Sin and Salvation.

Genesis 7-8, Matthew 4

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. – Matthew 4:11 NLT

Sin had become so rampant in the world and the wickedness of man, so prevalent, that God had to take drastic measures and destroy the world He had created. We read in chapter six of Genesis: "The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart" (Genesis 6:5-6 NLT). The single sin of Adam and Eve had ushered in a flood wave of sinful behavior that had escalated to such an extent that God was forced to act justly and righteously, wiping out those whom He had made in His own image.

What does this passage reveal about God?

But God showed favor. He offered an invitation to Noah and his family to enter into the ark. There they would find safety, provision and protection from judgment. We must be careful that we do not misinterpret this passage and assume that Noah was saved by God because of his righteousness. The invitation God offers to Noah would seem to indicate that he somehow deserved to be saved. "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation" (Genesis 7:1 ESV). But this is a statement based on comparison. Noah's righteousness was not meritorious. In other words, his actions were not the cause of his salvation by God. It was just that Noah, when compared to those among whom he lived, was a relatively righteous individual. "It is not that Noah's works of righteousness gains him salvation, for none is cited. Rather, his upright character is noted to condemn his generation, which merits death" (Kenneth A. Mathews, Genesis).

No, it was God's grace that saved Noah. It was God who came up with the idea for the ark. It was God who gathered the animals together in pairs. It was God who gave Noah and his family the skills to take on a construction project of this magnitude. And it was God who closed up the door of the ark once they were all inside. The story of the flood is not simply a story of God's wrath and judgment against mankind. It is a glimpse into God's unfailing grace, mercy, love and faithfulness. I personally believe that Noah was saved because it would be through his descendants that the Messiah would come. Luke's gospel account gives us the genealogy of Jesus and includes Shem, one of the sons of Noah, in the list. The salvation provided by the ark would preserve mankind in order that the true Savior of the world might be born. In a way, Noah's righteousness, like yours and mine, was based on his association with Jesus. His salvation was due to Jesus, not himself. His righteousness was imputed, not earned.

Chapter eight starts out with the words, "But God remembered Noah…' What a wonderful statement of the mercy of God. He never forgot about Noah and his family. The ark wasn't intended to be permanent, but was simply a temporary respite from judgment. God had a more permanent plan for Noah and his family. He would preserve them from destruction, then place them back on the earth, promising to never use a flood to destroy mankind again. "I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things" (Genesis 8:21 NLT). Nothing had really changed. Mankind was still evil, even though, at this point, it was just Noah and his family. The ark had preserved mankind, but there had been no transformation. Sin was still a problem. They would still need a Savior. And generations later, He would appear on the scene, preaching, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near" (Matthew 4:17 NLT). This descendant of Adam and Noah would come to bring true salvation from sin and deliverance from the curse of death. He would provide not only forgiveness from sin, but freedom as well. Jesus is the ultimate "ark" provided by God so that we might be saved from the destruction to come. All those who place their faith in Him will be saved. God will deliver them from death and provide them with eternal life. In the story of the ark, we have a glimpse into the redemptive heart of God. He longs to preserve and protect. He desires to restore and redeem. Through the ark, He did for Noah what Noah could not have done for himself. And through Christ, He has done for you and me what we could never have accomplished on our own.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Man is deserving of punishment and death. The verdict is clear: Man has a serious sin problem and God must deal with it. As God, He cannot simply overlook our sins and act as if they never happened. We are in open rebellion against God, and our very existence brings dishonor to His name as God. As His creation, made in His image, we are an affront to His character. So God, being righteous, holy and just, must deal with our rebellion justly, or He would case to be God. And there is nothing we can do to remedy the problem. No amount of good works or attempts at changed behavior will ever change our condition or soften our condemnation. If we are to be saved, it will have to be done by God. If we can't satisfy His just demands, then He will have to somehow satisfy Himself. And that is what He did by sending His Son to earth as a man, a descendant of Adam. Jesus would live on this earth as a sinless human being, accomplishing what no other man had ever been able to do. He would live in perfect obedience to God – with no sins or sin nature to separate Him from God. And it was His sinless life that would make Him the perfect sacrifice, giving His life on the cross as payment for the sins of mankind. He would pay the penalty for our sin in order to satisfy the justice of God. And His death would provide deliverance from coming destruction. In Noah's day, man was in need of saving. God had to destroy them because of their sin. And God would have to save them if anyone was going to survive the flood that was coming. The same is true today. Man is in need of saving, and if anyone is going to escape the destruction to come, it will be up to God. He alone can provide salvation, and He has done so through His Son, Jesus Christ.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

