Jesus makes a paradoxical declaration about the poor women. He says she put more money than all the other offerings together. How do two copper coins worth a penny come above all donations of people in the temple? Clearly, Jesus witnessed many rich men’s large sum offering. In reality, two copper coins are hardly enough to feed the poor widow gain herself a nice onetime meal. Does Jesus really mean it when he said? Is it a literal meaning or a metaphor as He is known for some oblivious parables?

As the second person in the Trinity, Jesus’ claim is not to be considered as an analogy. However, in reality, the widow’s offering is just a mite. It does not hold strong material possession. For example, it can’t help much or no use to manage the temple’s expense coverage.

Did Jesus was happy when it happened? I think He was pleased with the widow’s trust in God. But He was angry toward religious leaders. They are supposed to take care of poor widows, orphans, and slaves according to mosaic law. Instead, they exploited the widow by forcing her to give up her all possession. They are only doing good things to look good before people. There is no lucid heart on what their hand does. Everything is to gain attention so that society thinks they are godly persons. But godman Jesus was not falling for their publicity.

Jesus is not an ordinary person to fall for the publicity stunt by Pharisees. Rather He tells the crowd that the widow offered more money than anyone at the temple. Jesus did like the widow by offering himself to us for our sins. He died on the cross and conquered the death for us, so that we may live. He fully obeyed God the Father, trusted Him completely.

³ And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

Matthew 4:3-4 (ESV)

When Jesus finished his 40 days long fasting and was hungry, meets the devil. Among the three temptations he faced, the first temptation is to convert stones to bread. Satan knew Jesus was hungry, most importantly he knows Jesus is the Son of God.

The devil did not really have any concern about Jesus being hungry. His challenge was not to confirm Jesus is the Son of God which he knew already. His real concern was Jesus is the Son of God and His purpose on the earth. The promise He is going to fulfil (Genesis 3:15), to crush the serpent’s head was the concern. The devil realised his time is near, Jesus is going to crush his head on the cross to reclaim the kingdom which was lost in Eden.

Jesus knew exactly what He is going under this kind of trial from the devil. Jesus’ aim was not to prove to satan His divinity but to obey the Father’s will. He was clear and answered the devil by quoting Moses’ speech to Israelites “that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:2). Trusting God and His Word alone, reminding Moses’ hinting to the Israelites of God’s testing through hunger and his miraculous provision of manna, Jesus conquered Devil’s trick.

A recent survey by The Global Hunger Index launched on 14^th October 2021 ranked India at 101^st position out of a total of 116 countries. Only 15 countries come after India in the world. Image if we have the power to convert stones to bread? In other words, we can call it “Trying to be relevant?” But we follow Christ who was not behaving relevant by changing stones to bread instead He clung to His mission to proclaim the Word and obeyed His Father.

¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

I used to work as a software developer. My main task is to design and create software applications for clients. Sometimes I work alone or with a team based on the project size and the budget. Before releasing the software, we programmers send it to the quality control department. They sent back to us with a report and we programmers must fix the errors listed on the report. After fixing the bugs, we ask them to test it again and we get another testing report. Until unless it is not approved by the quality control team, we cannot release the application. Even after its release, many times we will get errors. So as a developer, our main task is to design, create, and fix the mistakes of software.

Earthly High Priests

The author of the Hebrews calls Jesus as a Great High Priest. Who are these high priests and what they do? The high priest office started with Aaron (Exodus 28-29) and God established it. As we all know that Aaron was the brot­­her of Moses. Then Eleazar, Aaron’s son, next Phinehas, Eleazar’s son, … then Eli, Ahimelech… the high priest position goes all the way to the New Testament. We can see Annas (Luke 3:2; John 18:13, 24; Acts 4:6), Caiaphas (Matt. 26:57; John 18:13), and Ananias (Acts 23:2; 24:1). There are three levels of priesthood. The highest level is hight priest, then priests, they assist the Hight priest, then Levites, they help the priests. In the Mosaic or Levitic institute, there is only one high priest.

The Most Holy Place

In the holy tent, or in the temple, there are two rooms. The first room is called a holy place and the second room is called holy of holies or the most holy place or the inner sanctorium. High priests do have specific tasks. People are not allowed inside the holy place, only priests and Levites were allowed. But only the high priest can enter into the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement once a year (Leviticus 16:1-25).

