Faith Without Works Doesn't Work (James 2.14-26)

Scripture: James 2.14-26

Translation: ¹⁴What is the benefit/what good does it do, my brothers, if someone would say he had faith, but wouldn’t have actions? That kind of faith can’t save him, can it? ¹⁵If a brother or sister really were naked and in need of their daily food, ¹⁶but anyone of you would say to them, “Go peace, warm yourselves up and feed yourselves until you’re full,” but you all wouldn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? ¹⁷So too the faith, if he wouldn’t have actions, is dead by definition.

¹⁸But someone will say you have faith, and I have actions. Prove to me your faith without actions, and I will prove to you the faith from my actions! ¹⁹You believe that God is One, good job, even the demons believe [that] and so they shake in fear! ²⁰But do you want to know, o empty man, that the faith without actions is useless/inactive/doesn’t work! ²¹Wasn’t Abraham our father proved righteous by actions by offering up Isaac his son on the altar? ²²You see that the faith acts together with his actions and by the actions the faith was made complete. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴See that by actions a man proved righteous and by faith alone! ²⁵But also in the same way wasn’t Rahab the prostitute by actions proved righteous by welcoming the messenger as guests and sending them out on another road? ²⁶For just as the body without a spirit is dead, so too the faith without actions is dead!

The Point I’m Stressing: A faith that doesn’t work doesn’t work. Real faith takes actions that prove their faith in God, fake faith thinks that someone can believe in God, but not live for God!

Interpretation

1.      Structure

a.       Hypothetical statements/Statement of the Thesis

                                                              i.      Thesis: It doesn't do any good to believe the right stuff if it doesn’t lead to you doing the right stuff

                                                            ii.      Analogy (perhaps related to how James wants their faith to work itself out): It doesn’t do any good if someone is starving and cold, and you just say eat something and feel better but don’t actually give them some clothes or food; concern for others results in actions, if it doesn’t it is not real concern

                                                          iii.      Thesis Reasserted: Faith without Actions is dead by definition!

b.      Answering Objections by Appealing to Scripture

                                                              i.      Answering the first objection:

1.      Objection: I just need to believe the right things

2.      Answer: There’s no proof of your faith without actions, even demons know what the truth is and respond in fear, but that doesn’t count as saving faith

                                                            ii.      Answering the second objection

1.      Objection: I do I know that faith without is useless

2.      Answer: 1) When Abraham sacrificed his son on the altar, he was proven righteous, which was a fulfillment of when he was considered righteous by faith; 2) Rahab was proven righteous when she offered hospitality to the spies and sent them away safely; 3) faith and works is like a body and a soul, if you don’t have a soul, you’re body is dead.

                                                          iii.      Thesis Reasserted: Thus, faith without actions is dead

2.      Themes

a.       Faith [πιστις] (vv.14[2x], 17, 18[3x], 19[2x πιστευειν], 20, 22[2x], 23[πιστευειν], 24, 26)

                                                              i.      This is part 1 of the main theme of the passage. In all but 2 of the instances (v.14 and v.23), faith is collocated in the same clause or sentence with actions.

                                                            ii.      The author is really stressing that you can’t have faith without actions coming with it, it always results in a person doing something because of what they believe. However, the author is not saying that faith in unimportant or unnecessary. No, he sees it as absolutely vital, and that is why he is so concerned that it results in actions, because that is how one knows if the faith is real or not

b.      Actions [εργα] (vv.14, 17, 18[3x], 19[ποιεις], 20, 21, 22[2x], 24, 25, 26)

                                                              i.      This is part 2 of the main theme of the passage. In all but 2 of the instances (v.21 and v.25), it is used with faith being mentioned in the same clause or sentence.

