Matthew 4A. Specifically, why Jesus came for a baptism of water. Jesus needed no repentance

Transcription

1 Last week we studied Jesus baptism And as we did, we fcused n the purpse and meaning f that event Specifically, why Jesus came fr a baptism f water We said Jesus wasn t cming t receive a baptism f repentance, as were the ther peple by the river Jesus needed n repentance Instead, Jesus was cming t be baptized fr ther reasns As I taught last week, Jesus baptism accmplished several things As Jesus tld Jhn, His baptism was fitting t fulfill all righteusness Or we culd say Jesus baptism was a public act f bedience t the Father necessary fr righteusness First, this mment was the handff pint between Jhn s ministry and Jesus ministry Secndly, it inaugurated Jesus public ministry, made pssible by the baptism f the Hly Spirit t equip Jesus Finally, it established a pattern fr Jesus disciples t repeat as we fllw in His ftsteps Then as Jesus was baptized, the Father cnfirmed His pleasure in Jesus bedience The Father said Jesus was His belved Sn in Whm He was wellpleased A ringing endrsement by Gd f the One sent t earth t redeem mankind frm their sins The Father s statement was nly heard by Jhn the Baptist, Matthew tld us But undubtedly Jhn reprted them t thers s they culd knw that Jesus was the lng-awaited Sn f Gd 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 2! f! 17 And eventually, Jhn s testimny was recrded in the Gspels fr everyne t knw But as the Father revealed the identity f His Sn, there was smene else was listening n that day, smene else wh heard the Father s wrds He is a pwerful and imprtant character in the stry f Jesus, and he t desperately desired t knw the identity f the Messiah He waited nearby that day, watching the prceedings intently and listening t every wrd He knew the time fr the Messiah s arrival was at hand, and he expected Jhn the Baptist t lead him t Him sner r later But like everyne else, this pwerful figure had n chice but t wait by the river until Jhn revealed the Sn f Gd In fact, by the time f Jesus baptism this character had been waiting lnger much lnger than anyne else n earth He hadn t just been waiting years r even a lifetime he had been waiting fr millennia His name was Lucifer, therwise knwn as Satan He s been waiting fr the Father t reveal the Messiah s he culd destry that Prmised One Because Satan knew this Messiah was cming t destry him Satan first appears in the third chapter f the Bible when he cnfrnts Wman the Garden and ultimately tempts her and Man int sin At that pint Satan s already full f hatred fr Gd and speaking nthing but lies S we wnder hw did Satan becme this hrrible adversary f Gd? Surely Gd did nt create Satan this way, fr we knw the Lrd is nt the surce f evil Satan s backstry is imprtant t understanding what s happening in Matthew 4, s let s take a mment t d sme hmewrk Our hmewrk takes us f f the Gspel f Matthew fr a little while tnight, back t the Old Testament, beginning in Ezekiel 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 3! f! 17 Ezek. 28:12 Sn f man, take up a lamentatin ver the king f Tyre and say t him, Thus says the Lrd Gd, Yu had the seal f perfectin, Full f wisdm and perfect in beauty. Ezek. 28:13 Yu were in Eden, the garden f Gd; Every precius stne was yur cvering: The ruby, the tpaz and the diamnd; The beryl, the nyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquise and the emerald; And the gld, the wrkmanship f yur settings and sckets, Was in yu. On the day that yu were created They were prepared. Ezek. 28:14 Yu were the aninted cherub wh cvers, And I placed yu there. Yu were n the hly muntain f Gd; Yu walked in the midst f the stnes f fire. Ezek. 28:15 Yu were blameless in yur ways Frm the day yu were created Until unrighteusness was fund in yu. Ezek. 28:16 By the abundance f yur trade Yu were internally filled with vilence, And yu sinned; Therefre I have cast yu as prfane Frm the muntain f Gd. And I have destryed yu, O cvering cherub, Frm the midst f the stnes f fire. Ezek. 28:17 Yur heart was lifted up because f yur beauty; Yu crrupted yur wisdm by reasn f yur splendr. I cast yu t the grund; I put yu befre kings, That they may see yu. Ezek. 28:18 By the multitude f yur iniquities, In the unrighteusness f yur trade Yu prfaned yur