SATAN'S OFFER TO HELP JESUS

And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."  Matt. 4:3, R.S.V.

Jesus did not come into this world with a fully developed memory of His previous existence.  It was not because He could recall living in the presence of His Father that He knew He was the divine Son of God.  His confidence was based instead upon His Spirit-led understanding of the prophecies and sacrificial system recorded in the Old Testament.  He was ready to tell the world who He was, facing scorn from even His own family and eventually experiencing a cruel death, because He was certain of what He had read.

But what if He were wrong?  What if He, like so many others, had misread Scripture?  Or what if even the Scriptures were unreliable?  Wouldn't it be comforting to know, right in the beginning of His earthly ministry, that He really did have innate divinity within Himself?  He had worked no miracles prior to this time.

How "concerned," then, that Satan should arrive on the scene at that time and propose a simple little miracle that would not only satisfy Jesus' hunger following forty days of fasting but would also give Him an opportunity to prove His divinity to Himself.  The drama was intensified the more by Satan's suggestion that certainly God would not leave His Son in such a bleak situation without providing a miraculous way of escape.

Yet Jesus saw the deeper issues.  He discerned that the single underlying issue in all temptation is for one to break away from utter dependency upon God and to seek to solve one's own problems.  For Jesus to have worked a miracle to meet His own needs--either for food or for verification of His divinity--would not have been fundamentally different from when Adam and Eve took the fruit in order to advance their own cause.  In either case, the one who was dependent upon divinity would have broken that dependent relationship.  And that, in the truest sense, is a denial of faith.

This temptation that Jesus faced was, in one important way, vastly more difficult than the temptations we face, because Jesus really did have divinity within Himself, which He could have relied upon to meet His needs.  By contrast, when I am tempted to rely upon myself, it is a joke, a comic illusion.  Trusting my Father makes vastly more sense.

OUR FACE GIVES IT AWAY

So too when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites: they make their faces unsightly so that other people may see that they are fasting.  I tell you this: they have their reward already.  Matt. 6:16, N.E.B.

Really, now; with all the cosmic issues Jesus had on His agenda during the brief years of His earthly ministry, with all the crucially important things He had to say and do, what difference should it make how a certain group of people look when they choose to go without food?  After all, if they want to smudge some ashes under their eyes to enhance the gaunt look, if they get some kind of kick out of standing on the street corners letting their stomachs growl in public, that's their problem!  Why should such an incidental quirk be of concern to the Saviour of all mankind?

Fortunately, Jesus saw things far more clearly than our narrow vision usually allows.  He knew that the Pharisees were not just some religious curiosity.  They were the ones who, more than anyone  else, claimed to be the spokesmen for God.  In the eyes of most Israel, they were on the inside track with Divinity.  And as they dragged abound the landscape in their regular sessions of exaggerated self-denial they were broadcasting that this is what God requires.  The light-headed misery of systems drained of vitality, the sallow complexion and staggered step, the Pharisees claimed, were required of the devout as a means of impressing God.

But Jesus deflated the whole scheme.  As these pallid figures staggered by, if any of their fellow humans wanted to stand for a moment in awe, that was all the reward they were going to get.  He emphatically reported that His Father was not impressed.  What is more, His Father was grieved that such gross misrepresentations of His character should be pawned off by the religious authorities.  If they needed to fast for a time, perhaps to clear the mind for deeper spiritual understandings, then this should be a private matter.  In public they should have their faces scrubbed, hair combed, and a touch of perfume to brighten the occasion.

Being in our Father's family is a joyous experience.  All His paths are ways of brightness.  The faces of His children can be as inviting as His own.  Our eyes, as windows to our souls, may reveal an unmistakable inner joy.  These are the ways of our Father.

WHEN GOD CLAIMS HIS PEOPLE

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation and a people claimed by God for his own, to proclaim the triumphs of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  1 Peter 2:9, N.E.B.


Imagine that you are attending a great international festival where representatives from many nations have come to portray their native cultures.  You watch as varied costumes pass the reviewing stand.  You listen intently as the announcer highlights the unique features of each country.  Suddenly a hush comes over the crowd as people of remarkable bearing step forward.  In admiring tones the announcer explains that they come from a country where every citizen is counted as documented royalty.  Furthermore, every one of them holds a high office in the dignified religion of the land.  The citizenry is noted for the absence of crime and for its advanced social programs.  Finally, there is clear evidence that the people of the country have special connections with the ruling powers of the universe.

If you suspect you might be impressed with such a scene, you have only to read today's text again and realize that it does not exist entirely in the realm of the imagination.  For this is exactly what our Father desires each of us to be.

