Luke 4:9-13 (Contemporary English Version) Finally, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and had him stand on top of the temple.
The devil said, "If you are God's Son, jump off. The Scriptures say: `God will tell his angels to take care of you. They will catch you in their arms, and you will not hurt your feet on the stones.' "
Jesus answered, "The Scriptures also say, `Don't try to test the Lord your God!' "
After the devil had finished testing Jesus in every way possible, he left him for a while.
Going Deeper: Finally, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and had him stand on top of the temple. The devil said, "If you are God's Son, jump off. The Scriptures say: `God will tell his angels to take care of you. They will catch you in their arms, and you will not hurt your feet on the stones.' " You'll find this in Psalm 91. Now the lying one gets really scary and becomes the manipulating one. Did you notice the way the manipulating one used Scripture … … It just goes to show you that anyone can use any verse of Scripture to justify anything they believe to be true.
Jesus doesn't deny the truth of the Scripture, but Jesus doesn't fall for the devil's use of it either! He answered, "The Scriptures also say, `Don't try to test the Lord your God!' " I had a hard time with this one. I had to dig deep to understand it. Looking back at what Moses told the Israelites in Deuteronomy, he actually said “Don't try to test the Lord your God as you did at Massah." Well, what happened at Massah? In Exodus 17, the Israelites quarreled with Moses about their lack of water … “did you bring us out here to die?" They were no longer sure God was with them and they “tested” the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" In those 40 years of wanderings … in the midst of their suffering, the Israelites questioned the presence of God.
We have been talking about this in the Sunday night bible study, about how hard it is to see God when you are in the midst of your suffering … we've been talking about how it is only when we make it to the other side of our troubles that we can look back and “see” the footprints of God in our lives. It is only when we look back that we can see that God was there all the time.
Having been baptized into the beloved community, as followers of Christ, we know who we are … in Christ, we have been identified as God's children, and just like Jesus, we will be tested. But having been baptized by the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit we have the footprints of God impressed upon our soul and no one can take that away from us.
Pondering: Have you ever had someone use bible verses to hurt you? to trick you? to make you feel better ... but it actually makes you feel worse? Have you ever used bible verses to try to persuade people to think like you think? We've probably all been guilty of "proof-texting." Proof-texting is the use of individual bible verses or passages to produce apparent support for a belief or a teaching without adequate regard for the contexts of the individual texts that might indicate differences and nuances in meaning. To avoid proof-texting, we go all the way back to Massah to determine how to interpret this part of the passage!
Have you ever asked the question, “Where are you God? Why is this happening to me?” in the midst of your troubles? Have you ever been able to look back and see the "footprints" of God on your life? What was that like? Does our experience of God's presence make it likelier that we will be able to trust God more deeply the next time trouble comes?
Praying: The Lenten Season is one of prayer and self-reflection. Our Lenten theme at Ashford UMC is "the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit.” I invite you to engage in an adapted daily “Prayer of Examen” either on your own or with family members throughout the season of Lent.
1. Come to the center of yourself and sit in the silence ...
2. Where did you notice the "felt" presence of God today?
3. Where did you long for the "missing" presence of God today?
4. Sit in the silence as you wonder the movement of God in your life and in the world.
Rest in the gentle presence of God as you consider your responses to the Examen questions above...
“May your heart be filled with the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit”
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