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Jesus Solves the Enigma
Episode 140 – Jesus Solves the Enigma
Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.
Script Notes:
The devil took [Jesus] to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4, verses 8 through 10, New International Version
********
VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with RD Fierro, author and founder of Crystal Sea Books, and part-time event lighting technician. He straightens out the cords on the Christmas lights before we put them up. Today on Anchored by Truth we’re going to finish up our current series where we have focused on the life and historicity of Jesus. And we’re going to hear the last installment of our seven part, epic Christmas poem The Golden Tree: Eagle Enigma. When we left off last time Kodan, one three bears that were searching in the arctic for the lair of the Great White Koala Bear, had made a decision to ride a huge ice eagle. Kodan decided he had to ride an ice eagle because the three bears were trying to reach city of gold they could see on the other side of an un-crossable canyon. Kodan had had to choose between a gold eagle with blue eyes or a white eagle with black eyes. He knew that one of the eagles would help him but the other eagle was a servant of the demon lord. But just from appearances he could not tell which was which. So essentially he and his traveling companions, Koru and Kojon, were facing a giant enigma, right RD?
RD: Well, they were facing multiple enigmas. They could see a gleaming city on the other side of the canyon but was that the home of the Great White Bear? And how could they cross the canyon to find out? Kodan, has figured out that the ice eagles they’ve encountered on the edge of the great gap could give them a ride across but which one – the gold eagle or the white eagle? So, Kodan had posed two questions to both eagles to try to figure out which was the good eagle and which was the evil eagle. After hearing their answers Kodan chose the gold eagle. The gold eagle picked up Kodan but after flying into the sky the gold eagle dropped Kodan over the middle of the canyon. As we closed last time Kodan is falling through the sky so Koru and Kojon have left their hiding place to go try riding with the white eagle.
VK: So, it’s time to find out what happens to Kodan, and his two travelling companions in this Christmas epic poem: The Golden Tree, Eagle Enigma.
---- The Golden Tree: Eagle Enigma – Part 7
VK: So, Kodan had chosen the right eagle to fly with. But I think many listeners are wondering how he knew which of the birds served the Great White Bear and which served the Demon Lord. Obviously, Kodan knew by listening to the answers to the questions but what exactly did the two eagles say that enabled Kodan to solve the enigma correctly?
RD: Well, we should start by telling listeners who haven’t heard the previous episodes that for the last six weeks we have been playing one section of Eagle Enigma during each episode of Anchored by Truth. And since Anchored by Truth is available on most major podcasting apps listeners who want to hear those episodes can do so at any time. The titles of those episodes were Jesus Attributes were not Borrowed and Jesus: The Dividing Line of History. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time today to repeat those portions of the poem. But listeners who would like to hear the exact responses the eagles gave to Kodan’s questions can hear parts 5 and 6 of Eagle Enigma in those two episodes of Anchored by Truth.
VK: And just as a reminder as of the time of the production of this broadcast and podcast in late 2021 Eagle Enigma has not yet been made available for commercial release but that will happen in the early part of 2022.
RD: That’s a good note. So, to begin to answer the question as to how Kodan chose the gold eagle let’s remind everyone of the two different questions Kodan posed to the eagles. The first question Kodan asked was, “Great White Eagle, if I fly with you where will you set my feet?"
VK: And the white eagle said, I’m paraphrasing, “You’ve had a hard journey to get to this place. Fly with me and I’ll take you the rest of the way to the city of gold.” Whereas the gold eagle said, “I’m going to take you home. You have years left to live. And the gold eagle finished by saying, I’m quoting now, “There’s much to this world you can give.”
RD: Right. So, in answer to Kodan’s first question the white eagle essentially said, “I’ll give you the easy way out” whereas the gold eagle said, “there is work left to do and all I’m promising is to give you the chance to finish it.” So, the first clue to Kodan that the white eagle was serving the demon lord was the white eagle’s promise that there was a short cut to the bears achieving their goal. Now, of course this kind of an answer was very appealing, but unfortunately the promise of short cuts and easy way outs is far more often characteristic of sin than sanctification.
