus keeps on asking…At the end of the passage Jesus tells Peter to “follow me.”

What really struck me was the part that came right after this usual passage.

Peter looks back and sees John trailing behind them and says to Jesus, “What about him?”  I wonder how many of us have done this sort of thing:  We know that we have been called to follow Jesus, and instead of quickly answering that call, we look at someone else and ask, “What about him?”  Now in Peter’s defense, Jesus has just indicated the manner of his death (v. 18) and maybe Peter understood this, the text doesn’t quite make that clear.  Maybe Peter was very sensitive at that moment because he felt guilty when it hit him that Jesus has just asked him if he loves Jesus the same number of times that Peter denied Jesus… The fact remains that Peter looked away from his call and tried to put the spotlight on someone else.

Answering a calling isn’t always convenient; it isn’t always what we want to do.  It may involve giving up a great deal to follow Jesus, a career, a great income, possessions, position and so on, and yet it is our call.  What must we do?

Jesus’ answer is classic: He tells Peter essentially that John’s relationship with Him is none of Peter’s business: “You must follow me.” (emphasis added)

Peter did.

What will we do?

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A Sudden Trip to Egypt

Posted on August 6, 2024 by Don Merritt

Matthew 2:13-23

When we left off, the Magi, because of a message from God in a dream, left the house where the infant Messiah was staying in Bethlehem and returned home without going back to tell Herod where the child could be found. It would seem that almost immediately after they departed, Joseph had another word from an angel in a dream telling him to flee from Bethlehem with his family and go directly to Egypt, because of the plot of Herod to kill the baby.

Joseph obeyed without hesitation.

Matthew doesn’t give us any more detail than that. I too have traveled from Bethlehem to Egypt; I took a bus. What method of travel did Joseph employ – a bus, a train… or maybe a donkey or a camel or on foot? Where did they end up in Egypt? I went straight to Cairo; Egypt is a pretty big place, but we have no information from Matthew…

What we should remember is that Matthew is not writing a travel story, he’s showing us who the baby was, for He was a rather special little Person. Egypt had long been a place for political refugees in Israel to go to when in danger (cf. 1 Kings 11:40; 2 Kings 25:26; Jer. 41:16-18; 26:21; 43:1-7). We begin to see what Matthew is up to in verse 15, for rather than tell us any details of their flight; he tells us that this fulfills the words of Hosea:  “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Hos. 11:1).

Next, in verse 16, we find out how terrible a plot Herod had in mind; he would have all boys 2 and under murdered… in fulfillment of yet another prophecy, this time it’s Jer. 31:15:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.” (v. 18)

Do you see what Matthew is doing here? He really isn’t giving us a historical narrative of the life of a very young Christ at this point; he is pointing out who He is.

In the remaining verses, verses 19-23, we discover that upon the death of Herod, Joseph has yet another angelic visit in a dream in which he is given the “all clear” to return home, and once again, Joseph complies promptly, ending up in the dusty town of Nazareth of Galilee. Joseph seems to have gone there to avoid the new king who happens to have been Herod’s son, a little tidbit he seems to have acquired in yet another dream. Nazareth must have seemed perfect to Joseph, being very remote and off the beaten path as it was (and still is), but it just happens to fulfill more prophecy, although Matthew cites none in particular, preferring to use the plural; “prophets”.

In fact, the word “Nazarene” is not found in the Old Testament, and this gives scholars a bit of a research problem. As you might guess, there are many theories resulting from this issue, ranging from the suggestion that Matthew’s work is unreliable to some others that are rather fantastic. Personally, after studying and reflecting on many of the ideas out there, I think the solution is something along these lines:

Matthew is playing on words, for there is an interesting similarity between the Hebrew word for “branch” and the Greek for “Nazarene”. There is a phonetic word play there… and if this is what Matthew was thinking, then the Hebrew word in question tsemach צֶמַח  is found in some interesting places (cf. Is. 4:2; 11:1; Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Zech. 3:8; 6:15) in which strong emphasis is placed upon Jesus’ Davidic roots in a clear messianic context. However you might interpret this, Matthew in both the first and second chapters has been very keen to demonstrate the identity of Jesus as the son of David and His inherent characteristic as Son of God.

Next time, we’ll begin chapter 3, and as you will see, Matthew skips over about 30 years and resumes with the story of John the Baptist: Does anyone expect to see a prophecy f or two being fulfilled in that story?

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Truth

Posted on August 6, 2024 by Don Merritt

Does the truth really count for anything anymore? Does anybody really care, or is the truth just whatever it seems like to me?

Does government tell us the truth about anything?  Do athletes tell the truth about steroids? How about the news media, are they telling the truth about the stories they report?

Well, I can’t say, for there is clearly enough falsehood flying around out there that when people do tell the truth you really have to wonder…

So, what is truth?

We aren’t the first people to ask this question; in fact, it’s as old as the Scriptures.  It’s a question that Pilate asked Jesus two thousand years ago. (John 18:38) Jesus told Pilate that He “came into the world to testify to the truth.” He also taught us  that He is “The way, the truth and the life”  (John 14:6)

As Christians there is one thing that we can be certain of: Jesus is Truth; His words are true.  We need to keep this in mind as we see and hear the world around us proclaim “alternate” truths.  If these “truths” are in conflict with the teachings and person of Christ, they are falsehoods. As we listen to newscasts talk about things that are in conflict with what Jesus taught… we know what to conclude.

