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John 4:1-45 “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (v. 24).
Worship is perhaps the most comprehensive of all the means of grace our Father has given to us. When we come together to praise our sovereign Lord, we have the privilege of engaging in Bible study by hearing the preached Word of God, praying as a corporate body, exercising stewardship as we give our tithes and offerings, and meeting with Christ as we partake in the sacraments.
Regrettably, too many churches today have forgotten the awesome privilege and sacred duty of worship, preferring to create “seeker-friendly” services that often cater more to our culture and its love of entertainment than to the adoration of our Creator. In the “seeker-sensitive” model, worship has become a means to attract the unchurched through the means of marketing with little regard as to whether such a model is proper for worshiping God. Yet Scripture is clear that the Lord does not view worship as something indifferent or subject to the fanciful whims of sinful men. God is the one who determines proper worship ( Lev. 10:1-3). Our fallenness makes us all prone to idolatry (Rom. 1:18-32), and none of us is above disobeying His commands against worshiping other gods and crafting false images of Him (Ex. 20:3-6 ). Most of us do not construct deities of wood and stone; our idolatry is much more sophisticated. We tend to make increasing the size of the congregation our chief priority. We like to proclaim to the world how “hip” and “with it” we Christians really are. We love to deny those attributes of God that make us uncomfortable.
Today’s passage tells us that our Father desires those who will worship Him “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24 ). Worship in truth means worship that is structured according to His Word. We must praise the Lord revealed in Scripture, who is the embodiment of holiness and justice as well as love and mercy. The whole counsel of God must guide our worship of Him.
Worshiping the Lord in spirit means that we praise God with our whole being, taking delight in the opportunity to praise His name. Spending time preparing ourselves before we come to church will help us “enter his gates with thanksgiving” in our hearts and into “his courts with praise” (Ps. 100:4).
Coram deo: Living before the face of God
Do you find Sunday morning worship to be a delight or dull and dreary? Do you spend the service thinking about all the things you could be doing if you were not at church? Take time today to repent for those times you have not devoted proper attention to the Lord in worship. Remember that He is truly present among us when we gather together (Matt. 18:20) and let that be a compelling motivation to delight in Him in the presence of His people.
“So I prophesied as he [God] commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet-a vast army,” (Ezekiel 37:10 NIV).
Friend to Friend
I can hardly wait for you to read the rest of the story from yesterday. If you missed it, please go back and read it first. Here’s where we left off…Don and Jona were divorced.
Now friends, the next part of the story is what Dr. Phil did not tell you. God began working on Jona’s heart. She didn’t change because of a self-help book or a ten step program, but because of the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. Do you want to know what really happened? Do you want to know what Dr. Phil did not tell his viewers? Grab a cup of coffee and keep reading.
God took Jona to a place of repentance and began to soften, remold and remake her very heart. That’s what God does. He doesn’t try to cover up our flaws; He starts from scratch and makes us new. While the divorce was final, God was only just beginning to work on Jona’s heart.
“God took me to a place of repentance,” Jona explained. “For the first time, through a support group, I saw clearly what I had done to destroy my marriage. I had always blamed our problems on Don changing jobs so often, but the real problem was my lack of respect for the God appointed leader of my home. I was the real problem and Don simply couldn’t take it anymore. I had rejected Don with my words, my appearance, and my withdrawal of physical touch.”
Whether or not God could salvage the marriage, Jona made a commitment that she would allow God to salvage her.
Jona’s heart longed to be reunited to Don, but her ultimate goal was to become the woman God wanted her to be. She immersed herself in Bible study and prayer, and began to take an interest in her appearance. Interesting, as the pounds began to drop, so did the scales that had covered her eyes.
“I began to understand what God’s Word said about the relationship between a husband and wife. I was not Don’s Holy Spirit. I was not the leader of my home. God had called me to respect Don as the leader, to honor him as a child of God, and to love him with my all. One day when Don came to pick up our two boys, I shared with him what I had been learning.”
“I told Don that I knew that we were divorced, but I was making a commitment to submit to him. I didn’t when we were married, but I did from that time forward.”
“That’s fine,” he told me. “But you need to know I’m moving on with my life.”
