Jesus has returned from the wilderness... Matthew 4:13-18.

 When we last saw Jesus, He had been taken, by Satan, up onto an exceedingly high mountain.

You might ask yourself, why does this guy get so elaborate?

That is because my understanding of scripture is still, to some degree, segmented and broken. This has much to do with the traditional methods with which I was taught when I was young and the fact that the gospel writers told somewhat similar versions of these narratives but inadvertently changed the order of the details or unwittingly left details out.

Is this segmentation I speak of life-changing?

No, but I have an inquiring mind and need to know, so you are going along on my journey, and I hope my digging for answers answers some of your own questions as well.
Seeing as I cannot simply stay glued to Matthew, we will be bringing in the other gospel writers at times to hopefully fill in the blanks or add color commentary.

Several days into this, my wife reminded me that I have Chronological Bible that might be helpful. I looked at it, and it has already done what I am doing with you all. Sorry, bear with me.

On that note, here is a little about the gospel writer, Mark: We have NO record of him interacting with the disciples or Jesus until Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss on the Mount Of Olives. John Mark is the one writing this gospel. 

Adam Clarke's commentary conveys this about John Mark, “John Mark, ...was the son of a pious woman called Mary, who dwelt at Jerusalem: she was an early believer, and the disciples used to meet at her house. Peter, having been delivered out of prison by an angel, came to the house of Mary, mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying, Act_12:12. This very first mention of John Mark assures us of Peter’s intimacy in that family: it is almost universally allowed that Mark, mentioned by Peter, 1Pe_5:13, is this evangelist, and that he is the same with him who is called sister’s son to Barnabas, Col_4:10, and is supposed to have been converted by Peter to the Christian faith.”

Since John Mark most likely picked Peter's brain, and Peter was “competing” with John, the disciple, for Jesus' attention. I would assume that Peter would have told this family friend and young evangelist everything he could think of.

We will also use bits of Luke's gospel and the Apostle John's.

We cannot assume that Dr. Luke saw any of these events first-hand and, therefore, had to glean as much information as possible from the others.

I might add that the Apostle Paul was also known as the “Pharisee Saul” in his younger days and may have had first-hand information concerning the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. I doubt Brother Paul would have spoken about events like that with any pride.

I am still in my introduction, and since our last look at Jesus showed Satan, tempting Him with all the world's kingdoms. It evokes a question.

What is the highest mountain in Israel?

Mount Hermon, which is on the Northernmost border with Syria and Lebanon. A place where war tensions are mounting. It is also the closest mountain to Capernaum, where Jesus established a base camp, at least for a while.

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
Matthew 4:8 NKJV)

But who are we to limit where Satan would have taken Him.

There is a massive clue that we need to consider: The context of the narrative( that makes up the majority of our biblical readings) is the Holy Land. That knowledge does not limit Satan's actions or methods because there is always God. 

I am implying that this high mountain was within the boundaries of the Holy Land; therefore, I don't have to speculate how he might have taken Jesus to the top of Mt. Everest, even though Satan did show Him all the kingdoms of the world.

I am barely getting started on this portion of the trek through Matthew's gospel. As I compare how others, such as Dr. Luke, give you their understanding of the details, I am immediately aware that the order in which these events happen is different. 

Is that a problem?

Only if you do something as I did, and speculate on how convenient it was for Satan, who has been moving Jesus around, has, according to Matthew's account, left Jesus sitting on a pinnacle of the temple. Putting the discomfort aside, he has placed Jesus, who is starving, in the City of Jerusalem, where there is the potential to obtain something to eat. This doesn't work so well if the last stop is a high mountain.

Today's date is 06/23/23, and yesterday I watched a short video where a police investigator shared how when there are multiple witnesses of the same event, most will see things differently.

Much of how we see things has to do with perspective, and we know that Dr. Luke was not among the group of disciples until the end, at best. Luke, therefore, was working off second-hand information and may have inadvertently changed the order of events, which you can see in Luke chapter four.

I am not telling you these things to diminish your perspective of the gospels but to use your brain and logic and trust the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart as you study.

