2022.04.16/17
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Easter is here! Christ is risen, He is risen indeed! On this day, we celebrate the complete victory of Christ, over death, over sins and temptation, and ultimately over Satan.

When I first started this series of article on “The first and last temptations of Christ,” I was struck by the fact that three times in the last days of Jesus was “tested” on politically sensitive, theological and ethical issues, by the religious leaders of the day, trying to put Him to death. Jesus was able to answer all these “tests” with divine wisdom. I then remembered that Jesus when He began His ministry was first tempted by Satan three times also. As I re-study these temptations, I realized that were not like the cunning traps that the religious leaders laid for Jesus, but that they were challenges of much greater cosmic significance. Satan wanted Jesus to listen to him and demonstrate in Satan’s ways that Jesus was the “Son of God,” and so not follow the plan of God the Father, which was the way of the cross. But Jesus did not fall for Satan’s craftiness and rebutted him every time with the Word of God. I finally realized that the three first temptations were but one, whether Jesus as the Son of God would follow Satan or follow the will of God.

Therefore, in this final article of the series, I would like to change the focus instead to Christ’s final real “test” (temptation), the one that He faced in His spiritual struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mt 26:36-46).  The crux of the trial was expressed in Jesus’ prayer to His Father, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Mt 26:39)

Jesus was not afraid of death or the pain He knew He would suffer, that was not the test. The “cup” referred to here is the cup of suffering due to sin and eventual death. Jesus knew He would be separated from the Father (Mt 27:46) and He would bear the sin of all humanity (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24). The Father has never forsaken His Son before. A cup, figuratively in the Old Testament, refers to wrath. The wrath of God was on Christ because of the sins of all humanity now were borne by Him.

Indeed later, at the ninth hour on the day Christ was crucified, “Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46, quoting from Ps. 22:1) Therefore, in Gethsemane, Jesus was exceedingly grieved or sad to the point of total distress.  This distress was not helped by the fact Jesus’ most trusted disciples: Peter, James and John, were not able to stay awake, and watch and pray with Him.

The last and final “temptation” of Christ was not wrestling with or resisting God’s will. As perfect man, Jesus felt the heavy burden of repelling sin. Yet as the Son of God, He was ready to yield to the will of God and fulfill the mission that the Father sent Him to accomplish. This “struggle” comes from the mystery of His humanity and deity, the fact that Jesus the Son of God was at the same time the Son of Man. Christ was already victorious when He rose after the prayers in the Garden to face those that were going to betray Him and crucifying Him on the cross.

Before Jesus yielded up His spirit and died, he shouted, “It is finished! Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” (Jn 19:30)  It was a shout of victory, as Jesus the Son of God had obeyed fully the will of the Father. Jesus was triumphant over Satan and all his deceptions. His mission was accomplished.

We read that on the day Jesus rose from the dead, in the early morning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb…, an angel of the Lord said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead…, So …with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. (28:1-9)

Yes, Christ has risen. He is victorious over all temptations, sin, death and Satan. Let us all come and worship Him, for He is indeed the Son of God. He had died and rose from the dead to make us all children of God.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)

Your servant in Christ
Rev. Simon Lee

2022.04.16/17
李耀全牧師

列宣家親愛的兄弟姊妹：

復活節到了！基督復活了，祂的而且確的復活了！在這一天，我們慶祝基督完全戰勝死亡、戰勝罪惡和誘惑，最終戰勝魔鬼撒但。

當我第一次開始撰寫關於“基督的首次和最後的試探”文章系列時，令我懾服的是，耶穌於在世的最後日子裡，當時的領袖和宗教人士，企圖置祂於死地，曾三次在政治敏感問題、神學和倫理問題上 “考驗” 祂。耶穌均能夠以屬神的智慧一一應對所有這些“考驗”。我也記得，當耶穌開始祂的事工時，祂亦曾三次受到撒但的試探。當我重新研究這些誘惑時，我才意識到這與末後宗教領袖為耶穌設置的狡猾陷阱截然不同之處，是先前的試探含蘊著具有更大「超宇性」(cosmic)意義的挑戰。先前撒但希望耶穌聽從牠的獻計，不要遵循聖父上帝的計劃而走上十字架的道路，並以牠的方式來證明祂自己是“神的兒子”。但耶穌並沒有中了撒但的詭計，而是每次都用神的話來駁斥牠。我終於明白，先前三個試探實為三連於一，要耶穌選擇跟隨撒但的意思或跟隨神的旨意，以表明神兒子的身份。