What is Atonement?

Atonement is an animal sacrifice ransomed the sinner from the death which the sinner deserved. The animal became the believer’s substitute and lost its life in order for the sinner to live. On the day of atonement, once a year, the high priest enters into the most holy place and sacrifices for the whole nation and for himself.

Mosaic High Priests vs Jesus the High Priest

What makes Jesus a Great high priest?

First of all, He passed or gone through the heavens, which reminds us that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3). Not only that His high priest role united with his position as God’s unique son. High Priests who existed before they died, but He is a permanent, heavenly, and eternal High Priest.

Second, Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses since he is fully human and tempted in every aspect, but never gave in for temptations and remained sinless. He experienced humanness without any compromise on his obedience (Hebrews 2:14-18). The readers of this book are familiar with abuses of High Priesthood in Jerusalem. Unlike them, Jesus is truly the Holy High Priest.

Next, we can approach God with confidence toward the throne of grace. Here the throne of grace implies the presence of God.  The ark of the covenant is symbolized as God’s throne in the Old Testament (2 Samuels 6:2; Psalms 80:1; 99:1; Is. 37:16). The ark was unapproachable, secluded in the most holy part of the temple, which even the high priest could approach only once a year. Hight Priests entered into the holy place by the means of the blood of goats and calves. In the next chapter Hebrews 5, it becomes very clear that Jesus entered the holy place of the presence of God by offering Himself as a sacrifice and shed His sinless blood. Other high priests have to sacrifice every day, but Jesus sacrificed once for all.

HIGH PRIEST OFFICE HOLDERS

Aaron (Exodus 28-29)
Eleazar (Numbers 3:4; Deuteronomy 10:6)
Phinehas (Joshua 22:13-32; Judges 20:28)
Eli (1 Samuel 1:9; 2:11)
Ahimelech (1 Samuel 21:1-2; 22:11)
Abiathar (2 Samuel 20:25; 1 Kings 2:26-27)
Zadok (1 Kings 2:35; 1 Chronicles 29:22)
Azariah (1 Kings 4:2)
Amariah (2 Chronicles 19:11)
Jehoiada (2 Kings 11:9-10, 15; 12:7, 9-10)
Azariah (2 Chronicles 26:20)
Uriah (2 Kings 16:10-16)
Hilkiah (2 Kings 22:10, 12, 14; 22:4, 8; 23:4)
Seraiah (2 Kings 25:18)
Joshua (Haggai 1:1, 12, 14; 2:2, 4; Ezra 3; Zechariah 3:6-7; 4:14; 6:9-15)
Eliashib (Nehemiah 3:1, 20)
Simon the Just (Sirach 50:1-21)
Onias III (1 Maccabees 12:7; 2 Maccabees 3:1)
Jason (2 Maccabees 4:7-10, 18-20; 4 Maccabees 4:16)
Menelaus (2 Maccabees 4:23-26)
Alcimus (1 Maccabees 7:9)
Jonathan Maccabee (1 Maccabees 10:20; 14:30)
Simon Maccabee (1 Maccabees 14:20, 23)
John Hyrcanus (1 Maccabees 16:23-24)
Annas (Luke 3:2; John 18:13, 24; Acts 4:6)
(Joseph) Caiaphas (Matthew 26:57; John 18:13)
Ananias (Acts 23:2; 24:1)

Takeaway

Sometimes, I wonder what if there is software, we install it only once, with no more errors and no future updates, a perfect application. In our lives, we are anxious and confused with uncertainty in our lives and the problems we are facing. For example, I have no clue about the current COVID-19 scenario, when will the life back to normal and I never cracked the code of developing perfect software either. We are always looking for a perfect solution.

But the truth is we know that we have the high priest Jesus, who is the perfect, sinless, heavenly and compassionate, most importantly, he seated beside the throne of God and mediates and prays to His Father for us. In that confidence, we can approach God anytime and enjoy Him amidst our weaknesses, disobedience, anxieties, failures, and various needs.

In the Old Testament, believers were not allowed to enter the holy place. But We Christians have the privilege to approach God anytime through Jesus. Christ has opened full access to all his followers (Hebrews 10:19-20).

Once again, we have the eternal, holy, and compassionate High Priest Jesus, who is also God’s lamb. God bless you all, Amen!

