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As we continue moving forward on our journey through prophecies Jesus fulfilled, we come to an Old Testament reference that could be said to point towards Jesus, though, in the context that it is used, I could easily understand how some might doubt this.
However, when we stop to look more closely at the words that were written, it is clear that even if these words were not used in the New Testament event we will look at as prophecy being fulfilled, the context these words are used only allows for these words to be prophecy for the event itself to make sense.
With that as our foundation, let’s take a look at the Psalm that is quoted, and discover why this message is important for us to pay attention to. Our passage is found in Psalm 91, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 1, the psalmist writes:
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 “With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.”
On the surface, nothing in this psalm speaks directly to these words being prophetic. At its core, this psalm is simply a prayer of encouragement, and a reminder, that God is with those who take refuge in Him.
However, one set of lines in this psalm show up in Jesus’ life in a powerful way, and when looking at when they show up, and specifically who speaks them, we are left with the impression that this psalm was at least applicable to Jesus and His mission to this earth.
With this in mind, let’s transition to the New Testament and discover what we can learn from the event where these words show up. This event is found in Luke, chapter 4, and we will begin reading in verse 1:
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
9 And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; 10 for it is written,
‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You,’
11 and,
‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
In the temptations that Satan, also known as the devil, brought against Jesus, we find Satan quoting this particular psalm. The minor detail that Satan used scripture to tempt Jesus is fascinating in itself. However, the promise of protection that this psalm speaks to is amazing.
It is interesting that in essence, Satan turns this psalm into being prophetic, or at least he tries to. While I don’t know the extent of how we should understand the protection that is promised or looked for in this psalm, Jesus’ life and ministry were not 100% protected.
I have no idea whether Jesus ever got sick like we might consider sickness, or whether Jesus ever stubbed His toe, which could be thought of in a similar way as striking your foot against a stone.
However, when we look at Jesus’ life and ministry, there was clearly some level of protection present, but the protection we see present in Jesus’ life was protection on a macro scale, or in other words, protection from the highest level.
We can know and understand that Jesus’ life was protected during the time leading up to the cross, because there are plenty of examples of people trying to take Jesus’ life before crucifixion weekend. Three examples of this that jump to mind are Herod killing the babies, which we looked at earlier this year; those in the Nazareth synagogue early in Jesus’ ministry when they try to run Him off a cliff; and Satan himself when the flash storm hits the boat while Jesus slept in the back. While I am sure there are other examples, these three are clear indicators that Jesus was being protected.
However, the protection that we see present in Jesus’ life did not extend to protection that didn’t allow for problems to be present. On more occasions than we have time to go over, Jesus’ pushed back against His mission and ministry being undermined by the popular culture’s opinion of what Jesus’ ministry should have been. If Jesus was being protected from problems, then we wouldn’t have the passage we just read, because Jesus wouldn’t have gone in to the wilderness, wouldn’t have fasted for 40 days, wouldn’t have became hungry, and definitely wouldn’t have been tempted by Satan.
We can learn from this psalm and how it applies to Jesus’ life that in our own lives, we won’t be spared from experiencing problems, trials, or challenges. However, when we lean on Jesus and focus on giving Him glory while moving forward through life, we can know that with whatever happens in our lives on this earth, our eternity has been assured, and our eternal life has been protected.
Jesus ultimately faced the cross so that we wouldn’t have to face it ourselves. Jesus gave up His own life at the time the crucifixion was prophesied. Jesus didn’t shy away from challenges. Let’s learn from Jesus’ example and press forward in life, living it for God!
As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:
As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life. Choose to lean on Him for strength, purpose, and guidance to live in this life, and trust in Jesus that when we live for God, our future, eternal lives are protected. When we ally with Jesus, Jesus has promised us that our eternal lives are protected.
Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God. Through the pages of the Bible, discover a God who loves you more than you can imagine and a God who will not stop trying to redeem you while you still have breath!
And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!
Year of Prophecy – Episode 14: When looking at the first part of Jesus’ ministry, discover how the least likely character pulls a passage from the Old Testament to apply to Jesus’ life, regardless of whether this passage was intended to be prophetic or not.
Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.