Spiritual Piety

In Luke 5, Jesus called Levi, the tax collector, to follow Him. This immediately caused a stir. The religious could not fathom why, if Jesus was truly who He was making Himself out to be, He would call to the low life. The religious, who saw themselves as the righteous, did not consider mixing with the unrighteous... the sinners. Why did Jesus cross these lines? If those people wanted to become like the righteous, they could clean up their act and then come over to the other side of life. Jesus had the opposite perspective. He, who was here to offer forgiveness of sin, was not about standing by waiting for the sinners to clean up their act so he could offer them a new life. No, He came to "call sinners to repentence." (v. 31) He wasn't about calling the righteous. Those who already thought they were righteous didn't think they needed a Savior. Jesus equates it to a healthy person not needing a doctor. A person could be truly sick, yet think they are healthy and thus not realize their need for a doctor. Spiritually we are all sinners (Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10), yet we think we are righteous and thus we don't think we are in need of a Savior. Beware of this spiritual piety. Pray that we may see ourselves as we truly are: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." (Luke 18:13) Only then can the true work of regeneration begin.

The Opportune Time

After the time that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan (Luke 4:1-13), Luke states that Satan left him (Jesus) until an opportune time. What are those times? I think they are the high times and the low times in our lives. When this story opens, Jesus has just been baptized in the Jordan River by John. It is Jesus "passage" into his formal years of ministry. The baptism is given further power and significance because God the Father and God the Holy Spirit show up as well. The Father doesn't just watch on from heaven, but speaks out audibly, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." The Spirit decends on Him in bodily form like a dove. This to me is the ultimate of spiritual intimacy within the Godhead. Jesus comes out of the water completely prepared for the task set before him...to bring salvation to the world. It is at this point that the Spirit led him out into the desert and Satan comes into the picture to tempt Jesus. The desert, the place where Satan puts Jesus spiritual intimacy with the Godhead to the test. Just as Satan's greed for power and status led to his fall in the heavenlies (Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:12-19), he now tries to break up the Godhead by tempting Jesus to act independently of the Father and the Spirit. To satisfy His immediate needs himself, with the help of Satan. Jesus, still empowered by the Spirit, rebukes Satan with the words of God the Father all three times. "It is written...It is written...and It says..."
This story of Jesus in the desert also shows Satan's attach in the low times. Jesus had fasted for 40 days. The Bible says that he was hungry. That is a time of weakness. Physical weakness easily breeds spiritual weakness. Satan will look for any window of opportunity.
After Jesus rebuked Satan, verse 13 says, Satan left him until an opportune time. We must beware. The devil is a roaring lion seeking who he can devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Beware in the times we feel like we are spiritually imtimate and beware in the times that we are feeling worn out, tired, hungry and vulnerable. May the words of the Father be ever present on our hearts and tongues. "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11) May the fullness of His Spirit guard our hearts and minds so that we are prepared when the evil one thinks that it is the opportune time.