CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
March 2, 2008
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.geocities.com/adon77373/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
www.cypresswoodchurchofchrist.com
PRAYERS AND PETITIONS:
Our congregation Various friends, relatives, and co-workers
Our nation, military and leaders Peace throughout the world
PRIMARY VOTING TUESDAY. Please pray before heading to the polls. Whatever happens, God is still the Ruler of the universe, setting up kings and bringing them down (Daniel 2:21; Acts 17:26).
TIME CHANGE: NEXT SUNDAY CLOCKES ARE MOVED AHEAD FOR THE ANNUAL SPRING CHANGE, THOUGH EARLIER THIS YEAR. DON’T FORGET!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
Virgil Oller (4th), Jimmy King (5th), Anita White (5th), Muriel Mearns (15th), Bobby Cruthirds (18th),
Mary King (19th), and Logan Gradney (20th)
TEMPTED AND TRIED
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1).
The difficulty of reading scripture is to understand what was being said by the author to his audience. For instance, what were the problems Paul was addressing to Corinth or Rome? The gospels have an added dimension. Not only must we understand what the gospel writers were saying to their intended audiences but what were the events being recorded saying to the people Jesus was speaking. Then we must make an application to our day and to our audiences.
Let’s take a look at the temptations of Jesus by the devil. We are familiar with the three recorded in the early parts of the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Jesus is tempted to change the stones into bread because He was hungry, to jump off the top of the Temple to show His trust in God, and is taken to a mountain top where He is shown all the kingdoms of the world, which could be His if He would bow down and worship the devil (1).
What would the Jewish-Christian audience of Matthew hear when they read this account and what would Luke’s Greek-Christian audience hear? The Jews had an expectation of who the Messiah would be. He would come to restore the power and influence of Israel, drive out the Romans, and set up the throne of David again in Jerusalem. Here is how Jews might have seen the temptations of Jesus (2). By changing the stone to bread, one could see an economic power and influence. Since materials and money flowed to Rome, and there was always a danger of famine and hardship, having a Messiah do this could free Israel from the power of Rome. People would flock to Him as they did after He fed the five thousand (see John 6).
By jumping off the top of the Temple, and surviving, He would show that He could produce miracles. The religious leaders asked for signs and miracles, He could be declared Messiah. If He threw Himself down in a public way in the Temple, then the religious leaders could make their declaration, and the people would follow. The last would relate to the seizing of political power in which He could drive out the Romans and reestablish the rule of David. One could see how this interpretation would be attractive to an expedient people. If Jesus wanted such power, He would have had it with the above. Jesus of course rejected this by quoting texts from Deuteronomy. He would become Lord God’s way.
Most interpret the temptation in the following way. We see Jesus tempted individually in each temptation. The stones to bread is the desire to have; in this case food for He had not eaten for forty days. The second is seen as the desire to do, to use His power and show the world who He was. Clearly in the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16), Jesus states that people will not believe miracles nor if someone was raised from the dead. A leading atheist was asked that if he died and found out there was a God, what would you say. He responded by saying he would ask God why He did not provide more evidence. Even the Jewish leaders wanted Jesus to come down from the cross to show who He was.
The final temptation is the desire to be, that is to rule. Power is tempting because people think that with power they have control, that they know better than others, and that they are defending their beliefs which they think are above others. As Lord Acton stated; power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Power often means getting my way even if it means destroying others, no matter the good intentions involved.
We try to understand the context of the text we are studying, what the writer intended, what the people heard, and how then to apply it to us. Ken Bailey uses Henri Nouwen application of these temptations for us today.
The temptation to change the stones to bread is the temptation to be relevant. This has been an idea for a number of years in various churches. We need to be relevant to meet people where they are so many things are tried to “attract” people to worship. Bill Hybels did this for some twenty years and the church were he is at grew (3). But recently, he discovered that while he had a great number of people, they were shallow Christians. By ignoring doctrine, they made weak Christians. He is now changing his approach and is bringing major Bible teaching to his congregation.
Churches of Christ have been attracted to this idea of relevance. We have tended to complain about forms yet we change the forms thinking that it will attract others. Rather we need to be servants. The early church was a group of servants. They understood that to be like Jesus is to be a servant. In the second and third centuries, what impressed people was the willingness of Christians to serve others. They would take care of their sick and their sick neighbors. They would rescue babies that were cast out. They would share with the poor. When mistreated, they would serve. By doing this, they opened the door to discuss serious issues from salvation to how to live a radical life in this world. People were, and are, attracted by service not forms.
The temptation to throw oneself down from the Temple is the temptation to be spectacular. The idea is to win great applause, to be a star or hero. We live in a society that looks at such characteristics. Unfortunately, the word “hero” has taken on an almost meaningless idea. A rock star or movie actor could be considered a hero. A politician who goes against his party might be called a hero. We have lost sight of what or who a hero is because of the constant use of the word. The idea of legacy has crept into our language in recent years, applying it to politicians who want to be remembered for greatness. Others build monuments to themselves in their home states because they have “brought the bacon home.” As that great American philosopher, Clint Eastwood, said: they are legends in their own minds.
Motion pictures have contributed to this idea. Saving Private Ryan has forever changed the way war movies are made. Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings are spectacular in there special effects, that it is difficult to go to a movie without even better special effects. Jesus did not use the spectacular. He did not invited thousands to see a miracle. Often, it was just the person healed and Jesus. It might have been the twelve in a boat when the sea was calmed, or when He was walking on the water. Even the resurrection was unseen. The evidence centers on the empty tomb and the witnesses who saw the resurrected Jesus. Rather than spectacular, Jesus commands humility (see Philippians 2:5-11). We live in a society that needs more humility and less spectacular. Churches want fine speakers and look for even better, yet when we read scripture, that is NOT what God is looking for in His followers. Jesus came to serve and told Peter to feed His sheep (John 21).
The temptation to be given all the kingdoms of the world is the temptation to power. Today we talk about political power, military power, economic power, and moral and spiritual power. Nouwen states that it is easier to control people than to love them. That was and continues to be a problem for Christians. Jesus is Lord and no other is. He has all authority (Matthew 28:18-20) and we do not. It is time for us to move away from the ideas of authority and power . We have too many who want to control rather than love and serve. Some use money to control a congregation, others their position in leadership. Nothing can be done without their approval. This is a misreading of scripture and a giving in to the temptation to power. Jesus came not to use His power to control people but to serve so as to love people. Until we develop a humble and serving spirit which recognizes that there is only one Lord, we will have conflicts within churches that will hurt and damage relationships.
Jesus isn’t the only one tempted by the temptations found in Matthew and Luke four. The devil threw the strongest against Jesus because humans are easily tempted by these. Whether it’s a paranoid Herod or a modern politician, a preacher or an elder, a reporter or a movie star, we are all tempted by the desire to be relevant, spectacular, and powerful. Jesus shows us how to really live and to be effective in this world. Let’s keep our eyes on Him.
George B. Mearns
(1) That last temptation raises a number of questions. For instance, did the devil have the authority to make such a claim considering he has been a liar since Eden (see John 8:42-47)? Even though John tells us three times that the devil is the ruler of this world, just what kind of power did he have, considering that in Job, God limits what the Accuser could do?
(2) Thoughts come from Kenneth E. Bailey, The Temptation of Jesus, 01/16/2008, www.pres-outlook.com
(3) Bill Hybels is a minister of a denominational church in the Chicago area.