12/15/24 - Matthew 4: Advent of Joy
The Wilderness
Redeeming Israel
40 years, 40 days, reliving the journey
Testing in the wilderness
Accomplished what Israel failed to do
Dry, empty, lonely
Advent of Joy and we land in Matthew 4
It’s hard to imagine this moment as a joyful time
Jesus is hungry, isolated, and harassed by the devil
Most of us would wonder, “What am I doing wrong?”
In my own life right now, watching our Church dwindle and finding myself in a wilderness period, It’s hard not to ask, “What did I do?”
Suffering with intentionality
Jesus was led by the Spirit of God
We often imagine that our problems will become less when following God’s will
Sometimes, they multiply for a season
We have a hard time imagining isolation, trial, and suffering as part of God’s will
We have a harder time connecting such conditions to the fruit of the Spirit, especially Joy or peace
Examination of the Lamb
For a sacrificial lamb to be worthy of bearing the sins of the people, it had to be examined to ensure there was no spot or blemish
Jesus' testing in the wilderness was his examination. He was proved to have no spot, no blemish; he was blameless and faultless, worthy of carrying our sins on His shoulders.
Hebrews says that for the Joy set before Him, he endured the cross
Isaiah 53:11 - “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”
Jesus' testing is a reason for Joy for us because we are accounted righteous because of Him.
We need a change of perspective
Jesus endured because of the joy of knowing what waited on the other side of suffering.
Romans 8 tells us that if we suffer with him, we will be glorified with him.
Hebrews exhorts us to endure hardship as discipline, knowing that God allows it for our good, to discipline us, to teach us righteousness so that we can have peace as the outcome.
Looking back at past difficulties, we can see the benefits we’ve gained, the lessons learned, and the character formed
If we could go into suffering with faith and hope that there was a good outcome waiting for us, we’d find it easier to not grumble, complain, and drag our feet the whole way. Perhaps we could learn to have joy amid hardship because of what’s on the other side.
Into the Thick of it
Rest and recovery
Jesus is still in the wilderness when he is ministered to by angels
We have to understand that while the wilderness periods of our lives are moments of trial and training, they’re also opportunities to find rest and to be ministered to.
Sometimes, we endure the wilderness and want to get out as soon as possible to get work done and miss out on the secondary reason why God allows wilderness in our lives: to rest, to cut back and be free from other responsibilities, to be ministered to and filled up.
Trial doesn’t stop where the wilderness ends
The first thing that happens when Jesus gets out of the wilderness is he hears that his cousin John, who baptized him 40 days before, has been imprisoned.
Jesus goes back home to Nazareth to begin his ministry, and not only does he not catch a break, but Luke records that his first hometown sermon gets him kicked out of town and nearly thrown off a cliff
When Jesus moves to Capernaum, Matthew displays this as the fulfillment of prophecy and the dawning of a great light. In Luke, we find Jesus casting out a demon on his first visit to the synagogue and then is so inundated with so many people coming to him for healing that he is actively looking for opportunities to get out into the wilderness to be alone.
Sometimes, we erroneously assume that when we get out of our wilderness seasons, everything will cool off. However, wilderness provides us an opportunity to rest during the trial because when we come out of the other side there are more challenges and work to be done.
If we don’t take advantage of the rest and the perspective change that comes with the wilderness, coming out of the wilderness will be more of a challenge, and that can be very confusing or even crushing.
So, if you find yourself in a wilderness, don’t despair it. Take advantage of it. Realize the gift that you’ve been given.
Changing things up
Jesus' baptism and wilderness journey were the inauguration of his public ministry. The wilderness was there to transition a change and equip for the next stage of life. He would never go back to being a carpenter or living in Nazareth again.
Jesus’ ministry also marked the change of course for Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Jesus’ entering their lives was very disruptive, financially threatening, career-dashing, and the beginning of a journey for these men that would end in extremely brutal deaths and persecution.
We really need to understand that Jesus’ coming into our lives doesn’t always put things back together in a peaceful and happy manner in the way that we expect peace and joy to be.
And if we’re walking with Jesus, we have to understand that he disrupts the status quo and calls us into a change of life that’s disruptive and continually progressive towards Christ-likeness.
If we live our lives to avoid disruptions and are always fighting to make sure life goes according to plan, if we are trying to walk with Jesus we will find that a very difficult wrestling match and we won’t find any joy in the status quo
If our lives are never disrupted, it might be a good idea to examine if Jesus may have come by at some point, called us, and perhaps we decided to stay in the boat. Jesus has never been a fan of the status quo, and if we’re comfortable with it, perhaps we need to find out if we’re still walking with Jesus or not.
