Luke 4:42 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him, and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them.

WOULD it be good that all Christians are as the people of Capernaum were that day? They had heard Jesus’ preaching, had witnessed demons cast out and had seen remarkable healings. Jesus, fully God and fully man, was intentionally intense with his people to demonstrate and “proclaim the year (time) of the Lord’s favor: (Luke 4:19). You could say in our language, “He gave his all. He held nothing back. Jesus gave 110%.” Yes, our Lord gave all of himself short of the cross. And then the Jews wanted more.
    And why wouldn’t they? Wouldn’t you want more of such a God as this? Certainly! Or do we? Could it be we don’t want all of Jesus? Maybe we only want a part of him that makes us feel good. Perhaps we want all of his love, but we set aside sine of his commands, especially the ones that remind us of our personal sins. Possibly we love his sacrifice, but we stop short of our own sacrificial living.
    That’s how it is for me much too often. I know in my head that wanting more of Jesus is to be my greatest desire. But sometimes I feel in my heart that being with Jesus can challenge me too much. Present with my Savior, I often feel unqualified and ashamed. He’s so perfect! I’m such a sinner. Striving to live into his ways, I abruptly step off the path. Immediately regret enters my heart. Ashamed, I wonder, “Will I ever get it right?”
    The answer, of course, is that I will not live perfectly. But then comes the realization that I truly do want Jesus to stay with me. I want him to walk with me through the shame and guilt. He loves me enough to die for me. He frees me from sin forever. I do want him to stay – always on my mind, always in my heart, always in my soul.
    I truly do want to experience the Lord’s favor. I pray you do, too.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for being intentionally intense to live, die and rise again, so I may stay with you forever. Amen.

Luke 4:33-37 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” 35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” 36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits, and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
 
ONE aspect of the gospel teachings is Jesus’ encounters with demons. We don’t understand this as we do sin and various physical and mental illnesses. But we must know that demon possession is real. The apostle Paul writes a very definitive summary of Jesus’ victory over spiritual warfare in Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
    Demons hold captive many people throughout the world as they draw people into the dark chains of materialism, animism, witchcraft, Satanism, astrology and many man-made religions. My wife and I have witnessed demonic forces “throwing down” a woman in Kenya during a time of preaching there in 2015. Many ministers and missionaries I know speak of sobering accounts of demonic influence.
    Jesus’ work here is one way he lived into his anointing purpose declared in Luke 4:18 “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners…to release the oppressed.” In his power, the Holy One of God broke the demon’s imprisoning, oppressing chains over the man’s body. As the demon confesses Jesus’ true identity, it must obey. It knows who is Lord. As Paul wrote, nothing can resist the Living God’s authority.
    There is another form of possession here. Note that this healing is in Capernaum’s synagogue, inferring this ocurred on a Sabbath. Luke four times records Jesus healing on the Sabbath day. Surely there were more. These Sabbath healings are one way Jesus persistently moved throughout his ministry to release his people from the bondage of religious rules. Then and now, Christ’s church too easily becomes possessed with rules, preferences and worship formulas. Our Lord knows such “religious chains” prevent us from experiencing “the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
    Yes, God’s Word commands an appropriate order of worship and humble, loving approach to him. But we must not be so fettered with religion and form we forget Jesus’ love and grace. Remember, the Holy One of God is a term that refers to Jesus’ special relationship with the Father in the Spirit’s power. Be truly amazed! Know the Triune God has come in his fullness to command sin, “Come out of him!” His word unchains his own forever.
 
Prayer: Unchain my heart, Lord, from anything that binds me from truly worshiping you. Thank you, Jesus, for delivering me from evil. Amen.   

Luke 4:28-32 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. 31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
 