We are royalty, because we are even now in preparation to sit next to Jesus on His throne, entering with Him into consideration of the issues of vital interest to the universe.  (See Rev. 3:21.)

We are priests, because we deal with the most sacred of all things: the character and reputation of our God.  We have been entrusted with the immeasurable privilege of telling the world how God seeks their friendship.  (See 2 Cor. 5:19.)  We are spiritual ambassadors, representing the kingdom of God to people who don't yet know how much they would enjoy it.  As priests, we stand between an alien world and a loving God, seeking to make Him known.

We are a dedicated nation--a people with a consuming spiritual purpose, set aside from all that is mundane to accomplish matters of eternal consequence.

Yet we are participants in any of these great privileges only because God, in His infinite graciousness, has claimed us.  He alone can rescue, transform, and commission.  And He alone has sole right to receive the honor and the praise, for when the universe is once again at-one with Him we shall all live in endless peace.

THE DELUSION THAT BACKFIRES

By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall magnify himself.  Without warning he shall destroy many; and he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes; but, by no human hand, he shall be broken.  Dan. 8:25, R.S.V.

Experts say that a pathological liar is a terrible self-deceived person.  That is, a person who constantly is telling lies in order to keep bolstering his sagging story ends up deceiving himself more than anyone else.  Long after others have caught on that he is a big bluff, he still believes that he's the most incredible gift to the neighborhood.

If this principle holds true on a broader scale, then who do you suspect might be the most self-deceived person in the whole universe?  Who has been telling the most outlandish lies to the most people for the longest period of time, with the most to lose when he gets found out?  None other than the father of lies, Satan himself.

In today's text Daniel prophesies that Satan's campaign for an alternative to reality will, for a time, succeed marvelously.  He will deceive many with the idea that he is indeed a great leader.  He will portray himself as the source of life, wisdom, and happiness.  The trouble is, after six thousand years of this life, "in his own mind" he apparently believes it.  He really believes that he can overthrow Jesus, the Prince of princes.  With a zeal born of conviction, he will press his campaign with increasing intensity.  Yet it will backfire, for when the court shall sit in judgment and the books are opened (Dan. 7:10), the Big Lie shall be exposed.  He will be broken, not by might nor by power, but by God's truth.

For all who despise the successes of the enemy, what better way to oppose his work than to "turn on the lights."  Wouldn't it be thrilling if Satan were to throw a party in honor of his self-claimed greatness and no one showed up?  How great if all we who claim loyalty to Jesus Christ were to cease showing any response to Satan's supposedly grand patterns for living.  If we were to live the Christ life with joy, with the intelligent assent of our deepest loyalties, we could help expose the fraud for what he is.  The beauty of God's truth will, in the end, destroy Satan's deceptions.

 "UNFOLDED" SHEEP

But there are other sheep of mine, not belonging to this fold, whom I bring in; and they too will listen to my voice.  There will then be one flock, one shepherd.  John 10:16, N.E.B.

According to the listings of some authorities, in America today more than 265 denominations identify themselves as Christian.  Some are small and almost unknown; others are large and historically well established.  Each makes claims of being more correct, more in line with God's will, than the others  Some denominations expend much energy pointing out the failings of other groups  For the newcomer to Christianity, it can be a bewildering array of options: Which "fold" should a young sheep join?  Whichever way he decided, as many as 264 groups may say he has made the wrong choice!

At a time when there was essentially only one group claiming to be the unquestioned "people of God," Jesus Himself said that there were people He would claim as His own who were not in that group.  While that thought was very disturbing to the guardians of the "in group," it left others wondering just how one might know how to identify that true flock.  But Jesus clearly announced who they were: They were the people who would listen to His voice.

On the surface, that may nor seem to help much.  All of today's Christian groups claim to be listening to Jesus' voice, yet they still don't agree about what He is saying.  It would be good, however, to remember what Jesus wanted to say more than anything else.  He wanted to tell us about His Father.  The common flock, the single fold, that Jesus foretold will be made up of people who have listened to His compelling messages about His Father.

When confronted with so many voices, so many competing claims to doctrinal rightness from today's varied groups, one issue rises to the top.  Who is embracing and telling the truth about God?  Who has the most integrated, sensible understanding of our heavenly Father?  Whose portrayal of God is as warmly and intelligently inviting as was the message of Jesus?  Considering that every doctrine is but a statement of how God goes about solving the sin problem, whose statement of beliefs casts God in the most winsome light?

Someday one single flock shall stand in the presence of our Father.  Seeing Him face-to-face and hearing Him address them, they shall know that they are listening to a familiar voice!

