The Identity and The Test

Scripture: Luke 3:21–22; 4:1–13

Theme: The King is prepared through surrender and resistance.

The Baptism (Identity): Before Jesus does anything, the Father declares who He is. The Kingdom is built on sonship and identity, not just performance.

The Wilderness (The Test): Every kingdom has a "constitution." In the desert, Jesus rejects the "shortcuts" to power (bread, fame, political compromise).

The Strategy: Satan offers the kingdoms of the world through worship; Jesus secures the Kingdom of God through Word-centered obedience.

The Core Truth: We cannot bring "Your Kingdom Come" into our world if we are compromising with the world's methods.

There is no doubt that Luke is making a point with the casualness of his telling of the Baptism of Jesus.

Look at the way he describes the shepherds and the Angels and his presentation at the temple!

Luke goes into great detail, he wants to us to share with those lowly shepherds the glories being foretold.

He wants us to marvel with those forgotten servants at the temple. The aged searchers of the Messiah, the righteous and devout Simeon and the prophetess Anna.

He wants us to see them to know them and their history. Luke is leaving no stone unturned!

Jesus at the temple... Details are abound

John the baptist and message, you also know every word and every person who was there.

But Jesus’ baptism?

Luke 3.21

You almost get the feeling, and hate to say this, you also get the feeling that Jesus is just standing in line… Next!

Lessons from some lines:

Fast Pass at theme part

When you at the gate, I’m not paying that much per ticket just to cut in line.

But after a few hours of waiting...

Lines have a way of forcing you to reevaluate what you would be willing to pay, if I could just cut ahead.

But then there is Jesus

No fast pass for him

Nothing separating him from the no account crowds that were surrounding John

Humble, waiting

Next!

Lines at the DMV are like that

It doesn’t matter if you graduated Magna Cum Laude or graduated Thank-You-Lordy

Your just another person trying to get a license

Next!

Luke 3.21-22

What makes a man great?

John the Baptist: Behold the Lamb of God

Jesus, waiting in line, but then the identifying marker: “You are my son, with you I am well pleased.”

Who knew spitting into a plastic tube would become such a popular pastime? Ancestry.com has more than 23 million members in its DNA network and 23andMe boasts more than 12 million customers worldwide. It’s never been easier to track down that great-great-grandmother from Norway.

We’re also watching professional historians do it on television. We tune in to shows like Antiques Roadshow, Who Do You Think You Are?, and Finding Your Roots. Ancestry sells. Genealogy is having a pop culture moment.

But why now? What are we searching for? Genealogist Bernice Bennett says, “There may be some people who are looking to find that they’re connected to Pocahontas, trying to find somebody famous, but you also have others who are saying there’s something missing. Who am I? How can I find that information, and how can it make me feel whole?”

In other words, we’re searching for belonging. We want to recognize ourselves. Our own sense of being and purpose can be reaffirmed when we see ourselves in the generations that have come before us. We are hard-wired for such connection, but many of us feel adrift. Genealogy research and programs tap into an unmet need.

Possible Preaching Angles:

Longing for belonging is an age-old desire. It’s one reason the Bible is chock-full of genealogies that trace the connections between generations of the early Hebrew people. Those who-begat-whom passages that modern readers tend to want to gloss over, were pivotal to an understanding of identity and wholeness in the ancient world.

Thompson Chain Reference Bible: Topical Index 2737. Periods of Time

Flood lasted,

Identity Theft

Attempt 1:

If you are...

Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 35A: Luke 1:1–9:20 Comment

The Devil suggests that Sonship is a privilege to be exploited. Jesus is tempted to order his own affairs and provide for his own needs, rather than being nourished in filial dependence on God

Luke The Temptations of Jesus (Luke 4:1–13; Matthew 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13)

This first temptation is not only personal but social: Will Jesus’ ministry be one of turning stones to bread?

Attempt 2:

Luke The Temptations of Jesus (Luke 4:1–13; Matthew 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13)

The second is political: Will Jesus submit to the ruler of this world in order to achieve good for the people of this world?

Power

Search for power, language of the Empire

People of Power (Egypt)

People of Shalom (Peace)

God’s search is for a peace

Shown all the kingdoms of the world

They have been given to me,

I have authority,

I can give them

1 John 5:19

Eph 2:1-2

2 Cor 4:4

Grasp for power

Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 35A: Luke 1:1–9:20 Comment

It is likely, therefore, that the worship of Satan to which Jesus is enticed is the temptation to pursue his task in the ways of the world, to gain glory for himself in this world by compromise with the forces that control it , and to become indebted to Satan in the manner that every successful man of the world is.

Last few sermons this has been a occurring them

System Built by the Enemy*

Leads to the question of who is the enemy (only when we can clarify this can the problem(s) be solved)

So don’t put your hope in it!

Attempt 3:

Luke The Temptations of Jesus (Luke 4:1–13; Matthew 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13)

The third is religious: Will Jesus win Jerusalem by coercing faith, avoiding death by the display of supernatural power?

Matthew 27.40

Even when you are your weakest Satan is coming after you, there is nothing sacred to him

Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 35A: Luke 1:1–9:20 Comment

According to the Devil’s theory there should be no martyrs. But the divine purpose for Jesus, as for certain others, is that they should be preserved through death, not from death (