All this has happened before...

And all of it will happen again.

All of the Battlestar Galactica fans just let out a cheer.  As I read the passages for this week, I couldn't help but think of that tagline from one of my favorite sci-fi shows.  Here goes Matthew again, rooting Jesus' story in the stories of the Old Testament.  Jesus passing through the waters of baptism before facing 40 days in the wilderness is designed to echo the story of Moses and the Israelites passing through the Red Sea before facing 40 years in the wilderness.  Just as Moses was deeply committed to following God, so will Jesus humbly follow God's plans, resisting the temptations of the devil to perform miracles, establish security, and claim power.

Reading these two passages back to back makes me wonder what might happen in a local church somewhere if we were to combine teenage/adult baptism and/or confirmation with 40 days of fasting in the wilderness.  What if instead of a fancy luncheon with their confirmation sponsors, all of those ninth graders (as if God only calls people of a certain age to decide it's time to make a lifelong commitment to discipleship) were immediately sent out into the wilderness to contemplate their new life of discipleship with only a backpack containing some sleeping gear, a change of clothes, a water bottle with purification tablets, and that nice Bible the church gave them that usually sits on the shelf at home?  What if when people joined the church, we immediately required 40 days of fasting and spiritual contemplation as to how they would live out their discipleship?  I don't think we would have as many people signing up for confirmation or for church membership, and yet I wonder what the church might look like if we did.

Some questions to consider:

• What, if anything, do you remember from your confirmation experience?
• How do you think Jesus feels about the "celebrity" he has become in some circles of faith?
• What temptations could Satan offer you that would be awfully hard to resist?

Matthew 3:13-17 & 4:1-11

Baptism of Jesus

¹³ At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River so that John would baptize him. ¹⁴ John tried to stop him and said, “ I need to be baptized by you, yet you come to me? ”

¹⁵ Jesus answered, “ Allow me to be baptized now. This is necessary to fulfill all righteousness. ”

So John agreed to baptize Jesus. ¹⁶ When Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and resting on him. ¹⁷ A voice from heaven said, “ This is my Son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him. ”

Temptation of Jesus 

4 Then the Spirit led Jesus up into the wilderness so that the devil might tempt him. ² After Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was starving. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “ Since you are God’s Son, command these stones to become bread. ”

⁴ Jesus replied, “ It’s written, People won’t live only by bread, but by every word spoken by God . ” 

⁵ After that the devil brought him into the holy city and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, ⁶ “ Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down; for it is written, I will command my angels concerning you, and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone. ” 

⁷ Jesus replied, “ Again it’s written, Don’t test the Lord your God . ” ^h

⁸ Then the devil brought him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ He said, “ I’ll give you all these if you bow down and worship me. ”

¹⁰ Jesus responded, “ Go away, Satan, because it’s written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him . ” ⁱ¹¹ The devil left him, and angels came and took care of him.