                                                            ii.      The author is really focusing on the need of a person to act out their faith in their actions. Actions are vital to real faith, if they are missing then the faith is likely not genuine

c.       Dead/Inactive

                                                              i.      Dead (νεκρος) occurs 3 times at key junctures (vv.17, 26[2x]), which is used in the formula: something – something is dead

                                                            ii.      Inactive/not-working occurs only once, but in the middle of the passage and in the same collocation used for dead (v.20), thus, it explains the key feature of death that is important to understand, namely that faith without works like a body without a soul doesn’t do anything, its inactive, and as a concept doesn’t work,

                                                          iii.      but the point of dead is that in the same way that a dead body does not any longer constitute a person, so too faith without works does not constitute faith

                                                          iv.      one needs to remember that the common New Testament understanding is that faith is integrally connected to having eternal life, so saying that the faith that doesn’t do anything is dead is saying that it is not the faith that the New Testament is talking about, it is the kind of faith that will not result in the life of the person who has it, but the eternal death of that person, which is what the open verse suggests “can that kind of faith save him?” NO, is the implied answer, and so the sense in which faith is dead is that it is not real faith that leads to real life, rather it is a faith that doesn’t work and doesn’t count as real faith, and so it results in the death of the person who has that, which is why James is so concerned

d.      Saying

                                                              i.      Much of the passage is structured or moves via dialogue or speaking, which foreshadows where the author will go in the verses following after the present passage

                                                            ii.      It appears in v.14, 16, and 18

e.       Examples/Analogies

                                                              i.      The author uses examples and analogies to argue his case

                                                            ii.      Analogy to Christian who sees another Christian in need and does nothing as an analogy of a faith that lacks the needed actions, and as an analogous example of a something that does not result in the kind of actions that it should, such that however much that something may be claimed by someone, it clearly doesn’t mean anything or count as anything:

                                                          iii.      Analogy/example of a group that believes the right stuff, but clearly are opposed to God and won’t be saved, even though they may have some appropriate fear of God (which may be implicitly saying that James’ readers don’t even have that much, i.e. they are not as good as demons in their actions in response to what they believe)

                                                          iv.      Example of Abraham who trusted God and proved that trust and the righteousness that comes with it by what he did

                                                            v.      Example of Rahab who trusted God and proved that trust and the righteousness that comes with it by what she did

                                                          vi.      Analogy to a body without a soul as an example of something that is dead without a critical component, which is analogy to faith that doesn’t have its critical component, actions.

f.       Argument with Hypothetical Dissenter

                                                              i.      This is part of the structuring of the passage

                                                            ii.      Two times this occurs is in v.18ff and v.20ff, such that James seeks to answer the objections, however, it should be noted that it is very difficult to see where the quote of the objector in v.18 ends, it could run all the way through v.19, or it could only include the “you have faith and I have works” line, or it could end at the end of v.18, but I have decided after a lot of praying and thinking that James is answering the objection from his own perspective, so that the “you have faith” actually is what the dissenter is saying, so that from his perspective the statement is “I have faith, and you have works”

g.      Proof

                                                              i.      This is the underlying theme of the passage, because the examples and analogies relate to whether there is really proof of something being in someone’s life, so in the example of a Christian who doesn’t care for other hungry and naked Christians, there is no proof that the Christian really cares about his fellow Christians, and Abraham and Rahab both relate to people who proved their faith/righteousness-by-faith by means of their actions

                                                            ii.      However, James also uses the word for proving twice in v.18, where he challenges the person who thinks they can have faith without actions to prove their faith without actions (which he rightly understands they will try to do by saying what they believe, but he rightly counters that such knowledge or conviction won’t save demons), but says that he will use actions to prove it, such that actions are almost more telling that right doctrine, but that does not mean believing the right things is not important, but that it is not enough proof on its own

h.      Righteousness

                                                              i.      The section of vv.20-26 interweaves the concepts of righteousness and faith, such that the author actually assumes an understanding of justification by faith alone, so that faith in God = the status of righteousness, but that that status and the faith that is tied to it is proven by what the person does

                                                            ii.      So tight is this assumption that James does not mention the faith of Rahab, but says she was proven to be in that state of righteousness that comes from faith

                                                          iii.      Hence the same faith that results in a righteous status before God, results also in right actions before God and mankind.

3.      Key Doctrines

a.       Justification by Faith Alone

b.      Proof/Assurance of Justification by faith/true Faith by Actions

c.       True Faith Results in Actions

d.      Unity of God: There is One God/God is One

4.      Notes

a.       In v.20, note how James defines the kind of faith that is without actions as useless/inaction/not doing anything: η πιστις χωρις των εργων αργη εστιν. Useless actually is a contraction of α + εργος = not active, but the word clearly means more than just that it doesn’t work, but that it doesn’t work, as in the idea doesn’t work, it’s logic is flawed, it may sound good on paper but it doesn’t work in practice

Applications

1.      We need to check ourselves: does our faith have actions that go with it? This does not mean that we live it out perfectly, per se, but that we do actually live out our faith consistently and even when it could cost us a lot

2.      Faith is not just about knowing or believing the right things, but being impacted by those things to such a degree that it changes our live. The question we need to ask is, “has our faith in Jesus changed us?” has it made us look like Jesus?