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Did God create us so that He can love us? First of all, our God is Triune God. Three persons: God, Son, and Spirit but one God. Love was not a novice act for Him. God is eternal and so do their love among each other within the trinity. God was not needy and was looking for love. But God created us for His glory and adopted us His Children, so that we glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever (Westminster Catechism Question 1).

Adoption

In verse 5, God the Father chosen or predestined to adopt us to become His sons and daughters. The Greek term υἱοθεσία (huiothesia) was originally a legal technical term for adoption as a son with full rights of inheritance. Paul uses the same term to denote the new relationship status. If we and God have a Facebook account, our relationship is updated as His child and as children in His. God has chosen us in love for love (1 John 3:1). Although in the ancient world, only boys could be adopted as legal heirs, in God’s family all children, both male and female are adopted in this way.

Adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification…In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship. He establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. The traitor is forgiven, brought in for supper, and given the family name. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.

J. I. Packer, Knowing God, 206-207

As in the ancient Greko-Roman world, contemporary judicial laws treat the documented adopted children as rightful legal heir as biological children. In God’s view, we all are legal children adopted through His Son Jesus. The only thing we have to do is to believe that He loves us. He sees us and smiles with delight. As Richard Sibbes says, “What a comfort is this, that seeing God’s love rests on Christ, as well pleased in him, we may gather that he is as well pleased with us, if we be in Christ!”

God as a Father?

If I ask someone a question, what you think of a father? Answers going to be not similar to everyone. It could be a loving, abusive, heartbreaking experience while answering. In other words, some may have a good experience with their earthly/biological father, and others may hold the opposite. In many cases, some never had a father in their life. We always carry personal baggage while thinking about God the Father. We may assume, He could be like our earthly father or like a father we never had. But throughout all eternity God is Father, and eternally He has a Son. I think it is not fair to understand and define the infinite Father with finite earthly fathers. The idea of starting from scratch to understand the heavenly Father is probably the best way.

Suggested Practical Steps

The first step is, believe that God loves us. The whole plan of salvation has its goal to adopt us as His beloved child. God sent his Son, condemned his Son, and abandoned his Son on the cross so that we would come close to Him as his child. It doesn’t matter you never had a father, or he was a father you wished didn’t exist, but now you have a Father who loves you wholeheartedly as he does in Christ.

The next and final step is to enjoy Him through communion or prayer. Look around and see His creations and handiworks. The trees, rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, hills, mountains, birds, animals, sky, clouds, rain, sun, moon, and so on. The earth is filled with his artworks, in other words, we living in and surrounded by His touch works. It reminds us of His grace and mercy, He is a caring and loving father. Think about Him while you work, walk, run, cook, eat, dream… When we do this we are filled with gratitude, we stop complaining. Our hearts are filled with joy while we enjoy God our Father.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Imagine the situation of Paul, he must be devasted with all that loss, beatings, and jail times. His life must be miserable. Is that what happens when someone follows Christ? Paul probably can’t wait to get out of it when a chance arrives, I will do likely consider it from his position.

Many times, when I see Instagram posts of celebrities, they always look happy. Moreover, their online images show that they are having a nice time, not often but always. Nothing negative in their life. Pictures of gorgeous locations, food, fancy cars, and perfect physique support it. I don’t think Paul’s situation not even close enough. His financial position not even likely enabled him to get a good meal. In other terms, he is equivalent to a contemporary slum dweller.

Wait a minute, Paul says that loss is gain for him. How is that possible? Logic is missing completely. He says he doesn’t want to get out of trouble, loss, and pain. Is he mad? I hope he was all right. The truth is, he was not mad, in contrast, he was filled with Joy. When he was left out with nothing, all he had was Christ. In that angle, surely it was not a loss. He got to fully enjoy Christ alone.

Paul knows the difference between joy and pleasure. He was filled with joy but celebrities are filled with pleasure. The loss brings joy but pleasure has a price tag. God is the source of joy. In other words, the birthplace of joy only found in God through His Son Jesus Christ. The abiding of the Holy Spirit in us made it possible to enjoy it. The Triune God is the fountain of joy, what world gives us is counterfeit joy called pleasure.

