Who are you? Part 2

The day before yesterday we started talking about identity ‘Who are you?’

Jesus is our greatest example.

Let us go to Matthew 4:1

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

We are going to read how the devil tempted Jesus. Here is Jesus the son of God. So devil is going to bring his arsenal against Him, the Holy One. Let us see what it is…

Pay attention this is important…

Verse 3

3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 

Before we go and read how Jesus responded. Let us see in verse… 

What was the temptation?

Jesus was hungry after 40 days and 40 nights of fasting. Was turning a stone to bread a sin? If Jesus did that He would have sinned?

Let us go to another passage of Scripture to find that out…

Are you following so far…

Turn to John chapter 2 verse 7-9

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine,

When Mary insisted Jesus turned water to wine. If Jesus could and would turn water to wine. Would it be a sin to turn stone to bread? 

In fact, He multiplied bread to feed 5000 and 4000.

Do you understand? It is not about turning the stone into bread. 

If it is not about the action, could it be about motive?

You are right in asking so. When He did the multiplication or the water to wine, it was for others, but it would have been to fulfill His hunger. Selfish motive… And you could make a theology out of it. 

Stop… 

Stop right there. It is partially true but not the full deal. Let’s go further down the motive. 

Read in the verse, the devil tempted Him by saying “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

Read again

“If you are the Son of God,”

Jesus knew who he was, devil knew who Jesus was, yet devil wanted to plant doubt on the identity of Jesus. “If you are the Son of God,” meaning are sure that You are the son of God. You are hungry like all of the humans, how can you be sure that you are the Son of God. Change this stone to bread, so that you can prove yourself that you are the son of God. 

If Jesus had turned the stone to bread, He would have proved to devil, and to Himself, that He was the son of God. But that would have been an act from the stand of unbelief not believing Who He was…

Do we not act to prove to others and by doing so to prove to ourselves? Do we not do things like that?

That stems from the doubt on your identity, devil will cause to question your identity. 

Let us say if anyone asks ‘Please introduce yourself, who are you?’

You would say, your name, the occupation you do, the things that you have(family, education.. these are things you have, own).

You said ‘what you do’, ‘what you have’. But you haven’t told yet ‘who are you…’.

What you do is not who you are.. or what you own or have is not who you are…

So you basically do not know who you are… And that exactly gives devil inroad to tell you, tempt you whatever because you do not know ‘who you are’

Go back to Genesis 3 and see the temptation and when peal down the layers, you will see, Adam and Eve did question who they were and questioned God, before the committed sin.

I guess I have pushed the point hard. 

Now, we started with a question and still with the question ‘Who are you?’

Yes, God willing we find that in the coming days. Till then, just read the verses above and get it straight. Have the desire to seek who you are… seek and you shall find.

Tomorrow we shall see what is the first step.

God bless you. Father help us to understand and look into You for answers, in Jesus mighty Name we pray.

Amen