[Journey with Jesus – Day 4]
We would have caught him, you know. Would have done anything for him. Our whole existence was for the purpose of serving and worshipping him. Day by day we are in the presence of God in the throne room, pouring out our praises, leading the whole of creation in singing heaven’s song – Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. We have worshipped and served him from the very beginning – we praised his mighty acts when he brought the heavens and the earth into being, we gasped as stars were flung into space, and marvelled at the beauty of the place they call earth – with its vibrant colours and abundant life that teems in the depths of the sea as well as the land. All of it joined with us in testifying to his greatness.
Then we saw the greatest creative act of all – he made one in His image. One made a little lower than us angels, who would have the seed of the divine in the core of its being, who would be given the ability to choose love and the responsibility to steward the world that the Almighty had made. What an act of love but what a risk He took. If this being could choose to love, then it could also choose not to – but He believed it was a risk worth taking, and you can see the joy He takes in every selfless, generous, and kind act, every time love is chosen. The problem was, that so often human beings, for that is what they were called, would choose hatred, selfishness, greed. They hurt, even killed each other, and seemed to stop at nothing to get what they want. And they failed to do what they had been put on earth to do, so pollution crept into the world He had so lovingly made. You can tell how much it grieved him – and it grieved us too. So he acted. He reached out to one man who would become a great nation and through this nation the whole world would be blessed and know that there was a God in heaven who could show the path to true life in harmony with each other, with the world and with God himself. Sadly, though there were bright spots, things only got worse as even that chosen nation rejected their God and faced the consequences of disobedience.
Despite this, the Almighty wouldn’t give up on the people he had made, so he made a seismic decision. The prince of heaven himself, the eternal Son, the Word of Life whom we have worshipped from the beginning, would become one of them – he would become flesh and make his dwelling among them. We angels couldn’t believe it – what risk he would take … how would he be received by those he had created? Surely they would bow down and worship, surely they would follow his ways? Surely …?
One of our number, Gabriel, had the special job of delivering the news to a lowly peasant girl that she would become the mother of the Son. We cheered when she spoke those words saying that she was the Lord’s servant and submitted herself to God’s will. We rejoiced at his birth. We surprised a bunch of shepherds on the hillside outside of Bethlehem where he was born – we couldn’t;t contain ourselves, so we told them the good news and lit up the hillside with our praises … “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”
As well as leading the whole of creation in praise, we knew we had another role too – to protect the Son – we would guard him in all his ways. We were ready – as soon as he called out for us, we would be there and rescue him. What else could we do? We loved him, we worshiped and served him. We watched him as he grew up under the love and care of his mother and father and as he stepped out into his calling. We witnessed his baptism, as the heavens opened and that voice from the Almighty thundered, “You are beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.” We saw the smile on the Son’s face. We loved to see him smile. When the Holy Spirit filled him, to us he almost shone; he was so full of power.
Then he went out into the wilderness to prepare himself for the time to come. He fasted for forty days – one day for each year the Israelites had been made ready for life in the promised land. This time the Son, the chosen One would live the life that the Chosen people failed to do. He would be faithful where they had been faithless. We were certain of it – but then the Tempter, Satan himself appeared in the wilderness – he who had been chief among us, the most beautiful and powerful angel, now almost unrecognisable in his inner ugliness – oh, he had an outer sweetness alright, but within he was evil and stank of death. And he was determined to destroy the Son and his mission before it had even started. He began straight away with trying to sow doubt in the Son’s mind about his divinity. “If you are the Son God … “ You could tell what he was trying to do – trying to convince Jesus that the voice from heaven at his baptism, that this sense of calling and identity – all of it, was a figment of Jesus’s imagination. Then he tried to prey on his humanity. After forty days Jesus was hungry. “…. Tell these stones to become bread.”. In other words, if you’re so powerful, then prove it by satisfying your hunger. But Jesus refused, answering the devil with words from the Scripture, “Man must not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” You see, he knew that giving in to his short term craving would have a longterm loss. Only the Lord can truly satisfy.
We watched on wondering what would happen next – we knew the devil wouldn’t give up easily. He took Jesus to Jerusalem, the holy city and they stood together at the very top of the temple. “If you are the Son of God … “ (that tactic again, trying to sow seeds of doubt in Jesus’s sense of who he is) … “throw yourself down from here,” – and here, we had to admit we could see his cleverness at work, for he began to quote Scripture himself, “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.’”
We readied ourselves for action. We would have caught Him, of course we would have – we would have done anything – whatever He commanded. We live to serve. We couldn’t tell if Jesus was tempted. Either way, again he refused, and simply answered, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Jesus knew that while he could call on us, this was not the way that he had been called to follow. Right from when he was a child and was faced with the choice between the glory and honour of Jerusalem, he chose instead to submit to the invisibility of Nazareth, living a life of obedience to his parents, Jesus knew that God had a specific path for him to follow. He would do things in God’s ways, not the way of the devil, no matter how tempting.
Still the devil was not done. He took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “This will all be yours – every part of it,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” We held our breath. Jesus was the rightful king of the whole world. It all belonged to him. Why not grab it with both hands? Why not show the world who he is straight away? And yet, again, Jesus knew this was not the Lord’s way. The Lord’s way was of selfless love, service, and sacrifice. Jesus knew it, so he commanded, with all the authority he knew he had. “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
With that, finally, the devil knew he had no choice but to obey the command of the King, and left, tail between his legs. Jesus collapsed, clearly exhausted by the battle he had fought. He was physically and spiritually weak. Finally, we were allowed to come, and we attended him, giving him strength and encouragement. Though we hadn’t been given the full picture, we knew that there were more battles to be fought. Every step of obedience brought him a step closer to fulfilling the purpose of God for him and the world he so loved. We would be with him every step; with each one we would be on hand to guard and serve our Prince, of whom we were so proud. We will sing the eternal song, ““To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
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