Are you enjoying the God-given joy? It is an absolutely free gift, an opensource product of God. We are already unified with God through Christ His Son, the only thing remaining is to commune with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Don’t worry how messed up you are now on your relationship with God, hit the reboot button now. Since our union with God is secured. All we have to do is initiate communication with God. On one way, we were unified through the cross, and on the other way, we enjoy joy in God through His Spirit. We don’t need the pleasures of Instagram posts, we have the Triune God who created us to offer us His love and joy.

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

It is Jesus’s answer for Satan’s first test, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” (Matthew 4:3, ESV). Jesus quoted back to the devil from Deuteronomy 8:3. Indeed, Satan was clever and cunning as he was in Eden. The first Adam failed but the second Adam Jesus succeeded the first temptation. As the serpent did with Adam and Eve, his concern seems to be fair overall. He was caring about Jesus’ present situation that He was hungry and weak physically after 40 days of fasting. Is he?

Jesus is fully in flesh like any other human being on the earth. However, Satan knew that Jesus is also God. Most importantly, the devil knew God’s plan to crush his head on the cross by Jesus as promised in Genesis 3:15. We can draw a parallel between what happened in the Eden and what is happening with Jesus. Satan’s request makes sense. Jesus is God, so why He can’t just convert stones to bread? But Jesus knew what was His purpose on the earth and what was the devil trying to accomplish. Obviously, Satan was trying to deceive Jesus to make an easy arrangement to meet His needs by himself. Jesus can use His divine power to meet his needs. What a wonderful idea by Satan! Some of you thinking what is wrong with that? Being independent is good, isn’t it? The answer here is the devil was trying to make Jesus to mistrust His Heavenly Father.

The cunning devil started the conversation “If you are the Son of God” to Jesus. Clearly, Jesus is Son of God and Jesus Himself knew it without any doubt. Satan’s trick was to raise doubt using the truth. When Israelites grumbled in the wilderness before Moses for food, God answered them by providing manna. And Jesus was using the same speech Moses was using to affirm God’s love toward Israelites and trust God completely. Moreover, Jesus was replying to Satan, “Don’t worry, Thanks for your concern and I appreciate it. But my Father is trustworthy and He will meet my needs as He did with the Hebrews in the wilderness.”

Many times, anxiety strikes us from worrying about tomorrow’s needs. Or the struggles we are going through now. Categorically, it could be anything. Deep inside our heart, we know that God is loving, caring and trustworthy. But often a question arises in our heart, “Are you really a Son or a Daughter of God?”. We know we are. However, Jesus affirmed the bond between God and us through His work on the cross. We are sons and daughters of living God, He will meet our needs. Amen!

On the one hand, He is merciful, gracious, loving, and unchanging God. Why it is so hard many times for us to trust him with all our hearts regardless of our circumstances? On the other hand, our difficult times make us run toward Him for help. We understand our helpless condition and realize we need help. Why we cannot trust Him when He sent His only Son Jesus to this earth as a human? Jesus replaced us. He was judged for us on our iniquities. Our sin caused Jesus an injustice so that we get judged and acquitted from God’s wrath. God becoming man and dying for us in our place? Why He had to do it then? He knew that we cannot rescue ourselves. Again, can we trust God?

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

During the first century under the might Roman empire, Paul announces that he was not ashamed or afraid to proclaim the good news message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is passionate and all pumped up to spread the good news among Romans. At the same time, many were hesitant against mighty, powerful, and famous Rome to express the good news. We do many times today underestimate Jesus’s death on the cross and its purpose. Somehow Paul was adamant and passionate to carry forward the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Paul had a clear gospel clarity, he was not in a perplex mode. He understood the massive importance of the gospel message. Not only that, but he was also a victim of the good nature of God’s righteousness. Paul received the righteousness of God from God or in other words, Jesus’s righteous work from the cross. It is a free gift, all we have to believe in Christ Jesus that he died on the cross for our sins. Then how we are rescued from sin?

Every human in the world lost their legal standing before God since Adam and Eve’s fall. As we are the sons and daughters of the first human parents we inherited their status through our birth. There is no way that we can rescue ourselves through our good work. Moreover, in default, we do not recognize our need to be reconciled with the Creator. At this point, the rescuing gospel message preached to us to realize that we are sinners and we need a savior.