VK: That was essentially what Satan offered Jesus when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. There are two accounts of those temptations – one in the Gospel of Matthew and one in the Gospel of Luke. The first temptation in Matthew was for Jesus to turn stones into bread after Jesus had been fasting for 40 days. The second Matthew temptation was for Jesus to prove that he was truly the Son of God by hurling himself off the highest point of temple and let the angels catch him before he hit the rocks below. And the third temptation in Matthew was that Satan would give Jesus the right to rule the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would just kneel down and worship Satan.
RD: Right. So, in the three temptations Satan was essentially offering Jesus short cuts to achieving legitimate goals. Jesus was hungry so Satan said just use your power and make bread out of stones. Jesus, you’re God’s son and so God will make sure the angels protect you. Jesus, you’re destined to be a sovereign but rather than take your rightful place by completing the work God gave you, just worship me and I’ll give you power, position, and prestige. In each temptation part of the temptation was for Jesus to take the easy way out. In effect, Satan was offering Jesus a crown without the cross.
VK: That calls to mind a line out of the West Point cadet prayer that you mentioned to me a long time ago. The line says, “O God, our Father … Make us choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won.”
RD: Exactly. The white eagle was offering a half truth. The bears had struggled mightily to get to the canyon and they were tired and in need of relief. They deserved help and the gold eagle was willing to offer that help. But the help was to return them to their village where their new insights and strength could do the rest of the village some good. The white eagle was – insincerely – offering to relieve their burden rather than to help them bear it.
VK: And that calls to mind Jesus saying in Matthew, chapter 11, verses 28 and 29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jesus’ promise is to help us bear our burdens not merely to dismiss them from our lives.
RD: Exactly right. That was one way Kodan knew the gold eagle was telling the truth. The gold eagle didn’t just offer an easy way out of their plight.
VK: So, the second question Kodan asked was, “Great White Eagle, you know why we've come to this chasm beneath your sky. Tell me now about the tree, how it came to be and why." How did the white eagle’s answer to this question reinforce the fact that he was lying to the bears?
RD: Because when the white eagle answered this question the white eagle told Kodan that the blessings the bears enjoyed in the valley was all about them. The white eagle completely ignored the role the golden tree played. Whereas the gold eagle immediately reminded Kodan that the golden tree had been a gift to the bears from the Creator. In other words, the white eagle turned the bears’ attention to themselves. The gold eagle turned their attention to God. In The Golden Tree series, the golden tree represents the Holy Spirit who was the gift that the Father gave to the world after Jesus returned to heaven. That’s what the gold eagle reminded Kodan in the poem’s lines that say, “The golden tree was the gift that He gave to abide until He returns. It does not depend on you or me for the life that within it burns."
VK: That’s a really important point. As Christians we can get so caught up in struggling to be good believers, good workers, or good parents or family members that we can forget to turn to the Lord to support us and depend on the Lord to provide for us. There’s nothing wrong with hard work but ultimately if we think that our lives and destinies on this earth are all about us we are in danger of relying on our strength rather than the Lord’s.
RD: Right. And again our model in how to approach struggles and temptations is Christ in his confrontation with Satan. Even Jesus didn’t depend on Himself to respond to Satan. The first thing Jesus did was to quote scripture to Satan.
VK: And most people may not realize that all of the quotes Jesus used came from probably one of the least well-known books in the Bible, Deuteronomy. Christ quoted Deuteronomy, chapter 8, verse 3 in response to the first temptation, Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 16 in response to the second temptation, and Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 13 in response to the third temptation. This certainly reinforces the need to study the entire Bible. Jesus certainly knew all of the Old Testament and used it in his life.
RD: Yes. Now it’s probably important here to note that we’ve been using the order of temptations presented in the Gospel of Matthew. Luke reverses the order of the 2nd and 3rd temptations. Luke recounts the same temptations. He just uses a different order when presenting them in his account.
