Context Is Everything by Brother Curtis Hansen

         Good morning. Today, we will be reading from the book of Luke. We will be in chapter 4 and start with verse 1 to verse 13. It should read very familiar to many here this morning as it is the account of Jesus' time in the wilderness and being tempted.

        And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the spirit into the wilderness.

        2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

        3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

        4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

        5 And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

        6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

        7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

        8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

        9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence.

      10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:

      11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

      12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

      13 Ad when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

        The last verse is important to remember. The devil may also tempt you and if you are able to overcome his temptation, he will leave for just a season. Jesus answers scripture as well as the devil to counter the command or dilute the message. The difference is those who know the bible and those who submit. Who is submitting to the word? A lot of us know quotes but do we live them? Your walk and relationship with God is more about your witness and character.

        My first point is that Jesus answers your questions with context. The first temptation was turning the stone to bread in verse 3. You need to know that you too will be tempted by the devil. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3. The mindset of God is aligned with the Israelites in the wilderness.

        3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.

        Look at verse 6. The devil is like a lawyer in his second temptation to Jesus. In response to that temptation, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:13 as his reply.

        13 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

        Now, let's look at verses 9-11. Everything the devil is quoting to Jesus is coming from Psalms 91: 11-12. It's quoted exactly word for word, but it is missing the context. Many people today do the same thing. Notice the devil leaves out verse 13 of Psalm 91. Knowing verses isn't enough. You need to know the author. The devil claimed to Jesus he owned the world. He was not exactly wrong there.

        There's a direct connection of Luke 4:5-6 to Jeremiah 32:6-11. In the selection from Jeremiah, it is about the prophet getting a plot of land. There are things like the right of redemption and inheritance was mine. 

        Land was allotted to the 12 tribes of Israel after they had entered the promised land. There was established both open deeds and closed deeds. This means that a tribe, like Judah, could but a plot of land from says the tribe of Benjamin. It is still ultimately the tribe of Benjamin's land because their bloodline claim to that land. 

        Look at the fall of Adam and his expulsion from the garden of Eden, the devil claimed his deed over the world. He would lose that deed with the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

        The repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost are keys to your redemption. The original owner can buy the land back. When you come under the blood of Christ, you come under redemption.

        Before Jesus did anything in his ministry, he had shown submission first to God. In our life, we can quote verses, but minus the submission there is no context. Submit to Jesus, reject the devil, and then you can step into your calling.