But he [Jesus] answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”… Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” … Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” [Matthew 4:4,7,10 (ESV)]
God’s armor includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation. No soldier, however, would go into battle without a weapon. While a soldier might go into battle without armor as did David when he met Goliath, he’d never go without a weapon. The young shepherd’s weapon was a handful of stones but the Christian’s weapon is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The sword Paul describes wasn’t like the nearly six-foot heavy broad sword (rhomphaia) David used to decapitate Goliath or the sword of judgement of Revelation. The sword of the Spirit is a machaira, a small sword, knife, or dagger used in in hand-to-hand combat. While the Christian’s one offensive weapon is small, it is mighty because it can defeat Satan! When Jesus was in the wilderness, He used this powerful sword. The Lord answered each of Satan’s temptations with the words, “It is written…” He needed nothing more than the Word to send Satan packing.
Satan frequently uses his own machaira when tempting people—only his version of the Word is perverted. He’s more than willing to put his words in God’s mouth! When tempting Eve in the garden, the evil one emphasized God’s prohibition rather than His gifts when he asked if God really said she couldn’t eat any of the fruit in the garden. Although Eve corrected him that only one tree was prohibited, she was unsure of God’s words and added that it couldn’t even be touched! When Satan assured Eve that she wouldn’t die if she ate the fruit, the woman was bamboozled; not knowing and trusting God’s word is what brought death into the world!
Long before GPS and cell phones, toward the end of World War II, the allied forces conducted a military campaign to mop up the remaining Nazi resistance in Berlin. When a crucial mission was assigned to one unit, it was essential that each soldier memorize a detailed map of the enemy’s positions in the city. Because each soldier managed to commit the map to memory, the mission was a success. Several years later, the Army conducted an experiment to see if that original feat could be repeated. The participating soldiers were offered an extra week’s furlough as incentive if they could carry out a comparable mission without a glitch. Despite the promise of furlough, this second unit failed to match the success of the first. Could their failure have been because their lives never were in jeopardy? Perhaps one’s survival in battle serves as a greater motivation than a week’s vacation in peacetime.
While I’ve found this story in a variety of sources, I can’t verify its truth. Nevertheless, it makes a great sermon illustration and I found it in a commentary on Ephesians 6:17. As Christians, we are engaged in spiritual warfare. Rather than holding a map of Berlin and Nazi strongholds in our memory, we need the Bible in our hearts. Paul warned us that Satan “disguises himself as an angel of light.” [2 Cor. 11:14] The only way to spot his falsehoods and perversion of the gospel is to know the truth! The sword of the Spirit—the word of God—is the only offensive weapon in our arsenal. The more we read it, the more we memorize it, and the more thoroughly we know and understand it, the better prepared we are to march into battle. We must study God’s Word as if our lives depended on it—because they do.
The Bible is an armory of heavenly weapons, a laboratory of infallible medicines, a mine of exhaustless wealth. It is a guidebook for every road, a chart for every sea, a medicine for every malady, and a balm for every wound. [Thomas Guthrie]
Described as a “preaching genius…like no other preacher you have ever heard,” the late Rev. Fred Craddock was well-known for including stories in his sermons. He told one that took place during the early 60s in a diner in the deep South. Although the white Craddock sat in a booth and was served with courtesy and consideration, he silently watched the diner’s manager treat a Black man at the counter with rudeness, disdain, and open contempt. Although offended by the man’s racist behavior, Craddock remained silent. It was when he walked out of the diner after finishing his meal that the preacher heard a rooster crow. A signal of his betrayal, the crowing told the preacher that, by ignoring one of the “least of these”, he’d ignored Jesus! His silence was as much a betrayal of the Lord as were Peter’s denials!
Having previously warned people that not everyone who claimed to follow Him would enter the Kingdom, Jesus told the Parable of the Sheep and Goats in which He likened the last judgment to a king separating the sheep from the goats at the end of the day. Placing the sheep to His right and the goats to His left, the King invites the sheep into the Kingdom. The reasoning behind His selection is disarmingly simple: “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” [Matthew 25:35-36] Having failed to do those things, the goats are sent into eternal punishment.
When I learned about people like Abraham, David, Moses, and Samson as a girl, they were the Bible’s version of super-heroes like Batman or Superman. The Bible’s heroes were larger than life, obedient, invincible, and seemed to overcome their obstacles effortlessly. Appearing perfect in their faith and actions, they weren’t people to whom I could relate. In reality, they were as flawed as the rest of us but, for the most part, their imperfections and failures were redacted from the stories we learned in Sunday school.
The email from my dentist asked, “Would you recommend us?” When I answered in the affirmative, I was hyperlinked to a site that added my five-star rating to that of other patients. The following day, I received a longer survey regarding my recent visit. Once done, it again asked if I would recommend his services and requested use of my name in an on-line testimonial. It’s clear that my dentist wants more than feedback; he wants the public approval of his patients. Although I like him, I like my privacy more, so I declined!
Having quoted from Isaiah when proclaiming the Messiah’s arrival, we know John knew Isaiah’s prophecies. The Messiah would “bind up the brokenhearted [and] proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners,” [61:1] but, after spending more than a year confined to a dark cell, John had neither liberty nor freedom. It’s no wonder he doubted.