Finding Joy
God’s not punishing you
When relating Matthew 4 with this Advent season, the first thing that we need to look at is this relationship with trial and our response to it.
God uses trials to test us
which means to prove the worthiness of a thing or to purify precious metals
God uses dry, empty, and isolated periods of our lives to allow or even force us to rest
Lord knows that when we’re out of those dry and quiet places, we’re often so pressed on that, like Jesus, we’re going to be seeking out quiet places soon enough so take advantage of it
God uses the trials in the wilderness to equip us for our next season of life.
We often misunderstand the good God intends for us as evil because we don’t like the experience at the time.
Hebrews writes that no training is pleasant at the time but it produces righteousness
We need to know that God genuinely accepts us as His children and He desires good for His children.
Some people have had overbearing parents which gives them a hard time understanding God as a good father.
You need to know that when you’re going through a hard time, God is not punishing you.
Sometimes, we can make things hard for ourselves because of the natural consequences of sin, but Jesus took the penalty for sin on himself.
The apostle John indicates in his letter that the more we understand and experience the love of God, the more the fear of punishment will go away.
When hardship comes, God might be using it to train, equip, and purify you, but he is never punishing you.
Lean into the disruption
Jesus' entrance into humanity was disruptive and continues to be so to this day. Jesus entering our lives was disruptive. He never allows us to be complacent for long, and he never leaves us anything short of moving forward from faith to deeper faith, from glory to greater glory.
If we fight for comfort, complacency, and the status quo, we’re going to be more miserable than the perceived misery of change. So embrace the change that Jesus brings.
Jesus has a ministry for you. While God’s word and the preaching of God’s word fills you up, it’s a benefit, not the motivation. Paul writes in Ephesians that the purpose of our gathering is so that the saints can be equipped and sent by the church to do the work of ministry.
Like the disciples, following the call of God requires a sacrifice. The sacrifice of finances, career advancement, predetermined life plans and goals. Or the sacrifice of sin, complacency, self-determination, stubbornness, or pride.
Following God’s will doesn’t come without its blessings and benefits. Sometimes we need to some things and desires go to make room for the better that God has for that.
There may be hardship in the call God gives us. Outside John, none of the apostles had an easy end to their lives. But not one of them could claim that their lives were joyless.
A change of perspective can change the whole game.
Suffering doesn’t have to be miserable and lonely. Jesus is there. When we suffer in our daily lives, we share a comradery and an intimacy with Jesus we wouldn’t have otherwise. We can learn to see the wilderness periods of our lives as special windows in space and time when we are especially close to Jesus.
When Andrew was being brought to the place of his death, he looked at the cross he would be tortured on and said, “Oh, cross most welcome and longed for! With a willing mind, joyfully and desirously, I come to you, being a scholar of Him which did hang on you, because I have always been your lover and yearn to embrace you.”
For Andrew, the trial was not a diversion from God’s grace. It was the door into it. We erroneously believe that Joy is most achievable when we avoid disruptions and suffering. Jesus is there waiting for us to lean into the disruptions, to find him there, and so find Joy in Him.
Seek Jesus first
When we come to wilderness periods of our lives, we tend to see only the wilderness, see only the problems, see only the pain. When we come to these seasons and moments, we need to look for Jesus because He’s there waiting for us, in it with us. When we enter the wilderness and seek Jesus first, the wilderness is no longer lonely, no longer dry, and no longer wasteful.
God has a calling for us. Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things will follow. The “all these things” that follow after are all the concerns of life. We tend to chase them first, hoping to make time for God when we’ve got everything in order.
Seeking the concerns of life and waiting for the right opportunity is a good way to ensure that the opportunity never comes, and it’s certainly a good formula that will steal your joy, your peace, and ultimately your life.
If we put first things first, everything else has an almost magical way of working out because when we put Jesus first and the calling that He’s given us to fulfill, He sets everything in place for us so that we don’t have to worry about it.
When we look at Matthew 4, the Joyful part seems to be at the end. People are being healed, lives are being changed, and Jesus' fame is being spread. He could’ve gone straight to Capernaum instead of going into the wilderness and Nazareth to face hardship. But the ministry in Capernaum wouldn’t have happened without the ministry in the wilderness and the ministry in Nazareth. Don’t be in a rush to get to a certain place. Go with Jesus. Because when He gets you to where you need to be, it won’t be just your life changed for the better. But the Joy He gives you will be spread to a needy and suffering world.