Branches that Shine the Light of the Vine

This morning, I began with Jesus’ next declaration in the Sermon on the Mount: “You are the light of the world.”[1] This is an identity-statement about all believers in Jesus Christ our Lord. Because he is the light of the world, we are the light of the world in him, and so we must shine the life of Christ everywhere we go. 

However, we aren’t to picture this as the moon reflecting the light of the sun. That’s too impersonal. It makes us a passive reflector of light when Jesus said we ARE the light of the world. 

A much better image is the one Jesus gave us when he said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”[2] In the same way as we are extensions of Christ as branches of his vine, we are the light of the world shining the light of Christ. 

One of the places where Jesus referred to himself as the light of the world was this one in John 8:12 where Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus as the vine IS the light of the world, and Jesus’ disciples “have the light of life” in them as the branches, which also makes us the light of the world in Christ. 

However, what God had in mind for me this morning was in the context of this passage in John 9:3-5. 

Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 

This is jam-packed with things to talk about! It begins with the disciples asking Jesus whether a blind man had his ailment because of his sin or his parents’ sin. Jesus’ reply answers their specific question, but then elaborates on the work of God in this very situation. 

One thing that stood out was that Jesus’ light would be useless to a blind man who couldn’t see it, so he used the miracle of healing to show that his light not only illuminates the darkness, but it gives sight to the blind so they can see it! This is true of the church as we are the ambassadors of the good news of great joy. The gospel gives sight to the blind so they can see “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”[3] 

But the bigger thing that stood out for me personally was that I am not to define God’s work in my life by my sins, or by my parents’ sins. It doesn’t matter what we have done, and it doesn’t matter what anyone has done to us, all the effects of living in a sinful world merely set the stage for God’s work. The man’s situation was not about sin, but about the stage that was set that “the works of God might be displayed in him.” 

Suddenly it was so clear. My life is what it is so God can show his works to the world through me in the very story that is mine and no one else’s. And that tied right in with how Jesus elaborated on us being the light of the world back in the Sermon on the Mount: 

 A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5) 

Part of us shining as the light of the world is that people “may see your good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven.” Jesus as the vine showed how he was doing the works of the Father, and we as the branches show how we are doing the works that give glory to the Father. 

And today, God’s encouragement turns me from feeling down on myself because of my sins, or from depressing myself with things that have been done to me, to looking at the way my weaknesses in life are the stage on which he can show himself strong and faithful. And so, I eagerly look for what God is doing in me that I can shine into the lives of others around me so that people would be blessed with my good works, and God would be glorified in the bearing of much fruit.

 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

 

 

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[1] Matthew 4:14

[2] John 15:5

[3] II Corinthians 4:6

The Blessed Kind of Righteousness

I AM now at the final Beatitude, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 

PERSECUTION is something that happens to us (not something we do) and inheriting the kingdom of heaven is something that is given to us (not something we earn), so the central thing in describing us is “righteousness”. It is when worldlings see righteousness in us that they want to persecute us, and it is when God sees righteousness in us that he can welcome us into his kingdom. 

BECAUSE righteousness means to measure up to a standard, the best understanding of this is that we are acting according to what it means to be “in the image and likeness of God”. After all, THAT is the primary definition of being human! 

PROBLEM: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Meaning, “None is righteous, no, not one”. No one measures up to the image and likeness of God. 

THE AMAZING thing is that the first mention of righteousness in the Bible is that Abraham “believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Which means that the way humans are viewed by God as righteous is not by acting righteous enough for him to accept them, but by believing God and being made righteous. 

THIS IS WHY Paul said so wonderfully, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” 

HIS POINT was that it is only in the gospel, the good news of great joy in Jesus Christ our Lord, that humans can be righteous. It is only one someone experiences “the power of God for salvation” as a human “who believes” in Jesus Christ that we become “the righteous” who “shall live by faith.” 

ONE OF the most beautiful summaries of our relationship with God is, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” We enter the kingdom of God by grace through faith, we are made righteous by faith, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us as those who are credited with righteousness by faith, and so we experience the righteousness, peace, and joy of God in the Holy Spirit. 