“You can move on,” I said, “But I’m staying right here.”
Jona continued to encourage Don and give him her BEST.
“BEST stands for bless, edify, share, and touch,” she explained. “I began to touch him when he came by the house. I’d pat his back or give him a quick hug. When I knew he was coming, I’d put on a nice dress and fix my hair. I’d tell him I was proud of how he was handling the boys and share with him what God was teaching me. Some people told him I was trying to trick him and that he should ignore me. But it wasn’t a trick. God had changed my heart and I was committed, no matter what happened between us in the future, to never go back to being that bitter woman I had been before.”
“Sharon, I hate to tell you this,” she said, “but for the first time, I prayed for Don. I had never prayed for him before, but now I pray for him all the time.”
Jona lost the added pounds and gained a beautiful glowing countenance. It was amazing. More than the change in her physical appearance, the glow of Jesus Christ shone through her radiant face.
Don was confused at times and a bit leery of the change. “Why do you think I’m wonderful, all of a sudden?” he asked her.
“Because now I see you through God’s eyes,” she explained. “I see that you are a wonderful man.”
Don fell in love with Jona all over again. No, it wasn’t a trick – it was a miracle. God has given them a second chance. They were remarried on August 24, 2003. Oh how I love God … He is the God of second chances.
Dear friends, Jona has so graciously allowed me to tell you her story because she has decided that she will do anything to help one woman not make the same mistakes she has made. She cried and cried all through the recounting of the story, and relived the pain…for you. “God allowed me to go to a terrible place,” Jona explained. “My prayer is that others will not have to go to that place before they wake up and realize what they are doing to their men.”
And that…is what Dr. Phil did not tell you.
Let’s Pray
Dear LORD, help me be the woman my husband needs for me to be. Help me to stop concentrating on his faults and failures, but start looking at my own. Show me. Teach me. Empower me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Is God telling you there is something you need to do differently in your marriage? Is there something you need to do differently in other important relationships in your life?
You know, Jona did not destroy her marriage by herself. Don made his fair share of mistakes too. But here’s the thing – we cannot change another person. We can only change ourselves. And sometimes…that is enough.
Consider giving your BEST to others. Write out the acronym and keep it in a prominent place.
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone: a new life has begun.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)
It was a typical holiday scene. My mother hummed an off-key tune in the kitchen. My father lounged in his faded blue recliner, while my husband and brothers talked about the football game on TV. The younger children played cards, while the older kids talked about my daughter’s recent acceptance into college.
As I viewed the scene, I stood still in my tracks. Wait! When did we become a “typical family?”
My past will never resemble a Hallmark card. My mother had her first baby at 15. She lost her footing as she tried to be a young mother and wife. She was physically and verbally abused by her young husband and fled at age 20 to start over. Alone and pregnant-with me-mom met a good man and later they married.
But the emotional baggage took its toll on that relationship, and later on our entire family. She often threatened suicide. She raged. She lashed out physically. She begged for forgiveness. If I let my guard down to love, the next day or the next week a new scene would unfold. My heart hardened at a tender age.
Flash forward 25 years. I am no longer a child. I’m a woman with young adult children of my own. God has healed my heart.
As I stood in the living room I realized that I still viewed my family through the past. I had let go of the resentment, the anger. I loved my mother and father, but I still saw my extended family as broken. In far too many ways our relationship was founded on that perception.
I stepped back and took a good long look. Who was my mom now? How had she grown? Did I recognize what God had performed in her life?
The answer was no, and I was not alone in this thinking. My siblings also wrestled with this. No matter what my mother did, no matter how much she had overcome, she still had a scarlet letter branded on her. She was marked “B” for broken.
My family had been “normal” longer than dysfunctional. I realized it was time to step into the present and leave the past behind.
That day I fully transitioned from child to adult. I reflected on what God can do in spite of a broken past. I rejoiced in what had taken place in the heart of my mother and our family. It didn’t just change me, but it changed my mother and our relationship. Somehow she knew we had crossed a new threshold. The burden of guilt was eased as she looked into my eyes and realized I saw her fully as the woman she had become.
