By Bailey McBride | The Christian Chronicle
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The incarnate Jesus lived an amazing story. His early history — from the announcement to Mary of a divine conception to his baptism and until his triumph over Satan — prepares us to expect his work as Messiah to change the world. His teaching has been studied and valued by thinkers who do not accept his divinity. His sermon on the mountainside in Matthew has amazed and astonished people around the world because of its profound message of moral thoughts and actions. His miracles left the people of his generation awed and ready to believe.
Reflections on the very real temptation of Christ
All three gospels describe the time as 40 days, but Matthew and Luke emphasize that Jesus fasted all that time, setting himself up for the first temptation.
Many view the temptations as only symbolic, but I believe the temptations were real and fully demonstrated that Jesus was human. His divinity triumphs in his responses.
Fasting is seldom a serious spiritual discipline in our time, but historically many of the greatest spiritual teachers have reached their wisest insights after long periods of fasting. Jesus’ sense of his mission to redeem sinful mankind was clear to him as soon as “he saw,” in Mark’s words, “the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved: and with you I am pleased.’”
And it is that same Spirit that sent him to the wilderness for a spiritual experience that prepared him for his ministry. It is my personal belief that the 40 days were spent in prayer and communion with God — the ideal preparation for the testing that would come from Satan.
The accounts of the temptation have become so familiar that we seldom think seriously about their meaning. We have been told repeatedly in sermons and classes that Jesus answered Satan with Scripture, offering us a model for how to deal with temptation. And we all learned when we were children that the temptations were to turn stones to bread, to throw himself from the pinnacle of the temple and to fall down and worship the devil. Matthew and Luke differ on the order of the last two: Luke makes the pinnacle of the temple the last temptation.
Hunger is a powerful urge for all people. Consequently, that is the temptation that we usually focus on. But Jesus does not hesitate to reject the need for food, giving greater emphasis to the importance of God’s teachings in sustaining the life that is important.
The test to see if Jesus will act to meet his physical needs become symbolic of all those desires for food, clothing, sex, luxury and creature comforts. Bread alone is the only benefit that comes from this temptation. Strangely, this seems to be the easiest temptation for us to understand.
The sight of all kingdoms of the world must have been awesome for a young man who had spent his adult life in Nazareth with occasional visits to Jerusalem. How impressive it must have been to see the entire world that represented power, glory, wealth, control of the lives of all peoples. How easy it would have been to rationalize, “God sent me to win the world. Now I can have it all in one easy move.” All the kingdoms of the world in one easy step — just worship Satan. I think this temptation is hard to comprehend, but Jesus immediately rejects it.
In Luke’s account of the last temptation, Jesus and the devil are in Jerusalem on the pinnacle of the temple. The devil asks Jesus to prove he is the Son of God by throwing himself down from this high point.
The proof will be that the angels will save him.
The pinnacle of Herod’s temple rested on the most holy place, the sacred area where the presence of God dwelled. What a strange place for the devil to position Jesus. The test seems less appealing than the other two to a non-Jewish reader. But perhaps Jesus’ strong spirituality made this offer more of a temptation.
Perhaps remembering all of Jesus’ answers can provide us perspective for facing the tests of life.
• For the test of stones to bread: “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:3).
• For the test of all the kingdoms of the world: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him” (Luke 4:8). “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him” (Matthew 4:10).
• For the test on the pinnacle: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Luke 4:12, Matthew 4:7).
While we often minimize the testing of Jesus, it was very important. It did not end with the desert encounter, but that victory prepared Jesus for his outreach to Israel.
Face to face with Satan, Jesus was strengthened by his testing
The miracles, however, have been difficult for many to accept.
The first miracle, recorded only in John, tells about a wedding at Cana in Galilee Jesus and some of his disciples attended with Mary, his mother. John reports: “When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’ ‘Dear Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My time has not come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’”
Jesus then tells the servants to fill six stones jars with water, draw from the jars and take to the master of the banquet who considers the water turned to wine the best wine of the celebration.
Only the servants, Mary and the disciples know a miracle has taken place.
In the sequence of John’s gospel, this miracle shows the progression of Jesus’ power as he changes water to wine, multiplying matter (bread and fishes feed thousands), transforming lives (Samaritan prostitute, fishermen), healing blind eyes, crippled legs and leprosy, casting out demons and raising the dead.
Although the narrative is simple and direct, it raises several questions. What does Mary know that prompts her to turn to Jesus when the wine runs out? Has she seen something from Jesus’ early life that inspires her to think he can miraculously create wine?
Secular legends have several stories about miracles the child Jesus performed — clay pigeons he made that came to life and flew away or saving his brothers and sister when they were attacked by a bear and the boy Jesus caused it to die. Those legends seem to me to trivialize the majesty of Jesus and his work.
My personal belief is that Mary, who kept all the sayings of Jesus in her heart, was still treasuring the life of the person she knew was the Messiah. I imagine she had talked to Jesus about his experiences with John, his baptism, the wilderness fasting and temptations. Although Jesus seems to reject Mary’s overture, he does what she has asked him to do.
The miracle of water to wine seems not to have the significance of other miracles recorded in the gospels, but at least Peter, Andrew, Philip and Nathaniel saw evidence that Jesus was “the Son of God” — as John had testified.
For many philosophers since the 18th century, the miracles have increasingly raised doubt. The growth of scientific thought has made it harder and harder for people to believe in the miracles of Jesus. The dependence on logic and cause-effect thinking eventually makes supernatural events and forces unacceptable. This naturalistic approach to the world removes from the life of man some of the most powerful values — freedom, love, human will, a foundation for spiritual life, community.
With the miracle of water to wine, Jesus affirms the value of mother-child relationship as he responds to Mary’s request. He also affirms the value of marriage and the community celebrating the event in Cana. He affirms the values of relationships with the men who have believed the testimony of John and those who passed the word about Jesus being the Messiah. The quality of the wine also affirms that Jesus seeks perfection of all things on earth. The simplest miracle by Jesus, whose incarnation is the greatest miracle of all, bears all the qualities that he seeks in redeemed mankind.
Ultimately, as a believer in God, I trust the gospels and their accounts of Jesus and his teaching. I treasure the miracles, even those I don’t fully understand. It is clear that the power that gave the world shape and life a purpose is at work in Jesus to show the source of his teaching, his love and his miracles.
I question, however, the miracles of this age. Those claiming to perform miracles today do not act to glorify Jesus. Their teaching is not a reflection of Jesus’ message.
Later we will explore how Jesus changed hearts and lives even as he turned water to wine
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