The first thing I noticed comes right at the beginning:
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit ...
Did you catch that? Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. Like, "full" as in "leaving room for nothing else."
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The second thing I noticed is that the first verse also tells us Uh oh, that's where Jesus was tempted for 40 days by the devil ... who asked him to turn stones into bread, who offered to give Christ all the kingdoms of the world, who challenged Christ to throw himself down from the highest point on the temple.
Are you seeing this? I mean, Jesus literally came face to face with evil.
So how did Christ respond to this one on one encounter with Satan?
Did he form a Steering Committee to formulate a comprehensive list of recommendations, followed by a Budget Committee vote? Did he respond by creating protest signs, writing fiery letters to The Temple Times or by threatening a boycott?
Did Jesus rebuke Satan by mailing a big check to a political party promising anti-Satan reforms ... or did he storm into the temple to complain to the chief priest, "Do you have any idea what my life's been like for the past month? Where were you when I needed help and advice?"
No, Jesus didn't react in any of those "modern" ways: instead, the Son of God slammed the door in Satan's face:
It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'
It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'
It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'
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Scripture is God's living word and God's word is true ... more powerful than any protest sign. The gospel carries more strength and authority than any man-made rule, slogan, law or legislation.
Christ didn't fall into Satan's trap by arguing with the enemy. Nor did he engage the devil in a lengthy theological debate to prove his position. Scripture tells us that instead, Jesus returned to Gailee in the power of the Spirit ... and began preaching the gospel.
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I'm not one of those folks who dives into a book and immediately jumps ahead to read the ending. I figure the ending makes more sense if I catch everything that happens in-between ... but if you're one of those people, this is what happens at the very, very end:
Jesus comes back. Jesus throws Satan into hell and Jesus wins with an overwhelming show of power, justice and righteousness ... and there is never any doubt or discussion or debate about the best way to do it or what to do next.