IT WILL take another post to explain righteousness in relation to persecution, but first we must understand this righteousness. It means to be like Jesus. It means to be restored to the image and likeness of God as was God’s work in creation. It is why we are a “new creation”, because righteousness had to be restored to us. And the way the world treats us will be in relation to our righteousness that matures in us as we grow up in Christ. 

THIS IS WHY Jesus said we would be treated by the world the same way the world treated him. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” And, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” We are persecuted for the sake of the righteousness of being like Jesus, which simply means that the world will treat us the way it treated him. 

THE POINT in this is that being persecuted because of being like Jesus is not a judgment that we are failing to make the good news known well enough, or that we are dishonoring our Savior by incurring the wrath of worldlings. 

INSTEAD, we are to see persecution for the sake of our Christlikeness as evidence that we are in the kingdom of God because we are being treated by the world the same way Jesus was treated. 

SO, while the world despises us and our Savior, we are “imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” In other words, we keep growing up in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord and rejoice to be “counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” of our Savior, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God.

 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

 

The Blessed Realness of a Pure Heart

If the Beatitudes were based on works, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” would be the most hopeless of them all. 

Why? 

Because I don’t have a lot of problem admitting things about being poor in spirit. And it seems to come naturally to me to mourn my sins and offences against God. And feeling meek in relation to fixing things myself (impossible) and knowing I must surrender to the authority of Christ seems to happen without resistance. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness in the belief that I will be satisfied by faith instead of good works seems to happen without much trying. And even feeling merciful towards others is something I’m always learning to work into my daily life with a sense that I really want this and know God will help me do it. 

But “pure in heart”? That seems to trigger so much guilt, shame, and fear, that it would be easy to let a good-works mindset tell me I am a hopeless scumbag of sin who could never expect to see a smile on God’s face because of all the impurities within me! 

And that is why I love using the term “good news” more than its counterpart, “the gospel”. In English, “the gospel” is the term we typically use to speak of the message of salvation. However, in the Greek we are translating from, the word translated “the gospel” sounds like “euangelion”. It is where we get our word “evangelism”. And the primary meaning of the word is “good news”, specifically, the good news of the kingdom of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. 

In the familiar account of an angel announcing the birth of Jesus Christ, the expression “good news of great joy” is used. Here the “good news” comes from the same Greek word that is elsewhere translated “gospel”. And my point is that many of us understand that “the gospel” is about Jesus Christ saving us from our sins, but we don’t naturally hear it as “good news of great joy”, often because we have so much negative baggage about our sins and failings that we simply don’t think of it that way. 

However, when we come to the Beatitudes, we must have an understanding that they are taught to people who had already heard the gospel, the good news of great joy that God has given us his Son as our Savior. Jesus had already made it clear that, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Or, repent and believe in the good news of great joy that the Savior has come! 

How does this help us who often feel like failures in our walk with God hear the blessing of “the pure in heart” as good news? After all, if it is only with a pure heart that we “shall see God”, and we know there is that “if people really knew us they would hate us” part of ourselves lurking deep within, how could we ever have the purity of heart that will see God? After all, God’s own word says, there is “the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” To have a heart that is pure-heartedly holy seems completely out of reach. At least to me. 

That is where we must do a double-check that we are hearing Jesus’ Beatitudes through the good news of great joy that we have a Savior who is Jesus Christ our Lord. It is in this good news that we can acknowledge that we are sinners in need of a Savior because we have a Savior who came into the world to save sinners! 

And, it is in this good news of great joy that we can understand and accept that it is “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.” I am totally fine with the idea that I have nothing to boast about. But without the gospel that would be hopeless. However, in the gospel, not having works to add to my salvation is not hopeless. Having an impure heart that needs saving is not hopeless. Having a salvation that “is not your own doing” IS… NOT… HOPELESS!!! 

One thing we must never forget is that our salvation is three-dimensional. These three dimensions of salvation are referred to as justification, sanctification, and glorification. Justification declares us righteous in God’s sight at the moment of our new birth. Sanctification works righteousness into us as we grow up in Christ. And glorification prefects righteousness in us so that every child of God will be as righteous as Jesus in eternity. 

