I am a Jesus pusher!!! He has clearly blazed the trail for me to follow. But not only has He made the way clear, He has become the way. The moment He was filled with the Spirit of His Father, He was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). He will plainly demonstrate how to overcome Satan and all of his allurements. After experiencing spiritual warfare for forty days and forty nights, He realized that physical necessities had been forgotten. He was hungry (Matthew 4:2). The devil suggested a simple solution. Since being sourced by God had gotten Him into this situation, why should He not get Himself out of it? There was no solution for food in this barren wilderness. He could simply source Himself for a moment and solve the problem. Is it wrong to be hungry or to eat? Isn’t this a God given desire?
Matthew is very distinct in describing Jesus’ approach. But He answered and said is how Matthew phrases it (Matthew 4:4). He answered is a translation of a Greek word. It is a participle which means it is a verb used as a noun. It is in the nominative case which means it is the subject. While Jesus is directly involved in the action, He is not the focus of this sentence. The action of answering is the subject and focus. The actual Greek word means to evaluate, discern, or to separate. At the moment of temptation, Jesus lounges into the arms of His Father’s embrace. He retreats into the sourcing of the Father. What is the Father’s opinion? How does the Father feel? What is the Father’s perspective? Jesus will not let any action come from His life which is not sourced by the Father! This was the pattern of Jesus’ life!
Jesus has opened the door for me to know Him like this! In every situation I must lounge in the arms of Christ’s embrace. In intimacy with Him I can know the mind and heart of God. I can see the situation through His eyes; the devil can no longer trick me. I can live sourced by Jesus. I am a Jesus pusher!!!