3.      However, sometimes we are tempted to say, well then I will just work like crazy and that will make me a Christian, but that is not what James wants us to do. He wants us to trust in God to save us, but to have that faith in God change us!

4.      A faith that changes us implies that it more than just mere knowledge, just like you may know a lot about another person, most of the things you know are good, they are not ugly or rude or selfish generally speaking, but you can know all those things and just be friends, but it is different if you know all those things they make you start to crush on that person, which makes you act a certain way around them and even when you’re not around them; or maybe it’s like when someone has a crush on you, you can know that and care or know that an not care, if you care you’ll either be happy because you have a crush on them or unhappy because you don’t want them to like you, but if you don’t care, then that knowledge doesn’t mean anything. in the same way, what you know and believe about God will either just be something that you know or believe, but doesn’t change how you feel and act, or it will, and if doesn’t effect how you feel or act, you should be concerned, because that kind of faith is not really saving faith.

5.      But let’s say that we all really do believe in Jesus to save us and give us eternal life, but we look at how much impact that has on what we do, and while we see it having some impact it doesn’t have very much impact, which makes us a little bit nervous about whether our faith is living or dead, or if it is dying, then we should start living out our faith more passionately. Instead of staying the way we are, if we have real faith then it will start taking actions! We need to start living out our faith more!

6.      Ok, but how do we really live out our faith more, what do we do, where do we start? That’s a good question, and perhaps next week we will answer that in greater detail, but for today, I can say read the whole book of James this week and you will find out, because James really is writing about a lot of different ways that our faith in Jesus can work itself out in different actions. But for a little bit of direction we can look at the part of chapter 2 that comes right before this, where James tells them to treat other people the way you would treat yourself. More specifically, he says not to treat rich Christians or rich people better than poor people, which also means don’t treat one social group better than another social group, which means that you shouldn’t treat one ethnic group like their better than everyone else, like you should treat white people like they are better than people from Japan, or like Hispanic people are worse than people from India, or like Koreans are better than black people—or vice versa for all those groups. 

"Faith is just Christian Guts"

Dr. Averbeck went down a rabbit trail in class last night, but it was spiritually encouraging. He went moderately off topic to discuss what faith is. His main point was

"Faith is just Christian guts!"

He went on to say that it is the guts to trust God and endure through the hard stuff for Him because He asked.

I might add that faith is living courageously for God. It is laying it all on the line just to obey! It is leaving yourself so exposed that if Yahweh doesn't show up, you're cooked. But it is more than just taking a risk. It is knowing that despite how much it looks like a risk, it's really not, because of Who God is and what He has said and what He promises to do! Hebrews 11.1 puts it like this:

"Faith IS the metaphysical reality of the things being hoped for, the proof what the stuff that's not seen"

That means that faith is like having it before you have it, its like being sure of what you can't see. When we trust God for the things we're hoping for (that is the things He's called us to hope for, not the stuff we want to hope for like finding a winning lotto ticket (but who wants dirty money?) or finding that special someone), that means that on the deepest possible level we already have it, although we are still waiting to have it on every level. It means the things we don't see yet, but want to, when we trust we have seen them. For example, if we trust in Christ, we have the proof that we will see Him, the faith is the proof. It is all the proof we need that He is real. However, trusting like this does take guts, so let's get gutsy and trust!

Yahweh is God's First Name, So Let's Stop Calling Him "Sir"

So the Gospel Coalition has an article giving some reasons for why we should translate יהוה as "Yahweh" as opposed to "LORD." I completely agree. I also think however that it is helpful for those who are reading their Bible to know what their translations are trying to accomplish.

