Author Stephanie Daniels

The Heart of the Matter: Observations from Christ’s Temptation in the Wilderness–Kingdoms

by | Dec 14, 2023 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Forgive me for the delay between posts. December is always a very busy month. On top of regular activities, we’ve had sickness visit our house, which God has allowed me to dodge. Thank you, Lord.

In the last post, I mentioned how Satan keeps tempting us with things he’s tried before and refusing doesn’t guarantee a reprieve. But we have the same Holy Spirit power to say no that Jesus did.

Today, I want to visit the second temptation as recorded in Luke 4:6-7. The gospel of Matthew reverses the second and third temptation, but the order doesn’t make a difference as far as application goes. The devil tells Jesus that He can have all the kingdoms of the world.

This got me thinking…why would this be a temptation for Jesus? Granted, God has given the devil dominion over the earth. But everything still belongs to Him. The devil only has power over them for a period of time. Basically until God says enough. So the kingdoms already belong to Jesus. Why would the devil think this would be a temptation to Him? It could be testing Jesus’s pride. And I’m sure that comes to play here. But then I started to dwell on what those kingdoms represent. What is in every kingdom on earth?

People. Sinners. Us. And that thought brings me to tears. Because the devil will always go after the thing dearest to our hearts. What is the dearest thing to Christ’s heart? The people He came to save. The people He would in a few years die on a cross for. It appears the devil is trying to make a deal with Jesus. “Here you go, take them all. I’ll give them to you. No crucifixion. No pain. You can have them all without ever having to endure all that.” Would that tug at Christ’s heart? Oh, I think it would. Because Jesus knew His future. He knew what His body would have to endure. And forty days of fasting in the wilderness was likely an acute reminder that this flesh is weak and vulnerable.

Of course, the devil wasn’t going to give it to Him that easily. Because in the next verse he says that conditional word: if. There’s always a price to pay. Satan doesn’t give us anything for free. Unlike our Lord, who requires nothing of us, the prince of this world always wants payment in some form or another.

I love how Jesus answers Him though. “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Jesus reminds the devil of his place. Lucifer wants to be just like God. But he can only imitate. And he will never have Christ’s power. He can only pretend. Our Lord then uses more Scripture to refute the devil. That thing closest to our heart? Have we put it before God? Have we made it a god in our life? Are we willing to pay any price to have it, pursue it, achieve it? That’s a clue that God is not the One we are serving. Beware the easy way. Unless it’s the path God has prepared, it’s likely going to take us on a road far away from Him.

If God expects to be the One we worship before all others, then He will make it possible for us to achieve that. But it might mean saying no to the thing we think we most want. If it means following after the devil and his promises, that’s not worth the price. Don’t fall for Satan’s deception. Put God first. Keep Him first. And remember that Jesus paid a price for us. Not the other way around.

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