sanctuaries. Therefre I have brught fire frm the midst f yu; It has cnsumed yu, And I have turned yu t ashes n the earth In the eyes f all wh see yu Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 4! f! 17 Ezek. 28:19 All wh knw yu amng the peples Are appalled at yu; Yu have becme terrified And yu will cease t be frever. This passage describes Satan, called the King f Tyre, falling frm a place f hnr t becme wh we knw him t be tday Time desn t permit me t examine this passage with yu in depth (that must wait fr the resumptin f ur Ezekiel study later this year) S fr ur purpses in studying Matthew 4, let s fcus n three details frm this passage First, in v.12 ntice Satan s riginal created nature Satan was created in perfectin, just like everything Gd creates Ezekiel says Satan was created full f wisdm and perfect in beauty The wrd full in Hebrew carries the sense f cmplete r an abundance And perfect can mean entirely cnsumed S Satan was cmplete in wisdm and cmpletely cnsumed in beauty That means that n created thing pssessed greater wisdm r was mre beautiful than Satan Imagine the wisest persn wh ever lived Cnsider the mst beautiful thing yu ve ever seen in Creatin Satan exceeded bth Furthermre, the Lrd testifies in v.15 that Satan was blameless in his ways frm the day f his creatin Satan was withut sin perfectly bedience t the Father frm the beginning f his existence Which cnfirm that Gd did nt establish sin neither the sin f mankind nr the sin f Satan Secndly, in v.14 ntice what jb Gd assigned Satan as his service in Heaven 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 5! f! 17 The text says Satan was the "cvering cherub Cherubim are the highest rder f heavenly beings, and Satan was the wisest and mst beautiful f these angelic creatures Scripture says Satan is ne f these creatures Mrever, Satan held the mst cveted psitin in Creatin serving Gd as the cvering cherub That phrase may ring a bell fr yu because it cmes frm the instructins given t Mses in hw t cntract the tabernacle Specifically, cherubim were part f the design f the Ark f the Cvenant, which we hear abut in Exdus Ex. 37:6 He made a mercy seat f pure gld, tw and a half cubits lng and ne and a half cubits wide. Ex. 37:7 He made tw cherubim f gld; he made them f hammered wrk at the tw ends f the mercy seat; Ex. 37:8 ne cherub at the ne end and ne cherub at the ther end; he made the cherubim f ne piece with the mercy seat at the tw ends. Ex. 37:9 The cherubim had their wings spread upward, cvering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces tward each ther; the faces f the cherubim were tward the mercy seat. The ark was a rectangular bx f bx cvered in gld The lid f the ark was called the mercy seat The lid was called a seat nt because smene sat n it but because the glry f the Lrd wuld rest n it in the tabernacle T hnr and prtect the glry f the Lrd, the lid included tw glden cherub standing n either end The cherubim had wings that stretched ver the center f the lid frming a canpy That s why the cherubim were called cvering cherub because their wings cvered Gd s glry In the bk f Hebrews we re tld that the plans Gd gave Mses fr building in the earthly tabernacle were based n a heavenly pattern 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 6! f! 17 Specifically, Hebrews says the earthly tabernacle was mdeled after a heavenly tabernacle that perates in Gd s presence Which means the design f the ark fr Israel s tabernacle was based n the ark that resides in the heavenly tabernacle S just like the earthly tabernacle had cvering cherubim, s the heavenly tabernacle had a real cvering cherub And that cherub was nne ther than Satan himself Thirdly, in Ezekiel 28:16-18 the Lrd describes the mment f Satan s fall int sin Scripture says the first sin happened because f the abundance f Satan s trade Because f Satan s lfty psitin, he was filled internally with vilence and then he sinned Satan was persnally cvering the glry f Gd in the heavenly tabernacle N created thing was clser t Gd s presence than Satan Furthermre, Satan knew he was special, beautiful and mre pwerful than anything else in Creatin S ne day, Satan s special qualities and his unique place near the glry f Gd caused his heart t be lifted up (pride) and t be filled with vilence Vilence