Several holidays have passed since that day. My mother still hums off-key. I still bring desert. But when I look at my family, I don’t just see a family gathering, I see a portrait of God’s grace.
Dear Jesus, do I recognize the miracles You have done in my loved ones? Do I hold on to resentment even if that person has changed? Give me new eyes to see. Paint the picture fresh for me as I extend the mercy You so freely gave to me to one person in my life today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
“Then he [God] said to me [Ezekiel], “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!’ This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD,’” (Ezekiel 37:4-6 NIV).
Friend to Friend
It was January 7, 2005 when a group of friends gathered at Don and Jona’s house to watch the Dr. Phil show. Jona had written in to a contest that Good Housekeeping, in conjunction with Dr. Phil, had on “life change.” Of fifteen thousand applicants, Jona was the grand prize winner! As the winner, Don and Jona were guests on the Dr. Phil Show to tell their story. But I didn’t need Dr. Phil to tell me the story, I lived it with them. Let Jona and I share how we remember it …
Don was twenty-seven-years old when Jona first met him on a spring church beach retreat. Immediately, she knew he was exactly what she had always dreamed of in a husband. Don had a strong faith in God, a good job, a college degree, drive, and dreams for the future. He was physically fit, witty, adventurous, sexy, and “just plain gorgeous.” On top of that, he was constantly surrounded by women at the retreat that were vying for his attention.
When they returned home, Jona could hardly believe her good fortune when Don asked her to dinner. Don and Jona dated only three months before he asked her to marry him, and on March 30, 1985, before the next spring beach retreat, they were husband and wife.
Their first year of marriage was a blissful blur of candlelight dinners, spontaneous lovemaking, and endless conversation. The icing on the one-year anniversary cake was the purchase of their first home. By their second anniversary, Don quit his job to start his own business. Life was clicking along at a steady pace toward acquiring the American Dream. By their fourth anniversary, Jona had their first child and joined the ranks of “stay-at-home-mom.” But, after twenty-four months of Don’s new business venture, the couple faced a second mortgage, a dwindling bank account, and a looming cloud of debt. Jona was forced to go back to work and seeds of discontentment, disrespect, and disenchantment began to take root.
“I was so mad at Don for the mistakes I felt he had made,” Jona explained. “Deep down, I wanted him to be God and to fulfill all my needs. He made a poor God. When my mother died in 1993, I sank into a clinical depression. I spent most of my time at home in bed. And even though I had two children by this time, I withdrew from being a mom, as well as being a wife. I then began to eat…and eat. I went from 140 pounds to 240 pounds.”
“Don and I had the perfect engagement, a beautiful wedding, and a fantasy honeymoon. But when the obstacles came along, I wasn’t prepared to maneuver over, around, or through them. I thought, this is not the way the story goes. What happened to the fairy tale?”
“Don changed jobs about every other year, however, he always provided for our needs. It just drove me crazy that he couldn’t stay put.”
“I remember one day Don said, ‘Why are you eating and gaining all this weight?’ I shot back, ‘I’m doing this because I don’t want you to touch me. Besides, I can lose the weight if I want to, but you’ll always be a loser.’ Little by little, word by word, angry look by angry look, rejection by rejection; I began the process of destroying my husband. Comments like ‘You’re so stupid,’ ‘duh,’ and ‘can’t you do anything right?’ were constantly spewing from my mouth. I was in pain and I wanted Don to be in pain too. One day, I made a list of all of Don’s faults. He found the list, but I didn’t even care.”
Jona always thought that since Don was a Christian, he would never leave her. However, there came a point where he could not take the emotional turmoil any longer. On May 6, 2001, Don left. Jona had destroyed her marriage and her man. On January 31, 2003, the divorce was final.
“A couple of months after our divorce, I woke up to God’s still small voice,” Jona explained. “He seemed to say, ‘Is this what you wanted? Did you want a divorce? Do you want Don to marry another woman and have your children torn between spending time in two different households? Do you want to be alone? Were you the wife I called you to be?’ Oh God,” Jona cried, “What have I done?”
