Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ (Anointed One), the Eternal Son of God who rules over the universe. He is also the promised future King of Israel who will sit on the throne of David. There has never been, nor will ever there ever be anyone in a better position to ‘train to reign.’ The angel who told Mary she would give birth to Jesus said this –

Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. Luke 1:30-33

Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem searching for ‘He who has been born King of the Jews’ (Matthew 2:2). They knew some of the ancient prophecies concerning Messiah and had seen ‘His star in the East’ and had ‘come to worship Him.’

Herod, who was a Roman proxy king in Israel, heard what the wise men were saying and took action to kill the Christ Child before He could become King. He ordered that all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from the age of two years old and under, were to be killed. However, an angel warned the wise men to return home on a different route, and also warned Joseph to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus. They remained in Egypt until the death of Herod, ‘that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son’ (Matthew 2:15). After Herod died, an angel told Joseph to return to Israel. Joseph heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, so Joseph did not return to Bethlehem. An angel warned him and he took his family ‘into the region of Galilee.’ They lived in Nazareth, ‘that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene’ (Matthew 2:23).

Jesus’ Training as a Child

Everything you read about Jesus as a child contains some insights into His training to reign. Let’s remind ourselves about the five ‘basic training’ principles I chose for this series:

  1. Believe in the Only True God (Monotheism)
  2. Fear God and Obey Him
  3. Worship God and Serve Him
  4. Listen to God and Trust Him
  5. Love God and Devote Your Life to Him

We’ve seen that Joseph and Mary’s responses to angelic messages demonstrate their commitment to these basic principles. We also see how others responded to the birth of Jesus –

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. Luke 2:15-17

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.’ Luke 2:25-32

Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Luke 2:36-38

The next time we see Jesus is when He was twelve years old. He visited Jerusalem with his parents every year at the Feast of the Passover. However, this time was different. Instead of going home with them, He went to the Temple to converse with the ‘teachers.’ These learned men were ‘astonished at His understanding and answers.’ Jesus’ parents went looking for Him and found Him in the Temple. Mary asked Jesus ‘why have You done this to us?’ Jesus answered, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ Jesus knew that He had work to do in the Temple and elsewhere in Israel to accomplish the work God had sent Him to do. Jesus went home with his parents and ‘was subject to them.’ Jesus ‘increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men’ (Luke 2:52).

Jesus’ Training as a Man

We know that Jesus worked with His earthly ‘step-father’ as a carpenter (Mark 6:3). Jesus built things with His hands. He would later build His ‘Church.’ Lessons learned as a young person who is committed to the five ‘basic training principles’ are important for future ministry. Jesus demonstrated His obedience to God and to His parents, both important for Christian children and young people.

God sent His Son from Heaven to earth on a special ‘Mission.’ Jesus was determined to glorify His Father and finish the work He had sent Him to do (John 17:4). That’s what we find Jesus doing as He approached John the Baptist. Jesus was Israel’s rightful King, yet He demonstrated humility and obedience as He began His public ministry –

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ Matthew 3:13-17

John tried to prevent Jesus from being baptized because John’s baptism symbolized ‘repentance,’ (Matthew 3:8) – something John did not believe Jesus needed to do (repent). John was correct that Jesus did not need to repent because He was sinless (spotless Lamb of God, John 1:29). However, Jesus said He wanted John to baptize Him ‘to fulfill all righteousness.’ Jesus ‘identified’ Himself with the sinners He would save by bearing their sins on the Cross. People would become ‘righteous’ through Christ Jesus.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus humbled Himself in every way we might imagine. He was born to a poor family. He grew up in a small and poor village. Though He was the Eternal Son of God, the rightful King of Israel, and the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world, Jesus humbled Himself to be baptized. Jesus set aside His position for the sake of saving lost people. He was obedient to the will of His Heavenly Father.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:5-8

We know that God was pleased with Jesus because of what happened immediately following His baptism – ‘and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’

Jesus’ Training in the Wilderness

Keep in mind that Jesus did not need to be ‘trained to reign.’ He is God. However, what Jesus did as a Man demonstrates many of the aspects of what we need to know to reign with Him. The Spirit of God immediately led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted (tested) by the devil. Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights. That is an amazing physical feat in itself, but what followed was even more difficult. The ‘tempter’ (devil) came to Jesus and began to tempt Him.

We are given three specific temptations in Matthew 4. Here are the temptations and the Lord’s responses to those temptations. Keep in mind as you read this that Jesus had not eaten anything for forty days and forty nights –

Temptation #1

Tempter – ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’

Jesus – ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’

Temptation #2

Tempter – ‘Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ 

Jesus – ‘It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’

Temptation #3

Tempter – ‘Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’

Jesus – ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’

The devil left Jesus and angels came and ministered to the Lord. Luke 4:13 reads, ‘Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.’ The devil was not finished with Jesus and would return later to cause more trouble.

What do we learn from this amazing scene of a physically weak Jesus facing the devil’s temptations? We are not God, so what do we learn that might help us ‘train to reign?’ Notice that Jesus relied on God’s Word for His responses to the devil’s temptations. We see that than angelic host was waiting nearby to minister to Jesus’ needs. Jesus could have easily called on them to attack the devil, but He didn’t. He relied on, trusted in, God’s Word in His response to the devil’s temptations. That’s important for us to learn as we ‘train to reign.’

Our strength to reign with Christ will not come from our power, but from our reliance on and obedience to the Word of God.

Free eBooks

You can download the first 13 chapters of this series here.

You can download chapters 14 – 24 of this series here.

You can download chapters 25 – 30 of this series here.

You can download chapters 31 – 39 of this series here.

Next Time

Jesus had great respect for John the Baptist and made that clear to His disciples. What can we learn from that as we ‘train to reign?’ We’ll see next week as our special series continues.

“Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

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