is a physical act f frce intended t kill, steal r destry S what vilent physical act did Satan perpetrate? He tried t take the mercy seat by frce, seating himself in the place f Gd In v.18 we re tld Satan s attempted cup prfaned the heavenly sanctuary, leaving it defiled At that pint, the Lrd rejected Satan, casting him frm the heavenly tabernacle t the earth, where he later crrupted mankind Ntice in v.19 the Lrd als declared that Satan wuld ne day be judged fr his sin 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 7! f! 17 He wuld cease t be frever Later after the fall in the Garden, the Lrd clarified that Satan s fall defeat wuld cme at the hands f the Messiah That the Sn f Gd wuld persnally defeat and cndemn Satan fr his rebellin There s a certain irny t all this Under the Law, the mercy seat in the tabernacle was the place f atnement It s called the mercy seat because it was the place Israel received mercy frm Gd fr their sin But befre Satan fell, there was n need fr a mercy seat because there was n sin t frgive S I wnder if while Satan std guarding a heavenly mercy seat he ever stpped t wnder why des my jb even exist? S having fallen, Satan ges n the prwl ver the whle earth earth like a lin, full f pride and vilence, ppsing Gd and Gd s peple Satan still desires t take Gd s place, but nw he als has a new gal He intends t destry that Prmised One cming t defeat him He desn t knw wh it will be r when He will arrive But Satan knew that if he culd destry the cming seed r if he culd tempt Him int sin, then the Messiah wuld fail S Satan has remained ever vigilant, taking any pprtunity he can t strike against anyne that culd threaten him Fr example, Satan struck at the first generatin f the seed f Adam and Eve crrupting the first sn, Cain, and murdering the secnd sn, Abel Later he tried t crrupt the seed f men by rdering his demns t mate with wmen t prduce the Nephilem f Genesis t6 But each time the Lrd sidestepped Satan s effrts t preserve the line f the seed 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 8! f! 17 Later when the Lrd revealed that the Prmised Seed wuld cme thrugh the descendants f Jacb, Satan began t fcus his hatred against Jews He tried t use Pharah t destry all the male children f Israel But Gd granted Mses an escape Over the centuries, Satan cntinued battling Israel, either t destry them r crrupt their line t stp the cming f Messiah But each time the Lrd has prtected His Sn ensure He culd arrive as prmised But nw the time has cme fr that prtectin t be withdrawn, fr Jesus t face the enemy nt as a cnquering King but as a mere man Jesus has lived fr abut 30 years in quiet and annymity When His family returned returned frm Egypt and settled in Nazareth, Satan didn t knw Jesus identity N ne knew His identity except Mary and Jseph But nw the Father has annunced t the entire spiritual wrld that Jesus is the One the Father prmised t bring The wrd is ut and f curse, Satan immediately takes a persnal interest in destrying this ne Fr s lng he sught t find and kill this Man sent t destry him And nw he has him, and we can nly imagine hw eager Satan must have been t kill r crrupt the Messiah That s what we re ging t study in chapter 4, the effrt Satan made t cmprmise Jesus s that he culd nullify Jesus missin But nw yu als knw why it s imprtant t understand the nature f the incarnatin, f Gd taking the frm f man as Jesus did If yu enter int the stry f Jesus temptatins thinking that Jesus retained His mniptent pwers, then the temptatins seem a bit silly 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 9! f! 17 Like a child trying t sink a naval battleship by thrwing pebbles at its side It hardly seems like a fair fight, and we certainly dn t perceive Jesus as having been in jepardy Fr that matter, even Jesus lng perid f fasting might seem like much ad abut nthing since Gd has infinite pwer But that s nt hw t apprach chapter 4 f Matthew As I mentined last week, in His identity Jesus was fully Gd, n less deity than He was while in Heaven But as Paul taught us, Jesus emptied Himself, nt cunting His equality with Gd the Father smething he had t keep Instead, he vluntarily relinquished His frm and psitin, the things that made Him equal with the Father And instead, ur Gd tk the frm f man, full man, sharing all