Matthew 4:1-11

“The Story of Jesus (It Is the Story of Israel, Part Two)”

This sermon is based on Matthew 4:1-11. SERIES OVERVIEW: She wasn’t the brightest bulb on the tree, but she was trying to understand. She was trying to figure out who Jesus was. She knew he was born on Christmas and that he died on Good Friday and was raised on Easter Sunday. Her problem was that she forgot that there were 30 years between those first two events! But she is not alone. While none of us would ever make that chronological mistake and have a five-month old savior going to the cross, we often overlook what Jesus was doing in his life. We know why he was born (incarnation). We know why he died (atonement). We know why he rose again (exaltation). We even know why he will return (restoration). But ask someone why Jesus lived, and they may stumble to find a concise answer. For many of us,

Israel Revisited

This sermon is based on Matthew 4:1-11. SERIES OVERVIEW: Years ago, "The Who" asked, “Who are you?” (and if you are not right now chanting, “Who, who, who, who?” in response, you are either way too young or way too humdrum). It’s a fun song, but more importantly, it’s a great question. It was also an important question 2000 years ago as the people tried to figure out who Jesus was. But how Jesus answered the “who” question is interesting. He didn’t lecture us to correct our misunderstandings. Instead, he gave us images and metaphors and word pictures. He called himself the “Bread of Life.” He wore the criticism, “friend of sinners,” as a badge of honor. He proclaimed to all that he was “the good shepherd.” He declared that he was the Messiah, and he announced that he was Israel’s king. Here’s the point: all of these images (and the dozens