I have been saved so that I might live a life that is holy and set apart to God. I belong to Him now. But I have to constantly remember that my righteousness is not of my own making. I did not deserve to be saved. I was a sinner just as much as the next guy, but God, in His mercy and grace, showed me favor. He offered me an invitation to step into the safety of His ark, Jesus Christ, and find protection from the flood to come. I am covered by His righteousness, not mine. I am preserved because of His holiness, not my own. And now I am called to live as one who has been saved by God. My response to His grace and mercy should take the form of willful obedience out of gratitude for all that He has done for me. I am to live like one who has been given a new lease on life.

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the bodyand the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ButGod, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:1-10 NLT).

Father, thank You for providing salvation for me. I am so grateful that You placed me in Christ so that I might enjoy protection from the wrath that I deserved. I did nothing deserving of Your grace, mercy and love, and yet You saved me. I have no reason to boast or brag. But I have every reason to rejoice, because I once was as good as dead because of my sins, but You have made me alive in Christ. Amen.

Prayer-Fueled Ministry.

Matthew 4:23-25; Mark 1:35-39; Luke 4:42-44

“Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” – Mark 1:35 NLT

News about Jesus was spreading fast. It had even reached as far north as Syria. Hundreds, if not thousands of people were making their way to the region of Galilee in search of this man who could heal diseases and cast out demons. Matthew tells us that "large crowds followed him wherever he went" (Matthew 4:25 NLT). His days were filled with teaching, preaching and healing. Again, Matthew tells us that Jesus was "teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom" (Matthew 4:23 NLT). But in spite of His growing popularity among the people and the seeming success of His ministry, Jesus started His day with a time of solitary prayer, talking with His Father in heaven.

We will see this pattern take place often as we read through the Gospels. This was not an isolated event, but an ongoing habit that Jesus had developed over time. It could very well have started early in His childhood, but we know that throughout the days of His earthly ministry, prayer was vital to all that He did. Jesus walked in unity and unison with His Father. He did what only what God the Father told Him to do. He said only what He was told to say by the Father. He obediently did His Father's will because He always knew what it was His Father wanted Him to do. Because they talked regularly. They communed and communicated often. But mornings seemed to be His preferred time for getting alone with God. Before the hustle and bustle of His day began, and the pressures of ministry overwhelmed Him, Jesus sought out His Father.

It would be appalling to think how much of our ministry is done without prayer. Far too frequently, we jump into our day without having spent a single second with God. We simply assume we are doing His will, but we haven't taken the time to ask Him. Jesus seemed to receive His marching orders from one source: His Father. Like any other minister, Jesus was getting pressures from all sides. His disciples wanted Him to teach and preach more, so the numbers of His followers would increase. The people wanted Jesus to heal their sicknesses and cast out their demons. Every synagogue in every small town through which He passed wanted Jesus, the rabbi, as their guest speaker. Jesus was getting famous. He was gaining a reputation. And He was under tremendous pressure to perform. But Jesus knew that His strength came from God. He knew that His "To Do List" for each day had to be given to Him by His Father. That is why when the disciples confronted Jesus right after His time of prayer, they said, "Everyone is looking for you!" and Jesus simply replied, "We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came." (Mark 1:38 NLT).

Jesus was all about doing the will of His Father. Which is why He spent time talking to His Father – early and regularly. Jesus was not controlled by the crowd. He was not swayed by seeming success. He would not allow Himself to be pressured by the opinions and advice of His disciples. No, His will was to do the will of the one who had sent Him. And He knew exactly what that will was because He spent time talking to the Source.

