2nd Sunday After Epiphany
Genesis 1:1-5; Romans 6:1-11; Mark 1:4-11
Adversaries
often make bold statements against one another. We call this verbal posturing
"saber rattling," "trash talk," and "talking
smack." It's prominent in sports. It's also prominent in some cultures,
especially Middle Eastern cultures. The on-going bold talk of the nation of
Iran is a good example of this verbal bravado. Most of the time it's harmless,
even humorous. However, it can escalate and even get out of control. When it
does, such talk leads to a breaking point for one or both of the parties
involved. If this "line in the sand" is crossed there will be dire
consequences.
When God
created the world and set Adam and Eve in charge of His creation, He drew a
line for them. He told them that they could not eat of a specific tree — the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He was very clear about this line and
was very clear about the consequences of crossing the line. Satan, the master
of posturing, convinced Eve that God was just "saber rattling." He
convinced her to cross the line. When she did she ushered in the dire
consequences of sinning against our holy God. In the midst of those
consequences, God told Satan that He would one day crush him. As the years
turned into decades, the decades into centuries, and the centuries into
millennia, Satan may have been convinced that God had been "talking smack"
in the garden. Satan's response over this time was to do a lot of his own
"trash talking." He constantly spoke against God and even convinced
many in Israel to abandon their trust in and devotion to Him. God put up with
Satan's bold talk for generations. But when the time had fully come, God drew
the line.
The line
between the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God is drawn in the waters of
the Jordan River. From there, where Jesus was baptized by John, it was
"game on" between the opposing spiritual forces. As it was with
Jesus, so it is with us. When we were baptized into Christ a line was drawn.
Baptism set us clearly on the side of Christ and put Satan on notice that he
had no claim on us. His reaction is to endlessly attack and torment us, seeking
to destroy the faith that Christ has given to us. The line was drawn and it was
crossed. Now we are in an actual spiritual battle, not just "trash
talk." It's real. It's on-going. It's unavoidable. And it's outcome as
certain as the promise God made in the garden and kept in Christ Jesus.
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