Son of God

December 1, 2019 Tawa Baptist

O come, O come Immanuel

Scriptures: Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 11:1-10; Luke 1:78; Luke 19:1-10; Revelation 3:7-12

O come, O come Immanuel and ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel, shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, O come Thou Lord of might, who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height

In ancient times didst give the law in cloud and majesty and awe.

O come, Thou rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;

From depths of hell Thy people save, and give them victory o’er the grave.

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by Thy justice here;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.

O come, Thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home.

The captives from their prison free, and conquer death’s deep misery.

When we were training for ministry I remember one of our fellow students, who was Maori, explaining to us how Maori think:

Ka mura, Ka muri – we walk into the future backwards
[Walk backwards across the stage]
He was saying that we can’t see the future – we don’t know what’s coming – but when we look back at our heritage we see the way to go
It’s by looking to trustworthy examples from the past that we find a way forward.

Today we continue our ‘Anthems’ series

In this series we are looking at the lyrics of one hymn or Christian worship song each week to see how that song informs our thinking about God and how it connects with Scripture and the heritage of our faith.
As we look back at these hymns we see where we have come from and it helps to show us the way forward.

With today being the first Sunday in Christmas Advent we will be taking a closer look at the hymn O come, O come Immanuel

This song is a hymn of hope centered around the advent (or coming) of Jesus
We can’t be sure who wrote the words for O come, O come Immanuel
It was originally a series of Latin chants prayed from around the seventh or eighth century AD/CE.

There were seven chants each containing a different Latin name for Christ:

Sapientia – which means Wisdom (Proverbs 8:22)
Adonai – which means Lord (Exodus 20:1)
Radix Jesse – the Root (or Rod) of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1)
Clavis David – Key of David (Rev. 3:7),
Oriens – which means Dayspring (Luke 1:78)
Rex Gentium – which means King of Nations (Hag. 2:7)
And Immanuel – God with us (Isaiah 7:14).

These seven chants were sung in anticipation of Christ’s birth on the seven evenings preceding Christmas Eve. [1]

The version we sing today has five verses (not seven) as it omits the verses about Christ being Wisdom and King of the Nations

Various people have translated the Latin into English at different times but the version we are most familiar with was translated by John Mason Neale in 1861

Although John Neale did not write the song (he only translated it) I think his story is worth mentioning because his work of translation came at great personal cost
Born in London in 1818, Neale studied at Cambridge, and was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1842.
He was offered a parish but chronic ill health prevented him from taking it. So, in 1846, Neale was put in charge of Sackville College, which was an alms house, sort of like emergency housing for the poor
In 1854 Neale co-founded the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, an order of women in the Anglican Church dedicated to nursing the sick.

In addition to his social work, in helping the sick and the poor, John Neale also translated many old hymns from other traditions of the Christian faith, like the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches

He did this at a time when there was a great divide between Anglicans and Catholics
Neale walked into the future backwards – he believed it was by looking to the past that the church would find a way forward
Unfortunately, Neale was misunderstood by his fellow Anglicans
People thought he was an agent of the Vatican, assigned to destroy the Anglican Church by subverting it from within.
Once he was attacked at a funeral and, from time to time, unruly crowds threatened to stone him or burn his house to the ground.
It’s amazing how times have changed.
Because of the courage and vision of people like Neale we now sing from the same hymn sheet as it were and enjoy good relationships with other denominations.
(Speaking of which, I hope to see you at the combined Advent service at Our Lady of Fatima (Catholic) church here in Tawa this evening. 7pm.)
John Neale persevered and his basic goodness eventually won the confidence of many who had fiercely opposed him.
The Sisterhood of St. Margaret survived and prospered, as did many of the hymns he translated. [2]
More than anyone else, John Mason Neale made English-speaking congregations aware of the centuries-old tradition of Latin, Greek, Russian, and Syrian hymns.