DO you see him? Lurking in the shadows is Jesus’ enemy. The devil is prowling “around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) How do we know? He’s not named here.
    Remember, now, in our look at Jesus’ temptation in the desert. Luke records that the devil “left him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13) Some say that the next opportune time was in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus prayed to be delivered from the cross. But we can be assured the Tempter takes no such 3-year break from his destructive desires against our Lord. Here is such an “opportune time” in Nazareth and its synagogue.
    What else but evil could cause the Jews to be “furious” when they heard Jesus judging their disobedient hearts? To be furious is to be all-out, energetic and passionate against something. Furious can even be out of control. Yes, the Jews were amazed (see how often Luke uses that word) at Jesus’ teaching until he spoke the truth of their unbelieving hearts. All-out, the people of Jesus’ hometown moved to throw him over a cliff to his death.
    The killer Satan would have rejoiced if that had happened. There would have been no sacrificial altar for the Christ. He would die at the hands of a mob, not in the way the Father had planned. The prowling devil, indeed, was moving against the Holy God through his own people, just as he did in Eden and he has throughout world history.
    But as in the desert, Jesus prevailed. Certainly he walked through that crowd in the Spirit’s power. That day was not the day for Jesus to die. He had preaching to do that he might demonstrate the Father’ love for the world. The Father had planned the time and method for Jesus to live and to die, to rise and to ascend. God’s will is done here. The Spirit empowers, and the Son moves on.
    Always remember that evil is furious against God. In response we be furious to serve the Lord with all of our heart, mind and soul against sin. Passionately, we must call on God to lead us through dark valleys of opposition and into the Father’s will. That’s what Jesus did. Deliberately, furiously for the Father, our Lord kept his eyes toward the cross. He moved past the furious crowd to passionately preach all-out for the gospel in Capernaum.  
   
Prayer: Heavenly Father, teach me to be furious against sin and to live all out for you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Luke 4:23-27 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” 24 “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed — only Naaman the Syrian.”
 
THIS is a good point to be reminded that a Christ-follower may not be effective at home. Jesus, speaking to people who watched him grow up, makes this point with Elijah’s and Elisha’s ministries. Do you remember these? Elijah’s life was threatened in Israel, the home of God’s own people. He went to Zarephath, a foreign land. Yet, it was there God used Elijah to supply the “daily bread” for a widow and her son who were almost out of food. Elisha, too, lived in Israel; yet, it was a foreign military officer whom he healed of leprosy. God’s own people rejected God’s prophets. Foreign unbelievers obeyed the prophets (even reluctantly) and received the prophets’ blessings.
    In a like manner, people closest to you will often reject your attempts to share the gospel. You may have experienced this. As you speak to them of sin, salvation, love, forgiveness and God’s promises, they might look at you or say outright, “Who made you God?” Of course you could respond, “The Holy Spirit has anointed me to be a child of God.” But that might be a little too much for an unbeliever. A better response might be, “I certainly am not God, but I love you so much, I want you to know him as I do.”
    As you will see, Jesus was rejected in his hometown just as the prophets were and just as you are.  As we continue on, remember the Jews’ have a two-edged response to Jesus’ teachings. They love his words, but they refuse to live his words.
    As you experience people rejecting God’s Word, be as Jesus. Know that your responsibility is to first speak of God and his favor to draw mankind to him. And then second, you must live in God’s ways as closely as you can. Pray, too, for your own heart to receive Jesus’ teachings. Pray for your family and friends in the same way. Remember that true belief ultimately occurs when the Spirit opens ears.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your great words to teach me of sin and salvation. In Jesus’ name, humble my heart, Holy Spirit, to hear and live your truth. Amen.   
 

Luke 4:22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
 
AGAIN I repeat a verse from the previous reading. In that lesson, we focused on Jesus’ gracious words to his hometown people. Now let’s consider the question, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
    The question can be heard in two ways. First, we can hear it as, “Isn’t this a great thing that Jesus grew up among us? We know his father and mother. We are so excited!”
    The second way to hear this could be, “Really? We know Jesus’ father. Jesus grew up working with his dad in stone and wood construction. How could this common carpenter pretend to be anyone special? How could ‘this Scripture be fulfilled’ through this uneducated man?”
    This second attitude apparently was the attitude in the Nazareth synagogue that day. We can know this from Matthew 13:54-57a Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. Whoa! They took offense at Jesus’ gracious words. They didn’t trust his wisdom. There was no understanding that he had any special knowledge to fulfill any Scripture! That’s a tough response to the Lord’s grace. 
    But this two-edge response to Jesus wasn’t isolated here. In fact, the “amazed” and “Who do you think you are?” responses are the conflicting reactions to Jesus’ preaching that will mark his ministry. The gospels often describe two things were true about those who heard Jesus’ teachings. First, they were amazed at what he taught them. Matthew 7:28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching. Second, they found reasons to doubt, negate and ignore the teachings.
    This is so true of ministry. How many times have people said to me and other pastors, “Good sermon. That’s just what I – they – we – needed to hear.” I thought at first that when I heard this, change would come to those who reacted in this way to God’s Word. I thought, “God is working!” But I quickly tired of such language because I learned most people walked out the door and stepped directly back into the way they were before the sermon.
    Remember, it’s not a good sermon until you become as God teaches you to be. The Jews were eager to hear good, grace-filled teaching – especially teaching that may have negated the Romans, Pharisees and Sadducees who ruled over them. But very, very few entered into Jesus’ teaching to become his disciples.
    This has been mankind’s issue since Eden. When Satan put doubt into Eve’s mind, disobedience moved to the human soul and has remained. All of us need to change. Living into God’s Word really does change us. It’s time we believed it and become the people God teaches us to be.
 
