Isaiah 49:4b
Yet what is due to me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.’
As we saw yesterday, the Servant’s mission to save God’s people is going to cost him everything he has, and will end in pain, weakness, humiliation and death. That’s not a mission that would immediately appeal to most of us! Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that when Jesus begins his adult ministry, the Devil appears to him in the wilderness and tries to tempt him away from obedience to the job he has been given.
If you remember the event, from Matthew chapter 4, you’ll know that the devil offers Jesus ‘all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour’ if he will turn away from trusting his Father and worship the devil instead. The words of this verse perfectly summarise why Jesus says No. The promised Servant has complete faith in the One who has called him. He will only accept the reward that comes from the Lord’s hand. He won’t turn away from his calling and chase rewards that come from elsewhere, even though that would have been a much easier path. So, Jesus said No the devil’s offer of earthly power. Just as he spent his whole life saying No to the constant temptation to seek comfort, satisfaction or status from going his own way instead of living the life God had called him to. This verse beautifully reveals the humility of Jesus. Instead of fighting for his ‘rights’, and pursuing his own rewards, he entrusts himself entirely to his Father’s will. Whatever God chooses to give him he will willingly accept. Whatever God withholds, he won’t scheme to get it some other way.
So today, let’s praise Jesus for his perfect humility and willingness to trust himself and his future to his Father’s will. And let’s ask him to change our hearts so that we would increasingly do the same.
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