The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the early life of Jesus. What we do see is his first couple of years, and then an account of his family visiting the temple. That’s it.
As we begin our series on following Jesus, we take a look at what’s next: when Jesus prepares to begin his ministry. As we take a look at the events in Matthew 4:1-11, we see the foundation that Jesus built everything on.
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A Foundation of Prayer and Fasting
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Matthew 4:1-2 (NIV)
As we read through the Gospels, we notice one recurring pattern: Jesus often went off to be alone with the Father. Every time something significant was about to happen, you could find Jesus preparing for that time by praying.
In the preparation for his time of ministry, we see the same thing. Jesus goes off for fasting and prayer. In the midst of this, he faces temptation (we’ll talk more about that soon).
Jesus himself modeled for us the very kind of habits and rhythms of life we need in any age. Even as God in human flesh, he prioritized time alone with his Father. Imagine what “good” he might otherwise have done with all those hours. But he chose again and again, in perfect wisdom and love, to give his first and best moments to seeking his Father’s face. And if Jesus, even Jesus, carved out such space in the demands of his human life, shouldn’t we all the more?
“Time alone for God” by David Mathis
Jesus would spend time in ministry, then time alone with the Father. He would spend time teaching his disciples, then spend time with God. He would heal and teach, then spend time with God.
Prayer was a priority for Jesus
A Foundation of Scripture
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Matthew 4:3-11 (NIV)
There are many powerful lessons in this exchange. The devil wanted to put a halt to what Jesus was about to do and came with some powerful temptations. There’s much to be learned in examining the temptations themselves and to examine Jesus’s response. But for now, we’ll focus on this one thing:
Jesus relied on the Word of God for his response.
If anyone could have stood on his own ability and righteousness, it would be Jesus. Yet what did he focus on?
The authority of God’s word.
The Foundation for Jesus
Two things stand out for us as we watch Jesus prepare for his ministry:
He relied on prayer
He relied on the Word of God.
What we see is that his foundation was time with the Father. He spent time with the Father in prayer, and he knew and relied on the Father’s words.
As we examine what Jesus did, what he said and where he went, the first thing we see is the foundation of his relationship with the Father. As followers of Jesus, this is a powerful clue as to what it means to actually follow him:
Doing what Jesus did means prioritizing a relationship with the Father.
If we truly want to be like Jesus, if we truly wish to follow him, a significant first step is to priroitize time with the Father.