Though all the above points make some feel no sense then you need to try it out at-least with a thought. No other God in the world we ever hear that the creator God became a Man and died on the cross for all humans. Jesus is a real person who lived 2000 years ago who resurrected after 3 days. Jesus conquered death so that we may live eternally with Him. We became righteous when we believe him and his status is transferred to us. This new status gives us a legal standing before God which our earliest parents lost it. Through Jesus, we are reconciled with God the Father with a renewing heart by the Holy Spirit. As it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

On one hand, some countries managed well to control pandemic infections such as New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore, Finland, and Germany, on the other, some others in a chaotic situation for instance the USA, the UK, and Brazil. Two months back, China was the epicenter of the coronavirus and right now it is screening and restricting passengers who are traveling to its land. No solution or vaccine is available so far and no clear answer was given when it will available to the world from anyone. The World Health Organization (WHO) is heavily criticized by President Trump and vice versa. Some national leaders are calling its citizens to stay at home, however, they are also welcoming who protest against it. Sadly, migrant workers in India are kicked off like a football. Even footballs have a price and respect when compared with migrant laborers. They are treated as worthless human beings. In contrast, TikTok and Instagram are flourishing with posts in rich western counties. We can witness two extreme points of a social spectrum. Poor and developing countries don’t have a universal health care system and many left with the only option Death. However, COVID-19 do not mind about the socio-economic status of a human. It seeks no partiality. The rich are not bothered with outbreaks like malaria, cholera, and dengue. These epidemics still exist but only found in poverty-stricken countries and areas. If COVID-19 is similar to this, probably, we won’t be hearing announcements from the country leaders since the rich are not affected by it. The truth is that rich people are given more care and attention, the poor don’t draw any. For example, how the NRIs and migrant workers are treated in India makes a valid point on this. Though both are citizens of India, treated at the opposite extreme levels.

When I see the workers are walking hundreds of miles by foot to reach their homes, the only thing so far I can do is shed tears in prayers. I wish I can do something but helpless and frustrated. Every migrant worker is an image-bearer of God. God created every one of them in his own image though they were forgotten and mistreated by many of us. Overall, as a country we have shown our back to them, and it embarks one of the darkest periods of our time.

Dear Gracious Heavenly Father, please look into my Indian brothers, sisters, and children. Many died while walking hundreds of miles due to starvation, heat, hit by vehicles or trains, and virus. Please sow grace among the Indian ruling and opposition leaders, and also among others who can help. Let love, kindness, help, and gentleness flow among the people from you Lord. Thank you for the people who already sowing love and help. Father! protect the frontline workers who put their lives on risk helping thousands of infected patients. Also, the NGOs, the delivery agents, and their employees. Give peace to those who lost their loved ones. We pray for the vaccine to be created quickly. We know that you are sovereign and still in control, however, we rely on your guideless and mercy only. We pray for your wisdom among the leaders. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen!

…And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.

When Eve heard from the serpent, the future scenario appeared positive. The immediate result of stepping outside the realm of obedient trust in God opened the eyes of Adam and Eve. The fruit they ate probably not even digested yet, but soon they realized there is no pleasure in their new conscience of good and evil. As a result, they tried to hide their moral shame with fig leaves. Yes, the first humans were engulfed with regret like a spouse who committed adultery, not able to face God anymore. God’s image-bearers became rivalries of God.

But God comes in and takes up the quarrel personally, puts eternal enmity between humans and the chief perpetrator serpent. Because serpent and woman once allied against God. Before pronouncing any kind of judgment upon Adam and Eve, God first addressed their enemy who had successfully deceived them. He promised that one day a Rescuer, the offspring of Eve would come and crush Satan’s head in order to deliver her and her children from their enemies. Jesus is Eve’s offspring. This symbolism portrayed in the opening scene of Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ, where Jesus slammed a snake’s head which was crawling over one of his legs. But, by going to the cross, Jesus crushed the serpent’s head through his death and glorious resurrection.

Once I was stung by a honey-bee and the stung area became swollen and appeared reddish. A physician performed a tiny cut to remove the venomous sting under the skin to avoid further infection. We need someone to help us to reunite with God. It requires the removal of the sting of sin caused by our rebellion against God. Our very natures have been polluted by the serpent’s venom. Paul says, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one’” (Romans 3:10). Even before the penalty, God promised Adam and Eve with the first good news of Jesus the Redeemer crushing Serpent’s head. In this advent season, we will rejoice and remember the incarnation of Christ, the Offspring of the Woman, the Promised Rescuer and the second Adam born to redeem His people!