Jesus and John the Baptist

My sister and I have sons who are about the same age difference as Jesus and John. These boys LOVE each other. If they could be together 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, they would. They don't remember a time they weren't in each other's lives. They have never lived in the same town but when the families are in town, they are together. It would be a cardinal sin to keep them apart.

I wonder if Jesus and John were like that. Think about the things we know about their relationship. When Mary visited Elizabeth at the beginning of Mary's pregnancy and the end of Elizabeth's, John leapt in Elizabeth's womb as he recognized Jesus in Mary's womb. They were aware of each other in a profound way even before their births. John's entire life purpose was to "prepare the way of" his cousin, Jesus. This was very serious I'm sure, but they were also boys and teenagers together. Can't you just picture them chasing each other and wrestling, making messes and discovering things together? As they grew up, what did they talk about?

In Matthew 4:12 we read some words that we could skip over pretty easily. It says "when (Jesus) heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee." And then we see Jesus moving from Nazareth to Capernaum "so that" a messianic prophecy would be fulfilled. Then at the end of this passage in verse 17 it says, "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" Remember who was saying that in chapter 3, verse 2? This was John's message as he prepared the way for Jesus and this is now Jesus' message as he begins his ministry, the ministry that John prepared the way for.

This is very poignant to me as I think about Nelson and Mitch. Their love for each other has woven their lives into a fabric in ways that will never be completely separated. They are a part of each other. This is what I see in Matthew 4:12-17. Our Lord had a close friend and cousin who was arrested for preparing the way for His ministry. It affected him. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize . . . "

The Weapons of HIS Warfare

I am currently enjoying a Bible study on the scriptures that Jesus quoted during His time here. It's something I've wanted to do for a while but am just now getting around to. I am struck by the thought of the Author of the Bible reading and meditating on scripture and then using it to do spiritual warfare. Today I am looking at Matthew 4 and Deuteronomy 6-8.

In Matthew 4:2,3 we see Jesus being “led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3And the tempter came . . .” This is not the first time I remember God using the devil to tempt people (see Job 1:12 ). The first thing I see in this passage is that God is sovereign even over the tempter and the thief (Jn 10:10).

The first temptation presented by the devil was to turn the rocks into stone. This was after 40 days of fasting and the Bible says Jesus was hungry. Huh, ya think?! But Jesus answers him with “man shall not live by bread alone” from Deut 8:3.

Then Satan seems to say ‘so, we’re going to sword fight, huh (Eph 6:17)? Well, I know how to play that game!’ and thrusts with Ps 91:11, 12 “'He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’” at Jesus. Jesus parries this thrust with Deut 6:16 “"You shall not put the LORD your God to the test,”.

Then Satan delivers what he probably thought would be a death blow, since it was the temptation he fell to when he wanted to be worshipped. He “showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” At this point Satan seems to be thinking that he can’t win at the sword battle so he will see if he can tempt Jesus with achieving his destiny the “easy” way. But Jesus doesn't throw down his sword just because his opponent does. He gives Satan the winning blow by using Deut 6:13 and I Sam 7:3 and says “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.' At this, Satan left him and angels came to minister to him.

I am really moved to imagine my Lord in the desert, not eating physical food, but eating "every Word the proceeds from the mouth of God". I wonder if he had been meditating on Deuteronomy 6-8 during his fast. I know in my own life the Lord shows me things in the Word that I will need in the next battle and I wonder if He was doing the same thing with Jesus during the 40 days. Wow!

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin." Hebrews 4:15