Lenten Devotional (5): The Greater Job

Let us remind ourselves daily that God does not allow us to be tempted without blessing and training us in righteousness.

Our Lord Jesus was tempted in three different ways. Among them was the temptation for universal power and authority. For this reason, “the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.”

In the book of Job, the LORD said to Satan: “Have you considered my servant Job?” Before Yahweh presented Job to the devil, He declared Job blameless and upright. Indeed, Job came through the temptations of Satan as a faithful servant, just as God said (Job 1:8; 1:21; 19:25).

In Matthew’s Gospel, God offers a new Job to be tested by Satan. Jesus overcomes the temptations of the evil one by pointing the devil to God’s authoritative Word (Deut. 8). Again, before Jesus went to the wilderness, God declared Jesus blameless and upright: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is the greater Job!

Let us remind ourselves daily that God does not allow us to be tempted without blessing and training us in righteousness. We are God’s servants: blameless and upright in His sight. May the Lenten journey prepare us to be faithful to respond to Satan’s temptations.

Prayer: O Lord, you are righteous and good. We ask not to be led into temptation, but should we be taken to the highest peak where power and authority are offered to us in exchange for compromising your Gospel, speak life to our hearts for the kingdom of heaven is mightier and more desirable than gold and silver. We ask this in the Name of our blessed Lord Jesus, amen.

Psalm of the Week: Be Gracious Unto Me, O God (Psalm 56)

Reader Comments and Questions

• Thanks to Susan Burger, one of my faithful readers who always keeps an eye on those false links and helps me edit specific bugs in my postings.

• Jeremy writes in response to my CREC video with Keith Foskey:

  The CREC seems to be presbyterian in heritage and identity but not so in the strict definition of the role of the presbytery outside of and above the local churches. I wonder if CREC members are comfortable with the term "consociationalism".

  Answer: No! I hate corporatism.

• Ryan writes:

  This man and his church do violence to the Scriptures. Discerning the body is not about the body of believers, but rather the body of our Lord. Reading 1 Cor 11, Paul is quite clearly talking about the Lord's Supper and what one should discern concerning that.

  Answer: Well, I have addressed this numerous times and am working on a commentary on these chapters. So, I didn’t think I offered anything violent concerning I Corinthians 11, nor did I violate any contextual principles. I simply don’t think Paul wishes to attack babies’ rationality in 11:26.

  Notations

• Two years later and I still find this picture hilarious! Choc Knox wanted to make sure that he pronounced my last name right to avoid the charge of racism.

  

• Mark 14 ritualizes Jesus at the beginning with oil, and then Jesus presides over the ritual of the Supper. Jesus is anointed to anoint us with his body and blood.

• If Jesus was baptized at the age of 30, it’s because he is the perfect priest. Numbers 8 affirms that priestly ordinations happen by sprinkling the water of cleansing on them. So, too, we may conclude Jesus was baptized by sprinkling in Matthew 3. He must be sprinkled to sprinkle the nations (Is. 52:15).

Nuntium

• I am headed to Moscow for a board meeting on Wednesday morning. Pray for strength and health (III John 2). I have a few interviews for the book, including an author’s night at the Sword and Shovel Bookstore. But the main reason for my trip is to attend the board meeting for New Saint Andrews College (NSA). The college continues to flourish and has been a joy to participate in its life these last six months as a board member.

Blessed Lent,

Uriesou Brito