Each verse of O come, O come Immanuel begins with a request, a heartfelt prayer, for Christ to come to his people

O come Immanuel, O come Thou Lord of might, O come Thou rod of Jesse, O come Thou Key of David, come
And each verse is answered by the refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Advent means coming – during Advent we remember Jesus’ first coming to earth 2000 years ago and we remember he will come again in glory

The Christian belief we find in these verses is that we don’t come to God – God comes to us
It is impossible for us to come to God in our own strength – we can’t get to heaven. Rather God brings heaven to earth, in the form of Jesus.

It may seem strange to us how the words rejoice, rejoice, are sung in such a sad way – but the music is entirely appropriate to the meaning of the song

The tune for O come, O come Immanuel is called VENI EMMANUEL
This tune is thought to come from a 15^th century funeral chant that had belonged to French Franciscan nuns
So the tune is sad because it was used in funeral processions
The people who sing this are grieving, downtrodden and oppressed
They feel like they are struggling under a heavy yoke and God is absent
That’s why they are calling, yearning, for God’s presence
Their circumstances are far from ideal – they want heaven on earth
The rejoicing that is called for in the refrain is a rejoicing in faith and hope that God is coming.
It is the sober rejoicing of a prisoner who, despite still being locked up, knows they will be released soon

For many people Christmas is a season of mixed feelings – it is supposed to be a time of celebration but often it is a time when we feel our losses most keenly

We need a song like O come, O come Immanuel, that enables us to face our grief

Immanuel is one of the names for Jesus

We find the title ‘Immanuel’ in the prophecies of Isaiah and then Matthew ascribes this title to Jesus in his gospel.
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means ‘God with us’. [3]

Jesus is God with us

Have you ever notice how physical labour is so much easier when you are doing it with someone else, as opposed to doing it on your own
It’s not just that you get through the work quicker. There’s a kind of emotional support or buoyancy in working with someone else
Trimming the hedge, doing the housework, cutting a tree down, digging a trench, building a fence, whatever it is, it seems less onerous, less heavy when you have someone fit and skilled working with you
Some of my best memories as a kid were doing jobs on the weekend with my dad and grandad
Jesus is God with us. He comes alongside us (so we are not alone) and he helps us with our work of trusting and obeying God

Verse 1 reads: O come, O come Immanuel and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.

We walk into the future backwards

It’s by looking to the past that we find a way forward.
Verse one looks back to Israel’s exile to Babylon
In 586 BC Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians
Many Israelis were killed and the survivors were taken captive and sent into exile in a strange land
It was a time of mourning, a time of feeling like God was absent, a time of waiting for God to ransom them, to set them free
It wasn’t until 70 years later the people were allowed to return and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the temple

We may feel at odds with the world we live in at times

We may feel like exiles – that we don’t belong and are not free
We may identify with Israel in feeling alienated and alone
We may wonder what the future holds
But as we look back to Israel’s experience we see how God did not forget His people – God set His people free and some centuries later He sent His Son Jesus, our Immanuel. Jesus will return in glory one day

Verse 2 reads: O come, O come, Thou Lord of might, who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height in ancient times didst give the law in cloud and majesty and awe.

Thou is an old English word for You and Thy equates to Your – so it’s like saying, ‘O come You Lord of might, who to Your tribes on Sinai’s height…’

This verse of the hymn looks back to the time of Moses and the people Israel in the wilderness after they were set free from slavery in Egypt

God did many mighty things to inspire faith and awe…
He separated the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross,
He provided water out of a rock,
He gave manna and quail to feed the people in the wilderness,
He led the people by a pillar of cloud and fire
And, at Mount Sinai, God gave the Law, including the 10 commandments

The Law is like a set of clothes – it enabled Israel to stand before God

Without the Law we are naked before God
God gave the Israelites the Law so they could stand in right relationship with Him
When we are baptized we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ
Christ fulfills the Law – he gives us a new set of clothes so we can stand before God without shame

Jesus, whose name in Hebrew is Joshua, is Moses’ successor

Just as Moses was God’s representative leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, so too Jesus leads all who trust him out of the slavery of sin and death and into the promised land of God’s kingdom

There may be times when we feel like we are walking around in circles in the wilderness, like we are lost in our journey of faith, and we are not sure what comes next

We walk into the future backwards
We look at how God provided for His people in the wilderness of Sinai and we trust Him to lead us to the Promised Land, the kingdom of heaven

Verse 3 of the hymn says: O come, Thou rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; from depths of hell Thy people save, and give them victory over the grave.