Now friends, the next part of the story is what Dr. Phil did not tell you. God began working on Jona’s heart. She didn’t change because of a self-help book or a ten step program, but because of the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. Do you want to know what really happened? Do you want to know what Dr. Phil did not tell his viewers? Grab a cup of coffee and join me tomorrow for the rest of the story.
Let’s Pray
Dear LORD, help me be the woman my husband needs for me to be. Help me to stop concentrating on his faults and failures, but start looking at my own. Show me. Teach me. Empower me.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
I know Today’s Truth seems like a strange verse. It is! It is one of the strangest stories in the bible. Go back and read Ezekiel chapter 37. If God can do that with a bunch of dry bones, just think what He can do with your marriage! Your broken life! Your broken dreams!
Do you see yourself in Jona?
Is God telling you there is something you need to do differently in your marriage? In your relationships?
2 Timothy 3:14-17 “Continue in what you have learned… the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” ( vv. 14-15).
Beginning next week we will examine the Sermon on the Mount, which gives us some of the most important teaching on Christian discipleship in all of Scripture. As a preface to this study of the Christian life we will now spend five days looking at a few of the ways God has given us to help us fulfill His mandate so that we “go on to maturity” (Heb. 6:1). Dr. R.C. Sproul’s teaching series Five Things Every Christian Should Know will guide our study.
The five topics we will cover – Bible study, prayer, worship, service, and stewardship – are what some theologians have called “means of grace,” or those things God has given to help us grow spiritually. In the Reformed tradition, the sacraments and preaching have been considered the primary means of grace.
Growing into Christian maturity requires us to know and imitate the character of our Father (Eph. 5:1 ), which is revealed in Scripture. It is imperative that we read the Bible rightly, and today’s passage points us to the foundational principle for our reading of God’s Word. Paul tells Timothy that the Scriptures are able to make him “wise for salvation” (2 Tim. 3:14-15 ). Our first step in studying the Bible is to recognize that we sit under Scripture as the source of all wisdom. We have taken the first step down the road to unbelief if we try to judge the Bible instead of seeking to have it judge us. Sitting under Scripture requires the fear of the Lord, without which we cannot find wisdom (Prov. 1:7).
Therefore, we open the text with reverence, expecting the Spirit to illumine its meaning for us. But reverence is not passivity. We must study to present ourselves to God as those approved to handle His revelation ( 2 Tim. 2:15). This requires diligent work and relying on the wisdom of those Christians who have come before us. Reading commentaries by men like John Calvin and Matthew Henry is an excellent way to learn from those godly scholars whose work still greatly benefits the church centuries after they lived. Of course, the teaching ministry of the local church is indispensable to our personal study of Scripture. Studying the Bible in a community that affirms historic, biblical Christianity will help us avoid common mistakes in the interpretation of God’s Word.
Coram deo: Living before the face of God
Many people find the study of Scripture to be an intimidating, if not impossible, endeavor. But God encourages us to put His Word on our hearts (Deut. 6:6), and He will open His Word to us if we are faithful to study it with diligence and humility. Consider joining a Bible study or class offered by your church so that you may learn from other Christians. Be sure to make some time each week for the study and contemplation of God’s Word.
It’s an odd story. John the Baptist has just baptized Jesus. God has just spoken from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” We would expect that the next item on the agenda would be the beginning of Jesus’ Instead, we read that the Spirit of God leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. That’s strange. Why is Jesus subjected to testing in the wilderness by the devil immediately following his baptism and immediately prior to the beginning of his ministry and the calling of his disciples? Is it merely to provide a moral example of endurance for believers? Or is there something more going on?
If we keep in mind the prophetic writings of the Old Testament, we recall that the coming age was often depicted in terms of a “new exodus” (See, for example, Hos. 2:14-15; Isa. 10:24-26; 11:15-16; Jer. 16:14-15; Ezek. 20:33-38 ). The writing prophets wrote in the centuries before, during, and after the exile. The pre-exilic prophets warned Israel and Judah that continued rebellion against God would result in judgment, culminating in exile from the land. They also looked beyond the exile to a time of restoration. The exilic prophets maintained this forward looking perspective, and they looked back to the original exodus from Egypt to find the imagery needed to depict the coming eschatological restoration. When we turn to the Gospel of Matthew, we find that Matthew subtly draws on this prophetic theme in his depiction of the early life of Jesus. In the early chapters of Matthew, we find that experiences in the life of Jesus echo experiences in the life of Moses and in the early history of Israel.