We must apply this to “blessed are the pure in heart” so that we see all three of these dimensions at the same time. This is where our hope lies, in a salvation that sees us as pure in heart now, that helps us grow to be purer in heart every day, and that guarantees our perfect purity of heart when we see Jesus. 

Let’s apply the justification side of our salvation to “blessed are the pure in heart”. Paul said that all those who are disciples of Jesus Christ have “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ”. He adds that for anyone who “believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” This is what makes the good news “of great joy”. This is why the prostitutes and tax-collectors were entering the kingdom of God while the religious elite were not. These sinners understood something of this message that they were received by faith in a way they would never be welcomed by good works. 

And now, after the evidence of the crucifixion of Christ, it is abundantly clear that God “made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” And that is why our faith is counted as righteousness. That is why our faith is counted as “pure in heart”. That is why “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This happens in our justification by faith as we trust in Jesus Christ and “become the righteousness of God” in our Savior. 

And then it continues in our sanctification as we constantly keep short accounts with God about our sins, always confessing them to God whenever we fail him, and always knowing that he is always forgiving us, and always cleansing us of our sins. 

Paul described this sanctification dimension of our growth in righteousness so beautifully when he wrote that we are “being transformed into the same image” as our Savior “from one degree of glory to another.” We are already “the righteousness of God” in Christ according to our justification by grace through faith, but every day we are BEING transformed into the same image of our Savior in degree after degree of glory. And that is why we can have daily hope of being “the pure in heart” because we know we are seen that way by God in our justification, and we know God is purifying our hearts every day in our sanctification. 

And that brings us to the third dimension, the “living hope” of one day feeling completely pure in our hearts without any fear of ever having impurity within us ever again. Here we look to the apostle John as he describes the return of Christ and says, “we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” That is what the Bible calls our “glorification”. It may feel utterly unbelievable that we could ever be fully like Jesus in righteousness, particularly in purity of heart, but that is what is promised to us in our so great salvation. We SHALL be like him. Period. No exceptions for anyone who has received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

A very necessary aspect of us relating to God in our salvation is described like this, 

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 

Knowing that our justification by grace through faith has already made us “the righteousness of God” in one way, and our glorification by grace through faith will complete the pure-hearted work of God in another, our daily focus must be on how we join God’s work of making us more like Jesus every day of our lives. If God is daily working to transform us into the image of his Son from one degree of glory to another, what are we to do to attach to him in what he is doing? 

Paul’s answer is that we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling based on the fact that God is already working in us so that we would both will the things he wills by his good pleasure and do the things he is pleased to lead us to do. God is at work first, and he is at work now, so we actively look at how we are to work these things out into our lives in joyful fellowship with our Father. 

And the way John told us to join God in his work is, “everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” In other words, everyone who knows we have been made pure in heart in our justification, and that we will be made completely pure in heart in our glorification, joins God’s work in the present by constantly purifying ourselves as we keep seeing the glory of the purity of God. We confess our sins to God every time we fall into them because we truly want purity of heart rather than the corruption of sin. 

The bottom line is that all the Beatitudes are a description of what it looks like in our lives when God is blessing us with his grace. Our faith will feel poor in spirit. Our faith will mourn our sin. Our faith will meekly surrender to the authority of Christ as our Savior. Our faith will hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God offered to us in the gospel as a free gift of grace. Our faith will begin expressing itself in mercy to others as we have experienced the abundance of God’s mercy towards us. And our faith will delight to grow in pure-hearted righteousness from one degree of glory to another in the safety that we are already the righteousness of God in Christ, and will most definitely be as pure-heartedly righteous as Jesus when he returns and we see him as he is.

Today, let’s expect to see God call us to greater steps in purity of heart than we have ever taken, and praise him for the so great salvation that enables us to take those steps. 

And because this good news is received and experienced by grace through faith, let’s rejoice in the hope we have in Christ that we can become more pure-heartedly like him today than we have ever been before.