Rod of Jesse (or root of Jesse) is a reference to Jesus, the Messiah

Jesse was the father of king David
The term Rod of Jesse comes from Isaiah 11 where the prophets says in verses 1 & 10…

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. ²The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might…

¹⁰In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.

Then, right at the end of the Bible in Revelation 22, Jesus says to John…

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Off-spring of David…”

The point is, Jesus is a king in the line of David but he isn’t exactly like David – he’s better than David.

David did some good things for Israel but he wasn’t the most righteous king, as we heard about a couple of Sundays ago (with Bathsheba).
Jesus is righteous though.

Verse 3 of the hymn talks about Jesus freeing people from Satan’s tyranny.

In his earthly ministry Jesus demonstrated time and time again his power to release people from sickness and demon possession with just a word
Verse 3 also talks about Jesus saving people from the depths of hell and giving us victory over the grave
This has to do with resurrection to eternal life
The message of Jesus’ resurrection was front and centre of the preaching of the early apostles
People in the middle ages, when these words were written, had a vivid imagination when it came to hell
Jesus certainly preached about hell using colourful metaphors, but whether his imagery was meant to be taken literally is debatable.

One of my motivations in becoming a Christian (initially) was to avoid hell

If you accept Jesus as your saviour now, you get to go to heaven when you die – that was how it was pitched to me
While God is gracious enough to accept people on that basis, I have found it is not a particularly robust or adequate theology for this life
If your main reason for being a Christian is to avoid hell, then your life and relationship with God will be based on fear
God wants the basis of our relationship with Him to be one of faith expressing itself in love,[4] not fear expressing itself in resentment
If our only reason for being a Christian is to avoid hell, then we will end up resenting God. The aim is to love God. Perfect love drives out fear.

There may be times when we fear what awaits us in the next life

I can’t tell you anything about hell – I’ve not been there and I can’t see beyond the grave
We walk into the future backwards
We find hope for our future beyond death by looking back to Jesus
God raised Jesus from the dead – the first of many. Jesus is our hope
As we read in Romans 10: If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Verse 4 reads: O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by Thy justice here; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Dayspring is a word we don’t hear very often these days – it means dawn of the morning, the first light of daybreak

Jesus is the dayspring – his advent (his coming) heralds the new day
In fact, Jesus is the light of the world – he is the dawn of a new age in human history where God’s kingdom comes to earth like a sunrise

We find a number references in the Scriptures to Jesus being the dayspring. For example, Isaiah 60, verse 1: Arise shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

Or Malachi 4, verse 2: But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings
And most famously, the words of Zechariah (the father of John Baptist) when his son was born,
You remember Zechariah couldn’t speak while Elizabeth was pregnant with John. But when John was born Zechariah’s tongue was loosed and this is what he said, from Luke 1, verse 78:
By the tender mercy of our God the dawn from on high will break upon us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
These verses are talking about Jesus, the dayspring

Returning to verse 4 of the song: we notice that the human spirit is cheered up (given a lift) by the justice of Christ

The justice of Christ is medicine to our soul because it restores people, rather than destroying them.
The classic story of Jesus’ restorative justice is the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19
Jesus doesn’t approach Zacchaeus all guns blazing – he doesn’t shame or destroy Zacchaeus
Jesus shows honour to Zacchaeus by having dinner at his place
In doing this Jesus gives Zacchaeus the opportunity to redeem himself and be restored to his community
And Zacchaeus takes the opportunity with both hands saying:
I will give half my belongings to the poor and if I have cheated anyone I will pay them back four times as much.
This is the wise and gentle justice of Jesus – it’s a justice that benefits everyone

There may be times when we harbour guilt for the unfair way we have treated others. Or, conversely, there may be times when we harbour anger for the unfair way other people have treated us

We walk into the future backwards
When we look back at the way Jesus restored people, the way he made things right, we see the way forward in our relationships

The last verse of our hymn today reads: O come Thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home. The captives from their prison free, and conquer death’s deep misery.

