Notes on Matthew 4 and Luke 4-5: CFM lesson for Feb 4-10

We were in California last week with our six youngest kids.  I was able to still study the week's lesson but I didn't have a chance to write down any thoughts.  So even though the week is over, I hope you all don't mind my belated musings.

* Christ was tempted and resisted, just as we have to.  But unlike us, Christ never yeilded.  I love this quote by C. S. Lewis:
No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness — they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means — the only complete realist.”
* Christ's temptations had much to do with doing the right things at the right time and for the right reasons.  He would one day turn stones into bread by feeding thousands with a few loaves and fishes, but it was not right this day nor for these purposes.  As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland notes,
The temptation is not in the eating. He has eaten before, he will soon eat again, and he must eat for the rest of his mortal life. The temptation, at least the part I wish to focus on, is to do it this way, to get his bread—his physical satisfaction, relief for his human appetite—the easy way, by abuse of power and without a willingness to wait for the right time and the right way. It is the temptation to be the convenient Messiah. Why do things the hard way? Why walk to the shop—or bakery? Why travel all the way home? Why deny yourself satisfaction when with ever such a slight compromise you might enjoy this much-needed nourishment? But Christ will not ask selfishly for unearned bread. He will postpone gratification, indefinitely if necessary, rather than appease appetite—even ravenous appetite—with what is not his.
* The second temptation is to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and test God's promises to watch over him.  Once again, someday he would be cast down in death and would rise again with the power of God, but this was not the right time nor the right way to do such things. Again from Elder Holland:

"The temptation here is even more subtle than the first. It is a temptation of the spirit, of a private hunger more real than the need for bread. Would God save him? Would he? Is Jesus to have divine companionship in this awesome ministry he now begins? He knows that among the children of men only suffering, denunciation, betrayal, and rejection lie ahead. But what about heaven? How alone does a Messiah have to be? Perhaps before venturing forth he ought to get final reassurance. And shouldn’t Satan be silenced with his insidious “If, if, if”? Why not get spiritual confirmation, a loyal congregation, and an answer to this imp who heckles—all with one appeal to God’s power? Right now. The easy way. Off the temple spire."
* The final temptation is the offer from Satan to give him all the kingdoms of the world.  Elder Holland notes:
Now in some frustration Satan moves right to the point. If he cannot tempt physically and cannot tempt spiritually, he will simply make an outright proposition. From a high mountain where they might overlook the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, Satan says, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” 
Satan makes up for lack of subtlety here with the grandeur of his offer. Never mind that these kingdoms are not ultimately his to give. He simply asks of the great Jehovah, God of heaven and earth, “What is your price? Cheap bread you resist. Tawdry messianic drama you resist, but no man can resist this world’s wealth. Name your price.” Satan is proceeding under his first article of faithlessness—the unequivocal belief that you can buy anything in this world for money.

Jesus will one day rule the world. He will govern every principality and power in it. He will be King of kings and Lord of lords. But not this way. Indeed to arrive at the point at all, he has to follow a most inconvenient course. Nothing so simple as worshiping Satan or for that matter nothing so simple as worshiping God. At least not in the way some of us think worshiping is simple. His arrival at the throne of grace is to lead through travail and sorrow and sacrifice. Some seven centuries earlier Isaiah had prophesied of him,
* I loved how Christ responded to the adversary's temptations by saying, "It is written . . ." and then quoting scripture.  I reminded my kids that we can use our own study and knowledge of the scriptures to respond to our own temptations.  A friend of mine had her family each choose a scripture they could recite when tempted.  I love that idea.

In line with that, I am reminded of this counsel by Elder Boyd K. Packer:
"I want to tell you young people about one way you can learn to control your thoughts, and it has to do with music. 
The mind is like a stage. Except when we are asleep the curtain is always up. There is always some act being performed on that stage. It may be a comedy, a tragedy, interesting or dull, good or bad; but always there is some act playing on the stage of the mind. 
Have you noticed that without any real intent on your part, in the middle of almost any performance, a shady little thought may creep in from the wings and attract your attention? These delinquent thoughts will try to upstage everybody. 
If you permit them to go on, all thoughts of any virtue will leave the stage. You will be left, because you consented to it, to the influence of unrighteous thoughts. 
If you yield to them, they will enact for you on the stage of your mind anything to the limits of your toleration. They may enact a theme of bitterness, jealousy, or hatred. It may be vulgar, immoral, even depraved. 
When they have the stage, if you let them, they will devise the most clever persuasions to hold your attention. They can make it interesting all right, even convince you that it is innocent—for they are but thoughts. 
What do you do at a time like that, when the stage of your mind is commandeered by the imps of unclean thinking?—whether they be the gray ones that seem almost clean or the filthy ones which leave no room for doubt. 
If you can control your thoughts, you can overcome habits, even degrading personal habits. If you can learn to master them you will have a happy life. 
This is what I would teach you. Choose from among the sacred music of the Church a favorite hymn, one with words that are uplifting and music that is reverent, one that makes you feel something akin to inspiration. Remember President Lee’s counsel; perhaps “I Am A Child of God” would do. Go over it in your mind carefully. Memorize it. Even though you have had no musical training, you can think through a hymn."

