Jesus Dedicates His Life

GOLDEN TEXT: “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” —Hebrews 10:7

MATTHEW 3:16-4:11, 17

OUR Golden Text expresses the wholehearted manner in which Jesus dedicated himself to the doing of his Heavenly Father’s will. These words were spoken prophetically concerning the Master by David, and quoted by the Apostle Paul. The translation is not the best. The real thought is, “Lo, I come to do all that is written of me in the volume of the book.” The will of the Heavenly Father for his beloved Son had previously been recorded in the Old Testament Scriptures, and in his consecration Jesus dedicated himself to be guided by these instructions.

It was because of his spirit of full consecration to God that the “heavens” were opened to Jesus. The thought is that he was granted spiritual vision which enabled him to understand the instructions of the Old Testament, and gave him inspiration and strength to undertake the sacrificial ministry which was there outlined for him.

Jesus, even in his prehuman existence as the Logos, had always been loved by his Heavenly Father. He had been an obedient and faithful Son. And he was no less so now that he had humbled himself and was “found in fashion as a man.” (Phil. 2:8) It was because of his expressed willingness, even “delight,” to do all that had been written of him that the Father reaffirmed his confidence and love, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Immediately after he dedicated himself to the doing of his Father’s will, Jesus was “led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” We are not to suppose that the Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness especially to be tempted, for we are assured that God tempteth no man. (James 1:13) The records given us by both Mark and Luke simply indicate that it was while Jesus was in the wilderness that he was tempted by the devil, but do not suggest that he was led there for that purpose. The expression in Matthew’s account, “to be tempted,” might better read, “where he was tempted.”

The Holy Spirit of inspiration and enlightenment flooded Jesus’ mind when he dedicated himself to the service of his Father, and this impelled him to seek seclusion for a time so he could properly consider the full significance of all that had been revealed to him. It was to be expected that Satan, the great adversary of God and of all who serve him, would take advantage of this opportunity to turn the Master aside from faithfulness to his vows of consecration.

Jesus fasted for forty days, and was hungry, so Satan first appealed to him from this standpoint, suggesting that he use his God-given powers to turn stones into bread in order to satisfy his desire for food. This was a subtle approach, calculated to strike the Master at what was for the moment his weakest point. But it failed!

Jesus replied by quoting instructions from the Old Testament, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” The words of the “Book” which Jesus had agreed to obey were his source of strength against temptation. Having entered into a covenant with his Father to be guided by those words, he knew that his eternal existence depended upon faithfulness to that covenant in its every detail.

The “volume of the book” made it very plain to Jesus that he was to lay down his life in sacrifice, and that the power of the Holy Spirit which had been given to him was to be used on behalf of others, not for himself; except as it guided him in the way of sacrifice and strengthened him to endure the hardship associated with laying down his life as the world’s Redeemer. It would, therefore, have been wrong for him to use this power to provide food for his flesh which he had agreed to give up in sacrifice.

Failing in his first effort, Satan appealed to Jesus along another line. He knew that the Master was the Son of God, and that an issue would eventually be made of this fact. He knew that on this score Jesus would be accused of blasphemy and be counted worthy of death. So he suggested that Jesus give a demonstration calculated to prove the genuineness of this claim; that is, to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple.

In this instance Satan himself quoted from the Old Testament, as authority for Jesus to take such a step. But then, even as now, Satan misapplied the Scriptures. Jesus knew this, and replied, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” When Jesus was baptized he heard his Father say, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” For him even to think of expecting a further assurance of his sonship would have been displeasing to his Father, so the devil’s “if” was quickly dismissed.

The third temptation was related to another great reality of the divine purpose in sending Jesus into the world; that is, to the fact that he was born to be a king—the “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” In spirit, Satan took Jesus into an “exceeding high mountain” and gave him a mental picture of all the kingdoms of this world, and offered them to him, saying, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”

Again Jesus resisted temptation by appealing to his Book of instructions—“It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Jesus knew that one day he was to be given all these kingdoms, but he also knew that he did not need to obtain them on the devil’s terms. (Ps. 2:8,9; Rev. 11:15) Satan’s offer was therefore a suggestion that Jesus could accomplish this purpose by a method that would not involve suffering and death.

In these three temptations which the devil presented to Jesus, we have a general pattern of his method of attack on all the Lord’s people. He is ever offering an easier road to travel; and by subtle suggestions makes it appear that the things which are appealing to the flesh are in reality the best for us as new creatures in Christ Jesus.

Having won the victory in this first encounter with the Adversary, Jesus was ready to enter actively on his ministry. “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For centuries God’s prophets had been promising the coming of the “kingdom of heaven”—that is, the kingdom which would be established by One whom the God of heaven would send. But now it was more than a promise; the King had come, and the work of preparing for the kingdom had begun.

Today the kingdom is at hand in a still more realistic manner, for the King is present again, not in a body of humiliation, but in power and great glory. The Gospel age work of selecting those who are to reign with him is nearing completion. Meanwhile, the kingdoms of this world are being destroyed to make way for his rule of righteousness, peace and life. It is a wonderful time in which to be living, and it affords the grandest opportunity ever granted to the people of God to proclaim that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

QUESTIONS

Where do the words of our Golden Text first appear in the Bible, and of whom were they prophetic?

In what sense did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness?

What were the three temptations Satan presented to the Master, and what principle was common to them all?

Does Satan test the Lord’s people today along similar lines?

In what manner was the kingdom “at hand” in Jesus day? Explain how this is even more true today.

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