Jesus came to set the captives free. At the same time Jesus is the door or the key by which we enter the kingdom of heaven

The expression ‘Key of David’ first appears in Isaiah 22:22 and is then picked up again in Revelation. Please turn with me to Revelation chapter 3, page 309 toward the back of your pew Bibles

In Revelation 2 & 3 Jesus gives a message to each of the seven churches of the first Century
Some of the churches get a bit of a serve – Jesus is not happy with them
But to the church in Philadelphia Jesus has a word of encouragement
From Revelation chapter 3, verse 7, we read…

⁷“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

“This is the message from the one who is holy and true. He has the key that belonged to David, and when he opens a door, no one can close it, and when he closes it, no one can open it. ⁸I know what you do; I know that you have a little power; you have followed my teaching and have been faithful to me. I have opened a door in front of you, which no one can close. ⁹Listen! As for that group that belongs to Satan, those liars who claim that they are Jews but are not, I will make them come and bow down at your feet. They will all know that I love you. ¹⁰Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you safe from the time of trouble which is coming upon the world to test all the people on earth. ¹¹I am coming soon. Keep safe what you have, so that no one will rob you of your victory prize.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us

Whoever wrote this last verse of O come, O come Immanuel identified with the church in Philadelphia

This was a church that was not powerful, not successful, not popular, but it was faithful
There may be times when we feel powerless or like we are trapped – forced to live a life not of our choosing
When you feel trapped and powerless to do anything about it, where do you go next?
We walk into the future backwards
When we look back at the way Jesus encouraged the church of Philadelphia we find hope and a way forward
Jesus is the Key of David – he’s the one who unlocks the door and opens a way for us to walk in freedom – but we need to be faithful, we need to endure.

Do you feel like you are in exile, at odds with the world around you?

You are not alone. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.

Do you feel like you are lost in the wilderness, naked before God?

You are found. Jesus is the Lord of might, able to provide for you.

Do you feel afraid – anxious of evil, anxious of death, anxious of hell?

Do not be afraid. Jesus is the rod of Jesse. He has conquered death. You belong to Christ.

Do you feel guilty for the injustice you have done? Or do you feel angry at the injustice done to you?

Peace is coming. Jesus is the Dayspring. The light of his justice makes all things new.

Do you feel trapped and powerless, weak and small?

You are blessed. Jesus is the Key of David. He comes to open the way for those who remain faithful to him.

Let’s stand and sing O come, O come Immanuel as we prepare for communion

Questions for discussion or reflection:

Listen to (or sing) the song, ‘O come, O come Immanuel’. What are you in touch with as you listen to this song? (What connections, memories or feelings does it evoke for you?)
What does the proverb, ‘we walk into the future backwards’ mean? How does this relate to our Christian faith?
How do you feel about Christmas?
What difference does it make knowing that Christ will return one day – that he will come to us?
Discuss / reflect on the meaning of the five names/images used for Jesus in this hymn – i.e. Immanuel, Lord of might, Rod of Jesse, Dayspring and Key of David. Which name / image speaks most clearly to your current situation?
Why did you become a Christian? (What is the basis of your relationship with God?) How might we move from a relationship with God based on ‘fear expressing itself in resentment’, to one based on ‘faith expressing itself in love’?
What are some characteristics of Jesus’ justice?
Which verse of the hymn do you identify with most? Verse 1, being in exile? Verse 2, being in the wilderness? Verse 3, being afraid? Verse 4, needing justice? Verse 5, feeling trapped?

