Christology. Christ s Earthly Life and Ministry Part 7. ST302 LESSON 13 of 24

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Christology. Christ s Earthly Life and Ministry Part 7. ST302 LESSON 13 of 24"

Toby Eaton
5 years ago
Views:

1 Christology ST302 LESSON 13 of 24 C. Fred Dickason, Th.D. Experience: Chairman of the Theology Department, Moody Bible Institute. We come now to lesson 13 in our study of Christology, and we welcome you to study with us here as we continue in the study of Christ s earthly life and ministry. We ve covered His incarnation and His early life. We re now in the section that deals with His ministry. This is capital C in our syllabus under Roman numeral III. We ve treated His baptism, and now we come to, in this lesson, His temptations. The temptations of Christ are loaded with significance. And as we go through here, I think that you can see how Christ s temptations were genuine and real and how they are indeed an encouragement to us. Let s take a look at the fact of His temptations first of all. By the fact of His temptations, we mean there were actual incidents in which Christ was tempted. Perhaps one of the most outstanding incidents was that of His temptation in the wilderness. And this is recorded in Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4. Here we have the fact that the Lord Jesus was led by the Spirit. Mark says He was driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of Satan. Let s note first of all that the Spirit-filled person is not exempt from being tempted by Satan. He is one who indeed does battle with Satan and does it victoriously. I want to note also here a parallel with Moses in the Old Testament. In Exodus 34:28, we read that Moses spent 40 days fasting at the giving of the law. Here the Lord Jesus spends 40 days fasting in the wilderness, and then Satan comes to tempt Him. And Jesus proves that He s full of grace and truth and then following that goes on to teach about grace and truth. An interesting contrast between Moses and Christ is also found in 2 Corinthians 3 where the fading glory of the law is contrasted with the lasting glory of grace. He was tempted indeed in the wilderness, and it was a sore temptation. And we ll look at that a little bit later. We want to note here some other times that He was tempted. He was tempted in His home. He was tempted by His brethren. In John 7:3-5, when the Feast of Tabernacles was at hand, His brethren, therefore, said 1 of 9

2 unto Him Depart hence, and go into Judea that Thy disciples may also see the works that Thou doest. For there is no one who does anything in secret but he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. For neither did His brethren believe in Him. They were saying put on a public display. Carry on your advertising for yourself if you re really what you say you are, for they didn t really believe in Him. This was temptation. But the Lord Jesus said, My time has not come. Your time (the time of the world) is always ready. You act according to your own dictates (basically). But I have to act in accord with God s plan for Me. And later on He went up to the feast in His own time. He was also tempted throughout life. In Luke 22:28, there is an indication that the Lord Jesus continued through temptations over a period of time. He said to His disciples, Ye are they that have continued with Me in My temptations. The word temptation might also be translated trial. But in any case, these temptations or trials are occasions when men fail and are many times designed by Satan or by men to lead the man of God astray. A fourth area where He was certainly tempted was in the time when He was on the cross. In Matthew 27 there was mocking. There were people who were passing by who reviled Christ wagging their heads (verse 39) and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save Thyself. If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also, the chief priests mocked Him with the Scribes and the elders. And they said, He saved others. Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross and we will believe on Him. He trusted in God. Let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him. For He said I am the Son of God. And the thieves also which were crucified with Him cast the same in His teeth. All these jeers and taunts were temptations to the Lord Jesus. He was tempted right up to the cross, right up to death. Well, the fact of His temptations, the incidents are real. Let s come to the second point B under the matter of His temptations, the nature of His temptations. I suppose we ought to analyze the temptations in the wilderness at this point, in order to see what sort of temptations came the way of the Lord Jesus. This is a classic passage here where Satan, God s archenemy, does battle with Christ, God s Man. And you remember the story; the Lord Jesus had fasted 40 days. He was in fellowship with God. And afterward, Matthew 4:2 He became hungry, sustained for 40 days by fellowship with God. Now suddenly He fell hungry. And then in His weakness the tempter came to Him, he said, If you be 2 of 9

