Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the hand of YAHWEH is not shortened from saving, nor is His ear heavy from hearing.  2 But your iniquities are separating between you and your Elohim; and your sins have hidden His face from you, from hearing. (HRB)

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God came looking for them.  But because they were aware of their wickedness in disobeying Him, they hid.  God made provisions from the foundation of the world to cover man’s wickedness, as the Scriptures teach that Jesus is the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world.  God came to seek and to save Adam and Eve in the Garden.  Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.  God does not look on wickedness, but God seeks to cover the wickedness of man so that He can behold those who come to Him through Jesus with the love with which He created us.  Coming to Jesus does not make us immediately perfect.  Sin brought death into the world, but that death didn’t come immediately, but Adam and Eve lived many years and had children.  Though death was promised, it didn’t come immediately.  Though perfection is promised, it doesn’t necessarily come immediately.  What does come immediately is that our imperfections are covered by the blood of Christ, that our Father Who loves us can look upon us and promise us that we can have an everlasting home with Him, where we will have new bodies that will serve Him without sin.

My other recent readings recounted Jesus childhood and youth.  There are those who tell fanciful tales of writings (some of which I’ve read) that recount how Jesus as a child performed miracles (such as turning a wood carving of a bird into a living bird that flew around).  Such tales are not recorded in the Scriptures.  If such fanciful tales as this were true, Jesus would have been a sensation that would have brought many to Him, He would have been venerated from His childhood and His later miracles as an adult would have been nothing more or less than people would have been expecting.  Also there are tales of Him doing much traveling and teaching in foreign lands before His public ministry which do not seem in any way in accord with the Scriptures as I can read them.  When He went to His first Passover, there is no record that He amazed the people there with a miracle, but did with His understanding of God’s Word.  Afterwards, the Scriptures teach that He returned to Nazareth and was subject to His parents and progressed in wisdom and stature and favor before God and men.

Luke 2:49 And He said to them, Why did you look for me?  Did you not know that I must be busy in the affairs of My Father?  50 And they did not understand the word which He spoke to them.  51 And He went with them and came to Nazareth and was being subject to them. And His mother carefully kept all these words in her heart.  52 And Yahshua progressed in wisdom and stature and favor before YAHWEH and men. (1 Sam. 2:26) (HRB)

It would certainly appear that His fellow citizens recognized His growth and after His baptism and temptation He returned to a people who knew Him as a respected fellow citizen that was accustomed to attending the synagogue, and was well enough known that they didn’t object to His standing to teach before the synagogue.  He must have grown up among these people to have been so well known and respected among them- at least until His ministry revealed Himself to be Who He truly was.

Luke 4:1 And full of the Holy Spirit, Yahshua returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 forty days being tempted by the Devil. …

Luke 4:5 And leading Him up into a high mountain, Satan showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  6 And the Devil said to Him, I will give all this authority and their glory to You, because it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  7 Then if You worship before me, all will be Yours.

8 And answering, to him, Yahshua said, Go behind Me, Satan!  For it has been written: You shall worship YAHWEH your Elohim, and Him only you shall serve. (Deut. 6:13)

Luke 4:13 And when the accuser had finished all his temptations, he departed from His presence for a while.  14 And Yahshua returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee.  And a report went out through the entire neighborhood about Him.  15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  16 And He came to Nazareth where He was brought up.  And as was His custom, He went in on the day of the Sabbath, into the synagogue, and He stood up to read. (HRB)

Notice that after His temptation, which was immediately after His baptism, He came to Nazareth “where He was brought up.”  On the Sabbath He went to the synagogue “as was His custom.”  Woe to people who love to listen to fanciful tales about Jesus childhood and early foreign travels.  I choose to adhere to the Scriptural account.  Satan wants to cause people to see things that aren’t really there.

I included the portion of my readings where Satan offered to Jesus authority over the kingdom of this world.  How could it possibly be a ‘real temptation’ to Jesus, if Jesus didn’t recognize the authority Satan had over this world?  Satan’s authority came because Adam and Eve chose to listen to Satan in the Garden of Eden, rather than to obey the command of God.  Was not Adam and Eve given dominion over this world by God with the requirement not to eat of a certain tree?  So man could give that dominion away by choosing to listen to Satan rather than God.  But God will ultimately rule when Satan is bound and cast into the pit.  Still, the Scriptures teach that Satan tempted Jesus, and someone can’t be tempted by something that isn’t there.  If Jesus didn’t recognize Satan’s authority, then it wouldn’t have been a temptation to Him.