I just wanted to add to what the article will say that it may be helpful to understand the discussion in light of how we address people in English. In English, most people have a first name and a last name, some have a middle name or even middle names. Additionally, in English, some people have titles such as "Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Rev., etc." Also, there are words that function as respectful ways of addressing people, such as the above, yet there are some others that are used in some situations, such as when trying to be extra respectful we may ask, "Can I help you, sir/ma'am?" Others have positional titles, such as "General Manager, Judge, President, Queen, etc." We would normally not consider "Mister" or "Sir" or "President" someone's name. However, "lord" is in fact a title that functions halfway between "mister" and "president." So if you watch a movie that emulates some old school English, you may hear, "Yes, m'lord." Or if you go to England today, you can visit the House of Lords with Lords so-and-so and so-and-so. The thing is that יהוה is a name, not a title. Moreover, this causes problems with the Name יהוה (Yahweh) is right next to the title אדני, which means "my lord." You can't really say "The LORD my Lord." Anyways, the article will on to explain more, my point is just that the times your Bible reads LORD in all caps, it is trying to translate God''s Name, the Name He goes by, just like I go by Anthony. Yahweh is the Name God goes by, but you may not have known that because many Bibles translate God's personal name, His given name (He gave it to Himself). In English, we would pronounce and spell God personal Name as "Yahweh."

Please click the link below to get a better handling of the issue as well as some reasons for why the translation of "LORD" came up in the first place as well as reasons for using and enjoying the using of God's Personal Name, Yahweh.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/10/01/getting-gods-name-right/

Jesus is Impressive Because He Can Heal Anything, and He Keeps His Priorities Straight

Scripture: Mark 1.29-45

Translation: ²⁹And immediately after going out from the synagogue, the went into Simon’s and Andrew’s house with James and John. ³⁰And Simon’s mother-in-law was lying down burning up with fever. And immediately they were speaking to Him about her. ³¹And after going in, He lifted her up when he grabbed her hand. And the fever left her, and she was served them. ³²And after it became evening, when the sun had set, they were bringing to Him all those who were badly sick and those who were being demonized. ³³And so the whole city was gathered to the door. ³⁴And He healed lots of people who were badly sick with different kinds of diseases. And He threw out lots of demons, but He didn’t let the demons speak, because they knew Him.

³⁵And after getting up really early in the morning while it was still night, He went out and went away into a deserted place and there He was praying. ³⁶And Simon and those with him were looking all over for Him. ³⁷And they found Him and were saying to Him that “All the people are searching for You.” ³⁸And He was saying to them, “We should go somewhere else, into the next market-towns, so that I can also preach there, because for this purpose I went out.

³⁹And He went—preaching—into their synagogues into the whole region of Galilee, and throwing out the demons. ⁴⁰And a leper came to Him urging Him and kneeling down and saying to Him that “If you want to be able to make me clean?” ⁴¹And because He felt compassion, after stretching out His hand, He touched him all on His own and was saying to him, “I want to. Be made clean!” ⁴²And then immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean. ⁴³And He was saying to him, “Make sure you say nothing to nobody! Rather go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded as a testimony to them. ⁴⁵But when he went out he began to preach many things and spread the word, so that He wasn’t able to go into a city openly any longer, rather He was outside at the deserted places. And they were coming to Him from everywhere.

Passage Summary: After preaching with authority and driving out a demon, Jesus  goes to Simon and Andrew’s house and heals a fever, then everyone brings sick people to be healed and demonized people to have the demons expelled, then Jesus gets up early to pray, and people are already looking for Him to, Jesus decides it’s time to move on to the other towns to preach, so He preaches all over the place, but He still casts out demons too, but He also heals a leper who comes to Him because of His compassion. Jesus tells the former leper to keep quiet, but instead he starts preaching and spreading the word/message, so Jesus has to minister in the deserted placed, but people still come from all over.

The Point I’m Stressing from the Text: Jesus is Impressive, because He can heal all kinds of diseases and drive out all demons and because He puts prayer first (His relationship with the Father first) and because He kept His focus on His Primary Calling of Preaching, but also because that did not stop Him from also healing sicknesses, even the incurable ones, and throwing out demons, humanizing the dehumanized, because He was filled with compassion, but as well because He still upheld the Law of Moses, and because fame was not His objective, but faithfulness was. But of course, because Jesus is this impressive, He became mega famous. He is clearly Powerful, more powerful than all demons and all diseases! The people knew what this meant. This meant coming to Jesus for healing, this meant telling the world about Who He Is and what He can do, trusting in Him for healing. 

