We noted previously that the Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness following his baptism to be tempted of the devil for forty days. The devil first tempted Christ to turn stone into bread to satisfy his hunger. This seemed a reasonable suggestion since Christ was the Son of God and had the power to do so. (Most temptations are “reasonable” suggestions!) Jesus denied himself that prerogative choosing to trust instead in his heavenly Father to meet that need.
The devil’s first temptation failed, so he moved on to a different approach. “And the devil, taking him [Jesus] up into a high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, all this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine” (Luke 4:5-7). He sought to entice Jesus to worship him (instead of God) by offering him the kingdoms of the world.
In the first place, the kingdoms of the world were not Satan’s to offer. He lied about this, but then the devil is the father of lies. Jesus knew this. He declared of Satan that “there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). More importantly, the Scriptures remind us that it is God that “removeth kings, and setteth up kings” (Daniel 2:21) and that “the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will” (Daniel 4:17).
Satan knew that Jesus had been sent by the Father for the express purpose of settling the debt of our sin. On the cross of Calvary, he would suffer the wrath of God that belongs to us and through his shed blood pay the price of redemption that we could not pay. Christ, indeed, would rule the world according to God’s plan, but first he must endure the cross. Jesus, having become “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross…God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess the Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:8-11).
Satan wanted Jesus to depart from the Father’s plan and by-pass the cross. This Christ would not and could not do. Jesus again showed that the way to overcome temptation is through the word of God. He responded to Satan’s invitation by quoting from the Old Testament “it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Luke 4:8).
The temptation to sin though rooted in falsehood always seems reasonable. But sin always promises more than it gives, takes you farther than you want to go, keeps you longer than you want to stay, and costs you more than you are willing to pay. James warns us that “every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14-15). God’s word delivers from sin. Trust it and walk in it.
From the Chaplain 