His Return from the Wilderness

Matthew 4:1-11 tells us about Jesus' sufferings and victories in the wilderness. We know that He suffered for us, and that He was victorious for us. There are lessons we may learn from His return from the wilderness. "Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:" Matthew 4:12-13. Luke 4:14 says that He "returned in the power of the Spirit."

If we thoughtfully consider the nature of the events that Jesus went through and the reason for them, as well as the aforementioned verses, something becomes evident. Notice that He didn't boast about how He had conquered the devil, or about the fact that He had done it in our behalf. The Bible gives no such record. Rather, we find that He, to put it as Peter did, "went about doing good." Acts 10:38. He gave us an example of humility even here. Think about this in light of the contrasts presented in Philippians 2:5-8 and Isaiah 14:12-15. Isn't the character of our God amazing?

Let us look at where Jesus went next. "And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Matthew 4:13-16, emphasis added. The people Jesus went to were not those who needed little or no help; He went to those who needed a lot.

Lastly, let us ponder Luke 4:14. "And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of Him through all the region round about." Mark 4:23-24 says, "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them." The Holy Spirit is with us to enable us to do good, to follow in the footsteps of our Master in serving others, not ourselves. Oh, may we gaze upon the selfless character of our Saviour, and allow the Holy Spirit to make us like Him!

 Blessings,

Jean