Genesis 39: Translation

Genesis 39

¹Now Joseph was brought down to Egypt. And Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the Commander of the Bodyguard, an Egyptian man, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites, who brought him down there. ²And Yahweh was with Joseph. And so he was a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. ³And his master saw that Yahweh was with him, and [that] all that he did Yahweh was making successful in his hand. ⁴And so Joseph found favor in his eyes. And he served him. And he made him an overseer over his house.

Now, he gave all that belonged to him into his care [lit. hand]. ⁵And from that time on he was overseeing him/it[?] in his house and over all that belonged to him. And so Yahweh blessed the house of the Egyptian because of Joseph.

And the blessing of Yahweh was on all that belonged to him in the house and in the field. ⁶And he left all that was his in the hand of Joseph, and didn’t worry about [lit. know with himself] anything, except the bread that he was eating.

Now Joseph was sexy in form and sexy in appearance. ⁷And it happened after these things[lit. words] that his master’s wife started checking out [lit. lifted up her eyes toward] Joseph, and she said, “Sleep with me.” ⁸And he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master doesn’t worry about [lit. know with himself] whatever’s in his house and all that belongs to him he gave into my care [lit. hand]. ⁹There’s nobody greater in this house than me, and he didn’t withhold from me anything, except you, because you’re his wife! So how could I do this great evil and sin against God?”

¹⁰And there was a similar invitation to Joseph [lit. it was like her word to Joseph] day after day, but he didn’t listen to her to sleep next to her or to be with her. ¹¹And it happened like this day that he went into the house to do his work, but there wasn’t a man in from the men of house there in the house. ¹²And she grabbed him by his clothes saying, “Sleep with me!” So he left his clothing in her hand and fled and went out to the outside.

 ¹³And it happened as she saw that he left his clothing in her hand and fled to the outside ¹⁴that she screamed to men in her house and she said to them saying, “Look, he brought a Hebrew man in to us to make fun of us! He came in to me to sleep with me, so I screamed with a loud voice!” ¹⁵And it happened as he heard that  I raised my voice and screamed that he left his clothing next to me and fled and went out to the outside.” ¹⁶ And she put his clothes down next to her until his master came in to his house. ¹⁷And she told him  like these words by saying, “That Hebrew slave that you brought in to us came into me to make fun of me! ¹⁸And it happened as I raised my voice and screamed that he left his clothing next to me and fled to the outside!” ¹⁹And it happened as his master heard the words of his wife that she spoke to him saying, “your slave did like these words to me” that he got really angry. ²⁰And so Joseph’s master took him and gave him to the jail-house, a place that the king’s prisoners were being imprisoned.

And he was there in the prison-house. ²¹And Yahweh was with Joseph. And he extended loyalty to him and He gave His favor in the eyes of the commander of the prison-house. ²²And the commander of the prison-house gave into Joseph’s care [lit. hand] all the prisoners that were in the prison-house and he was doing all that they were doing there. ²³There wasn’t the commander of the prison-house looking over all of anything in his care [hand] because Yahweh was with him and what he did Yahweh made successful. 

Jesus is Impressive and Preaches with Power

            Scripture: Mark 1.14-28

Translation: ¹⁴After John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee preaching God’s Good News, ¹⁵namely by saying that “The time is fulfilled and God’s Kingdom is nearby: Change your minds and trust in the Good News!”

¹⁶And while passing by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew Simon’s brother throwing fishnets in the sea, because they were fishermen. ¹⁷And Jesus said to them: “Come on after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men! ¹⁸And immediately leaving the fishnets, they followed Him. ¹⁹And going ahead a little bit, He saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother and them in the boat getting the fishnets ready. ²⁰And immediately He yelled out to them. And leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the employees, they came out after Him.

²¹And they traveled into Capernaum. And then on the Sabbaths after coming into the Synagogue He taught. ²²And they were consistently impressed because of His teaching, because He was teaching them like someone who had authority and not like the scribes. And immediately a man with an unclean spirit was in the their synagogue and he yelled ²⁴saying: “What’s the deal for us and for You, Nazarene Jesus? Did you come to destroy us? I know You, Who You are! God’s Holy One!” ²⁵And Jesus rebuked him by saying: “Be quiet and come out of him!” ²⁶And after the unclean spirit sent him into convulsions and screamed with a loud voice, it came out of him. ²⁷And absolutely all of the people were amazed, so that they discussing with themselves by saying: “What is this?! New teaching according to authority?!” and “He commands the unclean spirits and they obey Him!” ²⁸And the report about Him went out immediately everywhere into the whole surrounding region around Galilee!

