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Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.‘”

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,‘

and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.‘”

Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.‘”

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.‘”

Encouraging Words

I don’t think there is an event in the life of Christ that shows that He was fully man more than this passage does. Jesus voluntarily went out into the wilderness after His baptism by John. He chose to fast for forty days, and He was hungry. Then in that hunger He was tempted greatly by the devil. Here He shows us what we can do and how we too can defeat temptation. He chose to rely on the bread of heaven, the teachings of God to say, “No!” to sin. This was not the “fully God” nature of Him denying to sin. It was Him as “fully man” saying, “No!” By this act, and the continued refusal to sin, that He opened the way for us to also exercise our free will and to choose not to sin. Glory be to God!

Luke 18:40-41

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

Personal Challenge

Jesus wants me to call out to Him. He wants me to stop Him in His tracks and petition Him with my needs and even my desires. He wants me to be healed of my blindness so that I can see Him and how much He loves me. His desire is that all will call out to Him in blind faith. Glory be to God!

Psalm 103:17-18 (102:17-18 LXX)

But the mercy of the Lord is from age to age upon those who fear Him,
And His righteousness upon children’s children,
To such as keep His covenant
And remember His commandments, to do them.

Personal Challenge

What commandments does God want me to remember and do? To love Him and to love my neighbor. It is so simple to boil the entire scriptures down to these two expectations of me, and yet so difficult to do them. Why is it so difficult? Because I keep getting in my own way. I do this by always trying to figure out how to put myself first, both before God, and before my neighbor. Isn’t this the true essence of sin? The wonderful thing about all of this is that if I keep trying, keep working at it, then He will cover me with His love and mercy, and not only me, but my children and their children as well. Glory be to God!

Psalm 145:8-9 (144:8-9 LXX)

Matthew 11:25

At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.”

Personal Challenge

It is so easy to rely on the knowledge and wisdom gained in this world by my own work and believe that I have gained the knowledge of God. However, as Jesus informs us here, He has hidden the mysteries of God, the truths of His Wisdom, from those who rely on their amassed earthly knowledge and wisdom. I pray to my Lord that I will always approach Him and His throne as a child, a babe in Christ, with an innocent and open mind, trusting in Him fully and completely, knowing that He will reveal to me that which I am ready to receive and will use for Him. He knows my heart better than I do. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

Matthew 9:36-38

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Encouraging Words

Once again, I can see the compassionate heart of our Lord for His sheep, especially those who are lost. He does not look at them as elect versus non-elect, but as all being His sheep. This is not an image of a wrathful, judgmental God. I am also urged to always be mindful of the harvest, and if I am not being active as a harvester, then I am to be active praying for the harvest, the harvesters, and the souls that are not yet in the fold. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Matthew 9:2

Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

Encouraging Words

I am not alone on my journey of theosis. I belong to a community of other believers and just as the paralytic was healed because of the faith of his friends, so too is my life impacted and edified by my brothers and sisters in Christ. This also means that my faith has a direct impact on those around me. God works through me as I work for Him and believe in Him. There are no couch potatoes of faith in His kingdom.

Matthew 8:23-27

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Personal Challenge

The early church fathers viewed the boat in this story by Matthew as the Church and how we can count on it to protect us from the storms of life because Jesus still resides with us. The Church is our place of protection from the evils of the world. That does not mean that we will never experience storms and the tossing about that go with them. Sometimes it feels like it is really these times that help to determine who is really committed to staying in the boat and putting their trust in Jesus and not themselves. A winnowing of sorts. The lesson here is that we should be able to be at peace, to sleep as Jesus did, in the protection of our Church, and especially our Lord and Savior who is protecting us while we are in the Church. This also implies that when I step outside of the Church, do things my way because I don’t like how the Church is doing it, or because I am an individual and Jesus “Saved Me!” so I don’t need the Church, then I no longer have the protection of the boat against the storms of life. Pretty sobering thought, which leads me to the point of believing that if I am to survive in the boat, not only do I need to remain in it and trust Jesus, but I also need to be at peace with my fellow boaters…loving my neighbors and putting their needs before mine. Glory be to God!

Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it:’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Personal Challenge

I have found that it is so easy to remind others that these are the two commandments that we must follow while forgetting to follow them myself. Lord, have mercy! It is easy to give the first commandment plenty of lip service and practice it on the surface once or twice a week while at church, but this is not living out this commandment. It is, however, impossible to do the second one without working hard on the first one. It is such a blessing that God is so patient and merciful with me. The second commandment is the one that reveals to me how far I have to go on my journey of theosis. I find myself acting as the young rich man asking Jesus to qualify what He means by “love” and then what He means by “neighbor”. But the answers always come back…”unconditionally” and “everybody”. Lord, have mercy! As I have often heard and come to believe, “Life is not about the destination, but about the journey!” Thank You, Jesus, for leading me on the path of love for my Father and my neighbor. Lord, have mercy!