1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, So now that God the Father had announced that Jesus was his son, what did God do? Through his Spirit he led Jesus far away from all the gossip and the fame-hunters and whatever the equivalent of the Paparazzi was, and took him to that place where God became wild and untameable – the desert. God knew what Jesus needed after such a powerful declaration: he needed to be brought back down to earth with a bump. He needed to make sure his head was screwed on right. He needed to be tested. And out there in the desert, where so many had found God over the centuries, Jesus was to meet Satan, the great accuser.
Like many before him, Jesus undertook the fast. Perhaps he was inspired by John’s example. Perhaps it was his way of showing God how serious he was. By the end of six weeks or more, he was starving and close to death. The son of God at his most vulnerable.
The tempter went straight for the jugular: ‘What are you doing here? You don’t look much like a Son of God! If you’re so special why don’t you do one of those miracles that your Father is renowned for? When his people lived in the wilderness God fed them – can’t you do the same? That would be a good start!’
But Jesus was having none of it. ‘The scriptures say that bread is not the only thing that feeds us – I rely on God’s wisdom straight from his mouth. Keep testing me and you’ll see that wisdom in action!’
In a flash the accuser had taken Jesus to Jerusalem and they stood right on top of the Temple. All the religious leaders would see Jesus if only they would look up! ‘Go on, prove yourself!’ said the accuser. That great wisdom of God you keep talking about promises that if you jump off here into the crowd below, then God will send a thousand angels to save you from the fall. What an entrance that would make – better than David, better than Judas Maccabeus!’
‘You might try manipulating the world like some magic show, but God isn’t like that – if you try to use God like a formula you’ll get answers you don’t expect – probably unpleasant ones.’
Once again Jesus found himself high up, this time on a high, high mountain. The accuser showed him the great kingdoms of the region. It was an amazing sight, a once-in-a-lifetime moment for most of us. As Jesus took it all in, the accuser finally got to his point: ‘Your God may say he rules this world, but I’m in charge on a day-to-day basis. You want a kingdom? You want to be in charge? Come over to my side – it would be so much easier than whatever you’ve got planned.’
‘Get lost!’ Jesus cried out. ‘You just don’t get it, do you? Everything I’ve learned from God’s wisdom points me in one direction: God is the only one I’m ever going to follow!’
That was enough for the accuser. We don’t know whether he slinked off with a sly smile, or ran away with his tail between his legs, but get lost he did. Not for too long, though... Even as God sent his messengers to bring Jesus back from the brink of death, the accuser was already plotting his next move.
Spring into Balance
Are you coming out of something hard? Some words from Premier as Spring starts to bloom. (Author: )
Wisdom
In Job 28 it speaks of all the wealth mined from the earth, but how wisdom is much more precious than any of the valuable things which come from the earth. (Author: Seeds of the Kingdom)
Happy Lent!
If daily life is is crowded, Lent could be the best news of the year so far. (Author: Breathe Network)
Winter and Summer
"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You". (Author: Seeds of the Kingdom)
Do you want to work for God or with God?
"If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here."
