Matthew 4: 12-17

(Matthew 4: 12-17)

『 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;  And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 』

Church people generally understand the word repent as "confess, and forgive for something wrong." When you do something that is not worthy of God or that is not good for others, you come to church and repent of your actions and hope that God will forgive you.

Jesus said to the Israelites, "Repent." If you understand the meaning of “Repent” by Jesus as “do something wrong, repent, confess, and forgive”, you know the Bible incorrectly.

The rich man came to Jesus and said, "Good teacher," and said, "I kept the law well." Thus, he thought that there was no sin. Because all the Israelites kept the law well, they thought that there was no sin. When Jesus said, “I came to call the sinner, not the righteous one,” the Israelites thought it was irrelevant to themselves. Jesus said in John 8: 31-32.

『Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 』 The Jews said to Jesus.『 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 』. Jesus replied.『Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin 』. The Israelites thought that they were not sinners because they kept the law well, but Jesus said that they are all sinners. When the Israelites sinned, they offered sacrifices according to the law. So they thought that they were not sinners because they believed that sins would be lost through sacrifice. The Israelites have nothing to repent of themselves, but Jesus said, "Repent."

Many church people think that if they sin in the world, they must repent of their sins. What was the sin of the Israelites in Jesus' view? The sin of the Israelites and the sin of the church people today are not much different. But the meaning is different. It was the representation and model of the world that God chose for the people of Israel. The sins of the Israelites are the sins of the people of the world, the sins of the people of modern times.

Sin is sin that leaves God. In Genesis, God commanded Adam not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but it is sin that humans ate it. It is sin to follow Satan, and to leave God is sin.

The command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil means the law. The law says, "Do not sin," which means that it is sin to eat the fruit of the tree that knows good and evil. The result of eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is, "Without God, I will know what is good and what is evil without God, so I will not do evil but do what is good." The law is not to sin.

The law was given to those who have left God to act hard and achieve righteousness. To achieve righteousness is not to be righteous, but to find the life of God's salvation in the law. They realize that they are sinners who cannot achieve righteousness by the law, and discover Christ as the seed of promise. However, the Israelites thought that keeping the law perfectly was the way to be righteous. Thus, the Israelites thought they were righteous by keeping the law. It is the same meaning to keep the law and eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and to judge good and evil on your own. For it is not with God.

All that is not with God is evil, even if they say they judge good and evil on their own. For the keeping of the law is not done in God, but in the light of the law without God. It is their desire not to sin according to the law that they do not commit sin by judging and keeping themselves on the basis of the law. The standard is God-given law, but the judgment and action of it is that man does it himself. The keeping of the law is what the Israelites do to meet God.

If God says, "Repent," to Adam and Eve, who were tempted by the serpent and ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, what is "Repent"? He was tempted by the serpent, saying, “I will judge good and evil,” eating fruit and leaving God. “Repent” means “return to God”.

In the state of eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, "Give up the work of judging good and evil without God, and return to God." Because, “Without God all are evil beings.”

Those who think that they will keep the law and become righteous should “discover the Christ, realizing the impossible without God. But they think they are righteous because they have kept the law by themselves. They, like the Israelites, continue to claim that they can be righteous. That's why Jesus says, "Repent." Since the law does not make you righteous, you are to find Christ.

Eating the fruit of a tree that knows good and evil and thinking that you can judge good and bad without God has the same meaning as keeping the law and saying, "I will be righteous." If you apply the word "repent" to Adam and Eve, give it up and return to God. In keeping the law, men are to realize that they cannot reach their own righteousness and find the seed of the Christian promise.

Sin is a departure from God. It is a sin to think of “being able to judge good and evil on our own” or “I will achieve righteousness” by means of the law without God. So, because this is wrong, the word "return to God" is not to do it yourself. Today there are still many who judge themselves in the light of the law. To be redeemed is to die with Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Romans (6: 7). For he that is dead is freed from sin. So those who repent enter into Jesus Christ. If you are in Jesus Christ, the problem of sin is solved. The word "repent" means "to reconsider, repent, and return the way you have gone." When Jesus said to the Israelites, "Repent," it means "to give up on keeping the law and fulfilling righteousness, but to meet Christ." That is, to return to God, to give up on your own and return to God.

 

The first temptation,『If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread 』 Jesus said about this temptation,.『It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.』

This is the word from Deuteronomy 8:3.『And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.』The stone is called Eben in Hebrew. The stone is Eben, whom Jacob slept with his pillow. Eben means temple. These stones in Matthew 4 refer to the tablets of the Ten Commandments.

The Bible says in Exodus (24:12).『And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.』

The loaves are the word of God. The loaves are words that, through the law, realize the will of God. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians (3:7).

『But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 』 But every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD represents Jesus Christ, the bread of life from heaven. Although the law is the word of God, it is not all. Today, many churches teach people as if they could gain life by making people think legally and act legally.

By the way, Satan tells Jesus to become a loave of bread (the word of life) with a rock (the law). Jesus died by law and perfected it. Thus, the law is not the word of life for Jesus. That is, the law is not the word of life, even to those who are in Christ. Satan said, If thou be the Son of God. Satan is tempting to deceive, "Those who are in all Christ can have life by law."

