The Temptation of Jesus
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert 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 does 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 splendor. 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.
Jesus Begins to Preach
12When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. 13Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:15"Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, along the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned."
17From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
The Calling of the First Disciples
18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
It is a common problem for people to want proof that God exists and that the Bible is true. In Luke 16:31 Jesus explains that people who do not believe the Bible and all of its evidences then they will not believe even if people are risen from the dead or they see some other miraculous sign from Heaven. God wants us to believe by faith in what has been written and already proved as it is enough. For me personally I believe that what I have read in the Bible is the best way to live. Therefore I have faith that everything is true based on the fact that only a supreme loving God could have this much insight into human beings.
ReplyDeleteIn verse 9, Satan promised the world to Jesus if he would bow down to him. Satan does not have the power to give anyone the world. He lied then and he lies now about his power. Satan tempts us today with things like instant gratification, power over men and materialism. These things are temporary and will divert you from serving God. Remember, God wants everyone to live irrelevant lives for God.
ReplyDeleteAs in verse 24 there is often reference to Demon-Possession. Because they referred to it in this way it makes me wonder if modern day things like multiple personalities are truly demon possession or the other way around. Either way Jesus was able to heal them of their affliction. Do we possess the ability to request healing of these people? Are the people in mental institutions in need of prayer? Are we praying for them?
ReplyDeleteThere is a fascinating background to the calling of disciples. Back in those days, jewish children spent many years of their youth learning and memorizing what we refer to as the Old Testament. The goal of every jewish boy was to be the best at memorizing and studying the scriptures so that they would be noticed by a rabbi. It was tradition to have a rabbi choose certain boys that showed promise by asking them to follow him and learn from him and eventually to become as he is now. So at the time that the disciples were doing things like tax collection or fishing or whatever, they had already been passed over by other rabbis. So when Jesus came and asked them to follow him it was an honor and thus why they dropped what they were doing and left. Jesus saw in them the qualities that were important to him and what he sought to accomplish. Indeed the disciples did fulfill their roles perfectly. Does Jesus call everyone today to do the same as the disciples did at that time? I submit to you that he does. I believe he sees in each person the ability to follow him and live their lives like he did.
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