* In keeping with Matthew's pattern of referring to Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled in Christ, he says,
13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
I found the map below in the New Testament Student Manual.  It gave this explanation:  "During Old Testament times this area was the inheritance of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. Over the centuries, numerous battles were waged to secure control over this strategic region. Some have suggested that because so many people lost their lives in battle here, Isaiah referred to the people of this region as “them which sat in the region and shadow of death” (Matthew 4:16). Isaiah prophesied that in this death-stricken land a “great light” would spring up (Isaiah 9:2). That light is Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. Matthew wanted his readers to know that the Savior’s ministry in the land of Galilee was a fulfillment of this messianic prophecy."



* The ancient apostles "straightway left their nets" to follow Jesus.  I have been reading this biography of the life of Russell M. Nelson.  When he was at the very top of his profession and in the prime of his life, he left it all to follow the call of the Apostleship.  And he is only one of many who have done the same.  How can I make sure that I have my priorities in order?  Are there things I need to abandon in order to more fully follow Christ? 

* I'm still thinking about the fact that all Judea was following Christ and hanging on his every word -- not even giving him the chance to have time alone in the wilderness -- and yet his own town rejects him. (Luke 4:28-30).  How am I tempted to reject the good things I am too familiar with?  Am I too close to the daily happiness of family life to see it for the joy and delight it is?  Am I more interested in finding amazing and visible ways to serve than I am in tending my own responsibilities that lie right in front of me?  Am I willing to see the miracles and inspiration that come to my neighbor as he or she serves in their own quiet way?  Or am I looking beyond the mark for something more dramatic than just "Joseph the carpenter's son?"

* I love that Simon's mother-in-law is healed and then immediately gets to work being a hostess and ministering unto them.  Last year, when I was paralyzed with a ruptured disc for eleven days, I realized what a privilege it is to simply walk around and clean my house.  I longed for nothing more than to be the one up doing the dishes and picking up the toys and sweeping the floors.  It was so hard to let others help and serve me.  So I relate to her joy in jumping up and getting right to the tasks at hand.

* It is clear that Jesus achieves a great following, at least at first.  In Matthew 4:25, it says that "And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and fromJudæa, and from beyond Jordan."  Then Luke chapter 4 echoes this by saying in verse 15, "But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities."  Luke 5:15 says something similar.  Were these early followers sincere and committed?  Or did they just want to be healed outwardly without being fully changed?  Later, some would begin to reject him and dislike some of his harder sayings.  Am I fully committed?  Or am I simply looking for relief from my day to day pressures without wanting to change myself and commit to being fully consecrated?  It reminds me of the lyrics to his song:




"Help me want the healer more than the healing
Help me want the savior more than the saving
Help me want the giver more than the giving
Oh help me want you Jesus more than anything"

* Luke 4:42 is yet another instance of Christ seeking a solitary place and being thronged by the demands of his followers -- as I said before, that's so familiar to me as a mother!  "And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them"

* I like the way this conference talk envisions the story of the man sick with the palsy as it might happen in our day.  We all need to help each other.

* Luke 4:36-39 talks about new wine in new bottles and then says, "No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better."  It is human nature to resist change when what we have is comfortable.  I think about how long it took some of the older generation to adapt to email, for example.  But old or young, I think we are all subject to becoming set in our ways of doing things and resistant to the changes that need to happen, whether it be changes in our viewpoint, in our prejudices, in our culture, or in our hearts.  Last October, when President Nelson asked us all to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year, I was a little resistent at first.  I'd been studying the Book in Portuguese all year long and I also had a good habit of listening to general conference talks and scholarly podcasts about the scriptures.  I was tempted to say that was enough.  But I determined to do what was asked and it really did enliven my scripture study.  It gave me a deeper desire to study more and has helped me be ready for the New Testament study this year.  

Comments

Megan said…
Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts & for going to the trouble of sharing so many great links (in this post & the next, I especially noticed). I appreciate reading your insights!