Exodus 33:15, NIV (Author: Seeds of the Kingdom)
Knowing God for Real
"Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Author: Seeds of the Kingdom)
The Hidden Power of God in our Life
"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." (Author: Seeds of the Kingdom)
Faith takes action
One Sunday at church, as the speaker shared the word of God, I realised that Christians may not be understanding faith as they should. Some people are taking faith to mean believing in God to do something for them, instead of believing God will help them (Author: Seeds of the Kingdom)
Inside Out
“Imagine if you had some deep, dark secret ... something that brought you tremendous shame. But instead of being able to hide it away, you had to wear it on your skin, so that the first time anyone saw you, they saw your secret.” (Author: Seeds of the Kingdom)
The great unchangeable I AM
I’m writing this seed on New Year’s Day, having had time to reflect on the past year, and recalling my experience of the faithfulness and steadfast love of God through varied, changing circumstances of my life. (Author: Seeds of the Kingdom)
Word for you today adapted for young people
Gary Larson captured a common misconception of Heaven in one of his Far Side cartoons. In it a man with angel wings and a halo sits on a cloud, doing nothing. A caption reads: 'Wish I'd brought a magazine.' (Author: UCB Media)
Matthew 2:13-23 - Week 8 - Day Five
Not long after the wise men had left the area, Joseph was once again visited in his dreams by a messenger from God. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 2:13-23 - Week 8 - Day Four
We would do well to remember that our current view of Christmas is as far removed from Jesus’ world as can be. Even with all the work of the angels, God’s promise of salvation is at risk from day one. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 2:13-23 - Week 8 - Day One
This is a difficult story. Matthew wants us to understand the extent to which God has protected Jesus, and the prophetic nature of every element, but the suffering caused cannot be completely overlooked. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 2:13-23 - Week 8 - Day Two
Christians who live in Palestine today are much more likely to hear this passage during Easter than we are. In fact, in the west it is nearly always missed out. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 2:13-23 - Week 8 - Day Three
Christmas is really
for the children.
Especially for children
who like animals, stables,
stars and babies wrapped
in swaddling clothes. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 2:1-12 - Week 7 - Day Five
Jesus was born in the Judean town of Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great, a consummate politician and the man who ordered the rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 2:1-12 - Week 7 - Day Four
The three magi worshipped God in the way that seemed to make most sense to them: they brought the most beautiful and valuable items from their own culture. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 2:1-12 - Week 7 - Day Three
Though Matthew seems to be unconcerned with the details of Jesus’ birth, that’s not because he thinks what we now call Christmas is unimportant. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 2:1-12 - Week 7 - Day One
Matthew’s story that ‘explains’ Jesus’s birth is so different to Luke’s that we sometimes forget all about it. Luke gives us a much more rounded story, and in a traditional Christmas service Matthew’s story is often tacked on at the end. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 2:1-12 - Week 7 - Day Two
Today we are somewhat like Herod: multicultural monarchs of our own little kingdoms. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 1:18-25 - Week 6 - Day Five
This is how it all started: how the one called Yeshua the Messiah – the one we Greek speakers name as Jesus Christ – came to be born among us. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 1:18-25 - Week 6 - Day Two
Joseph’s decision to protect Mary rather than obey the letter of the law raises a question that comes up over and over again. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 1:18-25 - Week 6 - Day Three
One thing that Jesus does is move the debate about sin away from behaviour and towards our hearts (5:28, Jeremiah 31:33). (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 1:18-25 - Week 6 - Day Four
There’s a version of Christianity which has a strong focus on keeping us all free from sin, or even the taint of it. A term that has been used over and over again to describe this version is Puritanism. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 1:18-25 - Week 6 - Day One
This week Christmas comes early. Given last week’s focus on women, it’s right to note that Matthew’s focus in his Christmas narrative is on Joseph, and not Mary. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 1:1-17 - Week 5 - Day Five: Mary
And finally we come to Mary. She is unlike her ancestors in this genealogy: Jewish, saintly, and comparatively passive. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 1:1-17 - Week 5 - Day One: Something different
This week we’re going to do a few weird things. Firstly, since it’s Christmas, we’re going to go back to the beginning of Matthew and start from Chapter One, Verse One. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 1:1-17 - Week 5 - Day Two: Tamar and Rahab
Tamar is a classic example of the kind of woman Luke has so studiously avoided. She is trouble. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 1:1-17 - Week 5 - Day Three: Ruth
Ruth’s story is well-known, yet worthy of another look. Like Rahab, she trusted in Yahweh against the odds, and like Tamar she grabbed her rights to a family with both hands! (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 1:1-17 - Week 5 - Day Four: Bathsheba
Matthew is clearly no big fan of Bathsheba. He won’t even name her. The three women we have heard about so far have their stories told in a very matter-of-fact way, but Bathsheba is subject to judgement. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 4:12-22 - Week 4 - Day Five: Targum
Eventually John was put in prison; Jesus knew that this was the time his life was going to move out of first gear. And he could no longer hang around with John’s disciples, it was time for him to start something new. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 4:12-22 - Week 4 - Day Two: Our context
‘When I said ‘Follow me,’ I wasn’t talking about Twitter,’ reads a cartoon doing the rounds on the social network sites. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 4:12-22 - Week 4 - Day Three: Reflect
This is a simple exercise, but no less effective for it. We will return to it again and again over the weeks. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 4:12-22 - Week 4 - Day Four: What Now?