The truth is that very little in this world is what it appears to be! This is the lesson of Scripture and it is the lesson of history, and it is the first rule of understanding our world.  

We can place our faith and our trust in Jesus− all else is questionable.

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The Infancy of Jesus

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Don Merritt

Matthew 2:1-12

As we have already seen, Matthew ties his story of Jesus together with Israel’s past in a variety of ways in his account of Jesus. Clearly in today’s passage, we can see that, but he does so throughout the first two chapters in which no fewer than five human decisions are the result of a dream, reminiscent of many stories of Israel’s past events (1:20; 2:12, 13, 19, 22). Four times in chapter 2 alone, Matthew concludes a scene by telling his readers that it is a fulfillment of prophecy (2:6, 15, 18, 23) giving his readers the clear impression that after a long period of silence, God is once again busy at work in the midst of His people. The two parts of this chapter give us therefore, a deeper look at the whole character of Jesus’ messianic role as well as His relationship with the Father.

As the first scene opens, Matthew sets time and place as “after” Jesus’ birth and in Bethlehem once again reinforcing Jesus as son of David. By mentioning that this scene takes place during the reign of Herod, Matthew is giving his Jewish readers a clue that there is about to be trouble. Herod, half Jew, had gained power in 40 BC through shrewd political moves that enabled him to gain favor with the Romans. However, he was never accepted as a legitimate king by the Jews, and as time went on, he had become more and more paranoid about threats not only to his person but to his throne. He was known for wild fits of rage and anger and making rash or violent decisions, so receiving news that a true Davidic king had recently been born in Bethlehem was bound to set him off.

Most scholars agree that the “Magi” were likely astrologers from Persia or Arabia; they are Gentile, not Jewish, and we must not miss the irony that they are the ones who bring the news of the birth of the “king of the Jews” to Jerusalem. Their pilgrimage to Jerusalem and their worship at the scene also tells us that they obviously were aware of the universal implications of this birth, quite a contrast to the unbelief and complacence of Israel. When they told Herod about the birth, we might understand why he was “disturbed” but notice in verse 3 that “all Jerusalem” was disturbed along with him; shouldn’t there have been dancing in the streets?

They were “disturbed” instead.

Herod assembles the religious experts and asks where the messiah is to be born, and they tell him that it is to be in Bethlehem, quoting from Micah 5, sort of… Micah actually said:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.”

He will stand and shepherd his flock
    in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
    will reach to the ends of the earth. (Micah 5:2, 4)

Matthew completely leaves out verse 3:

Therefore Israel will be abandoned
    until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
    to join the Israelites.

I know that there are teachers and scholars who have explanations of exactly why verse 3 is omitted from Matthew’s text either by Matthew himself, or by the Jewish authorities when they quoted it to Herod. However, since as of the date of this writing, I have not had the opportunity to ask them myself, all I will say here is that this strikes me as a very interesting omission. In any event, you no doubt noticed that Matthew’s account includes a little change or two from Micah. First, Ephrathah becomes in the land of Judah which underscores once again that Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, which is the tribe David came from. Second, instead of describing Bethlehem as though you are small among the clansof Judah, it receives special attention asby no means least among the rulers of Judah. Finally, Matthew adds a line that comes from 2 Sam. 5:2 where the Lord tells David that he will “shepherd my people Israel”: All of these serve to highlight the messianic implications of this mysterious birth in Bethlehem. 

After this, Herod’s plot begins to unfold. In a secret meeting, he seeks to trick the Magi by sending them on their way to Bethlehem, and asking them to provide him with the location of the child. They follow this very odd star, and from Matthew’s description, it would seem to be something that is not described by any natural phenomenon, and considering the intrigues and reactions we’ve already read about, I wonder if anyone else could see it at all. Whatever the explanation, they arrived at the “house” where they found Jesus and Mary; note that it isn’t a manger at this point, for it would have taken these men a considerable amount of time to arrive at the palace of Herod from Persia or Arabia. The story of what happened next is familiar to all, and the scene closes with one more twist; the men receive a dream in which they are told not to return to Jerusalem, and they return home by another route. Their obedient spirit along with their true worship leaves us with grave doubts about the religious leaders of Jerusalem.

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The Path and the Narrow Door

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Don Merritt

The path of life is not a wide one that is full of traffic and congestion, it is quieter than that.  It isn’t a great highway, it’s more like a quiet country lane…

Maybe if your life’s path is full of noise and traffic you should take the next exit and get on that other road.

As you walk along, you come across many things, some are beautiful, some not.  There are turns, twists, hills and dips. Sometimes you come across a cool and refreshing stream, other times you go a long way in the hot sun, with dust and bugs all around.  As you move along you come across places where you can’t see much because of the high brush on either side… and then there’s a fork and you must decide which way to go.

On such a lane you might want to notice the footprints of those who’ve gone before.  If they have gone one way at the fork in the path, you get the idea that this is the way to follow…

There have been many who have gone down the path of life before us, and the legacy they left for us was to follow the footprints of the One who made the path in the first place; following those footsteps will get us to the end of life’s path, right where there is a little narrow gate: Go through that gate and enter in to eternal life, for Jesus has told us all about it:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matt. 7:13-14

Yes, when you get to the gate go right on in, those who have gone before, and the One who made the path will be glad to see you’ve made it home.

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