Day 3 Lent 2023
Jesus began His public ministry. We claim to be His followers as Christians. After all, that is what that name means: followers of Christ. Does that mean we should have a “public ministry,” too?
Yes.
"The Holy Spirit" by Lawrence OP is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
That thought terrifies people. It makes me uncomfortable, and I like public speaking. Why does the idea of having a “public ministry” fill us with angst? Because we view it as confrontational rather than salvational. I don’t mean we have to have a public ministry to get to Heaven; no, not at all. I mean, we view it as going into a fight with people instead of trying to help them. The other reason we view it as frightening is we aren’t sure how to do it, we don’t think we’re prepared to do it, and if we’re honest, we don’t want to change to do it.
If we’re followers of Jesus the Christ, we can take direction from our Lord and Savior from when He was in the wilderness.
3And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Luke 4:3–4 (KJV 1900)
Luke, the physician, quotes Jesus, quoting the Old Testament telling us God’s Word is how we live. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy Chapter 8, verse 3. Let’s look at that text now.
3And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
Deuteronomy 8:3 (KJV 1900)
You may have noticed I’ve used the King James in these last two scripture. There’s a reason for that, and I don’t want you to think I’m trying something sneaky. Here are both of those passages from the NASB so you can see the difference before I make the next point.
3And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ”
Luke 4:3–4 (NASB95)
3“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3 (NASB95)
In both cases, the NASB lessens the impact of the Word of God. The Luke passage leaves out the second half of the quote from the Old Testament altogether. The Deuteronomy passage changes it to “everything,” which arguably is more all-encompassing. Sometimes that all-encompassing nature gives us wiggle room where none really exists, but we decide to put it there because the truth is uncomfortable, like a public ministry. My point in using the King James Version for these two scriptures is that Jesus is telling Satan, yes, we need food, but just as much, we need “every word of God.” Every word. Not just the ones we like and ignore the rest, even the hard words like repentance and public ministry.
There are only two sides in this game. God’s and Satan’s. There is no middle ground. If we take scripture as God’s Word outlining how creation functions, then we must acknowledge this clear delineation.
25And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26“If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?
27“If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
28“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29“Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
30“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
Matthew 12:25–30 (NASB95)
Those are red letters, by the way. That means they are the words spoken by Jesus. Scripture as the Word of God doesn’t have more or less value because of who the speaker was, but we give the words of Jesus more weight. That assumption is based on the idea that Jesus actually said them but more to the point because He was God made flesh. Thus, those words are spoken by the Son from the Father. Still, all of the Bible are the words of God, no less valuable than any others.
The Matthew passage above leaves us with a chilling choice. We are either on God’s side or Satan’s side. That leads us inexorably to another passage of scripture.
14“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
15“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:14–15 (NASB95)
People should not live by just what is in this life but by following all the words of God. Those words lead us to choose either being with God or against God. Today, enter into a period of prayer and decide which side you are on. If that decision lands you in God’s camp, then we must be ready to serve in the manner called upon by our Lord.
Jesus didn’t come to Earth as a human being to save just one person. He came to save as many as are willing to be led into the light. Jesus served all of mankind. My focus in writing is often inward for us to tend to ourselves first, making our hearts acceptable to God before looking outward. Jesus went into the wilderness to set his mind right and focus before turning his attention to the people around Him. God can take us where we are right now and use us to further His goals just as we are. That doesn’t mean we aren’t to continue to work out our own salvation as we go, making ourselves better. It means our current state is no excuse for not trying to help others right now, however we can.