Father, it's easy to get distracted by the miracles that Jesus performed and lose sight of the fact that His days always seemed to begin with prayer. He put a high priority on prayer. And it seems that it was far more about communion with You than getting things from You. Those times of solitude were times of refreshing and fellowship. They were the small moments of time when He could cast aside all the cares and pressures of the day and simply sit with You and enjoy the fellowship He had enjoyed in eternity past. What a reminder of how much I need to spend time with You. But it is so easy to forego fellowship and simply launch into action. Help me learn to come into Your presence and rest, listening, learning, and enjoying fellowship with You. Amen.

The Spread of the Good News.

Matthew 4:12; Mark 1:14; Luke 4:14; John 4:1-42

“After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.” – Mark 1:14 NIV

Things were already beginning to heat up around Jesus. His arrival on the scene hear Jerusalem had not been without controversy. His cleansing of the Temple had not earned Him any friends among the religious leadership of the day. When news of John's arrest reached Jesus, He took His disciples and left the region around Jerusalem and headed toward Galilee in the north. He would end up in Capernaum, near the Sea of Galilee. But His journey would also take Him through Samaria, a region most Jews usually avoided at all costs due to their hatred for the Samaritan people. Jews considered Samaritans half-breeds. They were Hebrews who had intermarried with foreigners after the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel and its capital, Samaria. To Jews in Jesus' day, Samaritans were a mixed race, and therefore impure. During the time of the split between the southern and northern kingdoms of Israel, the people in the north had set up their own center of worship on Mount Gerizim. They developed their own priesthood and no longer traveled to Jerusalem to make sacrifices to Yahweh. All of these historical facts had created a deep hatred between Jews and Samaritans that still existed in Jesus' day. And yet, Jesus plans His trip right through this very region. Yes, it was a shortcut, but I think there was more to Jesus' decision than merely cutting a few days off His travel plans.

Jesus' and His disciples stop at the well of Jacob, now the sight of a Samaritan village. Here Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman who is drawing water in the heat of the middle of the day, not the normal time this kind of work was done. Jesus' disciples had gone into town to buy food, so Jesus and this woman are the only ones at the well. To her surprise, there is someone at the well when she arrives, and not only that, it is a Jewish man. Then Jesus shocks her even further by speaking to her – an uncommon practice in those days. The ensuing conversation is enlightening. Jesus reveals a level of awareness about this woman that catches her off guard. He knows things about her that she would rather not be known. And yet, with what He knows about her, Jesus is not only willing to talk to her, He offers her something of infinite value. "If only you know the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water" (John 4:10 NLT). Here is this woman, an outcast from the standpoint of the Jews and a moral reject from the perspective of her own people, being offered a gift from God. In this exchange, very early on in His ministry, Jesus reveals that the good news of God He is bringing is for all mankind, not just the Jews. It is for all people, not just the seemingly righteous. Jesus offers this woman what she really needs, release from her spiritual thirstiness. He offers to quench and satisfy her thirst for acceptance, love, forgiveness, and worthiness. And while initially she does not comprehend what Jesus is offering, eventually the reality of His words sink in and she runs back to her village shouting, "Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?" (John 4:29 NLT). As a result of Jesus' conversation with this woman and His offer of the gift of God, "Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus" (John 4:39 NLT).

Much to the chagrin of the disciples, Jesus would remain several more days in this Samaritan village sharing the good news of God. Many more would come to believe in Jesus and reach the conclusion that He was the Savior of the world. While the religious leaders in Jerusalem were rejecting Jesus and His message, an entire village of Samaritans were eagerly embracing it. The Messiah had come. Salvation from God had arrived in the form of this seemingly ordinary Jewish man. But He was more than He appeared to be. He had a job to do and He was well aware of what it was that God had sent Him to accomplish. "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work" (John 4:34 NLT). The Good News was off to a great start.

