After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Notably "he was hungry" makes mention of something that occurred following "forty days and forty nights of fasting". Implying Jesus, consuming so much nourishment from Heaven, did not become physically hungry until after 40 days of fasting. Instead of being reveled with physical hunger Jesus chose to feast on spiritual nourishment provided by the riches of Heaven that in reciprocity devoured the open crevices of his vessel.
As a result, when the adversary presented Jesus with the idea of turning stone into bread to appease his hunger, he was not tempted. In verse 4 Jesus clarifies his consumption of a different form of nourishment when he spoke "man does not live on bread alone". Inferring there are other means by which man may feed to survive.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
I'm not sure what side you're landing on in this one, Dev. If you’re saying Jesus was so “taken-up” with all-things-Heavenly during that period of temptation in Matthew 4, I believe that to be true, but not to the extent that He did not suffer an aching hunger. To think anything else, to me, minimizes the power of the event, and lessens its ability to make an impact on my struggles, with Him as my example.
ReplyDeleteCertainly, even we “broken vessels” can get caught-up so in Him that we can get temporarily distracted from immediate physical needs (oh, for more of that in MY life!). But interjecting theories to make the length of suffering, and Yeshua’s success in dealing with it more plausible, minimizes what I consider to be a show of His discipline, and Biblical fact, to mere allegorical terms. If that’s the case, then I can hope for just as much Biblical guidance on the topic of listening to sound wisdom from my elders, as I can from the story in Greek mythology of Icarus, who didn’t listen to his father, Deadalus, and flew too close to the sun with the wax and feather wings, and plunged into the sea. Or, for lessons in humility, I can learn from Narcissus, also in Greek mythology. who perished because he could not break the gaze of his own reflection.
So, did G-D really create a “big fish” to swallow Jonah? Why not? My G-D could do that if He wanted to. It’s a slippery slope (this is just my opinion) to decide which part of G-D’s Word is literal, and which isn’t.
What would be the purpose of even mentioning the “40 days”, if that number didn’t mean something we can all relate to? Or, in that framework, Jesus’ longing to prove His Father’s Power by allowing the angels to put on a show-of-strength by catching Him before He hits the ground, after plunging off a cliff. Or, the REALLY big one, winning back the fair-and-square loss of the rulership of this world to sin, by simply bowing to the enemy (probably not the hardest one of the three for Him to see-through for the lie it was).
The temptation to turn the stones to bread came before the other ones. If I understand anything about the enemy of my soul's tactics, he won't waste his time tempting me with something that doesn't tempt me. Some issues that are really a struggle for my brothers and sisters in Yeshua, are not a struggle at all for me. The reverse is true, too, however. Drunks are drunks because they “take” to it. Sex addicts and those who struggle with porn, or anger, bitterness, greed, or false humility have bowed to those things, and, thereby have created a “covenant” of sorts that the enemy capitalizes on, and uses it to destroy. I do not understand the brother’s struggle who is brought to ruin by gambling, or the other, through pornography. But I understand deeply cut channels of struggle itself, and to THAT I relate completely. It is in “my” areas of struggle that satan focuses.
The enemy would not have brought up "bread" if he didn't know Jesus was starving – and I believe to the point at which satan thought He would cave (and that, only after a period of time during which it would only be normal for Yeshua to experience the constant reminder of His hunger. “Okay, okay! Enough already!”, we might say, as we cave in to the constant barrage of suggestions to attend to our weaknesses). To me, saying Yeshua was so distracted by all-things-Heavenly, takes away a good portion of the power of what He went through, as my Example, in that time of hunger. I mean, after THAT long, to be reminded that is was within His power to make warm, fresh, piping hot loaves of bread appear before him…man! It’s not unlike the gambler or sex addict to be reminded, over-and-over again, just how easy, for “JUST one last time”, they can get on line and get it on. We can be strong for a time, but the power is in the constant onslaught of temptations the enemy brings – not always the first one.
If that’s NOT what you were saying, then…never mind! ;->
I believe where we differ is this. I don’t believe Jesus was a “mere man” just like us.
ReplyDeleteWhat type of mere man is born of a virgin? Can raise the dead? Can transform physical matter? Can descend to Hell and Heaven in a matter of days? Can read people’s minds? Jesus was no mere man.
Jesus was the manifestation of the greatest potential of man as he was a completely open vessel (free from sin). Jesus was the full God-self as we have never seen or heard of before or since! Even still Jesus was not MAGIC. He did the work we do and faaaar far beyond that. He personified complete spiritual power. He was God.
I am not saying Jesus was distracted by Heavenly things. I am saying Jesus was so spiritually nourished through 40 days and 40 nights of NON-STOP prayer, meditation, and worship that physical hunger could not overcome him. So although his physical body was hungry and weak, his spiritual body was full and more powerful than EVER before. Jesus “walked in the spirit” and he’d overcome his fleshly desires, as we like to say Christians should strive to do.
Remember his physical body NEVER overcame his spiritual body/calling/purpose.
He was so connected to his source… so plugged-in to the complete power of God that the enemy had NO power over him.
I can tempt you with a slice of chocolate cake, but if you’ve done the work so that chocolate cake has no power over you – then you simply say “no thanks” and move on. You’ve done the work, gained the knowledge & understanding, realized these things and you now walk in the complete perspective that chocolate cake is not the way to go.
I am not saying he felt no physical symptoms, but the power of God’s spirit can overcome everything physical (even death). Today this occurs at various levels for various people according to their faith, but for Jesus it was complete.
Recall the bible does not say “Jesus fell before the devil hungry and weeping as he stammered to say the words ‘we do not live on bread alone’. Jesus was able to fulfill his own words to the highest potential of truth – he had no sin.
I think the only misunderstanding here - and it's a big one I want to be clear on for me - is that He was 100% G-D, and totally supernatural, WHILE being also 100% human, and suseptible to everything we are, "...yet without sin." That's the Power we draw on, from His Spirit. You are absolutely correct: did not fall and whimper out his responses to the tempations - He said, "no thanks" with Scripture, just as you wrote above. Man, that's the power over my own fleshly tendencies that I want more of each day!
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