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January 25, 2022

William T. Howe Ph.D.

The Year of our Lord, Jesus Christ


Matthew 4:7

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.


Having failed in the area of temptation for physical food, the tempter turned to pride. He said: If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. This is the second time the evil one said If thou be the Son of God. The attempt was to wear the Lord down thereby making Him make a mistake and sin against His Father in Heaven. If this had been accomplished, Jesus would not have been the suitable sacrifice for fallen man. He would not have been the perfect Lamb of God. He would not have been sinless, perfectly Holy, and all together righteous. Therefore, God’s plan for the salvation of fallen sinners would have been spoiled. There would be no hope for redemption.


But, again, our Hero, our Saviour, our Sacrifice, our perfect Lamb of God prevailed against temptation. The tempter tried to use an old ploy that for a certainty has worked billions of times. He unjustly used the Word of God. He quoted Psalm 91:11 & 12 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. This is a favorite strategy of the tempter. The misuse of this portion of Scripture can be clearly seen for what it was. It was an attempt in pride.


Consider an example. Mark 16:18 states about the believers in Christ: They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them… Does that mean that a believer should prove this truth by drinking Drano? No, a thousand times no. But if an enemy should lace a believer’s food with Drano the Lord God can eliminate the harmful results of such an attack. To make God the Father prove Himself in this manner would tempt Him with pride. His children should not tempt their Lord God. This is a violation of Scripture.


Would the angels protect Jesus? Yes. Should He have tempted God to make them do so? No. That would have been an action laced with pride, and pride is a sin in which Jesus could not, and did not, participate in. Yes, make no doubt He is the Hero of our Faith!


Until Next Time,


William T. Howe, Ph.D.

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