Fulfilling The Purpose of Life-Luke 3:21-4:30
Luke 3:21-4:30
Key Verse: 4:21b
“Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
How do people define fulfillment? “Fill it up full” is what we often say at the gas station. We may question whether we feel fulfilled in our college majors, careers, marital status, or economic conditions. Is that what fulfillment is? To fill up or needs and desires? The dictionary defines the word “fulfill” as “to carry out, to satisfy, to complete, or to develop to the full potential”. In today’s passage, Jesus showed how he fulfilled his purpose of life. Jesus began to fulfill God’s purpose through baptism. Through his genealogy, Jesus revealed that his coming was a fulfillment to God’s long-term plan of salvation. By overcoming the devil’s temptations, Jesus fulfilled his mission to overcome the power of sin. And through his preaching and healing ministry, Jesus fulfilled his ultimate role as the Messiah and Savior of the world. As we think about how Jesus fulfilled God’s purpose for his life, let’s also think about how we can fulfill God’s purpose for our own lives in our generation.
First, meeting Christ through baptism is the beginning of fulfillment
Let’s read Luke 3:21-22a, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove…” Earlier in Luke chapter 3, John the Baptist was baptizing people who came repenting of their sins. John’s washing them with water is a symbol of having their sins washed away. But John knew that the real baptism comes only from God. He said in John 3:16b, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” When we repent of our sins, turning from them and coming to God, God baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. This is necessary for us to begin fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives. We may wonder why Jesus was baptized too. Jesus never sinned, so he did not need a baptism of repentance like everyone else. But Jesus was baptized to identify with us. As our Savior, Jesus would carry the burden of our sins. As the humble Son of God, Jesus subjected himself to all the needs and requirements of the law. As the Messiah, Jesus’ baptism would serve as a ceremony to mark the start of his earthly messianic ministry. In Matthew 3:15, Jesus said to John at his baptism, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Last week, our West Loop fathers welcomed our middle school sons to the beginning point of manhood by calling them to a sense of responsibility. However, the beginning point of spiritual manhood or womanhood is to be baptized by the Holy Spirit through the word of God. To begin our Christian lives, we must meet Christ personally through receiving one word of God in our hearts and asking God to baptize us with the Holy Spirit. When we are sure that we have met Christ our Savior and want to give our lives to him, we should also declare our Christian identity with a baptism ceremony at some time in our lives. May the Lord lead us through his word to be born again by the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
Luke 3:22b reads, “…a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Let’s read verse 22b together. This was God’s confession of love and approval of his Son Jesus. Pastor Robert Lewis said that every son needs to hear from his father, “I love you; I’m proud of you; you’re good at…” The same goes for daughters also. Armed with the power of the Holy Spirit and assurance of God’s love, Jesus was ready to face the trial of the devil’s temptations. Lack of a father’s approval leads many young men to waste much of their lives trying to show off. Without assurance of God’s love, we easily fall into fear and despair. This makes us powerless to serve God. It drains our capability to do anything great for God. The fact is that we are all wretched sinners who do not deserve God’s words of love and affirmation. But we do not have to win God’s love and approval because Jesus won God’s love and approval for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 in God’s Word translation says, “God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through him.” By faith in Jesus’ sacrifice, we can receive God’s words of affirmation that he loves us and is well pleased with us. Having deep assurance of God’s love is necessary for us to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives.
Jesus’ genealogy in 3:23-38 also reveals the fulfillment of God’s purpose. It traces Jesus’ ancestry all the way back to the first man Adam. Adam failed the test of the devil’s temptation, but as we will see, Jesus, the second Adam, will overcome the devil’s temptation. The genealogy proves that Jesus shares our human nature, being descended from Adam. But unlike us who were created by God, Jesus is God himself. Especially through this genealogy, we can see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the promised Messiah, descended from Abraham, David, and Adam. The promise of the Messiah’s coming goes all the way back to Genesis 3:15 which reads, “He will crush your head, and you strike his heel.” This is a reference to Jesus’ death and resurrection. God gave similar Messianic promises to Abraham, David, and others. And now, Jesus’ coming reveals God’s fulfillment of all of his promises to send the Messiah. By faith in Jesus, we don’t have to have any special genealogy or pedigree in order to come to God. People from any racial or ethnic background can become part of God’s family through Jesus.
Second, fulfilling God’s purpose to overcome temptation
Luke 4:1 reads, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” After forty days of fasting, when Jesus was at his weakest and most vulnerable moment, the devil attacked him with thee temptations. These three temptations address our most basic desires as human beings. Let’s think about each of them.
Firstly, the bread problem. Verse 3 says, “The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’” After forty days of fasting, the bread problem for Jesus seemed to be the most urgent problem in the world. For me, it would seem like the most urgent problem after just one day of fasting. The bread problem includes our desire for the necessities of life, including money and material things. During the economic recession, we are all familiar with the bread problem. The devil’s temptation was to do anything it takes for Jesus to meet his physical needs. Let’s read verse 4: “Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man does not live on bread alone.”’” Jesus was saying that man is not just a physical body that needs bread, because man is also a soul that needs God. Jesus overcame the devil’s first temptation with the Word of God from Deuteronomy 8:3. It is not easy for us to deny our urgent desire to solve our bread problem. It seems too severe. God does not call us to a life of asceticism. But by denying or delaying our urgent needs and desires for the exaltation of Christ, we can experience inconceivable heavenly treasures. An 18th century missionary named Andrew Murray said, “Continuous denial of your own power is the way to enjoy the power of God.”