Prayer: I pray, Lord, I will truly live Psalms 119:2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.  In the Spirit’s power I pray, amen.
 
Note: Heading out for a few days-back the end of the week. Please see the attached pictures to learn what God is doing in Kenya. Our Lord’s grace is upon men and women who long to be more as God. The Lord God has provided much to our ministry One with God. Our donations feed 150 orphans monthly and regularly supply pastors and church leaders with biblical instruction. These emails you read encompass Africa as well as the U.S. Recently we supplied funds for 200 Bibles and 462 books to Kenya and Ghana. If you feel God leading you to help us expand his grace to Africa, please go to http://www.onewithgod.website/donate-here.html. Or you may send an offering to One with God, Inc 6001 Garret Valley LN Arlington TN 38002. We are very humbled in the ways God is using us to proclaim his Word, as we seek to help God’s people become one with Him. We did not anticipate such a work as we left Wisconsin. But if I believe anything about what I write, I know I cannot say, “No, Lord.” This work he has given to Barb and me is what we must do as our Lord leads us.
 

Luke 4:18-22 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
 
I repeat verses 18-21 from yesterday for two reasons. The first is to see this Scripture as Jesus’ fundamental mission statement. Jesus spoke to the Jews of his God-anointed mission to proclaim the gospel. As we learned yesterday, Isaiah 61 was the Scripture Jesus read. He did so purposefully to say, “This is how and why I am here.”
    Second, we see as Luke describes today, that the Jews saw Jesus’ words as “gracious words that came from his lips.” Isaiah 61 prophesied the time of grace would come. Jesus then spoke the gracious text to tell his hometown that God’s grace had come! This would be extraordinary news to God’s people. Certainly they were confused about their God. Based on what historians tell us and what we will later see in Jesus’ hard words to the religious authorities, the Jews had a long list of insurmountable rules to obey. God’s laws of themselves were comprehensive to provide the ways to relate to God and to each other. But for about 400 years prior to Jesus’ arrival, the Pharisee system was established and an increasing number of rules were added to God’s laws.
    Although the intentions of this restrictive religious system were to preserve the worship of God, grace was unseen. Grace was silent. God became impossible to comprehend as the Jews’ lived under a heavy yoke of restrictive rules. In grace, Jesus came not only to free his people from sin, he came to open their eyes to the false “rules only” religion. This is one reason Jesus said in Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  He was urging the Jews to live into the grace he offered to them. Also, the grace truth is a repetitive, necessary teaching in the New Testament epistles. The apostles urged the converted Jews and Gentiles to believe and know Ephesians 2:4-5 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.
    What do you believe? Do you think you have to do more and more to be saved, to be welcomed into God’s Heaven? Or do you rejoice and rest faithfully in God’s grace?
 
Prayer: I pray, Father, that I fully accept your gracious gospel. Thank you that Jesus’ blood has saved me into your gracious, loving arms forevermore. Amen.

