The Scriptures Say

Meditations in the Season of Epiphany 

January 26, 2022

The Scriptures Say

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, . . .

Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, . . .

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, . . .”

Luke 4: 4,8,12

Read: Luke 4:1-13

There are two primary obstacles for the Christian seeking to live the life in Christ as their way of life. The first obstacle is our self, what the Apostle Paul calls our flesh, or our fallen nature. We are tempted seek our self-gratification over the will of God in our life. The other obstacle is the evil one. Jesus tells us the evil one comes to kill, steal, and destroy the people of God. Jesus says the evil one is a liar, the father of all lies; the truth is not in him. (John 8:44) The liar’s mission is to disrupt and destroy the work of building for the Kingdom of God.

It has been my experience the evil one does not tempt us with overt evil. Jesus was not tempted to kill, steal, or destroy people; he was tempted to prove he was God’s Messiah. The people were poor and hungry. After fasting for forty days wouldn’t it have been a good thing for Jesus to turn the stones into bread and feed himself as well as feed the people? The alternative ways to fulfill his role of Messiah offered by the evil one were essentially shortcuts that avoided suffering or crucifixion for the Messiah.

There were no shortcuts for Jesus and there are no shortcuts for his followers. The Christian vocation is unique to each individual as we each have our own gifts and graces given to us by God. Developing our vocation takes dedication and hard work, just as a musician must apply these attributes in learning to play a musical instrument.

We all will be tempted to take short cuts which, if taken, will compromise our Christian integrity. However, Jesus has shown us the way to respond to temptation. No dilly dallying, no debate; just immediate responses using the Word of God as our authority. Since the Reformation Protestant churches have maintained that the Bible is our sufficient guide for faith and practice. Certainly, if the scriptures were sufficient for Jesus, so shall they be for his followers.

My Takeaway: In Mark’s Gospel, the Spirit compelled or drove Jesus into the wilderness. (Mark 1:12) Mark used this language to connect Jesus to Genesis 3 where God drove Adam out of the Garden and into the wilderness, and thus Jesus is the second Adam. The first brough sin into the world, the second Adam, Jesus, brought salvation to the world. That language reminds me that the Spirit will also compel me to go into difficult places where I will need to fully rely on the presence of Jesus and do as Jesus did: “the Scriptures say.”

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.