Matthew’s opening chapter presents Jesus as the culmination of the Old Testament prophetic hopes. He is the Son of Abraham, the promised seed through whom blessing would come to all nations. He is the Son of David, the one to whom was promised an eternal kingdom. His genealogy is divided into three sections of fourteen generations. The first section ends at the time of David, at which point the kingdom was established. The second section ends at the time of the exile, at which point the kingdom was taken away. The third section ends with Jesus, indicating that at this time the kingdom of God will be restored.
After Jesus’ birth, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream warning him to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus because Herod is going seek to kill the child. These events remind the reader of Pharaoh’s attempts to kill the infant Moses. Joseph obediently flees to Egypt where the family remains until the death of Herod. This is said to fulfill Hosea 11:1, which reads: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Since Hosea 11:1 refers to Israel’s original exodus from Egypt, how is Jesus’ flight to Egypt a “fulfillment” of the prophecy? In its context, Hosea 11:1 is part of a prophecy that looks back at the original exodus in order to point forward to a new exodus. Hosea promises that despite the coming exile, God will restore his people (Hos. 11:11 ). In Matthew’s use of Hosea’s prophecy, a couple of points are made. First, Jesus’ flight from Israel is parallel to Moses’ flight from Egypt. Israel has, in a sense, become like Egypt. In the second place, Matthew points to Hosea 11 to indicate that with Jesus the time of the promised new exodus has begun. The day of eschatological salvation has dawned.
If the Exodus typology holds, then the baptism of Jesus is viewed by Matthew as being in some sense parallel to Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea – Israel’s “baptism” (See 1 Cor. 10:2). Why then the temptation? Israel spent forty years in the wilderness and failed the tests she faced. Jesus recapitulates Israel’s experience, spending forty days in the wilderness, but unlike Israel, Jesus passes the test. If we look carefully at Deuteronomy 8:1-10 and compare it with Matthew 4 , the parallels become even clearer. These parallels between the Exodus narrative and the early chapters of Matthew indicate that Matthew is portraying Jesus as a new Moses-like redeemer who will inaugurate the promised final restoration by leading his people in the eschatological new exodus.
But why is the devil such a prominent character in this testing? The devil is the ancient archenemy of God. It was he who tempted Adam and Eve in the garden. Behind the scenes of redemptive history lies the cosmic conflict between God and Satan. Jesus comes to destroy the works of the devil ( 1 John 3:8). The first Adam faced the temptations of Satan in a bountiful garden…and failed. The second Adam faces the temptations of Satan in desolate wilderness and succeeds. He succeeds where Adam failed because He trusts the word of God. Satan twisted God’s word, and caused Adam and Eve to doubt. He twists God’s word and takes it out of context in his tempting of Jesus, but Jesus does not falter.
When faced with the worst temptations, Jesus relies on the Word of God. If trust in God’s Word was necessary for Jesus in the face of temptation, how much more necessary is it for us? Like Jesus, we are to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4).
ministry. Instead, we read that the Spirit of God leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. That’s strange. Why is Jesus subjected to testing in the wilderness by the Devil immediately following His baptism and immediately prior to the beginning of His ministry and the calling of His disciples? Is it merely to provide a moral example of endurance for believers? Or is there something more going on?
If we keep in mind the prophetic books of the Old Testament, we recall that the coming age was often depicted in terms of a “new exodus” (see, for example, Hos. 2:14-15; Isa. 10:24-26; 11:15-16; Jer. 16:14-15 ). The writing prophets wrote in the centuries before, during, and after the exile. The pre-exilic prophets warned Israel and Judah that continued rebellion against God would result in judgment, culminating in exile from the land. They also looked beyond the exile to a time of restoration. The exilic prophets maintained this forward- looking perspective, and they looked back to the original exodus from Egypt to find the imagery needed to depict the coming restoration. When we turn to the gospel of Matthew, we find that he subtly draws on this prophetic theme in his depiction of the early life of Jesus. In the early chapters of Matthew, we find that experiences in the life of Jesus echo experiences in the life of Moses and in the early history of Israel.