VK: Isn’t that a problem? Doesn’t that mean that there is a conflict between the two accounts of the temptations?
RD: There is certainly a difference in how the two gospelists chose to make their reports about the temptations but the different order of reporting the temptations doesn’t affect the trustworthiness of the accounts. When making his report Matthew used adverbs and conjunctions that are more indicative of chronological order than Luke’s. Matthew says this happened and then this next thing happened. Luke uses words that essentially translate to “and” rather like the report of someone who attends a football game and says “we got autographs from the players and hot dogs.” The spectator may very well have gotten their hot dogs during the game and the autographs after the game. But when they told others about the game getting the autographs was more important to them so they reported it first. For some reason Luke seems to have thought that the temptation to hurl himself off the temple and be caught by angels was of greater importance in demonstrating Jesus’ divinity than becoming the earthly ruler of several kingdoms.
VK: Well, when Satan tempted Jesus to accept earthly authority from him that wouldn’t necessarily have been a demonstration of something supernatural. But, if Jesus had hurled himself from the temple and angels intercepted him in the air, that clearly would have been something supernatural. It may be that Luke just thought a clearly supernatural act was the more momentous of the two temptations.
RD: And that’s what many scholars believe. Anyone interested in a more thorough discussion of the order of the temptations can consult Dr. Gleason Archer’s book An Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties. At any rate, in Eagle Enigma, Kodan was wise enough to recognize the example that Jesus set. When we are tempted or have a difficult decision to make our first impulse should be to turn to the Lord. Jesus’ response to the first temptation to turn the stones into bread was to redirect Satan’s attention back to God. And in the next two responses Jesus clarified that turning to God involves having an appropriate relationship with him. Jesus reminded Satan that we are permitted to put God to the test and that our worship is restricted to God alone.
VK: People may not think that they’re testing God but that’s exactly what they do when they say things like “if God doesn’t do such and such a thing for me then I won’t believe in him anymore.” The thing we want may be perfectly reasonable and even understandable like healing for ourselves or a loved one. But we can’t condition our relationship with the Lord on demands that we present to Him. This calls to mind the Gospel of John, chapter 4, verse 24 when Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman. Jesus said, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
RD: Right. Part of worshipping truthfully is recognizing that the Lord is sovereign and we are not. Even Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for the Father’s will to be done and not his own. So, Kodan recognized that the white eagle was trying to make Kodan, his friends, and the bears the center of attention. The gold eagle was trying to make God, the gift giver, the center of attention. The white eagle told Kodan the bears should take credit for the blessings they had in their lives. The gold eagle reminded the bears that the Golden Tree and all their blessings had been bestowed on them by a truly loving Creator.
VK: And that calls to mind James, chapter 1, verse 17. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” So, in essence what you’re saying is that Biblically based wisdom was the basis for Kodan making the correct choice about which eagle to trust. I guess you could say Jesus was the solution to the enigma facing the bears.
RD: Yes. And Jesus is the solution to our own enigmas. Turning to Jesus should be our first response but all too often I fear it’s our last resort. I always wince a little when I hear people say “the only thing I can do for you is to pray.”
VK: Because as you say in your book Purposeful Prayers “the whispered prayer that stirs the hand of God dwarfs the most powerful force in the universe.”
RD: Yes. Kodan asked questions of the eagles to determine where the eagles placed their trust. Anyone or anything that tempts you to place your trust in anything other than God cannot be of God. It’s not that we should not work hard to develop our own skills and abilities but we must keep them in proper perspective.