Passage Summary: Jesus starts His ministry by preaching the Gospel, calling four fishmen to fish for men with Him, teaching the synagogue, and by casting a demon out of a man, illustrating that He has the Spirit, that He is the One John prophesied, and that He has a powerful message from God: He is not like anyone else.

The Point I’m Stressing: Jesus is the One John Prophesied about, He has the Holy Spirit, He preaches the Gospel of changing one’s mind and trusting the Good News, He is worthy of being followed, He has authority to teach, and He is the boss of demons. Therefore, we should believe His message and change our minds, we should leave everything and follow Him, we should be impressed and amazed, we should rely on Him to deal with demons

Applications

1.      We have heard that Jesus has a message with authority, we have seen this Jesus be able to call people away from their work and families, we have seen this Jesus is able to change the direction of people’s lives, we have seen He really has the Holy Spirit and that He is the One John the Baptist was talking about, we have even seen demons, Jesus’ powerful arch-enemies obey Him, so that leaves one question for us: Will we? Indeed, if even the demons obey His command, we shouldn’t we? Are you more self-deceived and arrogant than demons? I hope not, but if you reject obedience to Christ, you are!

2.      The passage starts by telling us that Jesus is preaching God’s Good News and as part of that issuing God’s command: Change your minds and believe the Message! In this Passage we Jesus issue commands to men, and they listen, commands to demons and they listen, but while you may not realize it, He is still issuing commands and those commands are coming to us, to you, to me, and the question remains, will you listen, will I listen, will we listen?

3.      We have seen how the people in Jesus day reacted to His teaching and His doing: they were impressed and amazed, they could tell something was different! But how are we reacting? Are you impressed, are you amazed, can you see that something is different about this Jesus? If you can’t, the problem is not with the Bible, or with Jesus, it’s with you, and me, and us, if you can’t see it, and I can’t see it, and we as a community can’t see it, but of course seeing it means more than just mentally understanding the concepts, it means that we feel impressed, we feel amazed, we feel the differentness of Jesus, but that leaves the question: Do you, do I, do we?

4.      Moreover, Jesus’ command is to change our minds, that means change how we think, feel, and act, to have a change of heart, but His command is also to trust His Good News from God, this means we trust what God has to say not only about the Good News, but about how we should be thinking, feeling, and acting, and making His ways our ways, and making the Good News from God Good News for us from God!

The Beginning of the Good News about Jesus

Scripture: Mark 1.1-13

Translation: ¹The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son: ²Just like it stands written in Isaiah the prophet: “Look, I’m sending My messenger ahead of Your face, who will prepare Your way! ³A voice of someone shouting is in the desert: ‘Get the Lord’s road ready! Make His paths straight!’” ⁴John, the one who was baptizing in the desert and preaching a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins, came. ⁵And the whole Judean region and all the people from Jerusalem were traveling out to him. And they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River [and] confessing their sins. ⁶And John was clothing himself with camel hair and leather belt around his waist and eating locusts and wild honey. ⁷And He preached by saying, “The One Who is stronger than me is after me, Who I’m not worth of for bending down to untie the straps of His sandals! ⁸I baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

⁹And it happened in those days. Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized into the Jordan River by John. ¹⁰And immediately while coming up out of the water He saw the heavens being torn apart and the Spirit like a dove coming down into Him! ¹¹And a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My Loved Son! I’m really happy with You!” ¹²And immediately the Spirit drove Him out into the desert! ¹³And He was in the desert for forty days being tested by Satan. And He was with the wild animals. And the angels were serving Him.

Descriptive Summary: God made a promise and kept the promise by sending John to prep Jesus’ way, which he did, even to the point of baptizing Jesus with water, but then God the Father baptized Jesus with the Holy Spirit, which may double as His Anointing. The baptism/anointing of the Spirit is proven by the driving to the desert, the temptation success, and the angels service.