Matthew’s opening chapter presents Jesus as the culmination of the Old Testament prophetic hopes. He is the Son of Abraham, the promised seed through whom blessing would come to all nations. He is the son of David, the one to whom was promised an eternal kingdom. His genealogy is divided into three sections of fourteen generations. The first section ends at the time of David, at which point the kingdom was established. The second section ends at the time of the exile, at which point the kingdom was taken away. The third section ends with Jesus, indicating that at this time the kingdom of God will be restored.
After Jesus’ birth, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream warning him to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus because Herod is seeking to kill the child. These events remind the reader of Pharaoh’s attempts to kill the infant Moses. Joseph flees to Egypt where the family remains until the death of Herod. This is said to fulfill Hosea 11:1, which reads: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Since Hosea 11:1 refers to Israel’s original exodus from Egypt, how is Jesus’ flight to Egypt a “fulfillment” of the prophecy? In its context, Hosea 11:1 is part of a prophecy that looks back at the original exodus in order to point forward to a new exodus. Hosea promises that despite the coming exile, God will restore his people (Hos. 11:11 ). In Matthew’s use of Hosea’s prophecy, a couple of points are made. First, Jesus’ flight from Israel is parallel to Moses’ flight from Egypt. Israel has, in a sense, become like Egypt. In the second place, Matthew points to Hosea 11 to indicate that with Jesus the time of the promised new exodus has begun. The day of salvation has dawned.
But why is the Devil so prominent in this testing? The Devil is the ancient archenemy of God. It was he who tempted Adam and Eve ( Gen. 3:1-7). Behind the scenes of redemptive history lies the conflict between God and Satan. After Adam and Eve sinned, God proclaimed judgment on the Devil who tempted them. God said to the Serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness continues the conflict. The first Adam had faced the temptations of Satan in a bountiful garden and failed. The second Adam faces the temptations of Satan in a desolate wilderness and succeeds. He succeeds where Adam failed because He trusts the word of God. Satan twisted God’s word in his tempting of Adam and Eve and caused them to doubt. He twists God’s word in his tempting of Jesus, but Jesus does not falter.
The significance of this is that Jesus, like Adam, acted as a representative head. The failure of Adam brought sin and death on the human race ( Rom. 5). In order to be our Savior, it was necessary for Jesus to live a life of complete obedience to God. His sinlessness was absolutely necessary for our salvation. In the wilderness, Jesus was tempted like Adam, but did not sin (Heb. 4:15).
This passage is a celebration of God’s endowment of great wisdom upon Solomon. It also celebrates the broader theme of God’s ordering of creation according to a majestic, divine design. God has infused his wisdom, as it were, into the very structure of material reality. And he has equipped the human race, created in his image, with the ability (the intellectual machinery) to, as German mathematician Johann Kepler (1571–1630) said, “think God’s thoughts after him,” in order to develop creation’s potential (note especially 1Ki 4:32–33). We as God’s designated stewards have been called to faithfully and intelligently cultivate creation’s potential. God wants us to varying degrees, based on the particular aptitudes and strengths with which he has gifted each of us, to draw out the fruitfulness of creation through engineering, entrepreneurship, development, intellectual understanding, the arts and so forth.
Bible scholar J. Richard Middleton depicts God the Creator as both a grand architect and a consummate artist:
Superimposed on and integrated with the picture of God speaking creation into being is the metaphor of God as designer and artificer, constructing with care, attention, obvious pleasure, and self-investment (as a good artist) a coherent, harmoniously functioning cosmos, according to a well-thought-out plan. This characterization of God as maker or artisan is rhetorically embodied in the superb literary artistry of the creation story, which moves from a preparatory statement in [Genesis] 1:1–2, through six “days” of God’s work, to the seventh climactic day (2:1–3), when God “rested” (šÄbat), satisfied, having completed his work.