The words of the LORD are pure words,

like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

(Psalm 12:6)

 

 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

 

 

 

The Big Picture of the Savior

This morning, I was more drawn to a summary of the next few paragraphs that end Matthew 4 than to focus on any one of them. It is like watching God set the scene for the next three years of Jesus’ life and ministry, along with his training of the Twelve. 

First, I love the way Matthew regularly refers to prophecy. In this case, “that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled”, meaning that Jesus was the light of the world the prophets had spoken about. He is still the light of the world today, and we who believe in him are the light of the world in him, branches of light shining from the vine of Christ. 

Second, this has really been settling in for me, that Jesus’ message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Some people downplay repentance in the mistaken idea that it is a “good work” that can’t be added to faith. However, when the proclamation of the gospel is, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” our faith says, “I believe I need to repent and trust in Jesus in order to enter the kingdom”, and so “the obedience of faith” does so! 

Third, Matthew doesn’t speak of Jesus’ first encounter with Peter and Andrew, and James and John, so we are picking up after they had already spend some time with him in what is sometimes called the “Come and See” phase of discipleship. After some weeks or months of getting to know Jesus, they had returned to their careers as fishermen, and now Jesus finds them and calls them to “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”. Peter and Andrew “Immediately they left their nets and followed him,” and James and John, “Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” They left their possessions, they left their livelihood, and they left their family to follow Christ. And they did so… IMMEDIATELY! 

One of the biggest conflicts in church life for me has been dealing with professing Christians who are not willing to leave their “nets” (possessions) to follow Jesus, they are not willing to leave their “boats” (livelihood plans) to follow Christ, and they are not willing to leave their “father” (parents, family, friends) to follow the Savior. What is particularly sad about watching people forsake Jesus (while maintaining good church appearances) is that the family members and friends they follow instead never see someone truly living by faith so they can hear the “good news of the kingdom” and know what it looks like to have eternal life. 

Fourth, Matthew then adds a note that we must factor in to every scene that follows throughout the rest of the gospels, that everywhere Jesus went, and in every town or place he did ministry, he was “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom”. As I have seen a few times recently, “the gospel” of North American Christianity is not “the gospel of the kingdom” as Jesus taught it. It is the individualistic invite-Jesus-into-your-heart message that makes it sound like Jesus comes to us instead of us being “delivered out of the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son.” Because this view of the gospel is so me-centered, people find it easy to make a profession of “accepting Christ” into their lives without actually leaving their lives of sin and entering Jesus’ kingdom! They also find it easy to walk away when it is no longer helping the me-centered person feel satisfied in their flesh. 

Fifth, we can’t get past this reality that everywhere Jesus went he was “healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” Peter would say in his Day of Pentecost sermon that Jesus was “a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know”. That was the purpose of the signs then, to attest to Israel that Jesus was the Messiah God had promised. I believe that God can and will do this whenever he pleases, but I do not believe it is an on-demand thing. And it definitely does not belong in money-making religious ventures that give Christianity a bad name. 

At the end of Matthew 4, I find it interesting that we go from this brief description (3 paragraphs) of Jesus starting his ministry, and then we move into the 3 chapters of the Sermon on the Mount. Since the Beatitudes Jesus uses to introduce that message are so familiar to me, I am curious how God will lead me through this section so I am called to put it into practice in Higher-and-Deeper ways. I trust he still has some surprises for how he will apply this to my life! 

For today, I know that I truly want to be a disciple who follows Christ in everything, who keeps learning to fish for men by faith even when sight is a bit discouraging, who proclaims the “good news of the kingdom” no matter what hateful laws governments make to stop us, and who lives as the light of the world and the salt of the earth that Jesus is just about to talk about. And all while knowing that the days are growing dark and short until the return of our Savior, and I want people to hear about my Savior by whatever means we have at our disposal to share the good news.

 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

 

 

 

 

The People Who Are God’s Sons

As I meditate my way through the gospel of Matthew, I am now looking at how Jesus was “led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” As this is quite familiar territory, I have been eager to discover what new things God wants me to see. Sometimes this means discovering something I haven’t noticed before, and other times it comes in the way of understanding how something applies to my life further than I have ever taken it. So far, I can say that I am not being disappointed with my journey! 