Having been left, by Satan, on a high peak of the temple or on a high mountain, Jesus, who is literally starving, has migrated back to the area where John the Baptizer was operating. We know this because Jesus made passes by John's location on at least two consecutive days after the wilderness experience. You will not get that information out of Matthew.

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."
John 1:29-34 NKJV)

So much for an introduction. Now onward through the gospel, for the most part.

As you read John's gospel, are you aware that he is sharing information he could only get by being an eyewitness to the event?

This very thing enforces the belief that John was the other disciple that witnessed Jesus being baptized. When John the Baptizer tells us that he witnessed the Holy Spirit descending and remaining on Him, he talks in the past tense. This past tense has an impact on this next piece of information.

“Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "Where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.”
John 1:35-40 NKJV)

Merely saying the words “Again, the next day,” means that Jesus has made it back, at least, to the area where John has been baptizing. It may be that the entirety of this visit is to gather two specific disciples. However, John the Baptist announces to anyone who will hear that Jesus is: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Try to imagine how this statement sounded to the Jews who were merely gawking. Look at this conversation between Issac and Abraham.

“But Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
Genesis 22:7 NKJV)

Isaac knew that they had come to this place to sacrifice, but since lambs were not merely bought in those days, nor were they simply bounding about, waiting to be caught. Something was not right, or Issac was about to be the sacrifice. Abraham responded.

“Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they both went together.”
Genesis 22:8 WEBA)

For years I missed the enormity of this passage. God provided himself as the Lamb. Look at those words from the Baptizer once again; Jesus is: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

So the hostile accusations are made, you put Jesus on that cross, when the reality is that He put Himself on that cross.

What did the writer of the letter to the Hebrews (Jewish believers) say?

“looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2 WEBA)

Jesus comes off the 40 days; what happened next?

He comes back by His cousin.

“The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “Where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.”
John 1:37-40 WEBA)

Andrew went and found Peter. Jesus then found Philip, and Philip found Nathanael.

“On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
John 1:43-45 WEBA)

Notice that John's account doesn't explain the reason for the rapid migration to Galilee, where He found Philip, but Matthew's does.

“Now when Jesus heard that John (the baptizer) was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee.”
Matthew 4:12 WEBA)

Herod took John the Baptizer, Jesus’ cousin, captive. One of the main reasons Herod had this done was because John refused to keep his mouth shut concerning Herod, and he called him out (the half-Jew/Roman tetrarch of Galilee) for his sin of taking his brother’s wife as his own.

I had often wondered why Jesus told so many people to say nothing about whatever miracle He had just performed. This unusual policy rarely stopped people who were previously lame or blind from saying anything. Many have indicated that His admonishment had more to do with staying below the radar of those who might prematurely kill Him.

Consider this. If my pastor, Jack Hibbs, can say, “You are immortal and cannot be killed until it is your time,” how different was my Jesus?

Jesus had this to say to Pilate.

“.... So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
John 19:8-11 ESV)

Mark’s perspective on going to Galilee. 

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,” Mark 1:14 NKJV)

Matthew at least took Him to Nazareth first. Why Nazareth? That was where His mother was.

“And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,” Matthew 4:13 ESV)

We saw Jesus, close to John the Baptizer, before the forty days in the wilderness and after, and though it was a slow start, two of the Baptizer's disciples began to follow after Jesus.

A situation arose that could have shut most people down. Herod took John, Jesus’ cousin, prisoner. This happened for a couple of reasons:

1. God had a course of action that was uncomfortable for us. If you think of this in light of Joseph, who was sold into slavery and then sent to prison when he was innocent, all to get God's people into Egypt – to save their lives during a coming time of starvation.

2. John the Baptizer, having done his job, was now meant to fade away, which appropriately puts the focus on Jesus, the Lamb of God.

We had already seen John the Baptizer south of Jerusalem because there was water available to baptize, and we logically assume this is the region from which John was taken. It is understood that John refused to restrain himself as he called out Herod (the half-Jew/Roman tetrarch of Galilee).

“Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”
Matthew 3:5-6 ESV)

But then there is this.

“John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized.”
John 3:23 ESV)

The Bible maps place this location in Samaria or on the border of Decapolis, about halfway between Jerusalem and Galilee. Walking from the southernmost area near Jerusalem to Nazareth in a day does not seem practical. And then the fact that Herod's rule was in the region of Galilee.

As you can see, not everything is so clear.

Mark's gospel tells us that He came from Nazareth to be baptized by John.

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” Mark 1:9 ESV)

According to Mark's gospel, He has NOT started His public ministry, nor has He begun to gather disciples. Look at this statement from the Apostle John's point of view, and by the way, he was, most likely, one of the disciples that chose to follow Jesus.

“One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
John 1:40-45 ESV)

We have no record of anyone following Jesus in the moments after His baptism, and we have no narrative of anyone attesting to the fact that he merely disappeared as Philip did later on, nor did anyone tell us that He just walked off into the wilderness. If you read the account above, you saw this “One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.””

The speaker, whom we assume is John, the disciple, is telling you what happened, but he does not inform you when it occurred. If this was before the wilderness, it is absurd for Jesus to invite Andrew and Simon to see the rock on which he was laying His head at night. So it is clear that there is a large gap between these moments in time.

John first describes this.

“And John (the Baptizer) bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.” John 1:32-40 ESV)

If John can say “the next day,” as he did, then it is clear that Jesus has returned from the wilderness and that they already saw Him the day before, excluding the baptismal. This scenario seems to be spelled out because “Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).”

With little effort, He already has a small following: Andrew, Simon, John?; Philip; and Nathanael. And He has yet to gather disciples.

“and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES--"THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED." From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." “
Matthew 4:13-17 NASB)

“ From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Repent is the Greek word metanoeō means to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): - repent.

According to Webster's Dictionary, repent means to:

1. To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for something done or spoken; as to repent that we have lost much time in idleness or sensual pleasure; to repent that we have injured or wounded the feelings of a friend. A person repents only of what he himself has done or said.

2. To express sorrow for something past.

Other translations proclaim this statement differently.

- The BBE says, "Let your hearts be turned from sin."

- The CEV, which I am not particularly fond of, conveys that Jesus told His audience to "Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here."

- The Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) tells the reader to do penance.

Penance applies to The suffering, labor, or pain to which a person voluntarily subjects himself or which is imposed on him by authority as a punishment for his faults or as an expression of penitence, such as fasting, flagellation, or wearing chains that injure and, therefore, remind you of your faults and the need for perpetual repentance.

As a side note, the DRB comes off as works and leans toward ancient Roman Catholic methods of bringing about change.

- The ERV states, "Change your hearts and lives because God's kingdom is now very near."

The problem is that none of us can change ourselves. We needed a savior, and He put himself on the cross, suffered, and died because we could not and would not do that.

- The GNB tells us to "Turn away from your sins."

There are some things in your life, like lust, which are so magnetic; the best advice I could give you is to sprint away from those things. 

- The God's Word translation (GW), "Turn to God and change the way you think and act."

This is in opposition to the idea of simply turning away from sin because you have to displace the “sin” with something. The only reasonable thing is God and His Word. If you choose to turn to God, you have to figure out what turning to God means. I can tell you it is not like taking up a new hobby that you do occasionally. If fly fishing was your new hobby, sometimes pulling out the rod to practice casting will not help you much. A few snags later, and you will give it up.

Can you remember the last time you threw your whole heart into something?

The Father longs for you to turn wholeheartedly to Him.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love. Romans 13:8-14.

