If the Gospel of Jesus Christ were like any other biography, then the events we considered on Good Friday would be the final page. But the life of Jesus is anything but ordinary because He was the most extraordinary man who ever lived!
News of His body absent from the tomb didn’t bring immediate relief to His followers. They initially thought that someone had taken Jesus’ body. Their confusion slowly gave way to belief as He revealed Himself to them right where they were.

On Easter Sunday, we considered how Jesus revealed Himself to three of His followers in John 20. In each instance, Jesus met them right where they were at—with their heat, their heart, and their hands—and they all saw, somehow and in some way, and believed.

​Of all the places that Jesus could have gone to call His apostles, He went to Galilee of the Gentiles and told fishermen to “Follow Me”. Galilee is not the place and fishermen are not the people you might expect God would select to change the world—and yet that is exactly the reason Jesus chose that place and those people!

God chooses the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chooses the common and discarded things of this world so that no one can boast before Him. Jesus took these forgettable men from a forgettable place and spent time with them. They listened to His preaching and teaching. They heeded His warnings and followed in His way. And in doing so, they were changed forever! 

Jesus can do the same with you! He has called you to be with Him, to learn of Him, and to learn from Him. Spend time with Him—listen to His preaching and teaching, heed His warnings and following in His way. Spend time benefitting from His leading according to the mighty working of the Holy Spirit. After spending time with Jesus, you will be different! Light and life will have come where there once was darkness and death!

As we continue our study of the life of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, we will see Him preaching, teaching, and warning—all according to the working of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus starts His earthly ministry in the unlikeliest of places—Nazareth and Galilee. 

In the eyes of the religious elite of the day, these were not destinations to travel to or places to be proud of. And yet, these places were just right for Jesus to begin His public ministry and recruit His followers—for God uses the foolish, the forsaken, and the forgotten things to shame the strong and bring glory to Himself (1 Corinthians 1:27).

Watch our study of Matthew 4:12-25 as we consider the beginnings of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

Satan often turns times of testing into times of temptation by enticing us to take matters into our own hands and do the Lord’s work in our own way. But Jesus shows us how we can fight by faith to resist temptation. 

To fight by faith we need the Holy Spirit, for we cannot rely on our strength alone to resist temptation. God promised that the Holy Spirit would bring back to remembrance all that He has said to us (John 14:26). The more you allow God to speak to you by reading His word, the more opportunity you give the Holy Spirit to bring back to remembrance all that He has said to you at just the right time in your time of need.

That brings us to the next critical component in fighting by faith—the word of God. A specific scripture for a specific temptation is a wise way to fight by faith. The Lord is calling us to do the same. We can search the scriptures for something specific that applies to a trial or temptation so that when that trial or temptation comes, we are ready to fight by faith. Respond out loud if you have to! It might seem a little freaky, but that pales in comparison to how free you will be as you resist the devil. 

Finally, we need to take action when we fight by faith. James 4:7 says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” When you face temptation, resist the devil, take your stand, and fight by faith!

​In the book of Hebrews, we read that “…we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus was tempted in every way that we are tempted. In many ways, His temptations were much, much worse—and yet, He did not sin.

In Matthew 4, we read of three temptations Jesus faced and see Him emerge victorious and unstained by sin. But that does not mean He was unaffected by the human experience. His trial of temptation has a profound effect on His life and ministry.

Watch our study of Matthew 4:1-11 as we consider how Jesus resisted temptation by fighting by faith and how His experience of being tempted affected His life and ministry.