I am now at the second temptation of Jesus that revolved around Satan’s challenge, “If you are the Son of God…” In other words, the devil was telling Jesus what he would have to do to prove he was the Son of God. Jesus had nothing to prove so it was a short conversation![1] 

However, although Jesus would not prove he was the Son of God on Satan’s terms, God’s plan of salvation would make it abundantly clear who Jesus of Nazareth really was. When Jesus completed his work of redemption on the cross, he “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead”. 

The only reason worldlings can’t see this is, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 

And the reason it is crystal clear to Jesus’ disciples is, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 

Now, while it is abundantly settled that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, I began wondering what proof there is that someone like me is a son of God. So, I looked up the verse that popped into my mind right away. In the 7^th Beatitude, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” 

The term “sons of…” isn’t specifically male or female. It indicates those who are like God, the children who are known by the fact that they look like their Father. This is why Paul could say, “in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” And “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” His point is that being a “son” means a child who looks like his/her Father, not specifically being a male. 

I have often complained about the way some of the new translations put “sons and daughters” in place of “sons” and “brothers and sisters” in place of “brothers”. Aside from the fact that God didn’t breathe out those words, I hate the way it steals the point God himself is making, that his people are “one”. We are all sons of God. The male-and-female and son-and-daughter is still there in the sense of our earthly design. Everything the apostles taught about men and women, and husbands and wives, still applies. But the point in the kingdom is that there is only one people who are all sons of God, meaning all the offspring who look like our Father. 

So, being a peacemaker makes us look like our Father because everything about God is aimed at bringing his lost sheep to have peace with him through faith in Christ, and, if we are like our Father, we will want others to have peace with God along with us. 

We can’t escape that we honor God as a people when we are busy trying to lead others to have peace with God through the gospel. While that easily can turn into “blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness”, that, too, is like our God who knew that his own Son would be hated by the world, disowned by his own people, and deserted even by his own disciples. 

But we have our so great salvation that gives us “peace with God” because Jesus is the “Prince of Peace” who “is our peace”. Jesus has created in himself “one new man in place of the two, so making peace,” and that’s why “he came and preached peace to you who were far off (us Gentiles) and peace to those who were near (the Jews).” 

Therefore, as the body of Christ is made up of members who are all sons of God, Paul tells us about the “full armor of God” we are to wear to maintain our victory in Christ. This includes “as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” 

And in that readiness, we make the gospel of peace known to everyone so we keep growing up in Christ as peacemakers who are just like our Savior, the “sons of God” who are looking and acting like the “Son of God”. Or, as Paul put it, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” That is what the sons of God look like.

 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

 

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[1] “‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:6-7)

When Jesus was Tempted to Save Me

My time with God this morning only got one verse into Matthew 4: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” 

One of the things that is exciting about retraveling through familiar territory is the expectation of finding new treasures in old places. This morning was no exception! 

When Matthew writes that Jesus was “tempted by the devil”, “tempted” means: “to be tested v. — to be put to the test in order to ascertain the nature of someone, including imperfections, faults, or other qualities.”[1] 

So, the primary focus was not that Jesus needed to be tempted to show that he could resist anything the devil could dish out. It is more than that. 

Giving the supreme tempter the opportunity to go at Jesus when Jesus was at an incredible point of weakness (40 days of fasting), was to reveal to us what Jesus was made of. 

As this began to sink in, I found myself traveling back in time to my early teen years. When I knew for certain I believed in Jesus and needed to confess him as my Lord and Savior in baptism, I also faced a testing. However, what it showed me about myself was nothing to be proud of. There was such an angry backlash against me getting baptized that I caved to the fear-based pressure and didn’t do what I knew was God’s will. I know God was merciful and forgave me, but I live with the regret of knowing I missed whatever God would have done if I had confessed Christ as Lord through baptism four years earlier than I finally did. How many people in the church I was attending would have been blessed to see me experiencing “the obedience of faith” from a young age.[2] 

On the other hand, right after Jesus was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness”, the Holy Spirit immediately led him out to the wilderness to show what he was made of. And what he was made of was truth, and holiness, and righteousness, and faithfulness, and purity, and love that Satan could not change no matter what tactics he tried. 

