Jesus' Example: Baptism and Temptation

Once again my internet was down all weekend. We are hoping to have it fixed soon, but until then, I appreciate your patience as I come to work the next day and post there. Grrr.

Day 210: Matthew 3-4
I love the story of Jesus being baptized. What beautiful imagery! Jesus rises out of the water after he was baptized, heaven opens, and the Spirit of God descends like a dove on him. And at that moment, a voice from heaven says, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." What's interesting to me here is how the baptism of Jesus is recorded in the passive voice. The passage does not say. "Jesus baptized himself," which implies that Jesus is the one doing the action. Rather, the passage says, "As soon as Jesus was baptized..." (3:16), where the one doing the action is not Jesus. This writing style indicates that baptism is not something we as individuals do; instead, baptism is an act completed on us by someone else. The Spirit is the one doing the action. God is the one doing the action. We are merely the receptacle, the tool, on which this action is completed. Metaphorically, then, this indicates that we cannot save ourselves. Someone else is doing the saving, even though we are the one completing the action.

Immediately after Jesus is baptized--at least it's the next story as recorded in the Bible--Jesus is led into the desert. Here, he faces three temptations, none of which he gives in to. Each time the devil tempts him, Jesus answers by referring to words of law, to words that have been written down and that someone knowledgeable about Scripture would know and understand. Jesus shows us that he is well-read, and he also shows us that we can say "no" to temptation. Just because temptation greets us doesn't mean that we have to give in to it. But to say "no" to temptation requires more than relying on our own strength and willpower. Here, we see that Jesus brought up past ancestors and the words of law, the words of God, to help him say no. We don't have to fight temptation on our own; we can look back to history and rely on God alone to help us, just like Jesus did.

After he was baptized and tempted, Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (4:17).

Sustainable Trees and Lifeblood

Day 166: Jeremiah 17-20

Jeremiah 17:7-8.
"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." 

The Bible often uses evocative language to communicate ideas. In this passage, a simile is used to compare trust in the Lord to trees planted along a riverbank. I love the imagery of those verses. Just imagine trees along a riverbank, roots extended deep into the ground, into the water. These trees survive all sorts of conditions, and what's more, is that they never stop producing fruit. These trees not only survive; they flourish. They sustain us and give us food. So, too, does God sustain us. When we place our hope and faith in Him, we are nourished; we are fed.

God uses concrete examples, such as the trees, to demonstrate abstract and complex principles, such as what it means to trust and hope in the Lord. Thank you, God, for understanding our needs and providing us words with how we can think about you.

In Jeremiah 18-20, Jeremiah delivers a message from the Lord to Judah and Jerusalem. He tells them that the Lord will destroy them if they turn to evil and refuse to obey God. God will even withhold blessings from them. The people respond back to Jeremiah that they will continue to live as they want. They don't care. It doesn't matter that God tells them he is the potter, and they are the clay, and He can do with them what they want. They will continue to follow evil and reject the Lord. So, as a result, the Lord will destroy them, if He so chooses.

God deals with us the same way. He can destroy us if he want; he sure does have the power. He can bless us if he wants; he has the power to do this, too. He can upset our plans, just like he did with Judah and Jerusalem. He could allow us to be slaughtered, leaving our bodies as food for vultures and wild animals, just like he promises to do to Israel. He can destroy our cities, us. He can shatter us.

And He probably would shatter us....except for one thing. Jesus. God sent Jesus to earth, and now Jesus is the one who intervenes on our behalf. Jesus is our Savior. Whereas God wants to destroy us because of our wickedness and refusal to be blessed by him, Jesus pleads on our behalf. Jesus is the only reason we have hope in coming into the presence of God. What a mighty story we are a part of!

The lifeblood of Jesus allows us to produce fruit. It allows us to be like sustainable trees. May we continue to put our trust and hope in the Lord.

Hope for a Future Christ

Day 148: Isaiah 5-8

Isaiah, the prophet, communicates here how God's anger burns against his people, the Israelites, for all the sins they have committed. They leave and deny God again and again, and his hand remains upraised.

Yet still, Isaiah prophesies about what he sees. Isaiah 6:1-7 contains beautiful imagery and prophesies about the redemption that Jesus Christ will bring:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

       "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
       the whole earth is full of his glory."

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

What beautiful hope is found here.

Metaphors and Beautiful Images

Day 121: Psalm 84-90

"What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem." Psalm 84:5

I love the image in this passage where people have set their minds on a trek to Jerusalem. At the time this psalm was written, it was most likely about a literal trip to Jerusalem, a trip to the Temple to become close to the Lord. Today, however, this same idea can serve as a metaphor for us. We can set our minds on the same pilgrimage to Jerusalem in that we are looking ahead towards the Cross. We are setting our minds on the story of the Cross, and as we do so, our strength comes from the Lord. We are taking a journey to become closer to the Lord. I really like this metaphor.

"A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked." Psalm 84:10

I like this passage of scripture. The idea of living just one day in God's courts as being one thousand times better than living anywhere else. Wow. That's an amazing notion. Being with God is so much greater than anywhere else. That image really resonates with me. Chris Tomlin has a song based on this scripture called "Better Is One Day." I really like that song. It has touched me since the first time I heard it. The image is just so vivid. I love it. Here's a link to a video that plays the song.

And the section sentence in this passage is evocative, too. Choosing to be a gatekeeper for God over living in a big house with the wicked. This is so telling. God is amazing, and his followers know it.

How Beautiful

Day 113: Psalm 40-43

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O Lord. Psalm 42:1.

What beautiful language is expressed here. What a remarkable comparison.