In the last three meditations, we have seen that our rebirth by God’s
Spirit, His continuous presence in our lives, and the imperative to obey God’s Word
[the Bible] are God’s preconditions for victory over the power of sin.
Since overcoming the power of sin in our lives and in our churches has
everything to do with maturing in Christ-likeness, we need first and foremost
to look at Jesus Christ and see how He encountered temptation and the power of
sin.
Encountering
temptation with obedience to God’s Word!
We find the first texts that relate Jesus’ confrontation with sin in
Matthew 4:1-10, Mark 1:12 and Luke 4:1-12. All three accounts start with the
statement that God’s Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the
devil. (Matthew 4:1, Mark 1:12 and Luke 4:1)
Why would God the
Father hand His Son over to the crucible of temptation? The answer lies in
God’s desire to test our hearts for obedience. See the following examples:
-- After God liberated
His people from the bondage of Egypt, He led them into the desert and said to
Moses: “Look, I'm going to rain down food from heaven for you. The people
can go out each day and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will
test them in this to see whether they will follow my instructions.” (Exodus 16:4*)
-- Before Moses died,
he warned God’s people with the following words: “Remember how the LORD your
God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to
test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep
his commands.” (Deuteronomy 8:2**)
-- The second book of Chronicles reports how God tested the heart of
king Hezekiah (8th century B.C.): “When ambassadors arrived from
Babylon to ask about the remarkable events that had taken place in the land,
God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in
his heart.” (2 Chronicles 32:31*)
-- God announces by His
prophet Jeremiah (7th century B.C.) that He will test the heart of
His disobedient people: “See, I will melt them in a crucible and test them
like metal.” (Jeremiah 9:7*)
In the context of these and other verses, we understand why God wants to
put His Son to the test to show that He is worthy to become God’s sinless
sacrifice to carry the punishment for our sins. That’s why it was God’s Spirit
who led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by Satan before He started His
ministry. (Matthew 4:1)
Later on, the apostle Paul testifies: “God made Christ, who never
sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God
through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:21*)
Jesus was tempted by Satan three times, and three times He responded by
declaring: “It is
written” (Matthew 4:4), “It
is also written” (verse 7), “It is also written.” (verse 10) In
other words, Jesus resisted all three temptations by professing his obedience
to God’s Word.
Later during His
ministry, Jesus revealed again His determination to obey God’s Word when He
says: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
(John 4:34**)
Adam and Eve opened
their hearts to Satan’s scheming and disobeyed God’s Word. Jesus confronts
Satan with God’s Word and scolds him ferociously: “Away from me, Satan!”
(Matthew 4:10**)
When Peter wants to protect Jesus from the road to suffering (Matthew
16:21-22), Jesus recognises Satan’s scheming behind the scenes and rebukes him
with the same words: “Get
behind me, Satan!” (Matthew
16:23**)
Encountering
evil with divine love and forgiveness!
Jesus taught the
crowds: “Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” (Matthew 5:44*)
From the Gospels, and especially from the report on His suffering caused
by the desertion and betrayal of his friends and by the hostility of the Jewish
leaders and the Roman soldiers, we know how Jesus demonstrated that divine love
in practical ways:
-- In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss,
Jesus responds by calling Judas “Friend” (Matthew 26:50).
-- That same night in Gethsemane, Peter cut off the right ear of the
high priest’s servant who had come as part of a crowd to seize Jesus. Jesus
responds by healing the man’s ear. (Luke 22:49-51, John 18:10-11)
-- When Jesus was crucified between two criminals, He responded by
praying: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
(Luke 23:34**)
-- Although all his friends deserted Him in the Garden of Gethsemane
when He needed them most (Matthew 26:56, Mark 14:50), Jesus embraces them again
after His resurrection (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20 and 21, Acts
1:1-8).
-- Even though Peter denied Him, in spite of his promise to remain
faithful (Matthew 26:31-35 and 69-75, Mark 14:27-31 and 66-72, Luke 22:31-34
and 54-62, John 13:37-38 and 18:15—27), Jesus reinstates him as His disciple
and friend (John 21:15-19).
We might argue that Jesus was without sin anyway since He is the
incarnated Son of God. Indeed, the New Testament clearly testifies to His
sinless life. Here are some examples:
-- To the Jewish people who had believed in Him (John 8:31), Jesus said:
“Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin?” (John
8:46*)
-- At the evening before His death, Jesus said to His disciples: “I
don't have much more time to talk to you, because the prince of this world
approaches. He has no power over me.” (John 14:30*)
-- Concerning Jesus’ guilt offering for our sins, the apostle Peter
writes later to His fellow-believers: “He (God the Father) paid for you with the precious
lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” (1
Peter 1:19*)
-- Peter writes later
in the same letter just why Jesus is our shining example: “Christ, who
suffered for you, is your example. Follow in his steps. He never sinned, and he
never deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted. When he
suffered, he did not threaten to get even. He left his case in the hands of
God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried away our sins in his own
body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have
been healed by his wounds!” (1 Peter 2:21-24*)
-- The apostle John reminds Christians of Jesus’ sinlessness when he
writes: “You know that Jesus came to take away our sins, for there is no sin
in him.” (1 John 3:5*)
-- The letter to the Hebrews exalts the risen Jesus, enthroned in heaven
at the right hand of God the Father, as the ultimate high priest: “He is the
kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin.
He has now been set apart from sinners, and he has been given the highest place
of honor in heaven.” (Hebrews 7:26*)
Yes indeed, the New
Testament clearly testifies to Jesus’ sinless life on earth. Yet, we also read
in the letter to the Hebrews about the frailness of His humanity: “While
Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and
tears, to the one who could deliver him out of death. And God heard his prayers
because of his reverence for God. So even though Jesus was God's Son, he
learned obedience from the things he suffered.” (Hebrews
5:7-8*)
We just read that the apostle Peter calls us to take Jesus as our
example and follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21). So, as we want to continue with
our reflection on the question “How to overcome the power of sin in our lives
and our churches”, let us keep focusing on Jesus as we learn to conquer
sin!
Translations: * New Living Translation; ** New International
Version
For more on ‘Jesus
Christ’s divinity and humanity’, see Meditations 2, 3, 7 and 8.
For more on ‘sin’, see
Meditations 102 and 103
For more on ‘Satan and
temptation’, see Meditations 19 and 21.
No comments:
Post a Comment