3 the Son of God, command that these stones by made bread. Now Satan wasn t trying to get Him to prove that He was the Son of God. The word if here assumes that He s the Son of God. It gives the benefit of the doubt. But he says, Command that these stones be made bread. The temptation is to satisfy His own personal need. And Jesus answered, It is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Note the approach of Satan in this case. If you be the Son of God, all right, you re the Son of God. You re able to do this. Go ahead and do it and satisfy your personal need. You notice that the Lord Jesus answered as the God-man. Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. He takes His humble position as a man under God. He s indeed the God-Man, subject to God and subject to His will and His law. And He quotes the book of Deuteronomy 8:3, Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. In other words, I will not satisfy my personal cravings at the expense of doing God s will. And I think that s a good rule for each one of us. We are often tempted to do what we want to do. But Jesus said we don t really live that way. We live by doing the will of God, and that s really living. In the second temptation, the temptation is offered by Satan that He should cast Himself down. Note the setting. The devil takes Him up into the holy city, Matthew 4:5-7. The devil takes Him up into the holy city and sets Him upon a pinnacle of the temple and says to Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down. For it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee, and in their hands they shall bear Thee up lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. You notice how Satan approached the Lord Jesus again, If Thou be the Son of God. All right, You re the Son of God. You re indeed the Messiah. Cast Yourself down because God s promised to protect You. Prove God. Jesus said unto him, It is written, thou shalt not tempt or prove the Lord Thy God. People tell us to prove the promises of God, but this is presuming upon the goodness of God. In fact, this was a word from Satan. This was not a word from God. The original quotation says, He shall keep thee in all thy ways. This was not the way of the Lord Jesus, and Satan left out part of the quotation so as not to cause any question. But Jesus saw through it. He said, It is written, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And again He takes His place as the God-man. The thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, was originally addressed to man. He s not talking to Satan when He says, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. He s quoting a Scripture which applies to Him as the God-man, for He s quoting 3 of 9

4 the book of Deuteronomy which puts man under the law. And taking His place as man, He recognizes that He is indeed subject to the regulations of God. Thou (man) shall not tempt the Lord thy God. And so he counters Satan s misquotation with a proper application of the Word of God to Himself. Satan approached Him as the Son of God, and He answers as the God-man, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16. Now the third temptation is found in Matthew 4:8-10. Again the devil takes Him up to an exceeding high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. And he says unto Him, All these things will I give Thee if Thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said unto him, Get thee hence, Satan. For it is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve. And then the devil left Him and angels came and ministered to Him. Well, you notice here the temptation was to fall down and worship Satan, and he would give Him the kingdoms of the world. Jesus didn t argue with Satan, because in some sense this world does belong to Satan. But Jesus wasn t going to get the kingdoms of this world in Satan s way. He was not going to bypass the cross as this temptation may lead Him to do. But He was going to go God s way through the cross, through the second coming to become King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now the Lord Jesus answered Satan again with a quotation from the book of Deuteronomy 6:13. It is written, thou shall worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve. In other words, personal gain is not to be sought at the expense of serving God first. He is to be our first desire, our first devotion. And His desires are indeed our duty. Now, you notice there is something progressive in this passage here as, first of all, Satan tempts Christ in the personal realm. Satisfy your personal needs. And then he turns to a national realm. He takes Him to the temple and says, cast yourself down. Now it was a story current among the Jews at that time that when Messiah came, He would appear upon the temple top and introduce Himself as the Messiah. Wouldn t it have been spectacular if the Lord Jesus had cast Himself down while the people were there milling below and hurling down from the highest pinnacle, landed safely on the pavement below? Such a sign would indeed have enhanced His claims as being the Messiah of Israel. But Jesus sought not to present His claims in this way, for it was not the way of God. This then was a national temptation, because it had to do with His being Messiah and presenting Himself to Israel and being accepted by them. 4 of 9

