Scripture

“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him. ‘”

Observation

The devil comes to Jesus in the wilderness in order to tempt him.” If you are the Son of God, tell those stones to become bread.” Jesus responds with the scripture that says, “man does not live by bread alone, but by the words of God.”

Satan, then tells Jesus to prove himself by jumping from the temple and having angels protect him. Jesus, again, responds with scripture about not putting the Lord to the test.

Finally, Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will worship him.

Jesus again responds with scripture and tells satan to leave.

Application

The temptations that we face every day are of a similar kind to those faced by Jesus, although at a much smaller scale.

The underlying issue is, who do I trust?

Who do I trust for my physical needs?

Who do I trust to meet my needs for significance”

Who will I trust, worship and put at the focal point of my life?

Satan craves our worship. He is a false god and intruder.

If he can’t have our worship directly, he will deceive us into worshipping anything or any person other than the Living God.

He promises us bread, significance, or even the kingdoms of this age.

But God promises us eternal life.

Prayer

Lord, please grant me discernment to recognise when I’m being led astray from worshipping you, the one true God. Amen.

Scripture

A voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Observation

Jesus goes to the Jordan River to be baptised by John. John argues with Jesus saying, “You should be baptising me!”

Jesus says that it is necessary to do all that God requires. So John baptises him.

As Jesus comes out of the water, the Holy Spirit descends on him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven says, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Application

I am a son of the Most High God. Despite my many failings and sins, He counts me as a son who brings Him great joy.

My children are all grown up now, but they have been sources of joy over many years. I count their births as the most joyful events of my life. Seeing them pass various milestones, grow up, and mature into adults has also brought me great joy.

Sure, there have been times of sadness, but even in those times there have been glimmers of joy and hope.

If my earthly children give me great joy as a father, why is it so hard to believe that I bring joy to my Heavenly Father?

We have a faulty view of God, I think. We think that expects total perfection and flawless obedience all the time, and when we fail we fear that He will withhold His love and blessings from us.

God loves us despite our sins. He doesn’t stop loving us when we fall short of his glory. No, He gives us grace to keep walking.

God is full of joy at His family, even me.

Prayer

Thank you, Father, for the assurance that I give you great joy. I confess that I often feel like I don’t give you joy at all, but I believe that this is true despite how I may feel. Amen.

Scripture

” I baptise with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am – so much greater that I am not worthy to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

Observation

John the Baptist appears in the wilderness of Judea and preachers a radical message of repentance. People come from all over the country to listen to John. They confess their sins and are baptised by him.

John warns the Pharisees and Sadducees that they cannot flee God’s wrath by being baptised. They must repent of their sins and produce the fruit of repentance like everybody else.

John says that he baptises with water, but one is coming who will baptise with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Application

The message is the same and has never changed. We are all sinners and we need to turn back to God. He will forgive us because of the sacrifice of Christ.

Jesus is the one who baptises us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. When we give our hearts to Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts. Every believer can experience the fullness or the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

There is a very severe warning here. Being religious is not good enough. It’s not enough to look good on the outside – the Pharisees and Sadducees were experts at that. We all need to repent from the heart and allow God to change us from the inside out.

The really good news in all of this is that God’s grace has no limits. We can come as often as we need to drink deeply of his love.

Prayer

Lord your grace never runs out. Thank you for this wonderful gift. Amen.

Scripture

That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death.

Observation

An angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and warns him to take his family to Egypt as Herod wants to kill the boy.

Furious, Herod orders all the boys in Bethlehem under two years old to be killed.

After Herod’s death, an angel again appears to Joseph to tell him that it is safe to return to Israel.

When Joseph learns that Judea is under the control of Herod’s son Archelaus, he takes the family to Nazareth in Galilee.

Application

In some ways, the life of Jesus reflects the history of Israel. Just as the nation fled to Egypt and then was called out of that land much later, Jesus and his family were forced to flee to Egypt to escape the ruthless tyranny of Herod. He later returned to grow up in Galilee in the village of Nazareth.

Matthew reminds us that this is to fulfil prophecy. Jesus was not an accident or a human invention. Much of His life, death, and resurrection were foretold by the Old Testament prophets

Herod tried to prevent a rival king taking his position. When God moves, no person, not even a powerful king, can resist Him.

Whatever plans God may have for my life, nobody can prevent them from coming to pass.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I confess that you are greater than human power. Thank you for the assurance that your ways will overcome every opposition. Amen.

Scripture

They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Observation

Some wise men from the east come to Jerusalem asking where is the newborn King. They had seen His star, and have now come to worship Him.

King Herod is disturbed by this, so he calls the priests and religious teachers together to tell him where the Messiah is to be born. They tell him that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem

Herod sends the wise men to Bethlehem instructing them to return and to let him know the child’s location so he can worship Him too.

The wise men go to Bethlehem where the star leads them to Jesus and Mary. They open their treasure chests and give the child gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Application

We don’t normally think of a baby as worthy of worship, certainly not a baby of less than perfect pedigree.

These wise men saw that Jesus wasn’t just an ordinary baby. They were looking for a newborn king, and naturally assumed He would be found in a palace. Instead, they found him in an ordinary home.

They saw beyond the circumstances to recognise that this baby was no ordinary baby. So they worshipped him.

When we see Jesus, the only appropriate reaction is worship. He is the son of God, and so is worthy of our praise.

Our culture is dismissive of, even hostile to, the person of Christ. We need to swim against the current, bring ourselves to the throne of Christ, and worship Him.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, you are worthy of my praise and worship. Help me to seek you and glorify you each and every day. Amen.

Scripture

“She will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Observation

Mary was engaged to Joseph. But before the marriage can take place Mary becomes pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Joseph decides to break the engagement, but an angel appears to him in a dream. The angel tells Joseph that he should take Mary as his wife. The baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Joseph is to name the baby Jesus, for He will save people from their sins.

Joseph does as the angel commanded. He takes Mary to be his wife and names the boy Jesus.

Application

It took quite some faith for Joseph to believe that Mary had not been unfaithful. The angel gave him a very strong and powerful message – the baby is the Messiah, and he will save people from their sins.

I wonder about the ridicule and scorn that Mary and Joseph faced. People then could count as they can count today. The neighbours knew that Jesus was conceived before the marriage. Rumours abounded about the boy’s parentage and about the parents’ virtue.

Mary and Joseph paid a big price for the privilege of being the parents of the Messiah.

Following Jesus always costs us. For some it is a social cost – loss of friends, and respect within the community. For others, there is a financial cost. Some even pay with their lives.

But Jesus is the one who saves us from our sins. Any worldly cost is worth paying for the sake of the kingdom.

Prayer

Jesus I acknowledge that you are the one who saves me. Thank you. Amen.

Scripture

All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the messiah.

Observation

Matthew starts he’s account of the life of Jesus with a genealogy, a list of ancestors of Jesus.

Jesus’ ancestry goes back to Abraham, the father of faith and of Israel. Jesus is the one who fulfils the promises given to Abraham.

Application

I am not very good at reading genealogies. Some people get very excited at the significance of these things, but I am not one of them.

There are some important things that stand out.

1. The lineage of Jesus goes right to Abraham. He is a true Israelite. All of the promises given to God’s people – to Israel – are given to Jesus.

2. There are some women in the list because God’s kingdom is not restricted to men alone.

3. There are some Gentiles in the list because God’s kingdom is open to all the nations.

4. Jesus comes from the line of King David. He is the true King of Israel. God promised David that one of his descendants would remain on the throne for ever. Jesus is that one who reigns forever.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for your amazing planning for the lineage of Jesus. Please help me to appreciate your plans for me. Amen