The Theologian and the Overcomer
Luke 2:46-47 After three days they found him in
the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking
them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his
answers. (NIV)
Jesus
was sent to earth to teach people the will of His father as part of His mission.
At twelve years old, Jesus left an impression on the religious leaders of His
day, due to the wisdom that the Holy Spirit had imparted in Him. His parents
had lost contact with Him during a trip to Jerusalem, for the Feast of the
Passover, but found Him three days later in the temple courts. Even as a child,
He knew that He had to be about His Father’s business.
Luke
2:49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to
be in my Father’s house?” (NIV) God was always there to guide His Son
as He grew up in His fleshly form and showed Him favor because He was His
Father. Luke 2:52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor
with God and men. (NIV)
Jesus,
at the age of 30, began His mission on earth. He was baptized by His cousin,
John the Baptist, and went into the wilderness to fast and pray for 40 days and
nights. Matthew 4:1-2 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was
hungry. (NIV) Jesus knew that He was about to encounter many attacks
that would be brought on by the enemy. Therefore, He needed some time with the
Father in order to be prepared. The devil, however, saw this as a grand opportunity
for him to tempt the Son of God when He would be at His weakest. Of course, the
devil would never let a spiritual fast go to waste, so he decided to tempt
Jesus by quoting scriptures, but in his attempt, he was not prepared that the
Teacher would be prepared to use the Word of God to block his evil efforts. Hebrews
4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (NIV)
The
devil began by asking Jesus to prove that He was the Son of God by turning
stones into bread. The devil already knew who Jesus was for he had once been in
Heaven prior to his fall. Yet, he wanted to set a trap for Jesus just as he had
successfully done with the first man. Jesus, however, being the scholar and
theologian that He was did not fall for the devil’s scheme. He quoted the Word
back to him. Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live
on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (NIV) Jesus let the devil know that
he was wise to his schemes and would not fall into sin due to his appetite as
Adam and Eve had done.
The
devil saw that his first try was unsuccessful, so he took Jesus to the highest
point of the temple and quoted scripture to Him for the devil knew that the
Word of God was powerful. Matthew 4:6 “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.”
(NIV) The devil seemed to want a battle of the minds between himself
and Jesus. He knew that Jesus thoroughly knew the scriptures, but in a pitiful
attempt, he tried to mix truth with error. The devil, in his arrogant mind, somehow
felt that Jesus needed to prove something to him. Nevertheless, Jesus used the
Word against the devil again. Matthews 4:7 Jesus answered him, “It
is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (NIV)
Nothing
seemed to be working so the devil, in a desperate attempt. decides to take
Jesus to the highest mountain and offer him the world with only one catch. Matthew
4:8-9 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all
the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he
said, “if you will down and worship me.” (NIV) Now the devil had to be
pretty stupid to think that he had anything to offer Jesus that wasn’t already
His for the taking. However, the devil was about to get a rude awakening for he
always envied God and his authority, so his attempt to offer Jesus what already
belonged to God was laughable at best. Jesus at this point was tired of the
devil and did not want to be bothered any longer. Matthew 4:10-11 Jesus said
to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God,
and serve him only.” Then the devil left, and angels came and attended him.
(NIV)
The
devil’s scheming did not work and he had been ordered to leave at Jesus
command. Why did Jesus put up with him for that length of time? Jesus was
teaching us that we too can have victory and be an overcomer. Jesus was both
man and God, so he could have easily fell into the trap that the devil was
trying to set. However, Jesus let us know by quoting the Word of God back to
the devil, that we are able to overcome and resist the devil’s attempts to make
us sin. James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you. (NIV) There is power in the Word and just as
Jesus used the Word to fight off the enemy, so can we.
Jesus
taught many lessons throughout His time in ministry on earth because He is the
Master Theologian. We are to take on the mindset of Jesus and the only way to
do that is to be a continuous student of the Word by studying daily. Philippians
2:5 Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. (NIV)
We must feast on the Word of God as we do with food in the natural. Studying
the Word of God and allowing Him to teach is the only way to get to not only
know who He is, but to take on His very character. Since Jesus teaches us, and
through His Word has taught us the ways of His Father, we have power against
any demonic forces that come our way; we can understand TRUTH that only comes through
Him. John
14: 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. Non one
comes to the Father except through me.” (NIV)
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