Second temptation,『Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.』The Devil quotes from Psalms (91: 11-12). The words of Jesus, 『It is written again Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. What is written is the words of Deuteronomy (6:16).『Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. 』

The words of Exodus (17: 1-7) say, "The Israelites had no water to drink, so they tempt and resent God in a place called Massah (or Meriba), and the people tried to hit Moses with stone. God commanded Moses, "Shook the rock with a stick. The Israelites cried out to God, led them to exodus, and saw the Red Sea split. However, three days after crossing the Red Sea, they resent God because they could not drink in Mara. God let them drink water. But the Bible says in Exodus (15: 25-26).

『And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.』

It was before God gave the law on Mount Sinai that God ordained statutes and statutes in Massa. But in Exodus (16: 3) the people complain that they have no meat to eat, and they miss Egypt. So God gave manna. Manna typifies Jesus Christ, the true food from heaven. However, the Bible says in Exodus (16: 4-5).

『Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. 』 God commanded the people not to go to manna on the Sabbath. But the people did not keep God's command. The Bible says in Exodus (16:28).

『And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 』 In this situation, the people tempted and blamed God in Massa. To tempt God means not to believe God's word of promise. In front of the land of Canaan, ten spies said, “We die in Canaan,” and do not believe God's word of promise. The people tempted God. The Bible says in Acts (15:10).『 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 』 There is a conflict with Paul and his companions in the church of Antioch trying to teach the law (the law of wrath). The Bible says in 1 Corinthians (10: 9).『 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 』.

 The Bible says in Hebrews (3:8-9).『Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.』

Jesus' body is the temple. The temple in Jerusalem is the shadow of the true temple. Since the true temple (Christ) has come, the shadowy temple will fall. For sacrifices were not needed. The devil will take Jesus to the holy city, put him on top of the temple, and tell him to jump down. The devil tells Jesus the true temple to come down from the shadow temple. The Devil still speaks as if the building temple is the true temple. The Pharisees say they will meet God through the building temple. The Bible says in Matthew (27:40).

『And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.』Satan borrows his mouth and tells Jesus to come down from the temple. Jesus must die on the cross, and Satan tempt God through people. Thus, Jesus tells the devil not to tempt God, just as the Israelites tempt God in the past massage.

 

The third temptation is that Satan saying, "Let him fall down and worship." Luke (4: 6-7) uses a different expression.『And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.』 "Jesus gave the world to the devil," he says. Satan tells God (Jesus) to worship me. Does that make sense?
Jesus told the Pharisees, "Snakes, vipers, how can you escape the judgment of hell?" The Bible says in Matthew (23:15).『 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. 』 It is the devils who work for the devil.

Satan's purpose in testing Jesus is to hinder Jesus' work (the death on the cross). This is the temptation that Satan says, "Let the stones become loaves, jump out of the temple." The meaning of "worship", however, has a different purpose. This means control over the material world. When God created the heavens and the earth, why is Satan the king of this world? Jesus healed the sick. The Pharisees said that Jesus did this by the power of Beelzebub. So Jesus says in Matthew (12:26).

『And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 』 Jesus already knew that Satan wanted to build his kingdom. This is God's permission in Luke (4: 6). Why did God allow Satan to rule the world? Many people say that Adam and Eve were robbed of this world because they sinned in the Garden of Eden. This world created by God cannot be taken by Satan without God's permission. Words that are not even in the Bible are made by humans saying, "The world has been taken from Satan." Those who say this blasphemy.

『For that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 』 Why did God surrender this world to Satan? Satan sinned in the kingdom of God. Satan wanted to leave God, thinking that he could be like God without God. God knew this and confined him to the material world. So the Bible says that Satan took power in the air. God imprisoned Satan in the material world. And God tells Satan to build up your kingdom that you want.

In Satan's third teptation to Jesus, there is no saying, "You are the Son of God." In Matthew, if you fall down and worship me, Luke says, If you bow to me. The object of you includes all who are associated with Christ, including Jesus. Satan knows well that Jesus is God. And Satan knows that "Jesus is not to be tempted". These words are Satan's own argument. For today, some worship Satan. Even in church people pray for things of the world. Whom the people pray to?

Those who worship Satan are those who want what Satan has. Those in Christ want God's things, and those in Satan want Satan's. God gives to those who want the things of the kingdom of God. Jesus said that the king of this world is Satan. The Bible says in John (12:31).

『Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 』 In the book of Revelation, God said, "Satan is cast out of the air to this earth."

The Bible says in 1 John (2: 15-16).『 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 』 Everything in this world came from Satan, the king of the world.

God gives nothing but his kingdom. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians (15:50).『 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.』 If someone prayed to obtain the things of the world, and that was done, who would have given them? "All these things will I (Satan) give you』. " God tells the Saints: Satan's testing of Jesus will do the same to the Saints. Jesus told the Pharisees, "The Caesar is to Caesar and the God's to God." All the material of this world belongs to Satan, and the kingdom of God in this world belongs to God.

This world was created by God, but someday God will destroy it. This world is a temporary place. The end of this world comes when God's will, planned before creation, is accomplished. Satan uses all sorts of ways to stop this. So when Satan tempted Jesus, he said, "This is what you gave me, and I give it to those who want me," making the people of the world his children. Satan's temptation is not only to interfere with what Jesus accomplishes, but also to draw those from the cross who are trying to be united with Christ. Jesus speaks clearly to the Devil. Satan is not able to build his kingdom, but is under God's control. That is why he said, "I will worship your God and serve him. The meaning of `` “your God “ is  that even Satan cannot escape God, but must worship God.