THE POWER OF LOVE

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for it...so that he might present the church to himself all glorious, with no stain or wrinkle or anything of the sort, but holy and without blemish.  Eph. 5:25-27, N.E.B.

In the spring of each year, on college campuses all over the land, the tempo quickens.  Eligible young men and women, fearful of a dwindling supply, intensify their search for the perfect mate.  Many of them later walk down the aisle blissfully content that they have indeed found the perfect partner.

But there is a dangerous flaw in the whole scenario.  No one comes to the marriage altar as a whole and totally adequate person.  In an ideal marriage, people do not discover the perfect mate, but they can nurture each other very nearly into perfectness.  Something of immense power happens to people when they are loved by a giving person.  It is so powerful that the apostle Paul could think of only one parallel that could describe it.  While he is searching for words to tell husbands the manner in which they ought to love their wives, he says that it should be similar to the way Christ loves the church.

Paul cannot leave his favorite subject.  Moving on from his advice to husbands, he pens a rhapsody of praise of what happens to the church when it is loved by Christ.  What begins as a band of wounded and obscure people, comes forth without stain or wrinkle or blemish.  Even Christ Himself counts them as holy and glorious.  All this because they are loved by Jesus Christ!

How infinitely grateful we should be that Paul did not say, "Make yourself all spotless and wrinkle-free; then Christ will love you."  He knew that Christ's love and acceptance are not the rewards for changed character; they are what causes the changes--which should encourage recently married persons who have discovered that they really haven't found the perfect spouse!

A MAGNETIC PERSON

And I shall draw all men to myself, when I am lifted up from the earth.  John 12:32, N.E.B.

Shepherds in the Bible lands do things differently from their Western counterparts.  When Jesus called Himself "the good Shepherd," His hearers had in mind one who walks ahead of his sheep, calling them by name.  Eastern shepherds developed close bonds with their sheep, such that each sheep recognizes the shepherd's voice and responds to his call. The Western shepherd, by contrast, drives his sheep from behind, often using dogs to snap at the heels of sheep that wander from the flock or walk too slowly.

When Jesus spoke of Himself as a shepherd, He was confident in the fact that people do not need to be driven to follow Him.  Only the insecure despot resorts to force.  But there is something compellingly attractive about Jesus Christ.  There is enticing beauty in His character, a drawing magnetism in His personality.  He needs only to be lifted up on the horizon of our minds, lifted above the crowding distractions, to engage our attention.

But Jesus was talking specifically about the one event that, more than any other, would lift Him up before the people.  That was the cross.  Here the Shepherd becomes Himself the sacrificial Lamb, bearing in His own being the ugly death that should have been ours,since we are the rebels.  On the cross, heaven channels every treasure of love that its infinity can hold, through one Man, to this plagued planet.

Oh, how much Satan fears to have us see Jesus willingly die on the cross.  He did everything in his power, both in the wilderness and in Gethsemane, to turn Jesus from His mission of sacrifice.  Failing that, however, the enemy has sought to nullify the cross, portraying it as a hostile event rather than a friendly one.  The cross, he suggests, is Christ's way of turning away the Father's anger, rather than His way of revealing the Father's love.

Jesus is not  lifted up on the cross in contrast to the Father, as One who is more gracious and accepting than the Father.  As Jesus talked to His Father about His impending death on the cross, He said, "Father, glorify thy name."  The Father immediately replied, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again" (John 12:28, N.E.B.).  God, in Christ, was "reconciling the world unto himself" (2 Cor. 5:19).

WE NEED EACH OTHER

Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and then you will be healed.  James 5:16, N.E.B.

"Don't you think it is possible," he asked, "for us not to be influenced by how other people act toward us?  Do we always have to be hurt by their rejection?"  A bright student in my Marriage and the Family class, he was perplexed by our discussion of the way in which we humans influence each other.  He wondered if we shouldn't, as Christians, be above all that.

But the discussion that followed wasn't unanimous.  The class agreed that, though we are often hurt by each other's smallness, we also find God's love made tangible through the touch of another human being.  Also, to be open to another's love is to be vulnerable to that person's potential to hurt us.

Ever since Adam and Eve first donned the fig leaves in the garden, we humans have been busy bluffing each other about how wonderfully adequate and whole we are, while hoping that no one will discover how much guilt and how many naked fears lie just below the surface.  We are afraid that if we honestly admit that we are having real trouble maintaining our devotional life our friends will have doubts about our integrity.  As parents, we don't want to talk about our stress points lest our image as "the adequate father or mother" be tarnished.