Middleton goes on to articulate part of his understanding of the complexity of the imago Dei (“image of God”) as it pertains to humanity’s interactions with the created world:
[C]areful exegesis of Genesis 1:26–28 … does indeed suggest that the imago Dei refers to human rule, that is, the exercise of power on God’s behalf in creation. This may be articulated in two different, but complementary ways. Said one way, humans are like God in exercising royal power on earth. Said in another way, the divine ruler delegated to humans a share in his rule of the earth. Both are important ways of expressing the meaning of the imago Dei. The first expression—the notion of likeness to the divine ruler—suggests the image as “representational,” indicating a similarity or analogy between God and humans. The second expression—the delegation of, or sharing in, God’s rule—suggests the image as “representative,” designating the responsible office and task entrusted to humanity in administering the earthly realm on God’s behalf. But these expressions are not simply alternative; they are integrally connected.
Think About It
How is God’s wisdom a part of our physical reality?
In what ways are intellectual pursuits a part of God’s calling?
How can people steward God’s creation through understanding it?
Pray About It
Lord, you have a unique calling for each of us. Those of us who seek and pursue the wisdom found in your creation—in any vocation or avocation of life—need your guidance to fulfill our role in your grand design.
Matthew 4:18-22 “Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him” (v. 22).
Jesus’ ministry begins a new phase when He settles in Capernaum (Matt. 4:13 ) in Galilee, because it is there that the people begin to take notice of Him. In His day, Galilee is a bustling commercial area bordered by Syria and Phoenicia, offering ample opportunities for Jesus to interact with Jews and Gentiles alike. Travelers on trade routes can spread news of His ministry outside of Galilee. Moreover, the leaders in Jerusalem, as we shall see, strongly oppose Jesus, but in Galilee He can minister more freely and not have to be constantly looking out for those who might kill Him before the appointed time.
When Christ begins His ministry He delivers virtually the same message as John the Baptist – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” ( v. 17) – because both the old covenant and the new speak of the same kingdom. John, the final prophet of the old covenant, preached repentance (3:1). Jesus, the first and greatest new covenant prophet, delivers the same message. Of course, the new covenant is better than the old (Heb. 8 ), giving a fuller knowledge of God and a greater outpouring of the Spirit. Nevertheless, repentance is foundational to both covenants. Only contrite hearts can receive divine revelation (Isa. 66:2).
Among the very first to heed our Lord’s command are Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John, as recorded in today’s passage. Walking beside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus tells these men to follow Him and become “fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19 ). This is not the first time Andrew and Peter meet the Christ; John’s gospel tells us they followed Him during His earlier ministry in Judea (1:35-42). Apparently, they went back to their work as fishermen for a time, but with the advent of the Lord’s concentrated mission in Galilee, the time has come for them to leave their nets once more.
In Jesus’ day, disciples normally choose their rabbi, but the Messiah reverses this custom and chooses His followers Himself. Most importantly, Christ does not “issue an invitation,” as if these men have the option to say yes or no. Instead, He commands them to become His followers since obedience to Him is the only proper response to His call (John 3:16-18; 1 John 3:23-24).
Coram deo: Living before the face of God
The disciples do not hesitate when Jesus calls them. Immediately, they leave all behind to follow Him. John Chrysostom comments, “Christ seeks this kind of obedience from us, such that we delay not even for a moment, though something absolutely most necessary should press in on us” (Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, 14.2). Where have you been refusing to obey the Lord’s commands? Follow Him today without any questions.
Matthew 4:12-17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (v. 17).
Upon hearing of John the Baptist’s arrest, Jesus returns to minister in Galilee (Matt. 4:12). It is important to note that this is a “new phase” of ministry, for our Savior does not enter Galilee immediately after His baptism. According to John’s gospel, Jesus has already spent time ministering in Jerusalem and Judea after His baptism (1:29-42). In fact, the ministry of our Lord and His forerunner actually overlap (3:22-24), if only for a brief period.
When Jesus comes to Galilee, He settles in a small village on the northwest edge of the Sea of Galilee named Capernaum ( Matt. 4:13). Matthew tells us this fulfills biblical prophecy, specifically the words of Isaiah 9:1-2, which the evangelist paraphrases in Matthew 4:15-16. The original setting of Isaiah’s text helps us understand how Christ fulfills this passage. Isaiah predicted that God would use the Assyrian empire as His rod to judge the northern kingdom of Israel ( chap. 7-8), and as was foretold, Israel fell and the people were exiled over a period of many decades culminating in 722 b.c. (2 Kings 15:29; 17:7-23).
