The Temptation of Jesus
Mark 1: 12-13
|
The New
Testament Witness of the Apostle
Peter |
| |
A few years ago I read in the popular News magazines about some animal genetic research in England. Now, to make a complex experiment simple to understand, I will be brief. Simply put, the experiment involved the blending of a goat and a sheep fetal materials at the four cell stage of development, thereby by passing the four to eight split in each. For some reason this split is of very vital importance in the development of the fetus. The resultant product was a "hybrid" animal of what the researchers affectionately called "geeps". These creatures would have patches of wool and hair randomly distributed across the body, Ears and other distinguishing characteristics were unpredictable as well.
As the first article closed, the reporter noted that thank goodness, no human material was involved in the ongoing research. Then two weeks later, a second article appeared as a follow up. Yes, indeed you probably guessed it, human cells were also mixed with that of a goat and allowed to multiply through the 16 and 32 cell splits! At that point the researchers supposedly put an end to the process. Now, we would understand from a Christian ethic that the scientific researchers in question had gone far beyond what is permissible in wondering what might Pan out from such a nefarious experiment!
Now, I begin with this example of human sinful research to demonstrate that what mankind should not do, the Sovereign Creator may do in His providential plan to provide redemption to all of those imputed with the First Adam's sin. I also hope, that you will not think me crass and demeaning to use the opening examples as a lead in to our consideration of the only God-man born into this fallen world of ours. Certainly, the ancient myth makers not only imagined our current experiments in their thoughts of the Minotar, Centaur and Pan creatures, but they also told wild tales of their gods mating with humans.
Such is not the case in our Christian Doctrines. We understand from the Gospels that Mary's pregnancy was a Virgin Birth and that miraculously what could have been a cloned female was born by the power of God through the Holy Spirit as the baby Jesus. Now, at this point it is necessary that we go to the early Creedal Statements to clarify what we understand to have happened as best we comprehend it. The early Church struggled mightily to hammer out the doctrinal aspects of the nature of Christ. And if my language here seems strained - it is because I want to be very precise and careful to not give credibility to any of the related heresies by flippant language. The Nicene Creed observes:
"We believe ... in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father, before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made;"
Philip Schaff reports that
|
Schaff continues:
|
|
I know that is an awful lot to take in, meditate upon and understand. Let me try to simplify all of this by commenting upon the title of this sermon which you see printed in your bulletin: "The Temptation of Jesus".
Now, if you had the responsibility to preach on this text today and looked at the two short verses - what would you have titled this study? A lot of people would have gone with "The Temptation of Christ" wouldn't they? And how might the worldly reflect on that title? Well, we have all to many movies, plays and worldly expectations to warn us away from this title - don't we? At a common linguistic level when we use the phrase Jesus Christ we are thinking in our minds that the name Jesus is more humanly oriented than the messianic title of the Lord's anointed summed up in the word Christ. You see, even the worldly pay attention to these things. and I hope the simplification of my witness here does not hold any seeds of heresy in them because the doctrines we have wrestled with are indeed complex and the beauty of Nicene & Chalcedon were won through countless arguments against heresies that would and could divide the Church of Christ.
The temptation of Jesus then, is the belated focus of our whole meditation today. After all, we know from Scripture that God cannot and will not sin yet, Satan would have his way with the Second Adam - Jesus if he could. At the very least, Satan will try. Immediately after baptism we read that the Spirit compelled Jesus into the wilderness. There he stayed forty days and was tempted by the Devil. We know from other Gospel writers that food, church growth and political power were the areas of temptation. And very much could be said in each area. However, time grows short and as Mark records the preaching outline of Peter - the account here is abbreviated.
Matter of factly Peter in his preaching notes only the fact of the temptation and then tells us that Jesus was with the wild beasts and that the angels ministered to Him. A new Bible Background Commentary that I just picked up recently notes that:
"It was commonly believed that demons were especially attracted to places like bathhouses, graveyards and deserts. Readers would thus sense the suspense as Jesus battled with Satan on Satan's own turf. Safety among beasts signified God's protection."
So for the hearers and readers of Peter's witness would have understood the brevity of his outline here very well. In the forty day stay in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted, protected and ministered to, The writer to the Hebrews tells us what more we should make of this witness. In Hebrews 4: 15, we read:
|
"For we do not have
a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, |
The man Jesus, who Himself regularly used the phrase "Son of Man" to describe Himself is well understood by the Gospel and Letter writers of the New Covenant texts to be the "Son of God". One person indivisible as the early Church determined in their ongoing scholarship and debates.
May we also affirm the doctrine implicit here that the character of God and of His Son aptly demonstrates His awesome holiness, so that even the detractors of Christ in His day could not name a single sin when Jesus specifically challenged them to name one sin! Well we know that for the average man and woman sin is just like so many Lay's Potato Chips - you can't get by with just one! Yet in the Gospel history of Christ - we are encouraged that the One who came to die for our many and manifold sins - did not sin. Further we are told that His sinless sacrifice for us does indeed atoned for the fact of sin in our lives. In His body and in His blood shed on the cross - the perfect God-man died once for all in our place so that we might have eternal salvation in and through Him. May we never tire of hearing this gospel or cease in our praise for what God has done for us in and through His only begotten Son. Amen.
|
Resources Used | |
|
Cole, Alan. |
Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Mark. |
|
Keener, Craig S. |
The IVP Bible Background Commentary:
|
|
Morrison, A.W. |
Calvin's New Testament
Commentaries: |
|
Schaff, Philip. |
The Creeds of Christendom |
|
The New
Geneva Study Bible (NKJV) | |
|
Mrk01b |
17 October 99 |