Matthew 4: 11
Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
In yesterday’s Word of the Day, I referred to temptation Jesus faced in the wilderness after the Spirit impelled him to sojourn in the wilderness. As you well know, no temptation ever overcame Jesus’ resilience and faith. Obviously, though, he was tempted. He vanquished the foe with his absolute reliance on the Word of God and in so doing, paved the way for our victory in every situation.
There is an interesting note, however, after he defeated the devil. The devil fled and in came angels, plural. Angels went to Jesus and ministered to him. Ask yourself how they ministered to him. What were his needs after being alone in the desert in excess of forty days. Surely he was hungry and thirsty. Perhaps his skin was parched and he was probably filthy. So now imagine how the angels met Jesus’ needs.
We so easily and quickly read over these passages, giving them little thoughtful consideration. What does an angel look like? From this text we perceive they are not just cloud like, ethereal images which cross our minds’ eye. They must have real substance if they met Jesus’ physical needs. I don’t think they just hovered over him like a vapor speaking words of encouragement.
Satan understood about angels, afterall, he used to be one. In Matthew 4: 6 we see him quoting Psalm 91: 11 – 12, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” He knows what the Word says and he understood the angels role and power in this tableau. The word which strikes me in this passage is “hands.” You may have thought about what angels look like. Do they have substance or are they nebulous cloud like figures? In this passage we see they have hands. It was with their hands that they ministered to Jesus’ needs. They didn’t just blow a cool breeze across his face. They carried in their hands the substance of his recovery, probably food and water. Maybe one of the angels washed his face with cool water. Maybe another made a foot bath for him. The point is that they are not inconsequential, tenuous beings. They are not figures of one’s imagination and most importantly, they are not floating around in heaven doing nothing other than singing. They are real beings with real purpose.
Segue to what this means to us. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1: 14). We are comfortable with the idea of guardian angels for children. I am not sure where we get that idea unless it from the aforementioned Psalm 91 or Matthew 18: 10, but then doesn’t it beg the question, “Where does one’s angel go upon adulthood? And at what age does that happen?” It seems a little silly to me if I take the time to think about it. Why would Father ever recall an angel He assigned to one of us? My friend, Dr. Charity Kayembe, would argue strongly and convincingly that our angels are still with us. In fact, she has written a very enlightening piece on angels. Visit her ministry website at www.glorywaves.org and see her article, Everyday Angels www.glorywaves.org/angels-101.
I just read an interesting booklet by Kenneth E. Hagin in which he gave his angels specific tasks. It inspired me even as I realized that mine were probably really bored. Angels are spirits which help us. You can communicate with them. They are not fat little cherubs floating around on clouds. They are effective employees of the Almighty sent here to earth to help us. As we broaden our understanding of all things spiritual, we should include a deep knowledge of the angels and their role in the earth, as well as their role in our lives. We have a major resource at our hands that we have largely ignored. Today is a good day for us to begin to rectify that egregious oversight. Amen.