THE VALUES OF
TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS
Turning attention now to THE TEMPTED ONE Who became the
Victor, notice, first, His use of the Word of God under the process. His attitude towards
the Word is clearly revealed in the fact that under stress of these
terrible onslaughts of evil, His life was wholly conditioned by the law found
in Scripture. As defining His own position He quoted directly from the Law of
Moses. By so doing, He placed Himself under it, and acknowledged its authority.
This, moreover, was no mere unofficial sealing of that law. He declared plainly
that it had proceeded from the mouth of God. Thus He set His approval upon the
Divine authority of the Mosaic economy. This should never be lost sight of.
While this is not the only occasion upon which He did this, there is no other
more remarkable. When Jesus was tried as Man by the powers of darkness, He
revealed the fact that He stood within of life, dominated by the sacred
writings with which He was familiar; and in simple but explicit statement sealed
those Scriptures as of Divine origin and authority.
In this connection notice also His marvelous
familiarity with the Word of God. This is proven, not by the length
of the quotations, for they were brief, but by their immediate applicability
to the need of the moment. This could only be done by a Man Who was familiar
with the sacred writings, and of Whom it might be said, even more fully than of
Timothy, that from a child He had known the holy Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:15).
This fact of His familiarity, and
of its value in the hour of temptation, should always be kept in mind by those
who are still in the place of testing. Strength to overcome in the hour of such testing is assured
to those, and to those only, who are familiar with the Word of God, not merely,
as to its letter, but as to its spiritual value.
Without hesitation Jesus quoted the
one verse in the entire Library that perfectly defined His own position, and revealed
the evil lying behind the plausibility of the foe. To do this was proof not merely
of familiarity with the letter, but of His clear understanding of the
application thereof to human life.
In the second place notice the
relation that the temptation bore to the public ministry of the Master. He
passed into the wilderness full of the Spirit; "and Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and
was led in the Spirit in the wilderness during forty days." (Luke 4:1) At the close of the
temptation it is recorded, "And
Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and a fame went out
concerning Him through all the region round about." (Luke 4:14) Mark well the two
statements. “Full of the Spirit,"
"in the power of the Spirit"; and between the fact of fullness
and the fact of power He was led by the Spirit through these severe processes
of temptation. "Full of the
Spirit" He went down to the wilderness. "In the wilderness" He was "led in the Spirit." From the wilderness to public
ministry He passed "in the power of
the Spirit."
Between the condition prior to
temptation and that following it, there is a distinction and a difference. It
is that which exists between the fullness
of the Spirit and the power of the Spirit. The FULLNESS OF THE SPIRIT is
the result and evidence of Holiness, of character, and is in itself capacity and sufficiency for service.
The POWER OF THE SPIRIT is the consciousness which is born of victories won and
triumphs achieved. He entered upon temptation full of the Spirit, that is to
say, in possession of all power necessary for the fulfillment of His work. But
power bestowed, becomes truly powerful when it has been tested through the
process of temptation. What is seen in perfection in Christ is a lesson that
men do well to lay to heart. Fullness of the Spirit becomes the power of the Spirit, through
processes of testing. HEREIN IS REVEALED THE VALUE OF THE TRIALS AND
TEMPTATIONS THAT BESET THE PATHWAY OF THE CHRISTIAN WORKER. In the experience
of all those who know anything of what it is to follow in the footsteps of the
Lord in God-appointed service, the power of the Spirit is never realized except
through some wilderness of personal conflict with the foe. From such experience
entered upon in the fullness of the Spirit, men go out both broken and
incapable of service, or with the tread and force of conscious power; in which
way depends upon the attitude in which the enemy is met. If in the spirit of self-complacency, then the
devil is invariably the victor. If in the spirit of resolute abandonment to,
and abiding in the will of God, the foe is routed, and consciousness of power
is the inevitable sequence.
