What Jesus Did

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

—Matthew 4:12-13 NLT

Key Thought​

"Runners take your mark ... get set ... BANG!" At the firing of the starter's pistol, the runners burst out of their blocks and the race begins. Lying behind the start of the race are years of training, qualification races, hours...

 

[After the temptations,] the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

—Matthew 4:11 NLT

Key Thought​

Have you ever wondered if there was something, or someone, there? You know, after a major decision that placed you under ridicule and an attack for choosing what was ethical, right, moral, or true. That clear good night's sleep, that sense of peaceful wellbeing, and that sense of God's care and presence are not imagined. While some have made angels a...

 

[Continuing the temptations,] the devil took [Jesus] to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. "I will give it all to you," he said, "if you will kneel down and worship me."
"Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say,

'You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.'"

—Matthew 4:8-10 NLT

Key Thought​

What's our breaking point? At what point would we quit honoring God and begin to choose...

 

[Continuing the temptations,] the devil took [Jesus] to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

'He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.'"

Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'You must not test the Lord your God.'"


—Matthew 4:5-7 NLT

Key Thought​

Is Jesus really sure God is with him...

 

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.
During that time the devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread."

But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say,

'People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

—Matthew 4:1-4 NLT

Key Thought​

Just as Israel faced the...

 

[After his baptism,] Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.

—Matthew 4:1 NLT

Key Thought​

Most of us hate tests — whether they're school tests, professional tests, or life tests. Spiritual tests are the most difficult of all. Yet in this passage and the verses that follow, Jesus faces tests that the Spirit of God led him to experience. These tests confront Jesus with choices about the direction of his ministry: Would he take shortcuts...

 

After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy."

—Matthew 3:16-17 NLT

Key Thought​

While Matthew's focus in Jesus' baptism is the fulfillment of God's will and character — to "carry out all that God requires" (Matthew 3:15) — God lets us know how delighted he is with his Son who is...

 

[When John questioned why Jesus came to be baptized,] Jesus said, "It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires." So John agreed to baptize him.

—Matthew 3:15 NLT

Key Thought​

Sometimes I am both amazed and ashamed at my audacity before the Sovereign God. I can actually (maybe better described as, "arrogantly") think I have a better plan for my life than what I find in God's revealed will in Scripture. Now, I never intentionally think, "God is wrong about...

 

Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. "I am the one who needs to be baptized by you," he said, "so why are you coming to me?"

—Matthew 3:13-14 NLT

Key Thought​

Can you imagine John's surprise when Jesus wanted to be baptized by him? "I'm not worthy... I need to be baptized by you..." But, even when God shows us a way that may seem strange to us, he has a plan and it works beautifully if we all do our...

 

People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John [the Baptist]. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

—Matthew 3:5-6 NLT

Key Thought​

There is something self-revealing in God's word when presented in all of its liberating and uncomfortable truth. God had warned his people many years earlier through Amos that there would be a famine for God's word, a time when the voice of God through the...