31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. 36 And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” 37 And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district. – Luke 4:31-37

As I finished the passage and it sunk it, I noticed a subtle attack of the Enemy. He obviously came in to be a distraction from Jesus’ teaching (v. 33-34), but that was only part of it. The true distraction came after the event. The passage started with people being amazed at Jesus’ teaching alone. They saw that He had authority to pronounce Truth in a way that none of the scribes and Pharisees could. After the exorcism, the people’s focus is at the least divided if not more focused on His ability to cast out spirits rather than speak Truth.

I think the Enemy might have actually gotten what He wanted here. This is not Jesus’ fault as He only did that which allowed Him to continue to teach, but the fickleness of the human heart is such that we get more enamored with miracles than God’s Truth. I pray that we all see God’s miraculous power, but only in such a way that will not distract us from knowing and living His Word.

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews ; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." – John 3:1-2

Nicodemus was one who was stuck in a difficult position. As one of the Pharisees, he was not in the majority regarding his view of Jesus. This is likely why he came to Jesus by night. This man has a desire to know Jesus, but it is clear that fear is still a big obstacle in his life (I can’t blame him, if they want to kill Jesus, the logical reasoning is they might want to kill you, too).

He also has bad theology. It is not true the miracles Jesus did make it clear that He was from God. They are a reason to raise the possibility, but remember Pharaoh’s men could turn staffs into snakes. The basis of Nicodemus’ belief and desire to know Jesus was not resting on the right foundation.

3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 8 "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going ; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." 9 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? – John 3:3-10

Here Jesus uncovers the issue with Nicodemus. As a religious Pharisee, he was too focused on externals (that was his key reason for coming to Jesus). Jesus unpacks that a new birth of inward transformation is they key to understanding the kingdom of God. Even in his follow up question Nicodemus show that he is still focused on the externals and cannot understand how a new physical birth is possible (its not and the image is frightening). Nicodemus as a spiritual leader of the nation was not focused on the spiritual at all!

12 "If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven : the Son of Man. 14 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." – John 3:12-21

Jesus pounds home here the truth that one does not come to know God through that which is temporal. The hardest part of new birth is thee shift in our thinking and focus. Shifting our gaze heavenward to that which is eternal.

1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." 6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him. 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew ), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." 11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. – John 2:1-11

Jesus quietly was willing to help out his mother and the family of this married couple. Again nothing flashy and many people did not even see Jesus perform the miracle. This miracle did give use a profound truth:

In the hands of Jesus, the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

The text records that this was the first of the signs that manifested Jesus’ glory and also convinced His disciples to believe in Him. This is the beauty of serving Jesus. I who am nothing and become something in the hands of my Savior. His use of me is not because of my own ability, but because of His power. I am reminded of Paul’s words to the Corinthians:

27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no * man may boast before God. – 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

We who are chosen by him, are chosen because of our inability, so that their will be no doubt Who has the power and glory.

Here are some observations regarding how Jesus was confronted with and how he handled temptation:

Temptation came while Jesus was following the Holy Spirit (v. 1)

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness

Following God is not easy. In fact, when we choose to follow the Spirit’s leading it is likely opposition will increase.

Jesus avoided temptation in a weakened state (v. 2-3)

2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

We often make excuses for poor choices. Being tired or “not myself” can become a license for giving into temptation. We can ALWAYS resist temptation, if we choose to.

Jesus answered temptation with the Word of God (v. 4, 8, 12)

4 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.' "... 8 Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'... 12 And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is said, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.' "

We have to have the Word in our hearts. Too often we wait for the attack to come before we prepare. Our ability to defend against and fight temptation is greatly affected by our time in the Word of God.

Temptation will test our submission (v. 5-7)

5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory ; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 "Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours."

Will we allow God to be God? Do we trust Him with our circumstances? Do we trust is timing? Do we trust Him? This is Satan’s oldest trick.

Temptation will misuse the Word of God (v. 9-11)

9 And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here ; 10 for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU,' 11 and, 'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.' "

This is why real study is important. The Enemy likes to use Scripture soundbites to trick us into succumbing to temptation. He will use ignorance against us.

Temptaion will return (v. 13)

13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

The end of one temptation is the time to prepare for the next. The Enemy will be back.

13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” – Matthew 3:13-17

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” – Mark 1:9-11

21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” – Luke 3:21-22

The phrase that jumped out at me over and over again is “You are my beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased”. God in His very nature has community and relationship. God from the beginning, before angels, before humanity, had His Son. Jesus’ call for us to have unity and fellowship as the body of Christ does not simply come from it being a good thing. It is derived from the very nature and character of Godhead and the relationship that exists between the persons of God.

The person of Jesus puts a smile on the Father’s face. What a powerful testimony. May we strive to do the same. And may we remember why unity and fellowship is so important.

Jesus and his disciples were the Mount of Olives after a visit to the temple when the disciples asked Jesus about what they should expect concerning ‘the end of the age’ (Matthew 24:3). He responds with what is known as the Olivet Discourse, where Jesus answers the disciples question. He is clear on how Christians should and should not respond to the coming His return and the requisite signs.

See that you are not frightened (Matthew 24:6)

We have all heard it said that Jesus predicted that violence and war would grow more common in the end times. This is quite possibly the most obvious of the signs that has come to pass. What is not often taught, however, is Jesus command to not be frightened by the heightened intensity of earthy battles. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

Be on the alert (Matthew 24:42)

How could this be the command? Jesus wants us to remain vigilant, yet fearless. We often somehow confuse the two. Jesus makes it clear that He has told us in advance what will happen so that we are not afraid, but that we would be alert. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will”

Here’s the point. Prophecy and end times teaching should never become something we are fascinated in because of the fear factor of it all. It should also not be our personal hobby, where we spend all our time piecing timelines together like a giant jigsaw puzzle of Biblical texts. According to Jesus’ teaching on the Mount of Olives, just a short time before His death and resurrection, end times teaching should always be for the twofold purpose of comfort and encouragement.  in the fact that even when the World seems to be falling out His control, that nothing could be further from the truth. Encouragement in our work on Earth, to live every day in obedience to His call on our lives, whether that be to lead a household (to His glory), nurture a family (to His glory), study diligently (to His glory), obey parents (to His glory), or serve an employer (to His glory). The last thing Jesus wanted us to be is consumed with studying timelines and reading prophecy commentaries.

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

I was convicted because this man was seeking to know Jesus before Jesus even came into the world. He sought God so passionately that he was given a promise that he would lay eyes on Messiah before he died. Through his prayer and study he was acutely aware of what Jesus came to do for the Gentiles, even though this would be a shock to Jesus’ disciples and even the heavens Paul would write. Meeting Jesus is what this man lived for.

I do not long after Jesus like this. Even though He has saved me from my sins. Even though his teachings are at my fingertips. Even though His Spirit dwells within me. This must change. If I am going to ever going to know Jesus like I should it doesn’t just begin with reading about His life. It begins with having this passion that Simeon had, the kind of passion that leaves Jesus as the only thing I live for.

Jesus help me seek you as Simeon.