[1] https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/o-come-o-come-emmanuel

[2] http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/220.html

[3] Matthew 1:22-23

[4] Galatians 5:6

February 24, 2019February 24, 2019 Tawa Baptist

Scripture: Matthew 3:13-4:11

Title: Jesus – Son of God

Key Idea: Jesus shows he is God’s Son through total commitment and trusting obedience to the Father

Structure:

Introduction
Jesus’ baptism
Jesus’ testing
Conclusion

Introduction:

As most of you know by now the church lounge is under renovation at the moment. The purpose is to strengthen the room in case of an earthquake

– One of the things the builder is doing (as David showed us last week) is attaching the brick work to the wooden frame using metal ties like this

– Without the ties the brick wall would be independent of the frame and in an earthquake would be weaker without the frame to support it

– The ties keep the bricks in the right position

– Obviously just one tie isn’t going to be sufficient – we need the right number of ties

Here’s another picture – this one is of a ship’s mast and sail

– Hopefully you can see that all the way up the mask there are ties keeping the sail attached to the mast

– I guess without these ties the skipper would have no control of the sail or the boat

– As with the brick wall and framing, one tie isn’t going to be enough – you need a number of ties

This next picture is of a father and son walking hand in hand by the sea

– In some ways the father is like the frame and the son is like the bricks

– Or the father is like the mast and the son like the sail

– The son is close to the father and gets strength from the father

– They are connected not just by a single biological tie but by the bond of many shared experiences

– This father and son are creating a bond simply by spending time together

Today we continue our sermon series on the titles ascribed to Jesus

– So far we have looked at Jesus the Wonderful Counsellor, the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father, Mighty God, Jesus as Lord and Son of David

– This morning we look at what it means to say that Jesus is the ‘Son of God’

The gospels of Matthew & Luke both make it clear that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, not by a man, so in a very unique sense Jesus is God’s Son

– However, there is more to being someone’s son than mere conception

– Conception is one tie between father and son but one tie isn’t enough

– To be a son, in the full or whole sense, is to have a certain quality of relationship with the father – a relationship characterised by closeness & trust, with many ties or shared experiences

To help us explore what it means to say that Jesus is the ‘Son of God’ I’ve selected Matthew’s account of the baptism and testing of Jesus

– From Matthew 3, verse 13, we read…

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.

¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

²After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

⁷Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. ⁹“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ”

¹¹Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

In this reading we see the quality of Jesus’ relationship with God

– Jesus demonstrates he is God’s Son through total commitment and trusting obedience to the Father

Jesus’ baptism:

At Christmas time I was given the gift of a book written by the Frenchman Antoine De Saint-Exupery (my apologies for butchering the French language)

– The book was called The Little Prince

– It is wonderful and packed with many profound things including this…

One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.

This is very true – God is both essential to us and invisible to our eyes

– Not just God though but also the many ties that are essential to our relationship with God

Once the wall lining goes up in the lounge we won’t see the ties anymore but they will be there, invisible, holding things together

Prayer is an essential tie in our relationship with God but you can’t really see prayer – it’s something done in faith

Likewise, the Word of God is invisible – sure, you can read words on a page in a Bible but that’s not the same as discerning the Word of God

– You can only see the Word of God by faith with the heart

Communion is another invisible tie in our relationship with God

– We might be able to physically see, touch and taste the symbols of bread & wine but the essence of communion is invisible

– The bond we have with Jesus (and each other) through breaking bread and sharing the cup can only be seen with the heart

Same thing with baptism – baptism is a relational tie with God; Father, Son & Spirit – it’s an outward sign of an inward reality

– People see you getting wet but they can’t see the internal bond God is creating between you and Him

Our reading from Matthew earlier begins with the baptism of Jesus but what Matthew focuses on is not the part people can see with their eyes but the part that can only be seen clearly with the heart

To everyone else Jesus was just another person in the crowd coming to be baptised by John – but John could see what was invisible to everyone else

– John saw with his heart – he recognised who Jesus really was and said it’s me who should be baptised by you

But Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.

