Psalm 20, 21; Dan. 3:19-30; 1 John 3:11-18; Luke 4:1-13
Nebuchadnezzar sees for the second time the power of Yahweh. Angry because they have flouted his authority and disrespected him, the king has the furnace heated seven times hotter than normal, so hot that the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the fire were themselves killed by the heat. When he looked into the furnace, however, he saw three men unbound walking with a fourth that “looks like one of the sons of the gods.” What did he mean by this description of the fourth man and why did he not summon this man from the furnace? His amazement turns to worship when he and his counselors see that these men are unharmed by the flames and don’t even smell of the fire. He blesses their God and proclaims that no one should speak against Him but doesn’t accept Him for himself. Why? What does he need to see in order to come to faith himself?
How do these temptations line up with the first temptation? Jesus is first tempted to do something for himself, take responsibility for making food. Is there anything particularly wrong with self-reliance? Yes, if it is presumption. Jesus refuses to eat simply because He is hungry. Breaking the fast is something He waits for the Father to command. The second temptation is to presume upon the Father’s love, to test it, to doubt it and to ask for proof. The three men in Daniel believed God was able to deliver them but they didn’t volunteer for the furnace to see if He would and their faith wasn’t dependent on that deliverance. The final temptation is to power and Jesus deflects it immediately, the cross is the way to true, eternal power. In this, Jesus paved the way for postmodernism in that He had a different definition of power and refused the world’s definition and showed the way for us, the path of obedience, even unto death. Like the men, he refused to worship anything but the Father. He knew there was nothing else worthy of that worship.
We need one another. The world won’t like us and too often we can’t get along with other Christians. There are too many divisions, too many unreconciled relationships in the church and among Christians. The lack of love among Christians is scandalous. The back-biting and criticism, the divisions over worship style, music, preferences, etc. must surely grieve the Lord and cause Him anger at us. How can we countenance such division? It isn’t wrong to have two churches who worship differently but why must we criticize one another over preferences? John sees the mark of the Christian to be loving one another. The world rejoices when we fail to love each other, satan wins the world to his side. We must resist the temptation to pride and criticism of brothers and sisters in Christ. Our call is to be with them in the fire of life, in the temptations and tribulations the world throws at us. What does the world see when it looks in the window of the furnace at the church?
Alleluia! bread of angels, Thou on earth our food, our stay;
Alleluia! here the sinful flee to Thee from day to day:
Intercessor, Friend of sinners, Earth’s Redeemer, plead for me,
Where the songs of all the sinless sweep across the crystal sea.
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