The first chapters of the Gospel of Mathew in the New Testament relate an account of how Jesus Christ has begun his earthly ministry to people. In this paper, chapters 3, 4, and 5 will be observed in detail with an objective to narrate my insights into Jesus’ thinking as he moved from baptism to Sermon.
In chapter 3, the readers learn that after his baptism, Jesus experienced heavenly redemption. In chapter 4, the audience reads the account of Jesus encounter with the devil. In chapter 5, the readers get to know that Jesus begins his teaching activity and gives one of the most prominent sermons ever that is the Sermon on the Mount (“Sermon on the Mount” 587). Within these three chapters, the readers may notice how Jesus way of thinking undergoes transformation. Facing the devil seems to be the most influential factor (Kintu 42). This can be explained by the fact that the test if it is passed decently strengthens anyone spiritually, and of course, Jesus as the leader of all lovers of righteousness is the best example (Aarde 4).
Chapter 4 is thus the focus of the reader’s attention when the question of Jesus’ way of thinking transformation is concerned (Aarde 4). Addressing this passage of the Gospel of Mathew, a closer attention should be paid to how Jesus addressed the devil’s temptations with the help of citations from the other parts of the Bible (Lamerson 3). Jesus knew the Holy Scriptures perfectly and this very knowledge helped him. When confronted by the devil with the offer to use his godly power for his personal interests, Jesus firmly rejected by stating, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (New International Version, Mathew 4:4).
The further efforts by the devil were ruined by the same technique with the use of quotations from the earlier books in the Bible. Even when the devil tried to misinterpret the words from the Holy Scriptures, Jesus was well prepared and managed to reply with the demonstration of clear understanding of what it truly right from the godly point of view. Here is what Jesus replied to the satan the devil trying to mislead him: “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (New International Version, Mathew 4:7). Vasut believes that when Jesus practiced application of the scriptural recommendations regarding how to pass the test of faith, his spiritual strength got even greater (11). So, arriving at the phase of his new spiritual development, he was able to give such an inspiration to the public in his Sermon on the Mount.
In conclusion, the transformation of Jesus’ way of thinking that the audience observes from Mathew chapter 3 to chapter 5 undergoes under the effects of the 2 factors: (1) the devil’s effort to shake Jesus’ faith; and (2) Jesus desire to stand the devil’s attacks with the help from the right application of godly wisdom containing in the Bible. Analysis of the events in chapter 4 and then the vivid spiritual enlightenment in chapter 5 when Jesus gives one of the best sermons ever demonstrates that Jesus’ faith and integrity got stronger through the tests of faith that he has faced in the wilderness.
Works Cited
Aarde, Andries G. “Understanding Jesus Healings: Shrinking History And Donald Capps’s Different Thinking Cap.” Hervormde Teologiese Studies 66.1 (2010): 1-5. Print.
Kintu, Moses. “Repentance in the Sermon on the Mount.” Ann Arbor (2016): 42-75. Print.
Lamerson, Samuel. “Sermon on the Mount.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 57.3 (2015): 2-8. Print.
New International Version. [ColoradoSprings]: Biblica, 2011. Print.
“Sermon on the Mount.” The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide (2015): 587. Print.
Vasut, Ryan Thomas. “Erasmus as Interpreter of the Sermon on the Mount in His Paraphrase on Matthew.” Ann Arbor (2014): 5-14. Print.