This tells us Jesus was getting baptised out of obedience to God

– John’s baptism was for the repentance of sins and yet Jesus was sinless so he didn’t need John’s baptism – there was an element of humiliation in it for Jesus, like he was being tarred with the same brush as a thief or a liar even though he was not guilty of anything

– God’s purpose was for Jesus to save the people from their sins

– By being baptised Jesus was identifying with sinful humanity and publicly accepting God’s purpose for him, which was to go to the cross

– Identifying with sinful humanity created a bond with us

– Accepting God’s purpose created a bond with God

Now we don’t know if the bystanders saw the Spirit descending on Jesus and heard the voice from heaven or whether only Jesus was aware

– Either way it is a divine affirmation that Jesus is the Son of God

– The Holy Spirit is the ultimate bond (or tie) between God the Father and Jesus the Son

Those who are familiar with the Old Testament will hear echoes from the past

– In the Hebrew Scriptures God refers to the nation of Israel as his son who he brought out of Egypt

– This means Jesus is like a new Israel and, through Jesus, God is bringing about a new exodus, setting his people free from sin & death

– Likewise, in Psalm 2, the king of Israel is referred to as God’s son

– Most (if not all) of the kings of Israel failed to live up to the title of God’s son through their disobedience to God

– But Jesus succeeds through his trusting obedience to God the Father

There are many other allusions to the Old Testament in these verses but the main point is: God the Father validates Jesus as his Son and expresses his pleasure that Jesus has embraced God’s purpose for him

Jesus’ testing:

There is a wonderful scene in the book I was talking about earlier where the little prince meets a fox and asks if the fox will play with him

– And the fox replies, ‘I can’t play with you. I’m not tame’

– When the little prince asks what does ‘tame’ mean, the fox explains,

– ‘It means “creating a bond”.’ (A tie)

The conversation goes back and forth for a bit and then the fox says…

– “One only understands the things that one tames. Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me.”

– “What must I do to tame you?” asked the little prince

– “You must be very patient”, replied the fox. “First you will sit a little distance from me, like that, in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings.”

The author of the Little Prince lived in the desert for some years, he loved it there. The desert is a lonely place, a place without words, without misunderstandings

Straight after his baptism the Spirit leads Jesus into the desert, just as the nation of Israel were led into the desert after their exodus from Egypt

– Why does the Spirit do this?

– To test the strength of the bond between Jesus the Son and God the Father

– God was confident in the quality of his relationship with Jesus – he trusted his son to choose the right path

The devil tries to break (or at least fracture) the father / son relationship between God & Jesus through three temptations – all of which have to do with power

The first temptation comes after Jesus has been alone and without food for 40 days – when he is at his weakest

– The devil says, ‘If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread’

– On the face of it the devil doesn’t appear to be asking Jesus to do anything obviously bad – it’s not like he’s suggesting Jesus steal the bread from orphans – and so we might be puzzled by Jesus’ response

Two reasons I think Jesus said ‘no’

– Firstly, Jesus is at war here with the forces of evil – He is in combat against the devil

– When you are at war you don’t do what the enemy says – you don’t let your opponent set the agenda

– Jesus wasn’t going to start taking orders from the devil even if what Satan suggested seemed harmless enough

– Jesus was only interested in doing what he saw God his Father doing – which brings us to Jesus’ second reason for saying ‘no’

God isn’t sitting on a cloud untouched by human suffering

– God is present and involved with his creation

– Human suffering, animal suffering, the poisoning of the air, land and sea affects God – he feels our pain

– Jesus the Son only does what he sees God his Father doing – he sees God close to people and affected by our lives and so he knows that God wants him to enter into the human experience as well (like Father like Son)

– Part of the human experience is hunger and powerlessness

– If Jesus used his special power to satisfy his own hunger then he wouldn’t be entering into the human experience, he would be avoiding it

– To avoid the human experience would be a denial of his baptism and a denial of God’s purpose for him and a denial of himself as God’s Son

– It is God’s will to save humanity and that meant it was necessary for Jesus to enter into the experience of those he’d come to save

– By fasting and experiencing hunger Jesus was creating a bond or a tie with those who have known hunger & powerlessness

As well as entering into the human experience generally, God wanted Jesus to enter into Israel’s experience particularly – and part of Israel’s experience was hunger & vulnerability in the wilderness

– As Son of God, Jesus is doing for Israel what Israel failed to do

– In all three temptations Jesus refutes the devil by quoting Scripture from Deuteronomy chapters 6 & 8