因此，在本系列最後的一篇文章中，我的重點轉到關注基督最後的真正“考驗”(試探)，即祂在客西馬尼園的屬靈爭戰中所面對的考驗(太 26:36-46)。試煉的癥結關鍵在於耶穌對天父的禱告 “我的父啊，可能的話，求你使這杯離開我；但不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思！”(太26:39）

耶穌的考驗不在於畏懼死亡，也更不在於畏懼祂自己知道將會遭受的痛苦。這裡所說的“杯”是指因犯罪而受苦和最終死亡的杯。耶穌知道他將會與父神分離 (太27:46) ，並且他會承擔全人類的罪在祂身上（林後5:21; 彼前2:24）。父神從未離棄過祂的兒子。“杯”，在舊約中比喻為忿怒。神的忿怒傾在基督身上，因為現在全人類的罪孽都由祂承擔了。

事實上，接著，在基督被釘十字架那天的第九個小時，“耶穌大聲喊著說：“以利，以利，lema sabachthani？意即，“我的神，我的神，你為什麼離棄我？” （27:46，引自詩篇22:1）回顧在客西馬尼園，耶穌極度悲傷及傷痛，甚至到極度痛苦的地步。事實可見，連耶穌最信任的門徒彼得、雅各和約翰也無法保持清醒，與祂一起守望與祈禱，門徒並沒有分擔減輕祂的痛苦。

基督至終並最後的“試探”不是與神的旨意鬥爭抗衡，也不是抗拒神的旨意。作為完美的人，耶穌感受到驅除罪惡的沉重負荷。然而，作為神的兒子，祂已經準備好完全順服神的旨意，完成天父差祂來成就的使命。這種“掙扎”來自於祂的人性與神性在於一身的奧秘，即神的兒子耶穌同時也是人子的事實。當基督在客西馬尼園祈禱後站起來，正面面對那些將要出賣祂並將祂釘在十字架上的人時，祂已經得勝了。

耶穌在將祂的靈魂交付於神，斷氣之前，他喊道：“成了！父啊，我將我的靈魂交在您的手中！” (約19:30)  這「成了」是勝利的呼喊，因為神的兒子耶穌完全順從了天父的旨意。耶穌戰勝了撒但和牠所有的詭計。主的使命完成了。

我們讀到，在耶穌從死裡復活的那天，清晨，抹大拉的馬利亞和另一個馬利亞去看墳墓……主的一位天使對婦女們說： “不要怕，我知道你們尋找被釘十字架的耶穌。他不在這裡，已經照他所說的復活了。你們來看安放他的地方吧。” 快去告訴他的門徒，他已經從死人中復活了……，她們…又害怕，又十分歡喜，跑去告訴耶穌的門徒。忽然，耶穌向她們迎面而來，說：“你們好！”她們就上前，抱住他的腳拜他。(28:1-9)

是的，基督已經復活了。祂勝過一切試探、罪惡、死亡和撒但。讓我們都來敬拜祂，因為祂確實是神的兒子。祂已經為我們贖罪死了，又從死裡復活，使我們成為神的兒女。

“神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信他的，不至滅亡，反得永生。因為神差他的兒子到世上來，不是要定世人的罪，而是要使世人藉著他得救。信他的，不被定罪；不信的，罪已經定了，因為他不信神獨生子的名。”(約3:16-18)

主僕,
李耀全牧師

2022.04.02/03
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

We recently sang again the hymn “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” Yes, it was also for my sins and all our sins that Jesus Christ died on the cross. In my previous article, I shared how this Lenten season for me has been a time of deep reflection, as I try to go deeper into understanding the suffering of Christ especially in the last week of His life. I see that Jesus at the end of His ministry was “tested” three times (Mt. 22:15-40), and this reminds me that when he started His ministry, He was “tempted” by the devil three times as well. I wonder whether there is any lesson we can draw from that.

As said, in looking back at the first temptations of Christ, I was struck by the fact that He was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. I discovered a truth I had missed before, that is, the first temptations of Christ are all in the sovereign plan of God. Christ’s temptations also prepared Him to be the High Priest who understands our needs (Heb. 2:16-18; 4:15-16). Let take a closer look at the first three temptations.

