Time in the wilderness is essential
By Paula R. Kincaid, The Layman, July 20, 2009
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa – The Rev. Dr. James R. Edwards, professor of religion at Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash., is leading one of several Bible studies offered at the 104th New Wilmington Mission Conference this week.
On Monday morning he spoke on “The Journey to the Wilderness,” based on Luke 3:21 – 4:13. The Scripture text includes the accounts of Jesus’ baptism, genealogy and testing in the wilderness.
“This, in all of the gospels, is the most critical opening chapter of the story of Jesus,” said Edwards.
Remember in the first chapter of Acts, he asked, when the apostles had to fill the vacancy left by the defection and death of Judas? One of the criteria for the new disciple was the person had to have been with Jesus from His baptism through His Resurrection or ascension.
“The early church saw that the section of Jesus’ life that had saving significance began with the baptism and ended with the ascension,” he said.
In the wilderness
The interesting thing that Christians forget, said Edwards is “this doesn’t happen in the temple in Jerusalem. It does not happen in the synagogue in Capernaum. It does not happen during a beautiful sunset or during a great celebration of Israel. It happens in the wilderness and this is no surprise, because in the divine story it is often in the times of most severe testing that God can be found.”
“We should not be surprised that it is in the wilderness that Jesus receives the call and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
“As much as you and I fear the hardships of our lives,” Edwards said, “it is in these where God does His most formative work in our lives.”
He said it was not in the temple of Jerusalem, but on the road to Caesarea, Philippi that Jesus asked the most important of all, “Who do you say that I am?” And it was in that wilderness that Peter made the confession, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.”
Edwards made comparisons between Luke’s Gospel and Matthew’s Gospel.
Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus, placing it before his account of the Virgin birth and it begins with Abraham and continues through Jesus.
Luke’s genealogy is placed in between the accounts of His baptism and His testing in the wilderness – when Jesus is 30 years old. It begins with Jesus, and traces backs to Adam who Luke called “the son of God.”
Jesus is the son of a man who was called the son of God – Adam. “Adam is not a Jew,” Edwards said.
“The only thing you can say about Adam is he is a human being: no nationality, no language, no ethnicity, nothing to define him that you and I use to define ourselves.”
Luke wanted to show that his confession of Jesus as the son of God goes back to what is most essential and characteristic and fundamental to all human life, said Edwards, whether you are male or female, young or old, light or dark on the spectrum.
Temptation vs. testing
As Edwards began the third part of the story, he discussed the differences between a temptation and a test.
“A temptation cannot be from God,” he said, “because temptation entices you to disobey what is right. … God does not do that.”
God does, however, test.
“This story tells us that the very Spirit that descends upon Jesus at His baptism is the Spirit that drives Him into the wilderness to test Him.”
“This is huge for us,” he said. “We try to spend our live avoiding being tested, … we try to avoid temptations and testing, … Jesus cannot be the son of God He needs to be without this testing.”
“God does not allow those He loves to avoid testing,” said Edwards. “The purpose is not to humiliate or crush. The purpose is to perfect, to complete.”
Edwards offered one example of how the Church might be tested.
Testing a church
Edwards told the story of speaking to a church that was debating leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The church was being tested, he said, and he asked them, “Don’t you realize you have the opportunity to stand and hold the rampart. If you leave there will be just an empty space where the enemy can come through.”
He said he thought the most important verse in these times was I Corinthians 11:19: “for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.” (ESV)
Understanding Jesus
“What the three stories have in common,” said Edwards, is that they “all teach that Jesus is the son of God who is empowered by the Holy Spirit. This makes His life, miracles and teachings understandable. You cannot understand Jesus unless you accept that Jesus is the divine son of God. If you do not acknowledge that, then Jesus’ life is an unfathomable mystery. If you do acknowledge that, then Jesus is your brother, your Savior.”
Edwards said Luke included the baptism, genealogy and temptation, because all three talk about the son of God.
“Jesus as the divine son of God is not ‘a walk on.’ He just doesn’t materialize out of nowhere. God began something in Adam … that now has been brought to fruition in Jesus,” he said.
God defined Israel as His son, but Israel didn’t live up to that. He then narrowed it down to calling the kings of Israel His son, then the prophets and then to Jesus, Edwards said.
“Jesus is now the son of God who enlightens every one of us as human beings,” Edwards said. “No matter where you go in the world – no matter what religion – this will preach in the mission field: Jesus fulfills your humanity. That everything you long to be now is possible for you in Jesus. He makes you the true human being you are supposed to be.”