– Deuteronomy 6-8 forms part of the instruction Moses gave to the people toward the end of their time in the wilderness

– Moses was basically saying that God had been training Israel to trust and obey him – much like a Father teaches a son – and here’s some of the things they should have learned from their experience

Lesson number one: ‘Man cannot live by bread alone’ (and by man we mean humankind – men & women)

– Eating food is essential to survival in this life

– Likewise, obedience to God’s will is essential to this life and the next

– Jesus’ refusal to break his fast until God said so proved the point that doing God’s will is even more life giving than eating bread

– Fulfilling God’s purpose satisfies our souls in a way that food can’t

Having said all that Jesus didn’t always fast – in fact he had a reputation for eating well

– On another occasion in the wilderness Jesus would use his power to miraculously multiply loaves and fishes to feed thousands

– On that occasion Jesus was actually proving a similar point – that God is the source and sustain-er of life

– Jesus had just been feeding the people with God’s word through his teaching – then, after he had fed their souls with his sermon, he fed their bodies with food – because we need both for life

So if you’re thinking I might do a fast for 40 days like Jesus – then don’t, it will kill you (you’re not Jesus)

– If you want to give up something don’t give up food which is good for you – give up the things that are bad for you, like complaining or self-pity or gossip or resentment or worry or excess screen time

Jesus’ obedience in submitting to God’s will for him shows that Jesus trusted God to provide bread for him when God was ready

– And this is exactly what God did – after the devil had left, angels came and took care of Jesus’ needs

The second temptation comes in the form of a vision

– The devil transports Jesus to the highest point of the temple and invites him to jump off, saying…

– “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

– The devil wants Jesus to act as though God is there to serve him

– Leverage your relationship with God, get him to pull some strings for you

Notice how the devil uses the Bible to entice Jesus here – he makes it seem like a good idea, a holy idea even

– The devil misuses holy Scripture by taking a verse out of context and applying a crude literalism to it – what we might call ‘proof texting’

– Jesus isn’t fooled though – he finds the true meaning of Scripture by putting things in the right context

– He understands Scripture because of his closeness to God the Father

Again Jesus quotes Scripture from Deuteronomy

– “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

– This is another lesson Israel should have learned in the wilderness

– ‘Don’t put God to the test’ means don’t try and force God’s hand

– Don’t put God in an awkward position

– Don’t try to manipulate God

– Don’t take advantage of your relationship with God for selfish ends

– It’s the Father who teaches the Son, not the other way around

God wasn’t asking Jesus to jump off the temple roof

– God was asking Jesus to hang on the cross

– Jesus shows he is the Son of God by obeying the will of the Father

The third temptation also comes in the form of a vision

– This time the devil isn’t so subtle – he shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour and says…

– “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.”

– The devil is offering Jesus a cosy alternative to his mission

– Imagine the good you could do if all the kingdoms of the world were yours – this is an easier way than the way God has for you

But Jesus isn’t going to repeat the mistakes of the Israelites in the wilderness who bowed down to the statue of a gold bull and says…

– “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ”

– Jesus loves God his Father and wouldn’t trade him for all the kingdoms of the world – that’s the quality of their relationship, that’s the strength of their bond

Conclusion:

Jesus shows he is God’s Son through his total commitment and trusting obedience to the Father

Most of Jesus’ contemporaries couldn’t see he was the Son of God because they were looking with their eyes and not with their hearts

– It was only after his death and resurrection that it began to dawn on people who Jesus really is

The good news is: through faith in Jesus God tames us – through Jesus, God creates a bond making us his friends and family

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.) What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

– Why do you think this stood out to you?

2.) What (or who) ties Jesus to God?

– What (or who) ties us to God?

3.) Why did Jesus go to be baptised by John?

4.) Who did the son of God refer to in the Old Testament?

5.) The baptism of Jesus sounds many echoes of the Old Testament. What echoes can you hear?

6.) Why did the Spirt lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil?

7.) Discuss / reflect on Jesus’ response to the three temptations and their relationship to Israel’s experience in the wilderness

– In what ways has your faith / relationship with God been tested over the years?

8.) How might God tame us?