the same physical, mental and emtinal limitatins we knw Including the ability t experience temptatin Remember, scripture says this abut Gd: James 1:13 Let n ne say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by Gd ; fr Gd cannt be tempted by evil, and He Himself des nt tempt anyne. Gd in His heavenly frm, His full and true frm, cannt be tempted by evil S had Satan cme befre Jesus in His frm as Gd, Jesus culd never have been tempted Chapter 4 wuld have been a cmpletely meaningless chapter f the Bible But then we hear this cncerning Jesus in the frm f man in the bk f Hebrews Heb. 2:17 Therefre, He had t be made like His brethren in all things, s that He might becme a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining t Gd, t make prpitiatin fr the sins f the peple. Heb. 2:18 Fr since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able t cme t the aid f thse wh are tempted Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 10! f! 17 Jesus was made like us, that is He became a man n different than we are s He culd take ur place in death as a prpitiatin And alng the way t the crss, Hebrews says Jesus was tempted in things He suffered Obviusly, that refers t the temptatin t avid the pain f the crss We can certainly understand Jesus feeling that way, because that s the way anyne f us wuld feel in we were in His shes But that s exactly the pint I m making frm scripture Jesus was just like us feeling the temptatin t d the wrng things except He Neve succumbed t that temptatin As Hebrews says again Heb. 4:15 Fr we d nt have a high priest wh cannt sympathize with ur weaknesses, but One wh has been tempted in all things as we are, yet withut sin. S if Gd in His eternal frm cannt be tempted, yet Jesus in His human frm was tempted, then clearly Jesus was nt superman, He was just man He did nt have super pwers, which is why the Hly Spirit came upn Him at His baptism But that als means Satan s attacks had real effect Jesus was placed in jepardy Had he succumbed t Satan s attacks, He culd have died r been led int sin And as such, Jesus wuld have nullified His purpse and missin t be ur Savir and Satan s destryer And yet these temptatins were abslutely necessary fr Jesus t accmplish His missin Jesus had t set humanity straight by taking Adam s place as the federal representative f humanity Adam chse t believe in Satan s wrd, which were lies, instead f heeding Gd s wrd, which was the truth 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 11! f 17! When he did this, Adam single-handedly handed Satan dminin ver his sul and thse f his ffspring And by his failure t resist Satan s temptatin, Adam put all f us in bndage t sin Jesus came t fix that prblem, t redeem us frm that bndage But t d that, Jesus had t becme ur federal representative in place f Adam Which is why He had t take the frm f man nt merely the appearance f man but ur actual frm And then Jesus had t face the tempter as Adam did Only this time, Jesus wuld make different chices, which qualified Him t be ur sinless representative, beynd Satan s reach Which brings us, finally, t the pening f chapter 4 f Matthew, and the stry f Satan s effrts t prevent Jesus frm qualifying as ur sinless New Adam Let s read the pening f the chapter Matt. 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit int the wilderness t be tempted by the devil. Matt. 4:2 And after He had fasted frty days and frty nights, He then became hungry. Smetime sn after His baptism, Jesus wanders deeper int the wilderness The Judean wilderness is a barren, ht muntain desert f rcks, sand and a few islated shrubs r lne tree here r there It s unfrgiving land where survival is difficult Jesus enters the wilderness because the Spirit leads Him there, Matthew says In Mark s Gspel the language is mre dramatic Mark 1:12 Immediately the Spirit impelled Him t g ut int the wilderness. Accrding t Mark, the Spirit drve Jesus int the wilderness Here again, this reminds us that Jesus in the frm f man depended n the Spirit t understand the will f the Father 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 12! f! 17 The Spirit has led Jesus t this deslate place specifically t make Jesus available t the devil fr temptatin The enemy is ging t have three pprtunities t tempt Jesus int disqualifying Himself as