The Heavens Were Torn Apart
Matthew 3:16-4:1 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert. He was taken there to be tempted by the devil.
When the going gets tough, when we’re in a place we’d rather not be in, it’s easy to get the idea that somehow we’re out of God’s will. After all, success equals God’s blessing … doesn’t it?
I don’t know whether you’ve been baptised, but my baptism was a fairly ordinary affair. Don’t get me wrong, it was really special for me but it was … ordinary. On the other hand, when Jesus was baptised we’re told that …
Matthew 3:16,17 … As soon as he came up out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove. A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him.”
Unreal! If that had been me, I’d have been thinking, “Woah! I am definitely on a fast track here to success in the Kingdom of God.”
But what happens next to Jesus blows me away. Listen to how Matthew puts it:
Matthew 4:1 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert. He was taken there to be tempted by the devil.
Actually, that’s a bit soft. Literally, what it says there in the original Greek as it was written is that the Spirit of God drove Him or threw Him out into the desert. So, from this amazing baptism where God shows up … to being driven by this same God into the wilderness to starve, to be alone and weak and vulnerable, to be tempted by the devil. That’s a major turnaround. That’s not what you would have expected.
And yet that’s precisely what God did with His Son … something to keep in mind the next time you’re going through a rough patch.
God’s plans aren’t always comfortable, but they are perfect.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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Todd Davenport
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