Father, I am so grateful that the Good News was available to all, including me. Thank You for sending Your Son to all mankind and making His offer of salvation available to anyone who would believe, regardless of their background, ethnicity, economic status, or moral goodness. Thank You Jesus for willingly and obediently doing the will of Your Father and accomplishing His redemptive work, in spite of the cost to Yourself. Amen.

A Time of Testing.

Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13

“Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.” – Luke 4:1-2 NLT

At His baptism, the Holy Spirit not only anointed Jesus, He filled Him. He took up residence in Him. And then the Spirit led Jesus, much like He intends to lead us as believers today. The interesting thing is that the Spirit led Jesus right into the wilderness, where He was immediately tested and tempted by Satan, the enemy of God. Our human nature can't help but react to the seeming unfairness of the timing of this event. Jesus has just begun His public ministry and the very first thing He must do is suffer through and be subjected to a series of attacks at the hand of His greatest enemy. But God had just declared of Jesus, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy" (Matthew 3:17 NLT). Jesus was the Son of God and as such, it was essential that He live a life of perfect obedience to the will of His Father. This test at the very beginning of His ministry would prove the true nature of His character and the power of His commitment to the cause for which He had come. Satan was going to appeal to both His divine and human natures. Having not eaten for 40 days, Jesus was starving. His body, completely human, was shutting down and His cravings for food would have been at an all-time high. So Satan tempts Jesus to use His divinely ordained powers to manufacture bread for Himself. In other words, to use His God-given gifts for purely selfish, self-satisfying reasons.

Satan then appeals to the natural human desire for recognition, popularity and affirmation. He tries to get Jesus to throw Himself off the highest point of the Temple, and test the will of God. Notice that Satan repeatedly uses the word "if." If you are the Son of God, jump …" (Matthew 4:6 NLT). Jesus knows that He is the Son of God. His own Father had just confirmed it. And Satan takes that knowledge and attempts to get Jesus to test His Father's love by forcing Him to save Him from sure death should He jump from such a high height. What a spectacle that would have been. Just think of the reaction of the crowds had Jesus done such a thing. It would have proven His claim to be the Messiah. But it was not the will of God. It was NOT how God intended things to happen.

Finally, Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, which was fully in his power to do, because he is the prince of this world. This appeal to the human desire for power is one we all struggle with. Jesus, as the Son of God, knows that one day every knee will bow down and worship Him, but the path to get there was going to take Him through pain, suffering and death. What Satan was offering was a whole lot easier. All Jesus had to do was worship him – to turn His allegiance from God to Satan. But once again, Jesus refuses. Quoting Scripture for the third time, He says, "You must worship the Lord your God and serve only Him" (Matthew 4:10 NLT). For Jesus, there would be no selfish, self-satisfying shortcuts. He had come to do God's will, not His own. He had come to be obedient to God's plan, not obey His passions and desires. Satan's whole objective was to derail God's plan. He was out to distract Jesus from His mission and destroy the redemptive plan of God. And while he had failed, he was not done. Luke tells us, "When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came" (Luke 4:13 NLT). We will see that all along the way, as Jesus ministered during the next three and a half years, the enemy was always close at hand. He was stirring up the religious leaders against Jesus. He was always trying to bring an untimely end to the mission of the Messiah. Jesus' ministry was never free from conflict and attack. And the same is true for us today. We are always being tested, tried, and tempted by the enemy. He wants to destroy our testimony, distract us from our mission, and derail God's plan for our lives. We find ourselves in a similar place as that of the Israelites all those years ago in the wilderness. "Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands" (Deuteronomy 8:2 NLT). Like Jesus, our character is being tested, our obedience is being tried. God has placed His Spirit within us and given us His Word. He has equipped us to live life of obedience in the midst of hostile surroundings. The enemy will appeal to our human nature and attempt to get us to satisfy our own desires and fulfill our own wills. But we must remain faithful and true to the cause of Christ and the will of our Father.

Father, what a timely reminder that even Jesus had to face opposition. He had to suffer the daily temptation to give up, thrown in the towel or to try and do Your will His own way. Help me to remember that the temptations and tests of life are there to challenge my obedience and to determine the quality of my faith in You. Help me to be strong. Amen.