Luke 4:16-21 Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
 
JESUS is preaching and teaching. Returning to his hometown, he faithfully went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, demonstrated to us the right behavior for the Sabbath day. Go to an assembly of God’s people to hear the Word of God.
    We also see in this passage a demonstration of the Jewish synagogue worship. The scrolls of the law – what we refer to as the Old Testament – were brought out and a particular scroll was given to someone to read. Likely, the synagogue leader chose Jesus to read that day because the news of Jesus’ new ministry had reached town ahead of him. Certainly the Holy Spirit empowered the leader to hand the Word of God to the Son of God.
    The Spirit did so in order to begin revealing the true Messiah to Israel and to us. To begin, Jesus read what we know today as Isaiah 61:1-2a. It is important, as you will see, to note Luke did not record he read the second clause of Isaiah 61:2. Eight hundred years prior to this moment, the Spirit had inspired Isaiah to speak and to write God’s promise to send a Messiah to Israel. Knowing the entire Bible, we know the Spirit described the Messiah as one who would reveal God’s favor in the form of the gospel. This is the good news of God’s grace, love, forgiveness and eternal life to free his chosen people from sin’s imprisonment, blindness and oppression. Jesus, the Messiah, came in God’s favor to live, die, rise and ascend that our sins would be forgiven.
    We can know that today, but the Jews viewed the Isaiah promise with an Old Testament view. In these words, the Jews expected God to send a David-like Messiah. He would be a warrior king in the way David’s rule had established Israel as a mighty world power. The Jews’ believed the Messiah would be one who would free them from physical oppression and bondage to reign on Israel’s throne forever.
    Anticipation, then, was high in the synagogue that day. When Jesus said, “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” chills would have run down the spine of each faithful Jew. “Is it now time for the promised Messiah? Is he this man Jesus from our own hometown?”
    “Yes,” we can faithfully answer, “this man Jesus is the Lord’s promise fulfilled!” But our “Yes.” Is different than the Jews expected. We know Jesus was the kind of Messiah the Jews did not expect. Sadly and soon, they would find the reality of God’s favor upon them to be unfavorable to their point-of-view. God’s favor would require them to confront their sin, their man-made laws and their faith-stifling religious traditions. As a result, the chills on their collective spine would become a deadly rage.
    How about you? Do you see the favor of God’s justice, mercy, grace and salvation as favorable for your life? I pray so. I pray you see Jesus as the true Messiah, who has come to open your eyes to your sin and set you free from sin’s oppression.
    Now, see the second clause of Isaiah 61:2. This promises the Messiah will proclaim “the day of vengeance of our God.” Be thankful Jesus did not proclaim his judgment that day in Nazareth. Rejoice the Messiah first came “not to judge the world, but to save it.” (John 12:47b) Then keep reading. Be prepared. Understand all of Jesus. For the Savior has given you another promise in John 12:48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.  
    Know all of God’s Word. Reading and listening to only the parts that please you will cause us to miss the true Messiah.
 
Prayer: O Lord, grant to me each day the wisdom to see your Scripture fulfilled in my heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Luke 4:14-15 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
 
JESUS is moving. The Holy Spirit baptized him in the Jordan River near Jerusalem. It is thought his battle with Satan was about 20 miles north of there in the Judean desert. And now he has traveled about another 60 miles as he “returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit.” Luke doesn’t tell us where he first ministered in Galilee, his home territory. But we know he chose most of his disciples in Capernaum and Bethsaida, two fishing villages on the north side of the Sea of Galilee. He is about to return to Nazareth, his hometown.
    Let’s rest in this passage for a few minutes. These two verses may be one of the most peaceful, unifying passages two verses in the Bible since Genesis 2:2-3 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. What I mean by the peace of Luke 4:14-15 is that it describes a communion of God the Father, Son and Spirit with God’s people on earth. The Holy Trinity rested in his creation, counting it all very good as God was joined with Adam and Eve. Surely God rested for a moment in the beginning of his new creation, the Kingdom of God on earth. The Triune God had acted, and his people were praising him. Perhaps this was the most reverent obedience God’s creation granted to their Lord in all the history of the world.
    The new rabbi was in town. He came with a reputation of John’s testimony: John 1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Perhaps the Jews knew the Spirit had anointed him and the Father had approved of Jesus as “his son”. Luke 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."  
    For a short time, the Jews rejoiced in the hope that God would fulfill the prophecies of old. Jesus’ words were heard and praised. People were eager for a change. Or were they?
 
Prayer: Help me, Father, to praise your teachings each day, even as they say to me, “You must change.” In Jesus’ name, amen.