VK: The Apostle Paul essentially affirmed this sentiment in the one of the best-known verses from the Bible: Philippians, chapter 4, verse 13. “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength”
RD: Exactly. In response to Kodan’s first question the white eagle tempted Kodan with the same kind of temptation Satan presented to Jesus. Satan tempted Jesus to take the easy way out to get food, prove he was the Son of God, and gain authority. In response to Kodan’s second question the white eagle tempted Kodan to place his trust in himself and his friends – while leaving God out of the equation. Those were sure signs to Kodan that the white eagle had not been sent by the Great White Bear. We should learn from Kodan’s example to be discerning when the world presents us with enigmas or opportunities. Jesus is our sure and certain guide in this world and the primary way Jesus imparts wisdom to us is through the Bible. That’s why we must become so familiar with the Bible that we can immediately discern things or events in our lives that tempt us to depart from its teaching. There are a lot of things that will come our way that may not seem to be harmful, in and of themselves, but we can see that it what they offer or tempt us to do will not be consistent with scripture. At my age I’ve learned that the most important skill we can develop is spiritual discernment and we can only get that from the Bible and developing a strong network of mature Christian friends.
VK: And while Eagle Enigma doesn’t get into that level of detail it’s obvious from the poem that the bears had a strong regard for genuine wisdom and Kodan, Koru, and Kojon developed even more wisdom after their journey and their encounter with the gold eagle. I really like the closing stanza of the poem. “Joy was delivered to a waiting world on a night many centuries ago when I and my brothers appeared in the sky to shepherds who witnessed our glow.” Christ came to bring us not only joy and peace but “life more abundantly.” But how can we enjoy that abundant life if we don’t ensure that as we travel through life we stay as close as humanly possible to the author of all life, peace, and joy. Staying close to Jesus means reading the Bible, developing a strong prayer life, and staying connected to other believers who can bless us and who we can bless in turn. Sounds like a great time for a prayer. Today since we’re so close to New Year’s Day let’s listen to a prayer for blessings to come to us in the new year.
---- Prayer for NEW YEAR’S DAY
VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” Also, we’d to remind listeners that copies of the first part of the the Golden Tree saga, The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest, is available from our website.
If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!”
(Bible Quotes from the New International Version)
The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4, verses 8 through 10, New International Version
View all episodes
By R.D.Fierro
5
11 ratings
Episode 140 – Jesus Solves the Enigma
Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.
Script Notes:
The devil took [Jesus] to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4, verses 8 through 10, New International Version
********
VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with RD Fierro, author and founder of Crystal Sea Books, and part-time event lighting technician. He straightens out the cords on the Christmas lights before we put them up. Today on Anchored by Truth we’re going to finish up our current series where we have focused on the life and historicity of Jesus. And we’re going to hear the last installment of our seven part, epic Christmas poem The Golden Tree: Eagle Enigma. When we left off last time Kodan, one three bears that were searching in the arctic for the lair of the Great White Koala Bear, had made a decision to ride a huge ice eagle. Kodan decided he had to ride an ice eagle because the three bears were trying to reach city of gold they could see on the other side of an un-crossable canyon. Kodan had had to choose between a gold eagle with blue eyes or a white eagle with black eyes. He knew that one of the eagles would help him but the other eagle was a servant of the demon lord. But just from appearances he could not tell which was which. So essentially he and his traveling companions, Koru and Kojon, were facing a giant enigma, right RD?
RD: Well, they were facing multiple enigmas. They could see a gleaming city on the other side of the canyon but was that the home of the Great White Bear? And how could they cross the canyon to find out? Kodan, has figured out that the ice eagles they’ve encountered on the edge of the great gap could give them a ride across but which one – the gold eagle or the white eagle? So, Kodan had posed two questions to both eagles to try to figure out which was the good eagle and which was the evil eagle. After hearing their answers Kodan chose the gold eagle. The gold eagle picked up Kodan but after flying into the sky the gold eagle dropped Kodan over the middle of the canyon. As we closed last time Kodan is falling through the sky so Koru and Kojon have left their hiding place to go try riding with the white eagle.
VK: So, it’s time to find out what happens to Kodan, and his two travelling companions in this Christmas epic poem: The Golden Tree, Eagle Enigma.
