The Temptations of the Twelve

Luke 22:40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

Luke 22:46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

The Disciples are about to be beset with many temptations. Indeed, they failed each test. Jesus, on the other hand, also faced several temptations, yet He did the right thing in the face of arrest, trial, beating, mocking, cursing and crucifixion.

These are the temptations they faced:

The Temptation to sleep when they should pray

The Temptation to flee when they should stay

The Temptation to fight when they should keep their peace

The Temptation to fear when they should be brave

The Temptation to deny when they should declare

As the Lord's prayer indicates a need for daily bread, I take it that we need to daily be delivered from manifold temptations. We must resist temptation, yet Jesus desires that we not even enter into temptation.

We avoid temptation by not being there when it is thrown at us. We must pray that we enter not into it and we must be awake, that is alert, to the possibility of temptation.

Today, your enemy has plenty of fiery darts lined up to throw at you. Pray, be watchful and do your best not to be in his targeted area where the darts will hit.

To be practical, be mindful of your use of the TV, the computer, and other devices that can offer temptations. Stay away from places where temptation is offered. Avoid people who say and do things to drag you away from righteousness. Guard the gates to your heart and mind. These are the eye gate and the ear gate. Mind what you see and hear. Furthermore, "gird up the loins of your mind." That is, don't let your thoughts head in the wrong direction. Generally, we don't do something we haven't first thought about doing.

Have a blessed, sin-avoiding, temptation-dodging day.

Something Borrowed…

Luke 22:10 And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. 11 And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? 12 And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.

Jesus was a stranger upon this earth. His life, especially during His ministry years was extremely Spartan. He never let His roots go down too deep because this world is not His home, only His footstool. Out of all eternity, He only spent 33 and one half years here. Granted, they were very impactful years. His pillow was a stone. For His birth, He utilized a borrowed womb, for His supper, a borrowed room and for His death, a borrowed tomb. Along the way, He borrowed a donkey, a coin from a fish's mouth, lodging in Lazarus' house, among other things.

Let's consider some things about the room that the Lord borrowed to institute the Lord's Supper.

1. The Day of Passover was observed there. (vs 8) Jesus was an observant Jew. He did not come to destroy, but to fulfill the law.

2. The Decor of the place, it was a large, furnished room (vs 12) Jesus made sure His followers would have elbow room and comfort here.

3. The Devil was present, indwelling Judas (vs 3) Wherever God works, Slew Foot follows up with his destructive, deadly and thieving ways.

4. Desire was present (vs 15) It was with desire that Jesus longed to eat this meal with His disciples.

5. The Disciples were present (vs 14) No excuses were allowed for this occasion. Mandatory attendance was required.

6. A Decree was made concerning the body and blood of the Savior. (vss 17-20) This is where the Lord’s supper was instituted as an ordinance for the local church. The juice represented His shed blood and the unleavened bread, His broken, crucified body.

7. Disclosure resulted - they learned the identity of the betrayer (vss 21-22) Judas dipped the sop with Jesus and it was a sign to some of the others.

8. A Declaration was given to Peter (vss 31-34) That is, that Peter would deny the Lord.

All this and so much more occurred in this borrowed banquet hall.

Today, in Jerusalem, there exists a room to which pilgrims flock to occupy. There, they can mentally picture the occasion of the Lord's supper, as well as where the disciples huddled in fear of arrest, as well as where they were praying together on the day of Pentecost. A Muslim minaret looms above and the tomb of David is displayed on a lower level. Imagine that, this same place the Lord borrowed so long ago, today houses shrines of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. I am not sure you could find this arrangement anywhere else on earth.

Jesus made use of a borrowed womb, a borrowed room and borrowed tomb.

Is there something of yours the Lord could use today to promote His glorious kingdom? Perhaps your tongue, or your mind, your witness, your kindness, your love, your labor, your wallet…all of these He could employ, if only we are willing.

Know this, whatever He uses is returned with interest. Freely you have received, so freely give. Make yourself and your stuff available to the Lord today.

Giving from Poverty

Luke 21:3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: 4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

The account of our Lord's observance of the offerings at the temple is not an indictment of the rich men tithing off their riches. As He said in another place of their tithes, "These things ought ye to have done..." We just need to realize that the tithe is just the beginning. It is the least we do. It is mandated.

But what the Lord is doing is commending the gracious giving of this poor widow woman who gave all she had. In our math, several dollars is greater than a few pennies. But in heaven's math, 100% is greater than 10%.

Really, it is not so much what you give, but what you have left that matters more.

My wife and I can relate, in a very small way. I never dreamed we would be able to generate the income we have. My wife has the spiritual gift of giving, I do not! But I understand the grace of giving and am on board with her lavish generosity of our resources. In the end, we have little to show because our treasures are not laid up here on earth. Don't misunderstand, we are comfortable and really, fabulously wealthy compared to most of the world. We are not part of the "1%" but I doubt we are far from being part of the 2 or 3%. (If you think about it, you might be part of the 2 or 3% also!)

I have to say, it is a joy to dig down deep, way beyond the tithe, even into savings, into money set aside for needs and wants and future plans, to be able to give to missions and relief of the poor.

I dare not compare our situation with that poor little widow gal that the Lord lauded for her sacrifice. But I do challenge the reader to go beyond tithing to grace giving, and even beyond that to giving out of your poverty.

Just as then, in the temple, the Lord still watches over the treasury to see who gives what and He still commends those who give what they don't really have to give.

Gotcha

Luke 20:4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?

The chief priests, scribes and elders were looking for a gotcha on Jesus. In fact, they'd really been after Him since He raised Lazarus from the dead. Now He really got their goat by cleansing the temple of the vermin making merchandise off the visiting worshipers. If you want to get under somebody's skin, mess with their wallets.

But Jesus turned the tables (pun intended) on them by asking this question about John's baptism. Either answer they gave would put them in a pickle, so they just folded their arms and pouted.

They should never have come to a battle of wits with God in the flesh, especially when they were so unequipped. It is like bringing a knife to a gun fight. I am reminded of Job 9:3 "If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand."

Lesson to be learned, don't argue with God, you will never win.

10 Pounds, 10 Servants, the Nobleman Comes to Town

Luke 19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

The placement of this parable is notable. Jesus relates that this nobleman was going away but first divests this money in his servants so that, upon his return, they may have used the money wisely and made a profit on it. He then deals harshly with those subjects who despised his rulership.

The very next thing Jesus does is to begin His week of passion by entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He is about to forfeit His life to a cross, but has put His servants on notice that they are to get busy investing the Gospel into others. Those who are faithful will be richly and eternally rewarded. As far as the religious crowd who reject Him, there is a terrible day coming for them.

Jesus, our nobleman has left for the far country, but He is returning and His reward is with Him. Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.