Luke 4:13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
 
THE battle was won, but the war wasn’t over. The devil was attacking the Son to defeat the Father’s saving plan for mankind. Satan knows God. He knows God’s righteousness and holiness. He knows God keeps his Word. Satan understands his own destruction is sure. But he works to do as much damage as he can while he can. During Jesus’ ministry, Satan will often tempt Jesus and work to keep the Jews’ minds closed to their Messiah’s grace, love and salvation. He will use such weapons as demonic activity, hostile crowds, unrepentant sinners and self-serving religious leaders.  
    In those “opportune times” as Luke calls these moments, Jesus could be vulnerable to disappointment and frustration. As fully man, experiencing the overwhelming conditions of illness, immorality, religious superiority and his own physical discomfort could have caused Jesus to say, “Enough. I’m not sacrificing my life for such a sinful people. I’m tired. I’m feeling my time is wasted here. I’m ready to go home.”
    That’s what Satan wanted. That’s what Jesus refused to do. Jesus fought each spiritual battle with a continued focus on God’s Word. He pursued the Father’s will and strength in times of prayer recorded to have lasted hours into the night. Jesus kept his teachings always true to the Word. Instead of being frustrated about mankind’s broken lives, he submitted to serve them with mercy and goodness. He worked the miracles to negate sin’s awful consequences. Jesus forgave the sins against him to show God’s power to transform and give life. He raised people from the dead, expunged demons and demonstrated “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
    This, of course, is a true model for us. We can look around to see so many sad, sick and sinful people. Easily we can give up to say, “What’s the point? I just want to stay home.” It is difficult to minister, especially if you love people. You want them to be well. You long for them to live into the love God promised and demonstrated to them through Jesus. Being weary in ministry is easy to be.
    But we know our Lord calls us to action. The war is on, and we must get past ourselves and get into Jesus. The more we become as he is, the more we can withstand Satan’s ongoing assaults on our hearts, souls and minds. The more we become as Jesus is, the greater is our love and the deeper is our confidence that God wins the war.
    I think one of our sure lessons from Jesus resisting Satan’s temptation is this: Keep your eye on the Word of God. Whatever sin comes against you, you can defeat it with God’s Word. Be wise. Be true. Be constant. Jesus has shown you how. Follow him.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your Spirit-empowered resistance of the devil. Thank you for showing us how to keep our eyes on you, the Living Word. In your name we pray, amen.

Luke 4:9-12 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
 
SOME times when I read this I quietly urge Jesus to jump, so the angels do catch him. What a put-down to the devil that would be! But then I realize what a self-focused sin that type of thinking is. You see, the devil wanted to influence God’s will. For Jesus to jump would have been a submission to the devil and a put-down to the Lord God.
    The language of Psalm 91:11, which Satan quotes here, is not intended to teach that the angels will always protect everyone from this kind of impulsive action Satan spoke to Jesus. We all know disease, accidents and persecution harm God’s people. God’s ministering angels do attend to God’s own. We read it this way in Hebrews 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? But remember the angels are under the Triune God’s authority only to do his will.
    There are numerous ways we can see God’s care for us. Many Christians testify – and I’m sure you can, too – of times you have seen and felt God’s extraordinary protection in times of need. But putting this Scripture to the test by doing something reckless or foolish is saying to God, “Come now and rescue me from my impulses. Save me from myself.” This is a gross, unwarranted sin against God’s providential care.
    Of course Jesus, the Living Word, knew the meaning of the Scripture. He understood the power of the Father to protect him. He didn’t need to jump from a great height in order to prove God’s promises to Satan – or to himself. His faith was fully on God to do the will of God in the power of God in the time that God decreed.
    Jesus also knew something else. The Father’s ministering angels were prepared to care for him when he called to them. Matthew records this at the end of Jesus’ ordeal: Matthew 4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Jesus also knew the angels were at his disposal that dark night he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Matthew 26:53 “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Jesus had a perfect relationship with the Father. He put the will of the Father above all things. Surely there was no need to put his Father’s love to the test.  
     We are often prone to testing God aren’t we? The test can occur when we pray with great desire and expectation for the prayer to be answered. Doesn’t it make sense for God to quickly heal my friend’s disease, to feed the thousands of people starving today or to fill his churches with true worshipers each Sunday? Praying for such good things, we surely expect God to immediately say, “Yes. Right now.” But what do we think when he doesn’t respond? What if he doesn’t minister to these people in need? Do you doubt his love? Do you lose faith in his mercy? Do you stop praying? Did God fail your test? Or do you trust him to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) You’ve prayed that prayer, haven’t you? Do you trust God’s will as Jesus did?
 
Prayer: Father, thank you for the countless times your ministering angels have attended to my needs. I submit to your will to be done on earth to glorify your name. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.