However, our Father also said this sad state of His people would not last forever. He said that He would raise up a Son of David who would restore the glory of the nation, beginning first with a restoration of joy in the north (Isa. 9:1-7). In some sense this began when the exiles returned to their land in 538 b.c. , but the full restoration had to wait for the coming of the Christ. John Calvin comments, “The commencement of this light, and, as we might say, the dawn, was the return of the people from Babylon. At length, Christ, ‘the Sun of Righteousness’ (Mal. 4:2), arose in full splendor, and, by his coming, utterly ‘abolished’ (2 Tim. 1:10 ) the darkness of death.” Since Jesus is ministering in the north and bringing God’s light to a dark land, He must be the long-awaited Messiah who comes to restore His people. This is Matthew’s point in 4:12-17.
Scripture often uses light to refer to the knowledge of God and obedience to Him (Ps. 119:105; Prov. 4:18). As the light of the world ( John 8:12), Jesus gives us true knowledge of our Creator (12:44-50) and frees us from sin’s oppression (Rom. 6:17-18), which makes us unable in and of ourselves to serve the Lord.
Coram deo: Living before the face of God
Today’s passage is a powerful example of God’s grace. Those who sit in darkness get to see the light, not those who think they are in the light already. Jesus came to call sinners to repentance, not the righteous (Luke 5:32). This does not mean that there are some who are righteous in themselves. It means that He saves only those who confess their darkness and admit their need of His light. Do you understand your desperate situation apart from God’s grace?
Matthew 4:8-11 “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’” (v. 10).
Fame, power, and authority are so enticing that many people embrace wickedness in their drive to be known and followed. Men lie and cheat in order to climb the corporate ladder. Starlets try to outdo one another’s outrageous behavior in order to keep their names in the spotlight. Politicians lie and stab others in the back in their pursuit of the highest offices in the land. Matthew Henry is right to say that “the glory of the world is the most charming temptation to the unthinking and unwary and that by which men are most deceived. The pride of life is the most dangerous snare.”
In today’s passage, Satan presents Jesus with a prize – authority over all the kingdoms of this world ( Matt. 4:8-9). This rule is not sinful in itself since the Messiah is promised reign over the nations (Ps. 2:8). The problem is the means the Devil offers. Worship of a false god, the evil one himself, can bring the Son of David immediately to a position of authority in the world (Matt. 4:9 ). Satan is tempting Jesus to take a shortcut and bypass the cross to receive the name by which every tongue on heaven and earth will bow (Phil. 2:5-11). John Calvin says this temptation is that “Christ should seek, in another manner than from God, the inheritance that he has promised to his children.”
Adam failed this test. Instead of submitting to the Creator, he embraced godless autonomy. He ate the forbidden fruit so that he could be a law unto himself instead of looking to the Almighty to define right and wrong ( Gen. 3). God’s son Israel (Hos. 11:1) disobeyed as well by going after other gods (Ex. 32). However, Jesus will not make the same mistake. On a mountain He will declare that He has received authority, but it will not be on the mount of temptation. No, it will be on a mountain after He is faithful to His Father’s will ( Matt. 28:16-20). Jesus will not avoid the cross in His drive to regain the righteous dominion given to man (Gen. 1:26-27). He will not become an idolater (Matt. 4:10).
Thus, Jesus triumphs over Satan (v. 11 ). This is good news for us indeed. In staring down temptation, Jesus experienced suffering, and thus He is able to help us when we are tempted (Heb. 2:18).
Coram deo: Living before the face of God
Matthew Henry comments that “the best of saints may be tempted to the worst of sins.” Though Jesus never sinned, Satan left the worst temptation of all for last – blatant idolatry. If our Lord faced such a test, we too cannot be surprised if we are tempted to do the worst. But take heart, for Jesus can strengthen us to defeat the enemy. When tempted, run to Him in prayer and study His Word so that you can resist the Devil.
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