---- The Golden Tree: Eagle Enigma – Part 7
VK: So, Kodan had chosen the right eagle to fly with. But I think many listeners are wondering how he knew which of the birds served the Great White Bear and which served the Demon Lord. Obviously, Kodan knew by listening to the answers to the questions but what exactly did the two eagles say that enabled Kodan to solve the enigma correctly?
RD: Well, we should start by telling listeners who haven’t heard the previous episodes that for the last six weeks we have been playing one section of Eagle Enigma during each episode of Anchored by Truth. And since Anchored by Truth is available on most major podcasting apps listeners who want to hear those episodes can do so at any time. The titles of those episodes were Jesus Attributes were not Borrowed and Jesus: The Dividing Line of History. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time today to repeat those portions of the poem. But listeners who would like to hear the exact responses the eagles gave to Kodan’s questions can hear parts 5 and 6 of Eagle Enigma in those two episodes of Anchored by Truth.
VK: And just as a reminder as of the time of the production of this broadcast and podcast in late 2021 Eagle Enigma has not yet been made available for commercial release but that will happen in the early part of 2022.
RD: That’s a good note. So, to begin to answer the question as to how Kodan chose the gold eagle let’s remind everyone of the two different questions Kodan posed to the eagles. The first question Kodan asked was, “Great White Eagle, if I fly with you where will you set my feet?"
VK: And the white eagle said, I’m paraphrasing, “You’ve had a hard journey to get to this place. Fly with me and I’ll take you the rest of the way to the city of gold.” Whereas the gold eagle said, “I’m going to take you home. You have years left to live. And the gold eagle finished by saying, I’m quoting now, “There’s much to this world you can give.”
RD: Right. So, in answer to Kodan’s first question the white eagle essentially said, “I’ll give you the easy way out” whereas the gold eagle said, “there is work left to do and all I’m promising is to give you the chance to finish it.” So, the first clue to Kodan that the white eagle was serving the demon lord was the white eagle’s promise that there was a short cut to the bears achieving their goal. Now, of course this kind of an answer was very appealing, but unfortunately the promise of short cuts and easy way outs is far more often characteristic of sin than sanctification.
VK: That was essentially what Satan offered Jesus when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. There are two accounts of those temptations – one in the Gospel of Matthew and one in the Gospel of Luke. The first temptation in Matthew was for Jesus to turn stones into bread after Jesus had been fasting for 40 days. The second Matthew temptation was for Jesus to prove that he was truly the Son of God by hurling himself off the highest point of temple and let the angels catch him before he hit the rocks below. And the third temptation in Matthew was that Satan would give Jesus the right to rule the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would just kneel down and worship Satan.
RD: Right. So, in the three temptations Satan was essentially offering Jesus short cuts to achieving legitimate goals. Jesus was hungry so Satan said just use your power and make bread out of stones. Jesus, you’re God’s son and so God will make sure the angels protect you. Jesus, you’re destined to be a sovereign but rather than take your rightful place by completing the work God gave you, just worship me and I’ll give you power, position, and prestige. In each temptation part of the temptation was for Jesus to take the easy way out. In effect, Satan was offering Jesus a crown without the cross.
VK: That calls to mind a line out of the West Point cadet prayer that you mentioned to me a long time ago. The line says, “O God, our Father … Make us choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won.”
RD: Exactly. The white eagle was offering a half truth. The bears had struggled mightily to get to the canyon and they were tired and in need of relief. They deserved help and the gold eagle was willing to offer that help. But the help was to return them to their village where their new insights and strength could do the rest of the village some good. The white eagle was – insincerely – offering to relieve their burden rather than to help them bear it.
VK: And that calls to mind Jesus saying in Matthew, chapter 11, verses 28 and 29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jesus’ promise is to help us bear our burdens not merely to dismiss them from our lives.
RD: Exactly right. That was one way Kodan knew the gold eagle was telling the truth. The gold eagle didn’t just offer an easy way out of their plight.