ur Deliverer Again, these are pprtunities fr Jesus t chart a new curse fr humanity, ne that is the ppsite f the curse established by Adam And t make sure that we have n dubt cncerning Jesus wrthiness the Father has stacked the deck against Jesus When Adam fell int sin and brught the rest f us with him, he had everything ging his way He lived in literally perfect circumstances He lived in a cl and pleasant Garden, specially designed fr Adam, well-watered and full f fd Mrever, Adam was nt alne, since he had his wife t help him And mst imprtantly, he walked with Gd in fellwship Furthermre, Adam had nly ne rule given him by Gd, nly ne law He culdn t eat f a single tree in the garden S lng as Adam bserved that ne rule, he had n cause fr cncern And even that ne restrictin wasn t much f a temptatin, since he had s many ther trees t turn t fr fd I m sure he culd barely cunt all the varieties f fruit available t him S the deck was stacked against the enemy Man lived in idyllic bliss, he had an infinite number f ways t remain bedient and nly ne way he culd sin The enemy had the mst minimal f temptatins t ffer and had t find a way t make Adam resent the ne and nly rule Gd gave him 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 13! f! 17 Despite having all the advantages, nevertheless Man and Wman fell int disbedience The Lrd culdn t have made Adam s test any easier, and still Adam fell But nw as Jesus sets ut t prve Himself as ur Secnd Adam, the circumstances will be quite different The dds are stacked against Jesus Jesus will be in a harsh desert, hungry and withut friends He will face an enemy wh has already wn and is fighting t keep what he has gained And Satan will be allwed t tempt Jesus nt nce, but three times, while in a weakened state And Jesus will face these attacks as Adam did, as a mere man, withut the Father s prtectin r the Spirit s supernatural pwer Ntice in v.2 even befre the temptatins begin Jesus fasts fr frty days Nw perhaps yu assumed Jesus survived this experience because He was Gd and Gd can d anything Well as I mentined earlier, that s nt the case Jesus bdy experienced these things in just the same way that ur bdy wuld with n extra advantage Or perhaps yu assumed that the 40-day perid was an exaggeratin fr the sake f dramatic effect Yu assume Jesus didn t really g withut fd fr that lng N ne can g that lng withut eating But that s nt true either Under Jewish custm, religius fasting generally tk ne f tw frms Fasts were either a fd fast r a fd and water fast A fd fast meant nly drinking water while a fd and water fast meant cnsuming nthing whatsever 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 14! f! 17 Obviusly, a persn can t survive withut water fr very lng, s a fd and water fast nly lasted a few days But the human bdy can survive a cnsiderable time withut fd weeks S a fd fast culd last anywhere frm a day up t frty days depending n why the persn was fasting That s the type f fast Jesus endures here He eats nthing fr 40 days, and f curse he grws weaker as time ges alng But the bdy has a fascinating respnse t lngterm fasts f this type In the first few days f the fast, the bdy s hunger respnse increases dramatically and energy levels drp cnsiderably But then after thse early days, hungers fades and strength returns as the bdy begins cnverting fat stres t energy And fr mst fr the next 5 weeks, the bdy cntinues t functin reasnably well, burning fat and lsing weight f curse I m spken t peple wh have endured this very kind f fast The persn experiences hunger nw and again, but nt as strngly as yu prbably assume They reprt having gne t wrk and lived therwise nrmal lives fr mst f that time They were mre tired, a little weaker, and they lst a tn f weight, but in general they culd endure it But then abut 40 days int the fast, everything changes After 5 weeks, the bdy has largely exhausted its fat stres And it realizes it s needs a new surce f energy very sn S at that pint the sensatin f hunger kicks back in nw with a vengeance The persn gets very hungry s hungry that all they can think abut is fd 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 15! f! 17 Yu may have read stries f what peple enduring starvatin are willing t d They resrting t eating dirt r she leather r wd Their hunger drive has becme