Secondly, worldly glory. In the second temptation, the devil promised to give Jesus all the authority and splendor of kingdoms of the world. This temptation touches every human being because everyone wants to be highly honored and respected as a great man or great woman. No one wants to be a nobody. Satan took advantage of this desire, but his offer of greatness is not really greatness at all. Jesus overcame this temptation. Let’s read verse 8: “Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”’” It’s not wrong to desire greatness, but we lose the way if we allow our desire for human glory to overtake the main point of our lives, which is to love and worship God only. Only when we worship God do we become truly great.
Thirdly, the easy way. The devil’s third temptation is the most subtle and therefore the most pervasive. He tempted Jesus by quoting the scriptures with a ring of truth and image of holiness. He twisted God’s promise of protection in Psalm 91:11,12, advising Jesus to jump off the highest point of the temple, which was like the Sear’s Tower, and depend on God to miraculously stop him from splatting on the ground. All the people would be impressed and would want to praise God, and Jesus would not have to suffer. It would be thrilling like a roller-coaster ride. It would be a way for Jesus to fulfill his mission to die and rise again in an easy way. One of the things about video games and thriller movies like Journey to the Center of the Earth or Mummy 3 is that people seem to die a thousand spectacular deaths without really dying or experiencing much pain. In verse 12, “Jesus answered, ‘It says: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’” We must not test God to accommodate our impatient demands and expectations. We must serve God in his way, which is the narrow way of the cross. There is no easy way in the world. The way that seems easy is by cheating. But surprisingly, the difficult way of following God is the truly glorious way and the most fulfilling way. Through overcoming the devil’s temptations, Jesus won the victory over the power of sin. Jesus defeated sin’s power, and therefore we do not have to live in sin under the devil’s authority anymore. Through faith in Jesus who defeated sin, we can also live in victory over sin and we can live instead for the glory of God. Instead of focusing too much on all the negative temptations which we need to overcome, we can live to fulfill God’s positive purpose in our lives. I like the old expression, “Look to the Son, and the shadows will fall behind you.”
Third, Fulfilling God’s purpose of gospel ministry
Now that Jesus finished his defense against the devil, he was ready for action. Luke 4:14-15 reads, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.” After teaching and preaching throughout Galilee, Jesus went to preach at his hometown Nazareth. Jesus taught from Isaiah 61:1,2. Let’s read verses 18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” When Jesus read this, everyone’s eyes were fastened on him. Then Jesus said to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”. You could say that this was Jesus’ life key verse because Jesus’ life carried out this verse and developed it to its full potential in his life. Like Jesus, God’s purpose for each of us is to fulfill his word in our lives. So let me ask — What scripture are you fulfilling in your life? Many of us chose Bible key verses for the new year. Others have found a life key verse that guides our daily decisions. Have you chosen or received one word from God? How are you fulfilling it today? How are you planning to fulfill it in your life? When we read any Christian biography, we can find one verse of scripture that the person fulfilled. Martin Luther changed the world of his time based on the word “The righteous shall live by faith.” By this word, he challenged the self-righteous standard of the time and brought the message of faith to the common people. The fulfillment of scripture applies to all Christians in some way.
Let’s think about four ways that Jesus fulfilled God’s will.
Firstly, Jesus came to “preach good news to the poor”. The “good news” is the gospel. It is the message of the kingdom of God. Man is not poor because of recession, but because his soul is perishing. Regardless of whether we are economically rich or poor, we are all spiritually poor because of our sins. But Jesus came to preach good news of the gospel. John 3:16 summarizes the gospel. It says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” In essence, it is the message that though our sins separated us from God, God’s Son, Jesus, died and rose again to restore our lives forever. Like Jesus, God sends us into the world to preach good news to the poor. We can do this through many aspects of Christian ministry, as long as they focus on the gospel, especially witnessing through evangelism, testimonies, teaching, and missions.
Secondly, Jesus came to proclaim “freedom for the prisoners”. This is not only a message for those in Prison Fellowship. America is the land of the free. Yet Americans are enslaved to materialism, entertainment, overeating, pornography, promiscuity, drugs, etc. There is no economic stimulus package that can deliver Americans from all of these bondages. Only Jesus proclaims freedom for the prisoners of sin. We cannot free people from bondage, but we can bring them to Jesus who can free them. Jesus said that “the truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:32).
Thirdly, Jesus came to “recover the sight of the blind”. Many people have 20/20 vision, at least after getting glasses from the optometrist. Yet they can’t see where they are going in life, or who they really are. Some have no clue why they lack happiness or peace. Until we see Jesus, we are all spiritually blind. Only Jesus can open our blind eyes to be able to see ourselves as sinners before God, and to see the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Fourthly, Jesus came to “release the oppressed”. We feel oppressed by situations and people we have no control over, especially by people who have authority over us. But the real oppressor is the power of sin and death. Through his blood sacrifice, Jesus came to release the oppressed.
We would expect Jesus’ hometown people to be the most blessed hearers of this message; however when Jesus proclaimed that he fulfilled these Messianic descriptions, his hometown people rejected him because of their lack of faith. They were blinded by their memory of Jesus as the quaint carpenter’s son. So Jesus said, “No prophet is accepted in his hometown” (24).
Today we thought about how Jesus fulfilled his purpose of life. Jesus began to fulfill God’s purpose through baptism. Through his genealogy, Jesus revealed that his coming was a fulfillment to God’s long-term plan of salvation. By overcoming the devil’s temptations, Jesus fulfilled his mission overcome the power of sin. And through his preaching and healing ministry, Jesus fulfilled his ultimate role as the Messiah and Savior of the world. Let’s accept the gospel message of Jesus, who fulfilled our need for God’s love and salvation. Let’s also think about how we can fulfill God’s purpose for our own lives in our generation.
