Angels for Jesus Christ
Part II

Last week we read from the Word of God that angels were sent to prepare Zacharias and Elizabeth for John the Baptist and to Mary and Joseph to prepare them for Jesus Christ as well as to protect him. This week we will look at how God takes care of Jesus Christ.

After Mary, Joseph and Jesus returned from Egypt he continued to grow in the knowledge and wisdom of the Word. At 12 he astounded the masters or teachers by the questions and discussions he had with them. By this time he knew who he was. He knew he was--the Son of God--and that he must be about his Fathers business.

At thirty years old is when a man in the Eastern culture is considered to be mature. That is also when Jesus Christ's ministry began (Luke 3:21-23). After he was baptized of John and at that time received holy spirit (not before then) he was led by the spirit of God into the wilderness. I am sure God did not leave him alone for 40 days. God was with him, he had just received holy spirit and during that time he was probably being taught by God.

Luke 4
:1 And Jesus
        being full of the Holy Ghost
    returned from Jordan,
    and was led by the Spirit into [en - in] the wilderness,
[led while in the wilderness also]
:2 Being forty days tempted of the devil.
    And in those days he did eat nothing:
    and when they were ended,
    he afterward hungered. [I would think so]

God was with him those 40 days leading him. Now comes some more trying situations. Jesus Christ knew who he was, he also knew Isaiah 53 and that he would ultimately be disfigured beyond recognition and killed; an offering for the sins of mankind. Now consider these temptations:

:3 And the devil said unto him,
        If thou be the Son of God, [trying to cast doubt, attacking his identity]
        command this stone that it be made bread.
:4 And Jesus answered him, saying,
        It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone,
        but by every word of God.
:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain,
    shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
:6 And the devil said unto him,
        All this power will I give thee,
            and the glory of them:
        for that is delivered unto me;
        and to whomsoever I will I give it.
            [yes it was the devil's to give,
               Adam delivered it to him in the Garden of Eden]
:7     If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him,
        Get thee behind me, Satan:
        for it is written,
            Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
            and him only shalt thou serve.
:9 And he brought him to Jerusalem,
    and set him on a pinnacle of the temple,
    and said unto him,
            If thou be the Son of God, [once again attacking who he is]
            cast thyself down from hence:
:10       For it is written,
                He shall give his angels charge over thee,
                    to keep thee:
:11       And in their hands they shall bear thee up,
                lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
:12 And Jesus answering said unto him,
        It is said,
            Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
:13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation,
    he departed from him for a season.

Mathew 4
:11 Then the devil leaveth him,
    and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Just a few things to point out here: Jesus Christ was repeatedly confronted regarding who he was. Do not think that we cannot be deceived in such a way. We are sons of God; do not get talked out of it. Also, the devil knows the Word and he bends it and twists it. Therefore it behooves us to know God's rightly divided Word so that we can have the right answer also.

After these temptations God sends angels to minister unto Jesus Christ. For 40 days God had been leading Jesus Christ as well as the devil tempting him. Like Elijah, Jesus Christ needed ministering to so that he could accomplish the tasks ahead. What is recorded in the gospels and Acts of his life here is considerable. It would be hard to keep up with all that he did. In fact:

John 21
:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did,
    the which, if they should be written every one,
    I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

No one but God's Son could do what he did. No one can walk through life without sin except God's Son. No one could have redeemed us from our destruction and eternal death except God's Son. No one was the lamb of the first year except God's Son. God created seed in Mary and that seed controls the makeup of the blood in a person and the life is in the blood. Since God is perfect the seed that was created in Mary was perfect; Jesus Christ had perfect blood. Yet he was still of the flesh and was tempted like we are yet without sin. He had the compassions and sorrows that we experience. He felt pain and he felt joy. One very emotional time that is recorded in the Word is in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew what was to befall him shortly. It is approaching Passover, the first one in his ministry for he must be the lamb of the first year and in Isaiah 53 this lamb of God is to be disfigured to the point that he will not be recognizable as a man and then sacrificed.

Isaiah prophesying of the Messiah:

Isaiah 52
:14 As many were astonied at thee;
    his visage was so marred more than any man,
    and his form more than the sons of men:

53: 1 Who hath believed our report?
    and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
    and as a root out of a dry ground:
    he hath no form nor comeliness;
    and when we shall see him,
    there is no beauty that we should desire him.
:3 He is despised and rejected of men;
        a man of sorrows,
        and acquainted with grief:
    and we hid as it were our faces from him;
    he was despised,
    and we esteemed him not.

The world rejected Jesus Christ. Yet he died for us that whosoever would believe on him should be saved and have eternal life (Romans 10:13, Rom 6:23). Jesus Christ knew he was going to be beaten beyond recognition; that is why he prays earnestly to God:

Luke 22
:39 And he came out, and went,
        as he was wont, [as usual]
    to the mount of Olives;
    and his disciples also followed him.
:40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them,
        Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast,
    and kneeled down,
    and prayed,
:42 Saying,
        Father,
            if thou be willing,
    remove this cup from me: [cup - what he had to endure]
    nevertheless not my will,
        but thine, be done.
:43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven,
        strengthening him.
:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly:
    and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
:45 And when he rose up from prayer,
    and was come to his disciples,
    he found them sleeping for sorrow,

His agony was so great. His compassion for people surpassed us all. His love for us was more than anyone had displayed before. He didn't want to go through with it but he would do it for you and me. In his distress God sent an angel to minister unto him to give him the strength to carry on.

We see these great examples from God's Word about angels appearing to confirm revelation, herald forth events, strengthen people, protect people and encourage them yet I cannot say that angels will visit you. There are only a few places that God guarantees angel appearances and on those days I will joy and rejoice for it is my Hope.

Continued Next Week . . .