This passage is about the response of the disciple. In that sense, there isn’t a particular thing that you should do. But you probably already know what you need to do. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 4:12-22 - Week 4 - Day One: Historical context
Anyone who tries to make Matthew’s gospel into history should read the first verse of this passage. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 4:1-11 - Week 3 - Day Four: What Now?
The most obvious response to this passage and the previous reflections on it is to do something loving. I’m thinking about how to get to know a family that has just moved into my street. But I think the ultimate challenge is to be loving. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 4:1-11 - Week 3 - Day Three: Reflect
Take some time to meditate on these verses. Here David is asking God to test him. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 4:1-11 - Week 3 - Day Two: Our context
When we talk about making important decisions, sometimes we ask the question, ‘do the ends justify the means?’ Is the bloodshed in Afghanistan justified by any potential peace? (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 4:1-11 - Week 3 - Day One: Historical context
This is a really interesting passage. Matthew’s gospel has an amazing literary structure, whereby the whole book ‘folds in two’, with a point somewhere around Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah as the place where the fold takes place. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 3:13-17 - Week 2 - Day Five: Targum
While John was continuing to preach his message, Jesus arrived from Nazareth and joined him. Nazareth? Who has even heard of the place? It is a tiny village in Galilee, full of ignorant people, the kind of place you only go to if you have to. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 3:13-17 - Week 2 - Day Four: What now?
What do you need to do to ‘fulfil all righteousness’? What was it about Jesus’ baptism that was the fulfilment? Was it getting baptised? Getting baptised by John? Being humbled? God’s pronouncement? (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 3:13-17 - Day Three: Reflect
Matthew is not interested in what Jesus thinks about the voice from heaven – the voice is definitive and final. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 3:13-17 - Week 2- Day One: Historical context
How do we meet the adult Jesus? One might expect a dramatic entrance. Instead, John emphasises Jesus’ obscurity: he is from an unknown village in the ‘wild west’ of Galilee. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 3:13-17 - Day Two: Our context
God’s messenger comes from the edges, from the unfashionable place, pretty much from ‘out of nowhere.’ This is a theme that will continue over and over again throughout Matthew. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 3: 1-12 - Day Five: Targum
This is it, the beginning. John the Baptist appeared in the desert out of nowhere, with a message that was both familiar and strange. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 3: 1-12 - Day Four: What now?
Here’s a simple exercise. Think about a place that is important to you. It could be a place where you live work, play or socialise. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 3: 1-12 - Day Three: Reflect
Take a bit of time to reread the passage from two different perspectives. Firstly, imagine you are in the crowd, a curious Jew wondering what this crazy prophet has to say. What do you hear, and how does it feel? (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 3: 1-12 - Day Two: Our context
John is announcing the ‘Kingdom.’ Even though we live in a United Kingdom, it’s a fairly alien concept. Over the years translators and commentators have talked about the ‘reign’ or ‘revolution’ of God to try to get over the sense of a dynamic change. (Author: Simon Hall)
Matthew 3: 1-12 - Week 1 - Day One: Historical context
In the structure of Matthew’s gospel, this is the beginning of the main story. (Author: Simon Hall)
Devotionals
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