That’s quite the title considering that Paul is known for preaching grace. As Paul tries to tell us how to follow the law, the “law” and love, at first glance, those two words do not seem to belong together, as the “law” almost always has an oppressive connotation, but then, for some, so does heaven and worship.
Let me explain. When I was younger, growing up in church, and having a very religious mother who used the “law of God” as a threat, to hear her say you have to worship God created imagery were all we would do once we got to heaven, was to sit and cry out, Holy Holy Holy, for the rest of eternity. It did not help that the enemy comes along behind some demand like that and tries to convince you that God is like a twisted dictator that demands worship. As my understanding grew about the Lord, I learned what His nature and character were, and I found myself caught up in “worship” in such a magnificent way that I did not want to leave that place, that moment in time. Unfortunately, many of those moments are within my church body, and, regardless of what I want, they stop the music and tell everybody to shake hands with others, which breaks my heart and the moment. Being caught up in worship is the most wondrous place to be, and all I want to do is to cry out Holy Holy Holy. As I tell my wife on occasion, you made me fall in love with you once again; I feel that way about the Father.

The first verse we cover in this section is Romans 13:8.

Romans 13:8 NLT  Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.

Let's take this apart. The first thing I see could be construed to be a command – a law.

• • “Owe nothing to anyone.”

Alternate versions give us: Stop owing anybody anything; Let no debt remain outstanding; Don't owe anyone anything, and Pay everything you owe.
If I were teaching a financial freedom class, this would lesson number one – get out of debt. But this is NOT just about getting out of debt; this is about stopping the destruction of relationships, including the one you have with the Father.

Why bring our relationship with the Father into this?
Because money has brought more people to destruction than just about anything else, and what do you do when you are evicted from your home? You blame God. No, God does not turn His back on you in moments like this; you turn your back on Him because of your shame.

What else does this verse tell us?

• • “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another.”

The NASB puts it this way: except to love one another. Again I ask, why do the law and love go together? The Apostle Peter had something to say in response to my question. 1 Peter 4:8 NASB

“because love covers a multitude of sins,”

Sin is anything that breaks God's law. The fact that we are breathing attributes to the breaking of the law. How? Simply by being alive, because your very being longs to do its own thing; this concept doesn't seem like such a big deal when you don't have the Holy Spirit in your life, and that's the problem, as the Holy Spirit would be leading you to do what is right. Grasp this; OUR sin put Jesus on that cross. Love, in the flesh, put Himself on that cross; and, at that moment, bore the penalties for OUR sin, and offered us His righteousness instead; and with that act, LOVE covered our sins, not just once as in the sacrifice of a lamb, but in perpetuity.

Almost every translation speaks of Romans 13:8 along the lines of loving your neighbor, and in that you have fulfilled the law, meeting all of its requirements. If we still have a responsibility to maintain the law, as inundating as most see it, then this should be very freeing to most. But, loving your neighbor evokes a question that I have to deal with constantly. How do I love the drug dealer and his hate-filled girlfriend, who has taught her children that my wife, the school librarian, is to be hated and feared, because she, and I, will call the police on them? (We haven't done that, yet.)

Perhaps Paul has an answer for a question like this, as he always does. Once again, I lean on Eugene Peterson's Message.

Romans 13:9 MSG  The law code—don't sleep with another person's spouse, don't take someone's life, don't take what isn't yours, don't always be wanting what you don't have, and any other "don't" you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself.

If I apply this to my neighbor, sleeping with his wife is unthinkable. The neighbor has nothing that I want to take; but then there is this statement “don't always be wanting what you don't have.” This last portion is the world I live in, and I fight it constantly. Every once in a while the truth creeps in and I see it; I have to love myself better. I know, that sounds weird, but the truth of it is, I must see myself the way the Father sees me, and He loves me.

A staunch version of Romans 13:9 comes from the MKJV.

For: "Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust;" and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Let me add, all these things (sins) are easily done in the mind; and, you are still just as responsible for the results, whether you acted out on the thought or not. That piece of information should make you elated that Christ paid the penalty for ALL sin. [Keep in mind that Christ's actions do not relieve you from the legal authorities and the demands of the court.]

Another aspect of Paul's response.

Romans 13:10 NLT  Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

The CEV translation says this:

No one who loves others will harm them. So love is all that the Law demands.

Oversimplified? Perhaps; but what was the jest of those laws, written in stone by God, that Moses carried down from the mountain? TREAT PEOPLE DECENTLY.

Now, it seems that Paul makes a shift in thought.