We all know the tendency of the human mind, once it has started on the path of hiding the truth, to hide our needs even from our own selves.  But a problem that doesn't get acknowledged will not be healed.  James certainly understood this when he urged the early believers to form the habit of freely admitting their failing to one another.  He wanted that young expression of the body of Christ to become practiced in open honesty and trust.

James was not, however, advocating some kind of "let's bare all" encounter sessions.  He urged that whatever failings we might admit to one another be made an immediate subject of prayer.  He anticipated that the combination of honesty and supplication would lead promptly to spiritual, emotional, and physical healing.  The church, then, could conduct thrilling experiments in the kinds of healing candor and caring that our heavenly Father longs to share with us.  By nurturing each other to strength rather than condemning each other's weakness, we reflect God's character.  We need each other to reveal God's love in a tangible way.

IS GOD UNGRATEFUL?

Is he grateful to the servants for carrying out his orders?  So with you: when you have carried out all your orders, you should say, "We are servants and deserve no credit; we have only done our duty"  Luke 17:9, N.E.B.

More than once I have winced as I have read Jesus' statement as recorded in today's text.  Perhaps you too have felt that it portrayed a heartless and ungrateful God.  In the parable, the master makes his slave work hard all day, gives him not a word of thanks when he comes home sweaty and dusty, and--even worse--won't let him eat until he has fixed supper for the master, put on an apron, and served him.  On top of it all, he then expects the fellow to say, "I'm just an unworthy good-for-nothing servant; I just do what I am told."

All of Jesus' parables are expected to tell us something about the Father.  I suspect that if we had a videotape of Jesus telling this parable we would have seen a twinkle in His eye as He unfolded this parody of the master/servant relationship.  By the tone of His voice we could have readily caught a touch of sarcasm, because Jesus was trying to expose the nonsense of people doing life's ordinary tasks for the sake of getting rewards from others.

The point is that God has unfolded to us patterns for living that have value in and of themselves.  We live healthfully, for example, because it is wise to do so, not so that we can run to God with upturned palms expecting Him to give us some cherished treasure as a reward.  While a child may regularly brush his teeth in order for Mother to say, "You're a good boy; I'll give you a new toy," it would be sadly immature for a grown man to expect trinkets from his dentist after every good checkup.

In the parable, Jesus described the ideal servants as ones who were at peace with the reason why they had done their daily activities.  They were not seeking merit or reward, or trying by their works to curry special favors from their master.

No, our Father is not an ungrateful, authoritarian overlord.  But neither does He use His gratitude to get us to do things that our own good judgment should command to us, lest we become fearful that we may not have worked hard enough to deserve supper!

A CURIOUS WAY TO WIELD A SWORD

In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.  Rev. 1:16, R.S.V.

Who ever heard of a great warrior holding his sword in his mouth?  If one is going to smite his enemies properly with such a razor-sharp weapon, he holds it in his strong and agile hand.  That's how all sword fighters do it.

But the apostle John doesn't miss any details when he records what he saw in vision there on the Isle of Patmos.  The weapon wielded by our victorious Lord is most assuredly seen as issuing from His mouth, because it is the sword of truth.  Our God vanquishes the enemy with well-established truth, not with superior force.

I can recall artists' conceptions, probably inspired by evangelists' descriptions, of the battle of Armageddon--that great final showdown between Christ and Satan.  They vividly portrayed military tanks, rockets, and large guns.  Today's technology would have suggested laser beams and well-placed nuclear warheads.  But in either case the nature of the battle was seen as essentially force against force, with the winner having the best weapons and shrewdest strategies.

There are a number of religious persuasions today that are expecting a time of great trouble ahead, and their adherents are preparing for it much as many Americans in the late 1950s prepared for nuclear fallout.  They are stashing food supplies, water, guns, and gold or silver for bartering.  Some are preparing remote places in which to hide from the weapons that will stalk the land.

Though we can hardly expect an era of peace and tranquility ahead, such end-time scenarios detract us from the real preparation we must be making.  That is the preparation of one's mind to discern truth from error.  For Satan never has posed a military threat to the government of this universe.  He is "the deceiver of the whole world" (Rev. 12:9, R.S.V.), who speaks words "against the most  High" (Dan. 7:25) and whose reign of terror shall end only when " 'knowledge shall increase' " (chap. 12:4, R.S.V.).

How fitting it is that in the great prophecies of Daniel 7 and 8 the final showdown that at last delivers the eternal kingdom to Christ and His saints happens in a courtroom rather than on a battlefield.  A courtroom is where issues are weighed, where swords of words, not of steel, are used to expose error.