2 . The Way of Resistance
“…our war against the enemies of the soul is not a war of guns and bombs. It’s not against other people at all. It’s a war on lies.”
John Mark Comer
READ
Luke 4:1-30 & Ephesians 2:1-3
Luke chapter four verses one to thirty and Paul’s letter to the Ephesians chapter two verses one to three.
CONSIDER
The reading shows Jesus caught in at least two separate struggles. In what ways is his struggle with Satan similar to his struggle with the townspeople in Nazareth? How does Paul’s description in Ephesians map onto this?
LIVE
What does a posture of resistance look like for an apprentice of Jesus? Read the following pages and make a plan of action to begin living the Way of Resistance.
The way of Resistance
Before Jesus’s ministry had even got out of the blocks he faced opposition. Think about that for a moment. The purest, noblest and most godly man to ever live was instantly made to go on the defensive. What kind of world behaves like that toward such a man?
Alluding to the truth of this reality the apostle Paul writes to Timothy: “anyone who desires to live a godly life will be persecuted.” The reason for this is because, as followers of the Way, we have an enemy – three enemies in fact.
Christian theologians name them: the world, the flesh and the devil. Each act upon godly men and women in different ways making faithful Christian living hard work.
We war against our inner desires (the flesh) that aim to pull us away from our deeper and more God-honouring intentions. We war against a corrupt and corrupting society (the world) that normalises and celebrates things that God opposes. Lastly we war against spiritual beings that collaborate with one another (the Devil). All of them are hellbent on the destruction of humanity. These angelic creatures ‘poison our water’ with evil ideas. They seek to draw people away from the ultimate reason they exist for – relationship with God.
Jesus spots the lies of the enemy as they try to appeal to his flesh in ways that directly oppose God’s word. He also spots the fickle affection and selfish agenda of the townspeople.
“That’s a lie!” Jesus calls out the claims and temptations that are presented to him for what they are.
He doesn’t just notice falsehood, he declares the truth. Several times he says “it is written” and in Nazareth he quotes scripture to expose the underhanded motivations he sees at play.