We meet Jesus in today's reading, full of the Holy Spirit, and led by the same into the desert. This is a familiar passage to many of us as we read of how He was tempted by the devil through hunger, power and authority to turn away from His father God and give in to worldly temptation. It is so important to remember that there is no sin in being tempted.  It is the failure to resist the temptation, which is sinful, and then only when we are acting outside of God’s will for us. It is wiser still, to remove ourselves from those situations where we know we are going to be tempted to sin. Here, Jesus was just about to begin his work. Before a man begins a job, he must choose his methods. The temptation story shows us Jesus choosing once and for all the method by which he proposed to win men to God. It shows him rejecting the way of power and glory and accepting the way of suffering and the cross.

Next, we read how Jesus was rejected by his town of birth, Nazareth. We must note two other things. 

(i) It was Jesus' habit to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. There must have been many things with which he radically disagreed, and which grated on him, yet he went. The worship in the synagogue might have been far from perfect; yet Jesus never omitted to join himself to God's worshipping people on God's day. 

(ii) We have only to read the passage of Isaiah that Jesus read to see the difference between Jesus and John the Baptist. John was the preacher of doom and at his message men must have shuddered with terror. It was a gospel, Good News, which Jesus brought. Jesus, too, knew the wrath of God but it was always the wrath of love. 

Finally, today, Jesus drives out an evil spirit from a man possessed and then goes on to perform many more healings.

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Question/Action: 

Next time you are tempted to sin ask yourself ‘what would Jesus do?’ Don’t beat yourself up for being tempted but consider how to avoid temptation if, like me, you often fail to resist.  Know the Word of God, so that like Jesus you can thwart the actions of the enemy.   When you think of the ‘wrath of God’, do you consider His love as well as His anger?

Prayer: 

Dear Lord Jesus when you were tempted, your first response was to quote from scripture and resist.  Help me today and every day to imitate this. Lord, I seek to know you more and understand that this means learning your word. Whenever I read my bible, I ask that you let your words penetrate my soul and become part of who I am in you. Amen.