The Points I’m Stressing: God keeps all His Promises, so you can trust Him; Jesus is so awesome that God sends someone to get the way ready for Him; Jesus is God’s Son, and His Chosen Servant, which the Baptism shows us! Jesus also obeyed the Spirit and wanted to glorify God more than anything else, but He was also stronger than anyone else by the Holy Spirit, and so He endured testing and angels served Him. We have the same Holy Spirit in us if we believe in Jesus, so that means we can endure testing too and do what God wants us to do.

The Text and Its Truths

1.      Key Themes

a.       God fulfills His Word/keeps His Promises

b.      John the Baptist is the fulfillment of God’s Word/Promises

                                                              i.      He fulfills because he prepares the way by baptizing (vv.4, 5, 8, 9)

                                                            ii.      He fulfills because he prepares by preaching forgiveness of sins (vv.4, 5)

                                                          iii.      He fulfills because he really is in the desert (vv.4, 5, 6, 9)

                                                          iv.      He fulfills because he proclaims Jesus’ Value, Power, and Holiness (vv.7-8)

                                                            v.      He fulfills because he foretells of Jesus’ kind of ministry of Spirit Baptism (v.8)

                                                          vi.      He fulfills because he baptized Jesus (v.9)

c.       Jesus is Worthy of Honor

                                                              i.      John honors Jesus (vv.4-9, esp. 7-8)

1.      By prepping His Way for his ministry with people (v.4-6)

2.      By prepping the people for the difference and preeminence of His ministry (vv.7-8)

                                                            ii.      God the Father honors Jesus

1.      By sending the prophecy (vv.2-3)

2.      By sending the prophecy’s fulfillment in John (vv.4-9)

3.      By splitting the heavens open (v.10)

4.      By sending the Spirit into Him (v.10)

5.      By publically proclaiming Him as His loved Son (v.11)

6.      By publically proclaiming He was happy with Jesus (v.11)

7.      By the driving to the desert, testing by Satan, and the service of angels to show Jesus’ Endurance, Power, and Holiness (vv.12-13)

                                                          iii.      Jesus obeys the Spirit (vv.12-13)

                                                          iv.      Jesus passes the testing from Satan (v.13)

                                                            v.      Jesus has angels serving Him (v.13)

d.      Jesus is Powerful

                                                              i.      He is filled with the Holy Spirit (v.8, 10)

                                                            ii.      He is God’s Son (vv.1, 11)

                                                          iii.      He is Anointed (vv. 1, 10, 12-13)

                                                          iv.      He is Filled with the Spirit (vv.8, 10, 12-13)

                                                            v.      He passed the testing in the desert with the wild animals and the devil (vv.12-13)

1.      He can handle nature

2.      He can handle the devil

3.      He can handle wild animals

                                                          vi.      Angels serve Jesus (the lesser serves the greater) (v.13)

e.       Jesus is God’s Son (vv.1, 10-11)

f.       Jesus is Holy (vv.8-9, 9-11, 12-13)

2.      Key Doctrines

a.       The Faithfulness of God to ALL of His Promises

b.      Divine Sonship of Christ

c.       Infinite Worthiness of Christ

d.      The Necessity of Baptism

e.       Anointing of the Anointed One by the Spirit

f.       The Sinlessness of Christ

                                                              i.      Obedience to the Spirit

                                                            ii.      Resistance to Satan/Sin

g.      The Power of Christ over Satan and Angels (Authority, foreshadowing the following verses)

Applications (Look)

1.      Trust All of God’s Promises

2.      Give Christ the Honor He Deserves

3.      Get Baptized

4.      If saved and thus filled with the Spirit, obey Him and resist the temptations of the devil/sin

5.      Rely on Christ when dealing with demonic warfare

6.      Believe in Christ as God’s Son, and thus King over All

7.      Get the way ready for Christ’s second coming by sharing the Gospel

8.      Be impressed by Jesus’ success in obedience, fasting, and testing

9.      Be thankful that God kept His promises

10.  Be thankful John got Jesus’ way ready, and let that message prep your own heart for Christ

11.  Be thankful Jesus surpasses even what John said in awesomeness and goodness

12.  And whatever else the Spirit works into your soul from the Word, and be like Jesus in listening to His moving, even if its hard or crazy