TEMPTATION OF JESUS CHRIST
BIBLE PORTION:
Luke 4:1-4
INTRODUCTION:
Test is the best weapon that makes a man victorious. The man who is most tempted in this world is the man who desires to walk in virtue. Test is like fire. When gold is fired, it becomes an ornament used by all. Thus those who are tempted will become Christ's adornment after the temptation. A bit strange is that not only man but also God is tested. The temptation of Jesus Christ was a little different to human eyes. This experiment reveals something to us.Anyone with a human body in this world has trials. Jesus Christ faced such a test.
Jesus Christ spent 40 days alone before being tempted. With Jesus Christ, there were no disciples, family, friends, and he was lonely. Loneliness is like a double-edged sword.
1. Loneliness dulls a man's intellect
2. It helps man realize who he is.
Jesus Christ fought and won the spiritual battle and the battle with Satan. Jesus Christ fought all the trials that were given to him in the right way. He did not take any shortcuts.
Matthew and Luke record these trials in detail. Mark records only that he was tempted. John did not register.
Jesus Christ faced three kinds of trials. Each test makes many truths clear to us. We will meditate on them in the coming weeks.
A.THE TEST OF STONES TURNING INTO LOAVES OF BREAD:
If a single human does not have food, we will destroy the world. This is the statement of the Poet Bharatiyar.
There are three basic human needs.
~Food
~Dress
~Accommodation
Food occupies the first place among the basic human needs. Satan knew very well that Jesus would be hungry now. Fasting for 40 days is a spiritual state that exhausts the body. The moment when Jesus Christ was physically tired, he needed food. That's when he gets his first test. Matthew 4:3, command these stones to become loaves of bread. Things we should know from this first test:
1.A TEST OF JESUS' POWER:
When studying this first test in depth, It's not just a trial for food, The test of his power. Think about it, This is a good time to test the power of Jesus Christ. After Jesus Christ was baptized, he fasted for 40 days and gained power. Immediately he is tested. It is human wisdom to test anything. When we buy or own a product, we want to test it to see how it works. For example, you can keep a mobile phone. Here is the same situation for Jesus Christ. 'If you are the son of God, you will test this power that you have got, for your needs', Satan challenges. Jesus Christ needed food. 40 days of solitary fasting. Because of the wilderness, there is no possibility of food. He has power, but he does not use it.
If we had been in that place, Satan would not have said anything to us, we would have called for food and eaten. But Jesus Christ did not do that. He did not misuse the power given to him by God. Because he clearly knew that this wonderful power that he had got was not for selfish interest but for the common good and for the people.
A similar trial came while He was hanging on the cross. Matthew 27:40, "Save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Even when the man shouted, he did not use that power for his own selfish gain.
Dear people in Christ, Through this, Jesus Christ makes a wonderful point. Rule and power belong to the common good. Jesus Christ used his dominion, power, and authority over nature and over human beings for the common good. Those in power today are self-interested who use their power for others only after using it for themselves. Therefore no man who came after Jesus Christ could stand against Satan and win. Is it impossible for the one who shared five loaves and two fish to 5000 people to make stones into loaves for himself? But Jesus Christ overcame Satan's temptation through the Scriptures.
2.A CHANCE TO CONNECT JESUS WITH THE HUNGRY (or) THE TEST OF JESUS CHRIST'S LOVE FOR HUMAN:
His not turning stones into bread is a new attempt to identify himself with the neglected hungry people, showing his love for them. He fully experiences the cruelty of hunger.
A boy who collects garbage on the street could not go to collect garbage one day due to rain. No money in hand. Then Jesus Christ put himself in the place of the boy who longed for the food in the glass box while walking along the road. He unites himself with all the people in such a situation. He showers love on them. Jesus Christ ignores bread to count himself as one of the economically untouchables in society.
Why should he unite himself thus? The Bible makes it clear, Hebrews 4:14,15, "... One who in every respect has been tested as we are.." In the days of his ministry, Jesus Christ identifies himself with those who are excluded by society on the basis of economics, on the basis of race, on the basis of education, on the basis of disease.
Perhaps if He had turned stones into loaves He would not have owned the epithet 'Son of Man'. History would have recorded him as a magician. Instead, he spends the power he had only on public life, identifying himself with the backward in society and positioning himself as a God who interacts with man.
Dear people in Christ, It is those who identify themselves with the backward people who stand tall as great people in this world. Former US President Abraham Lincoln identified himself with the underrepresented black people in America at the time. Cuban President Fidel Castro identified himself with the sugarcane workers who had been subjugated by an American mercenary dictator named Pedisra. Thanthai E. V.R Periyar identified himself with the enslaved people on the basis of religion and caste. They somehow identified themselves with the oppressed and marginalized like Jesus Christ.
Who do we identify ourselves with? Because of Jesus Christ's love for man, He used His authority not for Himself but for people. Let's think about who we use the power we have?
3.JESUS CHRIST TRIUMPHED OVER HUMAN DESIRES:
Human's desires enslave human. It doesn't make you think about anything else. Desire enslaves human beings.
The days are gone when man worked only for a living. The present man does not know what he is working for. Because desire hides his eyes. Jesus Christ conquered that desire in this temptation. There is a righteous story in ancient times and you probably know the story. A golden egg-laying duck was found by a resident. That duck used to lay an egg every day. Then the resident had an idea. How many eggs are in the stomach of that duck that lays eggs every day? He thought that he should slaughter the duck and sell all the eggs inside its stomach at once and become very rich. He also killed the duck. In the end he got only one golden egg. Greed brings great loss, the story ends.
A man's greed made him to take foolish decisions. Jesus Christ had the power of a goose that lays golden eggs. If he had thought, he could have turned stones into loaves of bread, satisfied his hunger, and been happy. Had that been the case we would not have received salvation. But Jesus Christ conquered that desire.
CONCLUSION:
Dear people in Christ, Desires must be limited. If transgressed it will destroy the family, society and country. Like our Lord Jesus Christ, we will not give in to our desires, but overcome our desires. May the guidance of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.
©2024, I. Ananda Balakrishnan
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