And once again. That whole
temptation gives a very valuable insight into the relation of Jesus to the
principalities and powers. First with regard to those which are fallen. Luke
writes, "And when the devil had
completed every temptation, he departed from Him for a season." (Luke 4:13) The wording is most
expressive. "When the devil had
completed every temptation" can only be interpreted into a statement
of the fact that the
devil had exhausted himself, and had no other line upon which he
found it possible to approach the uncaptured citadel of the Son of God. "Then the devil leaveth Him,"
(Matt 4:11) says Matthew; and Luke
declares, "the devil departed from
Him for a season." Both are right. Matthew leaves the fact stated in
all its magnificence, the King perfectly victorious over the foe. Never again
did the enemy approach Christ in the same way. Never again is the perfect Man
seen in defensive conflict with the foe. His presence in the wilderness was a
challenge to the enemy, but it was a challenge in which He forced Satan into
attack, rather than one in which He attacked the enemy. The victory is
perfect. From that moment the records only reveal Him speaking to Satan, and to
all demons sunder his sway, in words of quiet, absolute, Kingly authority. In
the power of the Spirit He passed from the wilderness to cast out demons, and
He drove before Him all the emissaries of the prince, having routed in this
ultimate conflict the arch-enemy of the race. It is interesting to notice how
few words He addressed to demons afterwards, and that they were always words of
command, and that the command He uttered was always obeyed. The story of the
man possessed with a legion of devils as recorded in Matthew, chronicles the
fact that they "besought Him,
saying, If Thou cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine."
Jesus answered them with one word only "Go,"
(Matt 8:32-32) and immediately they
obeyed. That is but one illustration out of very many. The same facts are
obvious through the entire Gospel story subsequent to the victory of the
wilderness. He at once assumed the position of authority over a conquered foe,
and drove him and his forces, until at last in a final conflict in which He
attacked the strongholds of evil,
“He hell in hell laid
low,
And Satan's throne
o'erthrew;
Bowed to the grave,
destroyed it so,
And death by dying
slew."
And yet again is seen His relation
to the unfallen principalities and powers in the words, "Angels came and ministered unto Him." (Matt 4:11) There is a beautiful touch
of tenderness here. During the conflict He had received no help from these
ministers of love. They had been restrained from coming to His aid during the
temptation. Directly the fallen foe was driven forth, they gathered round in
solicitous and tender service. This same restraint and readiness were manifest
later in the garden of Gethsemane, when, the victory won and the conflict
over, there also they ministered to Him; and when soon after the Master rebuked
Peter for the rashness of his action in smiting Malchus, in one sentence He
illumined the whole upper spaces, and showed how great hosts of them were ready
to aid Him. "Thinkest thou that I
cannot beseech My Father, and He shall even now send Me more than twelve
legions of angels?" (Matt 26:53)
They were ready at His bidding, to sweep to destruction the blasphemous rabble,
approaching Him to do Him violence. And yet He did not ask for them, and even
the hosts of light were held in restraint by the infinite love of God for man.
Their rendering of assistance was rejected, when for man's redemption the
pathway had to be trodden in loneliness. Yet with what haste they sped to
minister to Him in the moment of triumph, and with what exultant gladness at
last they were permitted to roll the stone away, and watch the sepulcher, and
be the first messengers of the resurrection to men.
Our Lord and Master is seen to be
King over fallen and unfallen angels. All the fearful host of demons obey His
simplest word, and all the companies of the unfallen ones are eager to minister
to Him, and go forth gladly as they are sent to minister to the heirs of
salvation. The victory of Jesus over temptation is victory over all the forces
of hell; and all men who, abandoned to His Lordship, abide in His will, must
share in His triumph. He is, moreover, Master of the innumerable company of the
angelic host, who have never fallen; and enthroned above them, He gives them
also to the service of the saints, who through testing are passing to triumph (Heb. 1:14).
Thus standing back and viewing the
whole temptation, two figures stand out in clear light. The enemy of the race is seen in all his
subtlety and terrible power, but yet spoiled, defeated, crushed. The Redeemer
is seen in all the terribleness of conflict, upon the issue of which depends
the carrying out of the purpose of God, and the deliverance and uplifting of
man; but yet victorious, crowned, and exercising the functions of the
Conqueror.
No comments:
Post a Comment