Jesu Juva

“Angels of the Passion: A Mission of Mercy, Part 1”

Text: Genesis 19:1-16; Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:14-16; Matthew 4:1-11

It was a long time . . . from when our Father made His promise to send a Saviour to when He actually did. Well, a long time to you! Not to Him. Our Father’s not in time like you are. A thousand years are like a day to Him (2 Peter 3:8). But from your perspective, yeah, it took a long time. A lot of generations came and went.

We angels were busy during all that time! Because our former brothers were busy. Attacking, corrupting, deceiving, misleading. I heard with you one of those stories tonight - when we went down and rescued Lot and his family. I remember it well . . . Our former brothers had really caused some mischief there! Just as I know they’re doing now, among you, too. The more things change . . . Well, you know how the saying goes.

But finally, at just the right time (Galatians 4:4), our Father sent His Son to start His saving work. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was in the choir, you know. That choir of angels that announced the birth to the shepherds! Oh, we were so filled with joy! And then watching Jesus grow up, just like you. And then His Baptism by John in the Jordan . . . He was doing it all for you. He didn’t need baptism. He wasn’t washing away His sins, He was taking your sins! Taking the sin of the world upon Himself. And our Father was so pleased. This is exactly what He wanted. This is what He sent His Son to do. And this time, He didn’t send an angel to announce the Son - He did it Himself! This is My beloved Son! His voice sounded from heaven (Matthew 3:17).You know it is a big deal when our Father insists on doing this Himself!

And then, right after He was baptized, the Spirit drove Him out into the wilderness. Jesus didn’t ease into His work! He went from 0 to 60 (as you say) in a flash! From growing up in Nazareth to Baptism to wilderness - boom! To go up against the traitor. No time like the present (as you say). Don’t wait for the traitor to make a move - go right at him! We had cast him and all his evil brothers down to the earth at our Father’s command, and now the Son of God was invading his territory! Not that it really was his territory - everything belongs to our Father. But the traitor thought it was his. He was trying to make it his. He fashioned himself king over it.

And then Jesus showed up . . . but not in the form of God, but as a dirtling! (Pardon my French!) That’s what the traitor calls you, you know. Dirtlings. (Again, pardon my French.) Because when our Father created Adam, it was out of the dirt of the ground (Genesis 2:7). But it was wonderful! Adam formed so carefully, in every detail. Each and every bone, from the big femur to the littlest ear bone. All his veins and arteries. Every muscle, flexors and tensors. And his brain! So awesome, so specially created. And you, too, knit together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-14). That’s why is was so tragic when Adam and Eve became ashamed of it and covered up their bodies.

But the traitor and my former-but-now-evil brothers with him couldn’t see the beauty and wonder of him. They just seethed in hate against our Father and everything He created and everything He did. They thought they were God’s gifts to the world! So much better and superior to dirtlings. (Pardon my French!) So much more beautiful. They really loved to look at themselves an admire themselves. But while everything our Father creates is good and beautiful, they really became quite ugly in their rebellion, in their sin, if I may say so myself.

Anyway, I digress. The point is, when Jesus came to earth, He came as one of you! As a man. And that made the traitor ever madder! That’s why he tried to destroy Him, and why he attacked Him there in the wilderness.

But while he was mad, he was also excited. The Son of God as a dirtling! (Pardon my French!) This was an opportunity par excellence! Because he was undefeated against you. The traitor had infected and brought down every dirtling (Pardon my French!) Every. Single. One. So now, to overcome this one, too - Jesus Himself! He licked his chops! This is it! Victory within my reach, he thought!

And after 40 days . . . I know how much you all need food. But Jesus fasted for 40 days! He was so hungry at the end. And that’s when the traitor really attacked Him and hounded Him! Again, I wanted to swoop down right then and there and help and fight, just like in the Garden, and just like we did in rescuing Lot and his family. But I couldn’t. I was never given the command. And I never do anything without our Father’s command. Jesus would have to do this by Himself. He was the only one who could. He came to do what you couldn’t, wouldn’t, do. He came to win the victory and set you free. So He needed to do this. Alone.

And He did! I have to tell you, it was hard watching it all. And when it was all over, when those 40 days were up, when the devil, the traitor as I call him, left Jesus, that’s when I got the call! The call I had been waiting for! Finally! Go! And faster than you can say God is love we went and ministered to Him there in the wilderness. There in the wilderness, in human flesh, we served the Lord God Sabaoth - the commander of the angel armies Himself. I was so happy to do so. Though I knew that though this battle was over, there would be others, more. The war wasn’t over yet . . .

And I know you’re curious . . . you want to know exactly what we did in ministering to Jesus there in the wilderness after the devil, the traitor, left Him. But our Father decided not to have that written in the Word He gave you, the Bible, so you’re just going to have to imagine that for yourself. I can’t speak beyond what our Father tells me to speak. But I’ll bet you can imagine what we did . . .

He did it all for you. I hope you realize that. As I heard with you tonight, from God’s Word, He became like you in every respect, and He was tempted in every way as you are. He knows what you’re going through. He knows how hard it is, how persistent and slick my former brothers are when they attack you and hound you and tempt you. So He can help. And He does! Because when you fall for those temptations . . . I don’t think you realize how much damage that causes . . . to you and to others. Oh, I know, you think: Oh, it’s just a little thing, a small sin . . . It’s not hurting anyone . . . I can handle it. No! No you can’t! Every sin hurts and damages and whittles away at you. They matter. Don’t listen to my former brothers. They’re insidious and only evil all the time. If it wouldn’t hurt you, they wouldn’t do it. And they’re playing the long game. So a little sin now, a little deviation now, can wind up big later, way off later. So don’t listen to them. They lie! They lie all the time. They make evil sound good, bitter taste sweet, wrong seem right. Don’t listen! Fill your ears with our Father’s words. He tells you the truth.

And the truth most of all tonight is that Jesus fought for you and won. Or think of it this way: YOU are His prize! Now, you may not think of yourself that way, that if you’re a prize, that’s not much of a prize! You’re not good enough. You’re too sinful, too weak.

But if you could only see yourself as HE sees you! As someone worth trading His life for. Imagine that! For, what price would you put on yourself? The life of God? Who would be so full of himself to say that? But that’s it! The Son of God traded His life for yours. He did. He took your place, so that you could have His. He took your place in birth, in growing up, in going mano-a-mano with the traitor in the wilderness, and then taking all your sin and guilt and taking your place on the cross. He didn’t have to do that. But He did! For you! Just for you. For each of you. For all of you. He didn’t do that for angels! Just for you. Precious creations of our Father. Which makes you pretty special, pretty important, pretty valuable. Do you realize that? I hope you do!

BUT . . . that also makes YOU the enemy of my former brother, the traitor. Oh, he’s coming after you! Hard! And I wish I had time to tell you about that tonight! But that will have to wait for next week. So until then, I leave you in good hands. In the hands of, and in the name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.