5 The last temptation was what we might call a universal temptation in the realm of Christ being King of all the earth. The devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. Not only was Jesus Christ to be King of Israel, but He was indeed a worldwide ruler. And Satan knew this, and Satan knows God s plan. And he sought to thwart God s plan in this case and sought to get the Lord Jesus to worship Him. But if Christ had worshipped Satan, then indeed Satan would have said I claim all the kingdoms that are yours. Because you, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, have fallen down to worship me and recognize my superiority. The temptations then move from the realm of the personal through the national to the universal. And indeed this seems to be in keeping with Matthew s purposes. He begins with Matthew 1:1, Jesus Christ the Son of David, the son of Abraham. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ is a reference to His person. The Son of David is a national reference as King of Israel. The Son of Abraham is a universal reference, for God promised to Abraham that in him and in his seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed. So this fits the purpose of the gospel of Matthew. And we re indebted to Dr. Stanley Toussaint for this analysis to some degree. Well, let s look now at the analogy to our temptations. We re still under the nature of His temptations. We ve talked about the analysis of His wilderness temptations and now the analogy to our temptations. And here I d like to refer you to Hebrews 4:15 where the Scripture says, we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities or weaknesses but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Now there s a similarity of Christ s temptation to our temptations. He was tempted in all respects, in all points like as we. In other words, all kinds of temptations came His way. We do not have to believe that each and every individual temptation that man has ever experienced has come to Christ. But Christ was tempted in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And in fact, this was Satan s tool with Adam and Eve in the garden. It was his tool with Christ in the wilderness, and it s his tool with us today. All that s in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, of course, are not of God, and 1 John 2:15-16 tell us this. And so He was tempted in all points like as we are in all respects, and He was tempted according to our likeness. That is He was human. He was approachable. He was limited. He was needy, and the temptations, each one were aimed at a certain need that He had that was associated with His humanity. But there is a difference 5 of 9

6 between His temptations and ours. The difference is noted in this verse (Hebrews 4:15) in the words without sin. Now you notice in the King James it says, He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. The we are yet is in italics which says it s supplied to make sense. In this case, I rather doubt if it helps us to understand. I think it probably should be translated like this since this seems to be the emphasis of the Greek in the passage. He was in all points tempted according to our likeness without sin. In other words, He was tempted as a genuine human, and the phrase without sin modifies or describes His humanity. He was tempted in all points according to our humanity. Yet that humanity was without sin. The phrase then without sin does not describe the effects or the result of Christ s temptation that He did not sin, but rather describes the fact that He had a human nature that was without sin. You notice it does not say yet without sinning. It says without sin and that modifies His nature. The sinless human was tempted in all points because He was in our genuine likeness though that likeness was without sin. Now we have to consider that there are two sources of temptation for us. We have inward temptation as James 1:14-15 says. Every man is tempted when he s drawn away of his own lust and enticed. And then he sins, and that leads towards death. But Jesus didn t have any inward temptation. The Scripture says He knew no sin, He did no sin, in Him there was no sin, and He is holy, harmless, undefiled and separated from sinners. In fact He said, Which one of you can convince Me of sin? So He didn t have any inward pull. There was nothing within Him on which Satan might get a toehold. There was an outward temptation that both Christ and the believer experience from the world and from Satan as the world of men under Satan, the king of this world, seeks to lead us astray and away from God. There was only one source for Christ. There was the external temptation that came from Satan in this case. Now there s the analogy to our temptation. Let s ask ourselves, what was the purpose of His temptations? Well, from Satan s point of view, he was seeking to discredit the Messiah and to defeat God and so to upset all of God s program concerning redemption and kingdom. From God s point of view, however, it was an occasion to prove Christ. Led by the Spirit into temptation, He was not led out into some doubtful situation from which He would emerge perhaps, but He was led out into a situation where He was to be proved to be morally trustworthy, to demonstrate His moral fitness to be the King priest through obedience and faithfulness. 6 of 9