In fact, me failing my testing as a young teen (and many others since) makes Jesus’ perfection in his temptations stand out all the more clearly as something of personal concern to me. I needed a Savior who wasn’t… SINFUL!!! And God has been showing believers for centuries that Jesus absolutely passed that test! This meditation on God’s word also took me to what it will be like in the new heavens and the new earth when we will be like Jesus. I was thinking of how horribly easy it is to sin. Even when no one else sees us doing anything at all we can be sinning with resentment, jealousy, envy, coveting, pride, lust, hatred, and the like. 

But eternity will be us feeling like Jesus. Feeling pure. Feeling holy and righteous. Feeling good in the most real of ways. We will have no sarky flesh wanting to do what is wrong and disobey what is right. We won’t battle temptation. We will love love, and we will love goodness, and we will love holiness and righteousness. We will so love being like God as originally designed that we will not ever want to be our old selves. 

Seeing Jesus today in this new light (how he was shown through his testing to be the Son of God of whom the Father was well pleased, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world) makes me realize that his temptations by the devil weren’t primarily an example of how to resist temptation by using the word of God. That is there, and it is invaluable to see that. 

But Jesus’ testing was meant to show us who he was. He was “the Word who became flesh to dwell among us”. And it was that identity that proved through his temptations that he would never do anything sinful, and that he would never fail to save completely all those who would believe in him. 

I have shared in other posts about how I often see God working in the Higher-and-Deeper way I first noticed in Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman.[3] As I interact with him in his word, he will show me something Higher and more glorious about himself than I have ever realized before, and something Deeper about myself that needs to know the glorious thing revealed to me about God. 

Today’s Higher was seeing how Jesus went from his baptism to be tested and proven to be my Savior. The Deeper was being reminded of how I failed the test at my baptism and denied my Savior’s worthiness to be loved and obeyed no matter how scary the opposition. 

And, because of seeing Jesus the way he is, I know without a doubt that my sins and failures are all covered by the new covenant in Jesus’ blood. Not because I never fail him, but because he cannot fail to be himself. 

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.[4]

 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

 

 

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[1] Bible Sense Lexicon, Logos Bible Systems

[2] Paul introduced and concluded his letter to the Romans with this expression (Romans 1:5; 16:26)

[3] John 4

[4] Hebrews 4:14-16

To Live My Scene Well

As I continue looking at John the Baptist preparing the way for Christ, one thing that really stood out today is that our blip of life on earth is really miniscule compared to what God has prepared for us in eternity. We know how God gave Zechariah and Elizabeth the gift of a son in their old age. But next thing we know John is preparing the way for the Christ. And not long after that he is beheaded and ushered into glory. 

While we must always be careful we don’t turn historical events into doctrinal teachings, I had so many examples come to mind where the primary thing we are shown about people is their place in the work of God. A few people are given a longer scene on God’s stage (Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Paul), but most of God’s children that are mentioned in history are only described in terms of their specific place in one particular scene. 

I think of Stephen in Acts who was one of the men chosen as the first deacons. He was clearly known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. He would have served for a while in helping distribute food to the widows. But the spotlight quickly shifts to a day in which he is preaching to the religious elite, and they get so angry at him that they stone him to death. Scene ended. Job done. Death is exit-stage-right. 

So with John. And what it tells me is that I don’t get to tell God how my life turns out. I don’t need to live long to live well. I don’t need to have long-term friendships to have long-term faithfulness. I don’t need to be seen to have substance. I am a branch of Christ’s vine, a member of the body of Christ, and John the Baptist mentors me in living to the full wherever God has put me, to agapè-love to the full everyone he puts in my life, and to trust him to accomplish in me and through me whatever he has uniquely prepared for me to do. 

I now head into this day knowing I have heard what God was speaking to me through his word, seeing what he is doing in me to show me what he is doing around me, and I am ready to join God in his work just like my Savior did before me. I hope to see God glorified as I take my place on the divine stage and play my role with thanksgiving that he has called me into his-story. 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)