Calvin Synod Herald, 1973 (73. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1973-01-01 / 1. szám
4 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD Of course, you know that the temptation story is recorded by Matthew, Mark and Luke. We shall use the Matthew version found in chapter 4:1-11. Modern man has difficulties in accepting this story, because it speaks of a struggle with the devil. Despite the wide-spread Satan cult and other occult practices, decent religious people laugh at the idea of struggling with the devil. The devil for them is non-existent, a childish concept, empty superstition, and, therefore, they consider the temptation story a “highly stylized anecdote...” Other more sophisticated interpreters call it a “proleptic story,” that is: a story which could not have been written until there was the knowledge of Jesus’ career upon which to base it. The theory that Jesus himself related this story to the disciples in an intimate moment seems to be unconvincing for them.... Undoubtedly the scripture narratives present the story not as an isolated event, but as a commentary on the entire course of Jesus’ ministry, and significantly enough they link together the temptation story with the baptismal experience of Jesus. According to Bultman, this is secondary, but 1 disagree. I accept what Matthew, Mark and Luke seem to say: when a person is called by the living God, testing is inevitable. Remember Israel: when God called them out of the land of Egypt and brought them through the water, for forty years they were tested in the wilderness. So it is with Jesus: as if He would recapitulate the story of His people, when in the baptismal experience He became convinced that His God-ordained ministry had begun, He had to retire to the wilderness to understand exactly what God’s will for Him involved. And so it is with us: when HE calls us, He puts us to the test in order to strengthen His ministry in us. It is just like planting a tree: when you put a few shovels of soil on the roots, you must shake it not to uproot it, but rather to make the roots settle more firmly (James 1:2-4). To be sure, we resent this educational process of God, but this is inevitable if we are to overcome the Satanic concepts of the Christian ministry. Let us see clearly then: the devil becomes a reality only for those who have heard God’s word and are ready to obey His will. For the spiritually dead, the devil does not exist. But when an Adam or Eve hears God’s voice, the devil is alerted too. So count it a fact that when God prepares his servants for the ministry it is an ordeal, a hell of a time, dwelling with wild animals and angels at the same time (Mark 1:13). Forty days and forty nights Jesus struggled in the wilderness. Evidently He found no easy answers quickly given to the questions of his ministry. Many of us are surprised at that. We are prone to think that we ought to know God’s will easily and quickly, without struggle or with minimum prayer — meditation, and self-discipline. Especially here in America, we are so action-oriented that it is hard for us to understand that being busy does not always mean that we are getting something done. We would rather hustle than pray, do things than meditate, and perhaps this is why we so easily develop an attitude of shallow cocksureness, humorless self-efficiency, and over-critical defensiveness. But the Scripture tells us that, on that road, we cannot find God, and His will is not revealed to us so cheaply. This is the meaning of forty days and forty nights.... The devil is a brilliant strategist: he knows when and where and how to attack us. He came to Jesus when, after forty days and forty nights, He became hungry, just as he attacks us when our physical and spiritual resources are at a low ebb. Significantly enough he started his work (as he did with Adam and Eve) by putting a question mark after God’s Word: IF you are the Son of God... His name is diabolos, the great divider or accuser who, by doubts and distrust, tries to separate us from God: “Who do you think you are? What if the Voice at baptism was only a trick of imagination? God unproved is only a defense mechanism: don’t you know that!?” Or as Judas in “Jesus Christ, Superstar” phrases it: “I remember when this whole thing began, no talk of God, then, we call you a man,” and the chorus echoes it: “Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, who are you? What have you sacrificed? Jesus Christ, Superstar, do you think you’re what they say you are?” Yes, through His mother, relatives, disciples and high priests this “if” came back over and over again.... And so it is with us: if the devil cannot make us doubt God, he makes us doubt ourselves as individuals and as a church. “You are an animal: give up God, prayer, conscience; eat up, booze up, sleep in, freak out; this is your fate! ... Church? Communion of saints? Body of Christ? Servants of Gods — outmoded, irrelevant, non-sensical concepts ...” What do you say? Quote the Scriptures: “I am His son. We are His body! That’s the truth!...” And you will experience what Luther did: “The prince of darkness grim. We tremble not for him. His rage we can endure, For, lo, his doom is sure, One little Word shall fell him...” Is this our strategy of victory? Is there any other? Dr. John Butosi -------------------------------------A GOOD NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION During the coming year I will go nowhere I can’t take Jesus Christ; I will say nothing I would not want Him to hear; I will do nothing I would not want Him to know about. ♦ WISDOM FOR THE NEW YEAR Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matt. 6:33 Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. Matt. 24:42