Romans 13:11 CEV  You know what sort of times we live in, and so you should live properly. It is time to wake up. You know that the day when we will be saved is nearer now than when we first put our faith in the Lord.

I sometimes think, life could not have been more simplified back then; with an outhouse only a short distance away, and a well in the city square from which to get water, life was good. But, just like today, there were thugs and bullies willing to take what is yours and kill you in the process. How did this happen if we all came from the same stock? And, if Noah told his sons about this God that talked with him, wouldn't they have shared that with their children? But if you read your bible, then you know that one of Noah's own sons committed some heinous sexual crime against his father.

When I think about this statement (“You know what sort of times we live in,”) in relation to the world I live in, what has changed?
Modernization has certainly upgraded the weapons thugs and bullies can use against me/us; technology has improved the ability to communicate to others the gathering points for mass attacks; and people, like George Soros, are willing to fund brutal and coordinated attacks on the unwary populace. In short, the world has gone mad.

Could the general population have felt the same emotion in Paul's day? Maybe.

What does Paul tell us to do, and consider this answer in light of what verse 10 says?

“Love never does anything that is harmful to its neighbor,”(ISV)

Never intentionally do anything harmful to your neighbor. Paul tells us:

“It is time to wake up.”

Paul, then says something unusual – it is only unusual because the church has been in existence for over 2000 years, and yet, even then, there was an anticipation, and an understanding, of the events that would precede and announce the coming of the Lord.

“You know that the day when we will be saved is nearer now than when we first put our faith in the Lord.” (CEV)

One of the ways of interpreting this sentence would be to take it on a daily basis; that idea works, but clearly, some aspect of understanding is missing. Having been berated by a friend and a pastor, I know that NOT everyone is willing to even come close to making an effort to understand the end times and the events that move God's plan forward.

An alternate way to interpret what Paul is saying is to look at the context. The context has everything to do with the day in which we will be saved.

Hebrews 10:25 GW  We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming.

Hebrews 10:37 GW  "Yet, the one who is coming will come soon. He will not delay.

Obviously, Paul and the early church anticipated His soon return. But which return are we, the church, looking for?

Paul again writes.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 GW  The Lord will come from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the dead who believed in Christ will come back to life.  (17)  Then, together with them, we who are still alive will be taken in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. In this way, we will always be with the Lord.  (18)  So then, comfort each other with these words!

We will be caught up to meet him in the air. This is not on the ground as the prophet Zechariah describes; these are two separate events.

Zechariah 14:4 GW  On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives will be split in two, forming a very large valley from east to west. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half will move toward the south.

If we can understand that we are to be looking for His soon return for the church, then how are we to live?

Romans 13:12 NASB The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

The NLT conveys this: “The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here.”
Night can, and should only be, interpreted as everything less than the glory of living with the Father - in our changed bodies. This understanding is why I gave you passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. Since we know that the day of salvation will soon be here, then we need to lay aside the deeds of darkness, and, put on the armor of light.

What of this darkness and the deeds Paul speaks of?

John 3:19-21 NASB "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. (20) "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (21) "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

I might think that these deeds are anything that would drive you toward the darkness.

The word deeds is the Greek word ergon and can also mean acts or toil. Obviously, the acts or toil are for NO good purpose. When I look up the word exposed, I find the Greek word elegchō. Elegchō is of uncertain affinity and also means to confute, admonish: - convict, rebuke, reprove. Confute means to prove to be wrong; to convict of error.

The dark things that Paul talks about in Ephesians 5 when he speaks of how it is disgraceful to speak of those things are nothing new. Israel reverted back to their disgraceful ways when they camped at Mount Sinai. (Read Stephen's discourse, in Acts 7, in your spare time.)

Ephesians 5:11-12 NASB Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; (12) for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

Keep in mind, that as a follower of Christ, you have been redeemed and made new, however, it is only the union between you and the Holy Spirit of God, that keeps you from returning to your completely deprived state.

1 Thessalonians 5:5 NASB for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;

As I read my bible one theme stands out over the others, and that is that we are called to live in enthusiastic awareness, but of what?