The first temptation of Christ by the devil was right after the 40 days of fasting when Jesus was physically weak from hunger. The devil wanted to take advantage of Christ’s vulnerability and said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” (Mt. 4:3) This temptation involves first of all listening and responding to the devil and yielding to the devil’s suggestion of Jesus satisfying His own physical needs using His power as the Son of God prematurely, contrary to the will of God. Jesus in His response simply quoted the word of God (Deut. 8:3): “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The first lesson we learn here is in all our own trials, turn our eyes to Christ and His Word.

The second temptation was when Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down…” by subtly misquoting the assurances found in Scripture. This is the second time the devil questioned the sonship of Christ. This test of the devil again involves making Christ listening and responding to him and making Him to display His authority, ahead of God’s plan for Him, as if Christ needed to prove Himself to the devil. Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Deut. 6:16) The second lesson we can take away is we must never blame God for our trials and learn to submit to God’s sovereignty.

The third temptation was when “the devil offered Jesus a shortcut to His Kingdom” (Wiersbe), avoiding all the suffering Jesus knew He had to endure. This was when the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. All Jesus had to do to enjoy all that pomp and glory, the devil said, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus responded by saying, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” (Deut. 6:13; 10:20) The third lesson is that we should never succumb to wanting to short-circuit our trials which are allowed by God, and focus on worshipping God, and God alone?

Some commentators have drawn comparison of Jesus by the devil with Satan’s temptations of Eve in the Garden of Eden. The first temptation was an appeal to physical appetite (Gen 3:1). The second temptation was an appeal to personal gain (Gen 3:4). The third temptation was an appeal to power or glory (Gen 3:5). Also, in each case Satan twisted and manipulated God’s Word.

Before Jesus began His ministry on earth, the devil wanted to test Jesus on His self-identity. Twice the devil explicitly started his temptation with these words: “If you are the Son of God…”and implicitly and more subtly by offering the devil himself as the ruler of the kingdoms of the world to be worshipped by Jesus. Jesus the Son of God became the Son of Man so as to be our Saviour and Lord. His Sonship was not taken away when Jesus came into the world as a man in all His humanness, tested by the devil. As said in the introduction, the author of Hebrews tells us, “For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Heb. 2:16-18) Christ’s complete triumph over human weaknesses as a man in fact demonstrate that He is the Son of God.

The author of Hebrews goes furthermore and assures us that because Jesus was tempted just like us but did not sin, that Jesus is a high priest that can understand our weaknesses and give us help when we are in need. He says, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:14-16) Christ’s complete triumph over human weaknesses as a man further demonstrates that He is our Saviour par excellence.

One final reflection, in the first temptations of Christ, we see that word of God can be misused and misrepresented by the devil in tempting us, but it can also be used powerfully in fighting back the devil in our temptations. Therefore, we must know the Word of God well to discern what is the truth and what is falsehood, and be able to use it in our spiritual warfare, for it is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph 6:17b)

Next: The first and last temptations of Christ (3): The last temptations

Your servant in Christ,
Rev. Simon Lee

2022.04.02/03
李耀全牧師

列宣家親愛的兄弟姊妹：

我們最近在敬拜時再唱這首詩歌：“主被釘十架時,你在那裡嗎？”是的，耶穌基督是為了我的罪和我們所有人的罪而死在十字架上。我在前文中，曾分享這個預苦期對我來說是一個深刻反思的時期，因為我嘗試更深入地瞭解基督所受的苦難，特別是再思祂在世上生命最後的一週。我看到耶穌在祂的事工結束時亦曾三次受到“試探”(太 22:15-40)。這提醒我，當主在事工開始時，祂也是三次受到魔鬼的“試探”。讓我們來看能否從中汲取及領受到教訓。

如前文所述，當我重溫基督首次的試探時，我被基督由聖靈引導到曠野受魔鬼試探的事實所懾服，同時啟迪了我以前曾錯過的真理，那就是基督的首次受試探完全是在神主權中的計劃。基督的試探也準備了祂作為能完全瞭解明白我們需要的大祭司。(來 2:16-18；4:15-16) 以下讓我們來細心去看前三個的試探。