VK: So, the second question Kodan asked was, “Great White Eagle, you know why we've come to this chasm beneath your sky. Tell me now about the tree, how it came to be and why." How did the white eagle’s answer to this question reinforce the fact that he was lying to the bears?
RD: Because when the white eagle answered this question the white eagle told Kodan that the blessings the bears enjoyed in the valley was all about them. The white eagle completely ignored the role the golden tree played. Whereas the gold eagle immediately reminded Kodan that the golden tree had been a gift to the bears from the Creator. In other words, the white eagle turned the bears’ attention to themselves. The gold eagle turned their attention to God. In The Golden Tree series, the golden tree represents the Holy Spirit who was the gift that the Father gave to the world after Jesus returned to heaven. That’s what the gold eagle reminded Kodan in the poem’s lines that say, “The golden tree was the gift that He gave to abide until He returns. It does not depend on you or me for the life that within it burns."
VK: That’s a really important point. As Christians we can get so caught up in struggling to be good believers, good workers, or good parents or family members that we can forget to turn to the Lord to support us and depend on the Lord to provide for us. There’s nothing wrong with hard work but ultimately if we think that our lives and destinies on this earth are all about us we are in danger of relying on our strength rather than the Lord’s.
RD: Right. And again our model in how to approach struggles and temptations is Christ in his confrontation with Satan. Even Jesus didn’t depend on Himself to respond to Satan. The first thing Jesus did was to quote scripture to Satan.
VK: And most people may not realize that all of the quotes Jesus used came from probably one of the least well-known books in the Bible, Deuteronomy. Christ quoted Deuteronomy, chapter 8, verse 3 in response to the first temptation, Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 16 in response to the second temptation, and Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 13 in response to the third temptation. This certainly reinforces the need to study the entire Bible. Jesus certainly knew all of the Old Testament and used it in his life.
RD: Yes. Now it’s probably important here to note that we’ve been using the order of temptations presented in the Gospel of Matthew. Luke reverses the order of the 2nd and 3rd temptations. Luke recounts the same temptations. He just uses a different order when presenting them in his account.
VK: Isn’t that a problem? Doesn’t that mean that there is a conflict between the two accounts of the temptations?
RD: There is certainly a difference in how the two gospelists chose to make their reports about the temptations but the different order of reporting the temptations doesn’t affect the trustworthiness of the accounts. When making his report Matthew used adverbs and conjunctions that are more indicative of chronological order than Luke’s. Matthew says this happened and then this next thing happened. Luke uses words that essentially translate to “and” rather like the report of someone who attends a football game and says “we got autographs from the players and hot dogs.” The spectator may very well have gotten their hot dogs during the game and the autographs after the game. But when they told others about the game getting the autographs was more important to them so they reported it first. For some reason Luke seems to have thought that the temptation to hurl himself off the temple and be caught by angels was of greater importance in demonstrating Jesus’ divinity than becoming the earthly ruler of several kingdoms.
VK: Well, when Satan tempted Jesus to accept earthly authority from him that wouldn’t necessarily have been a demonstration of something supernatural. But, if Jesus had hurled himself from the temple and angels intercepted him in the air, that clearly would have been something supernatural. It may be that Luke just thought a clearly supernatural act was the more momentous of the two temptations.
RD: And that’s what many scholars believe. Anyone interested in a more thorough discussion of the order of the temptations can consult Dr. Gleason Archer’s book An Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties. At any rate, in Eagle Enigma, Kodan was wise enough to recognize the example that Jesus set. When we are tempted or have a difficult decision to make our first impulse should be to turn to the Lord. Jesus’ response to the first temptation to turn the stones into bread was to redirect Satan’s attention back to God. And in the next two responses Jesus clarified that turning to God involves having an appropriate relationship with him. Jesus reminded Satan that we are permitted to put God to the test and that our worship is restricted to God alone.