7 Let s talk about the genuineness of His temptations now, number D (A the fact, B the nature, C the purpose, D the genuineness of His temptations). And here we have to deal with two questions very briefly. First, was it possible for Christ to sin? And secondly, was He really tempted? Let s look at that this way, by a series of questions. We want to treat the subject, was Christ merely not able to sin, or was He not able to sin? Notice the difference? It s where you put the not, able not to sin or not able to sin? In other words, did He have the capability and not sin? Or was He incapable of sinning? Let s ask that question first. Was it possible for Christ to sin? And right off I m going to give an answer. I m going to say no. I hold to what we call the impeccability of Christ, that is, that Christ could not have sinned under any circumstances. And to get to that conclusion, now we have to ask some questions. What s the nature of Christ s person? What sort of a being is He? Well, from all we ve studied so far, we understand that He is indeed the Godman. He is neither just man nor just God. He is the God-man. He s a composite person. And the whole of His person must be taken into account whenever we consider any of His actions. That brings us to the second question: what does the acting, a nature or a person? Remember Christ is one person with two natures. Now what does the acting, the one person or either one of the natures? Some people say, well, His human nature could have sinned. Does a nature sin, or does a person sin? It s my contention that the person sins. In any case, He acts through a nature which is His and in consistency with that nature. Now Christ had a sinless human nature, but He also had a very holy and positively holy, impeccably holy divine nature. There was no sin nature in Christ, no bent towards sinning. And the question is when this is welded to deity, how can God be tempted to sin successfully? Well, who does the acting? It s the person. What is the basis of Christ s person? Remember, this person didn t begin in Bethlehem. This person has His activities from old, from everlasting. He s the Logos, the eternal God. He is basically God in His person. The addition of humanity did not detract from His deity and didn t change His deity. His deity is absolutely holy, resisting sin in righteousness. Consider Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. You see there was no change in the basis of His person. Colossians 2:9 says, In Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. Someone might say, but He voluntarily dismissed the independent exercise of His relative attributes like omnipotence and omniscience and so 7 of 9

8 forth. Yes, that s true. But He didn t dismiss His holiness. And God would not allow Him, in any voluntary lack, to step into sin. And so we conclude that the Lord Jesus was unable to sin. His immutability argues against it. Omnipotence and omniscience argue against it, and it s rationally inconceivable that God would, in His wisdom and in His holiness, hinge upon the frailty of a human nature his whole program of redemption, the frailty of a human nature that had the possibility of sinning. And I think that God in this case was basing His program on the God-man who could not sin. Deity dominates the personality of Christ. And the character that is dominant is the character of deity. It s not just possible for Him not to sin, but it was impossible for Him to sin. Consider an illustration. If we take a small piece of wire, we can bend it easily. But if we weld that wire to a railroad track, then it d be impossible to bend that wire. If human nature is pliable and bendable, then that s understandable. But when it s welded to deity, we can understand that the deity cannot give under the strain. Well, the question then arises, how could Christ be successfully tempted? Well, this involves two other questions. What is temptation, and were the temptations of Christ real? And I suggest to you that temptation is basically solicitation to evil. For sinners, remember we have two sources, external and internal. For sinners, temptation is an appeal to our sin nature to respond and control a person. But in the objective case apart from the sin nature, a subjective response is not necessarily involved. In other words, the basic significance of temptation does not depend upon the response of the one tempted but upon the genuine intent of the one doing the soliciting to evil. Now the opinion of the tempter doesn t enter here as to whether he ll succeed or not. There must be only genuine intent to provoke evil. And Satan must have thought Christ was able to sin, but he was wrong. You see Christ was tempted by Satan in a real way. And so temptation was real. And he was approachable, and so temptation was real. He was genuinely hungry. He was genuinely seeking to prove Himself Messiah. He was genuinely going to be King of the world. Christ was approachable, but He was not susceptible. And we must distinguish between approachability and susceptibility. Christ was temptable but not susceptible. He couldn t be overtaken. He couldn t be defeated. Walvoord uses a good illustration to indicate the difference between approachability and susceptibility. A man in a rowboat might try to attack a battleship. 8 of 9

9 But a man in a rowboat with an arrow, or whatever he might have, cannot successfully penetrate several inches of armor plate and a couple feet of concrete that is the bulwark of the battleship. Now actually, the battleship is approachable but is not susceptible. Christ, because He was human, was approachable. But because He was deity, He was not susceptible. What does this mean? Were His temptations real? Yes, there are the clear statements of Scripture. He was tempted Hebrews 4:15 and 2:18. The circumstances show that His temptations were real, and He had the capacity to do potentially apart from sin, the things that were asked of Him. And He was sensitive to solicitation to evil. He suffered being tempted just as a man who s held in a cave for a long time is sensitive to light. And he comes out and is blinded by light. So Christ would; to be sensitive to the very suggestion of evil for the thought of foolishness is sin. He suffered being tempted. Christ-Centered Learning Anytime, Anywhere 9 of 9

Introduction A. Our challenge 1 John 2: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of t

Introduction A. Our challenge 1 John 2:15-17 15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the