s intense it cmpels them t d things nrmal peple wuld never cnsider S ntice in v.2 Matthew remarks that after 40 days Jesus became hungry This isn t merely a bit f humrus understatement n Matthew s part He s describing what mst Jews wh had experienced fasting wuld have understd The 40-day pint is the wrst pssible time t be tempted Yu re at yur weakest physically and yu re incredibly distracted by the sudden return f intense hunger The drive t survive is s strng it can verwhelm every ther thught r desire Only ur urge t breathe is strnger than ur hunger drive And it s under these extreme cnditins that the enemy steps in t tempt Jesus We re ging t wait until next week t examine the three temptatins in-depth Fr let s finish tnight cnsidering Satan s gal and methds in these temptatins First, Satan s gal is t make Jesus disqualify Himself It s nt enugh fr Satan t kill the Messiah himself Fr even if Satan were permitted t kill Jesus, the Father wuld simply raise Jesus up frm the dead t cntinue His missin After all, this very thing happens three years later S Satan must find a way t cause Jesus t disqualify Himself, by taking an actin that is cntrary t the will f the Father In ther wrds, as he did with Adam, s must Satan d with Jesus 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 16! f! 17 He must bring Jesus t the pint where Jesus willingly ges against the wrd f the Lrd T d this, Satan relies n tw key tactics First, he depends n the strength f his lies Secndly, he explits the weaknesses f ur flesh He twists the truth t make his temptatins sund reasnable, perhaps even t seem cnsistent with Gd s desires And he wrks t harness ur natural desires s that we cnvince urselves t take his bait He fllwed this same system with Wman in the Garden He twisted the wrd f Gd when he spke with Wman, questining whether Gd s wrd culd be trusted And then he prvked Wman t gaze upn the tree s fruit with renewed interest Satan drew her attentin t the fruit s enticing appearance And he gave her the suggestin f great things t be gained if she ate And s she did Satan will use similar tactics t lead Jesus int sin Satan will twist scripture t tell Jesus lies, nt just nce as with Wman but three times And he will try t tempt Jesus int sinning, nt just ne way as with Wman but three different ways The apstle Jhn ffers us a cnvenient summary f the three ways we can be tempted t sin 1Jhn 2:16 Fr all that is in the wrld, the lust f the flesh and the lust f the eyes and the bastful pride f life, is nt frm the Father, but is frm the wrld. We can be tempted by the lusts f ur physical bdy, ur flesh We can tempted by the lust f ur eyes, which refers t desires that captivate us and distract us frm fllwing Gd 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 17! f! 17 And the bastful r vain glry f life, which is anything that appeals t ur pride r sense f self-wrth apart frm Gd Every temptatin we can name fits int ne these three categries, and Jesus will be tempted by all three methds Tempted t give in t his bdy s demand fr fd Tempted by a visin f what he culd gain withut the need t experience the suffering f the crss Tempted t by his pride t defend his hnr and reputatin as the Sn f Gd Later this week we remember Jesus death n the crss, the mment He gave everything fr us dying in ur place t pay the price required fr ur sin I m sure as yu spend time with yur family r perhaps in fellwship with believers in a Sunday mrning service, yu will be thinking abut what Jesus did n that day Certainly nthing culd be mre imprtant than that mment But I hpe yu may als give a few mments thught t what Jesus endured even befre the crss Of hw and why He was even qualified t hang n that crss Yu see Jesus didn t just save us by His death He saved us by His perfect sinless life given in place f ur wrthless, sinful, rebellius life In a sense, we culd say dying was the easy part Yes, dying n a crss is truly hrrible, but Jesus isn t the nly persn in histry t experience cruxifixctin In fact, there were tw ther men experiencing it right next t him n that day N, the truly unique thing Jesus did, perhaps the mst difficult thing He did, was living as a mere man yet withut giving in t temptatin And nt just ne time but every day f His life 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.