And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. Without delay then, Jesus goes into the desert immediately following His baptism. But Jesus' ministry was totally devoted to God, and it was God's will that this test be faced at once. Human nature would have developed a strong following as well as greater strength and wisdom in ministry before going one-on-one with Satan. Human nature would have capitalized on the great events at His baptism in order to start a successful ministry. Human nature would have avoided a deadly confrontation with such an opponent so early in one's ministry. This was no human desire (to go into the desert to face the treacherous temptation of Satan). This guidance, as we see here, was provided through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Later on in His ministry Jesus said that He only spoke and did what the Father told Him to speak and do ( John 8:28-29). Mark says that Jesus was "impelled " by the spirit. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. This same story is told in Mark and Luke's gospel, but Matthew's description is the most complete.
Of course, as Divine King, He is able to demonstrate His mastery over Satan and all of His temptations. In this scene, Matthew is able to show us that even though Jesus is King, He must face the same attacks from the same opponent as we do. This begins Jesus's public ministry on a lofty note, but to balance out the view, we now see Jesus in the desert being hungry, thirsty, tired and battling temptation. This event occurred immediately after He was baptized by John and confirmed as the Divine Messiah by the appearance of the Holy Spirit and the voice of God. Matthew continues his description of Jesus' life with an unusual episode where Jesus is tempted by the devil. We began by reviewing the first instance in Matthew where the gospel writer portrays Jesus as a royal or kingly figure, and that was at His birth where He was worshiped by the wise men from Babylon and presented with gifts that represented His royal, divine and sacrificial character. We are studying the book of Matthew and his perspective of Jesus as Divine King.
0 kommentar(er)