VK: People may not think that they’re testing God but that’s exactly what they do when they say things like “if God doesn’t do such and such a thing for me then I won’t believe in him anymore.” The thing we want may be perfectly reasonable and even understandable like healing for ourselves or a loved one. But we can’t condition our relationship with the Lord on demands that we present to Him. This calls to mind the Gospel of John, chapter 4, verse 24 when Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman. Jesus said, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
RD: Right. Part of worshipping truthfully is recognizing that the Lord is sovereign and we are not. Even Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for the Father’s will to be done and not his own. So, Kodan recognized that the white eagle was trying to make Kodan, his friends, and the bears the center of attention. The gold eagle was trying to make God, the gift giver, the center of attention. The white eagle told Kodan the bears should take credit for the blessings they had in their lives. The gold eagle reminded the bears that the Golden Tree and all their blessings had been bestowed on them by a truly loving Creator.
VK: And that calls to mind James, chapter 1, verse 17. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” So, in essence what you’re saying is that Biblically based wisdom was the basis for Kodan making the correct choice about which eagle to trust. I guess you could say Jesus was the solution to the enigma facing the bears.
RD: Yes. And Jesus is the solution to our own enigmas. Turning to Jesus should be our first response but all too often I fear it’s our last resort. I always wince a little when I hear people say “the only thing I can do for you is to pray.”
VK: Because as you say in your book Purposeful Prayers “the whispered prayer that stirs the hand of God dwarfs the most powerful force in the universe.”
RD: Yes. Kodan asked questions of the eagles to determine where the eagles placed their trust. Anyone or anything that tempts you to place your trust in anything other than God cannot be of God. It’s not that we should not work hard to develop our own skills and abilities but we must keep them in proper perspective.
VK: The Apostle Paul essentially affirmed this sentiment in the one of the best-known verses from the Bible: Philippians, chapter 4, verse 13. “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength”
RD: Exactly. In response to Kodan’s first question the white eagle tempted Kodan with the same kind of temptation Satan presented to Jesus. Satan tempted Jesus to take the easy way out to get food, prove he was the Son of God, and gain authority. In response to Kodan’s second question the white eagle tempted Kodan to place his trust in himself and his friends – while leaving God out of the equation. Those were sure signs to Kodan that the white eagle had not been sent by the Great White Bear. We should learn from Kodan’s example to be discerning when the world presents us with enigmas or opportunities. Jesus is our sure and certain guide in this world and the primary way Jesus imparts wisdom to us is through the Bible. That’s why we must become so familiar with the Bible that we can immediately discern things or events in our lives that tempt us to depart from its teaching. There are a lot of things that will come our way that may not seem to be harmful, in and of themselves, but we can see that it what they offer or tempt us to do will not be consistent with scripture. At my age I’ve learned that the most important skill we can develop is spiritual discernment and we can only get that from the Bible and developing a strong network of mature Christian friends.
VK: And while Eagle Enigma doesn’t get into that level of detail it’s obvious from the poem that the bears had a strong regard for genuine wisdom and Kodan, Koru, and Kojon developed even more wisdom after their journey and their encounter with the gold eagle. I really like the closing stanza of the poem. “Joy was delivered to a waiting world on a night many centuries ago when I and my brothers appeared in the sky to shepherds who witnessed our glow.” Christ came to bring us not only joy and peace but “life more abundantly.” But how can we enjoy that abundant life if we don’t ensure that as we travel through life we stay as close as humanly possible to the author of all life, peace, and joy. Staying close to Jesus means reading the Bible, developing a strong prayer life, and staying connected to other believers who can bless us and who we can bless in turn. Sounds like a great time for a prayer. Today since we’re so close to New Year’s Day let’s listen to a prayer for blessings to come to us in the new year.
---- Prayer for NEW YEAR’S DAY
VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” Also, we’d to remind listeners that copies of the first part of the the Golden Tree saga, The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest, is available from our website.
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(Bible Quotes from the New International Version)
The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4, verses 8 through 10, New International Version