Romans 13:13-14 NLT  Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

• “Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see.”
• “Don't participate in the darkness” – (or anything that darkness includes.)
• (Instead,) clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• “And don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.”

Live with eager excitement, as you long for the day that Jesus will return for His church. This is what he told the disciples, with the addendum, I am telling you the truth; after that, God's wrath will be poured out over the earth. An acquaintance of mine, as well as others, believe that we are in those seven years now. If that was the case, then God would still be holding US accountable for sin. The logic only works if you disregard Jesus' work on the cross. Because of the cross, sin was paid for, so that we do not have to pay with our lives.

Romans 6:9-11 NLT  We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:19-21 NLT  For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,  and through him, God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.

I focused, for a second, on Romans 13:13-14, where it says, “And don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.” Why would Paul have to mention such a thing?

The best way of thinking this through is to understand that each of us was born broken (you can thank Adam for that.) That brokenness is the basis for sin, and sin, in its refined state, is desire. So, there you have it; you have an innate and perpetual desire to do what you want. For some, that means theft, while for others, it means murder. Let's just say, you haven't done those things, and your desire is to merely fret over the fact that you don't have an RV like your neighbor – that you have come to despise because they have and you don't. If you thought it, you have done it, and that makes you a sinner. Now I am sure you are smart enough to have figured this all out, but some of us clearly have not. Some, foolishly believe that migrating over to Christianity totally frees you from your lust, filled desires, but it does not.

If you think that life is all rainbows and sunshine and that humanity can be completely free of God and live like civilized people, you are wrong because we are oriented, by our brokenness to do anything but love. All you have to do is to exam the story from Genesis chapter six – the section that contains the events that lead to the flood, and the destruction of “all” flesh; there you will find that humanity and their understanding of God came almost exclusively through word of mouth. Many, so-called Christians, love to fight about every point, so let's fight about this word of mouth idea.

After the garden incident, how many times do you see God speaking to “his” people?
Just about zero times. Surely, God spoke with Enoch, but people who choose to listen to God are always rare. Why do you suppose that is? If you have followed the ancestral lineage through to Noah, haven't you wonder what happened to Enoch's brothers and sisters? How about Methuselah, he too had brothers and sisters, and yet, like Noah, NONE of them got on the ark. It is very obvious that there was only a thread of people - Noah's family, and Noah specifically, that paid any attention to the voice of the Lord.

Genesis 6:5 NLT  The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.

Can I understand that everything was polluted, especially when there were men like Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah?
Percentages were less than 100%, and as in the story of Lot, it was enough for God to assert that the entirety of the population was polluted. Now there is an interesting word polluted. When we see such terminology, we think about places like “cancer alley” that runs along the length of the Mississippi River and empties out into the Louisiana bayous, or the power plants of Chernobyl and most recently Fukushima. You get the idea. While even back then, in Noah's time, there had to be some form of pollution, but it was nothing like today. And so, we are not talking about humanity's physical destruction of the earth, and therefore have to be talking about something even greater, something that affects the moral fiber of mankind.

Genesis 6:11-13 KJV  The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.  And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

The Hebrew word for corrupt is šāḥaṯ and means spoiled, ruined, and perverted.
That destructive force reared its ugly head when we read, “the sons of God, looked on the daughters of men.” Sons of God is the Hebrew words bēn elohim. “bēn” pronounced ba'ne is found over 5000 times in scripture and carries the most basic meaning and general translation of son - the direct male offspring of human parents, it is more generally a relational term because of its variety of applications. This word can express an adopted child.

While this information, obtained from the Word Study Dictionary, seems to prove the point of those unwilling to pursue answers, it opens the door to more questions, because of Job 2:1.

Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. (NASB)

If God can use the term in Job to refer to a fallen angel, Satan, then who are these sons we see here I Genesis 6?

I do not want to end here, focused on a broken, fallen world, not when Jesus has redeemed us all. Focus on this: If you want to lose sleep over something, make it this, how can I clothe myself in the presence of the Lord.