在基督首次的試探，魔鬼首先試探耶穌在祂禁食了40天之後，正當祂因飢餓而身體虛弱之時。魔鬼想利用基督的脆弱，對祂說：“你若是神的兒子，就吩咐這些石頭變成食物吧！”(太4:3) 這試探首先是要基督對魔鬼的建議作出回應並聽從，為要讓耶穌過早地使用祂作為神兒子的能力而違背神的旨意，去滿足祂自己的身體需要。耶穌在回應中簡單地引用了神的話(申 8:3)：“人活著，不是單靠食物，更要靠耶和華口裡所出的一切話。” 我們在此學到的第一課就是:在我們面對考驗時，必須將我們的眼目轉向基督和祂的話語。

第二個試探是撒但把耶穌帶到聖殿的頂峰，對他說：“你若是神的兒子，就跳下去吧！因為經上記著：神為了你，會吩咐自己的使者用手托住你，免得你的腳碰到石頭。” 魔鬼詭詐地並錯誤地引用了聖經中的保證。這是魔鬼第二次質疑基督是否擁有神兒子的身份。魔鬼這考驗再次涉及讓基督聽從並回應牠，讓耶穌在執行神的計劃之前展示祂的權威，就像基督需要向魔鬼證明祂自己一樣。耶穌對他說：“經上又寫著：‘不可試探耶和華你們的神！’”(申 6:16) 我們可以汲取的第二個教訓是: 我們絕不能因為所受的考驗而諉過於神。我們要學習順服神的主權。

根據聖經學者維爾斯貝(Wiersbe)指出，第三個試探是:“魔鬼為耶穌提供可以避免自己所必須忍受的所有苦難，即能通往祂國度的捷徑”。魔鬼把耶穌帶到了一座極高的山上，向祂展示了世上萬國一切的榮華。魔鬼說：“你只要跪下來拜我，我就把這一切都給你。”耶穌立即隨手可得，享受這一切的盛況與繁華。耶穌回答說 :“撒但，走開！經上記著：‘當拜主你的神，單要事奉他。’”。(申6:13:10:20) 第三個教訓就是: 我們絕不應因著想要讓自己避免神允許的試煉而屈服於試探誘惑，應當專注於敬拜神，唯獨尊崇神！

一些聖經學者將耶穌被魔鬼試探與撒但在伊甸園中對夏娃的試誘相比。第一個試探是為著滿足肉體的慾念(創 3:1)。第二個試探是與達成個人利益有關 (創 3:4)。第三個試探是與個人的權力或榮耀相關連(創 3:5)。此外，在這幾種情況下，撒但也扭曲及操縱了神的話語。

在耶穌開始祂在地上的事工之前，魔鬼想要測試耶穌的自我認證。魔鬼兩次明確地用這話開始牠的誘惑：“你若是神的兒子…”並且含蓄而極巧妙地通過突顯自己作為世界國度的統治者來接受耶穌的敬拜。神兒子耶穌降世為人子，以成為我們的救主和主宰，接受魔鬼的試驗。祂本為神子的身分並沒有被奪去，祂以作為一個人的完全人性而接受考驗。正如在引言中所提到，希伯來書的作者告訴我們：“他並沒有救援天使，只救援亞伯拉罕的後裔。所以，他必須在各方面和他的弟兄們相同，為了要在神的事上，成為仁慈忠信的大祭司，好為人民贖罪。因為他自己既然經過試探，受了苦，就能夠幫助那些被試探的人。”(來2:16-18) 作為一個人，基督完全戰勝了人的軟弱，表明祂是神的兒子。

希伯來書的作者進一步向我們保證，因為耶穌和我們一樣受過試探，但沒有犯罪，所以耶穌是一位可以明暸我們的軟弱，並在我們需要時給予我們幫助的大祭司。他說：“我們既然有一位偉大的、經過了眾天的大祭司，就是神的兒子耶穌，就應該堅持所宣認的信仰。因為我們的大祭司並不是不能同情我們的軟弱，他像我們一樣，也曾在各方面受過試探，只是他沒有犯罪。所以，我們只管坦然無懼地來到施恩的寶座前，為的是要領受憐憫，得到恩惠，作為及時的幫助。”（來 4:14-16）作為一個人，基督完全戰勝了人的軟弱，進一步證明他是我們卓越超凡的救主。

最後一個反思就是:在基督的首次試探中，我們看到神的話語可以被魔鬼歪曲和錯誤使用來試探我們，但神的話語也可以有力地在我們的試探中用來反擊魔鬼。因此，我們必須熟讀神的話，才能夠分辨什麼是真假，並靠著神話語在屬靈的爭戰中得勝，因為“聖靈的寶劍，就是神的話”。(弗6:17b）
下期待續：基督首次和最後的試探（三）：最後的試探與勝利

主僕
李耀全牧師

2022.03.19/20

From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

For me, this season of Lent has been a time of deep reflection on what Christ suffered when he embarked on His final journey to the Christ. This has been helped with studying the last few chapters of Matthew, in the middle of trying to understand and work out my final chapter of serving at RCAC.

When I was preparing to preach on how Jesus was tested three times by those who wanted to trap Him in order to kill him, I remember the film “The Last Temptation of Christ”, a 1988 epic religious drama directed by Martin Scorsese. When researching for this article, I found that the film came with a disclaimer: “This film is not based on the Gospels, but upon the fictional exploration of the eternal spiritual conflict.” My interest here is not to revisit the film nor its voluminous critiques, but to reflect on “the eternal spiritual conflict” as suggested by the disclaimer in the film. My interest is also not the authenticity or accuracy of the account of the Passion Week, as the producers stated in no uncertain terms “This film is not based on the Gospels, but upon the fictional exploration…” But the disclaimer is very thought provoking for portraying the subject of “the fictional exploration” as “the eternal spiritual conflict.” While I believe that both the original author (Nikos Kazantzakis) of the 1955 novel by the same name and the producers and script writers of the film, missed the mark on what constituted the “last Temptation of Christ,” I also think that the producers were surprisingly right on in characterizing Christ’s experience as “the eternal spiritual conflict.” Yes, the “temptation” (conflict) was not in nature just “temporal” and “physical.” It was “eternal” because it was a drama of the God’s redemption of humankind since the fall. It was “spiritual” because it was much more than the physical pains or of carnal human weaknesses (so vividly portrayed or implied in the film), but the ultimate battle of human sin and divine grace.

The ”last” temptation of Christ (at the end of Jesus’ ministry) reminds us of the “first” temptations of Christ by the devil at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, recorded for us in Mat. 4:1-11. I find it interesting to try and contrast the two occasions where Jesus was “tempted” (Mt 4) and “tested”(Mt 22) to draw some lessons from them. As you all would remember, after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, he was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Mt. 4:1). I want to pause here right away and reflect on the fact that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit” emphasizing the sovereign plan of the triune God, and Jesus was “tempted by the devil.” What a profound contrast we see here, while we are given a lot of details of the three temptations of Christ by the devil, Matthew was careful to remind us that “Jesus was led by the Spirit…” It was the same Spirit of God that descended like a dove and rested on Jesus, when we hear the voice of God the Father “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt. 3:17) as recorded right before the account of the three temptations of Jesus by the devil.

The thing I want to underscore here is the fact that the temptation experience of Jesus was “Spirit-led” but done “by the devil.” I recall immediately that God allowed Job, a blameless and upright man who feared God and turned away from evil, to be tested by Satan. Yes, the omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God is sovereign and in control, even when Satan wants to tempt us and defeat us. The story of Job clearly tells us that God even allowed Job to be tested by Satan. God allowed the hard testing to happen to Job so that in the end Job in the end was able to say:

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

                                but now my eye sees you;

                                therefore I despise myself,

                                and repent¹ in ^ldust and ashes.” (Job 42:5,6)

The testing of Job by Satan allowed by God resulted in Job seeing and knowing God more fully, making him more aware of his own sinfulness and leading him into deep repentance. Today we may feel we are tested like Job. Of course we are not Christ and therefore do not have the same power on our own to resist the devil. But just like Christ, we can take comfort in that God is in control even when we are exposed to trials and temptation. James reminds us, “Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” (James 5:11)Whatever trials we are in, let us remember that the Lord is indeed compassionate and merciful.

Paul reminds us that sometimes God permits us to be tempted because He knows how much we can take. But tells us that God always provides a way to escape if we will trust Him. Paul says “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Cor 10:13) What a comforting thought to know that in all the trials we encounter, He will provide the way of escape, that we may persevere. My prayer is “Lord, my ability is very limited, please let provide me clearly with the way of escape.”

James states the above truth in even clearer terms: Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. (James 1: 12-14). We cannot blame God when we have trials or temptations, ultimately human weakness is the reasons for our temptations. But God is always there to help us through if we depend on the guidance and protection of the Spirit.

 (To be continued).

Your servant in Christ,

Rev. Simon Lee