The Year of our Lord, Jesus Christ
Matthew 4:10
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
The third temptation of Christ was in the area of covetousness. The tempter showed Him the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. Then said…All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me. The cost of obtaining all that the world had to offer was a simple act of worship given to the tempter. This is the tempter’s great desire, to be worshiped. Many have succumbed to this sin of false worship to the point wherein they cease from being content to worship the tempter, they themselves desire to be worshiped.
Isaiah of old warned us of the tempter’s desire for worship: How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Isaiah 14:12-14 This is his desire, worship. Not only worship, but the worship that rightly belongs to Almighty God.
Jesus knew what was happening. He knew that which He was being offered. He also knew that through this one act of wrong worship that the human race would be forever spun into a future too ghastly to even communicate. For the Lord knew the terrors of the place called the “Lake of Fire.” He knew that He did not come to earth to obtain all of its riches, kingdoms, and glory. He came to rescue those who could not rescue themselves from the horrible place of eternal torments where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:44, 46,48).
He is our hero. He did not forgo His service to others for personal gain. He had a greater job to do than become ruler of the world. He became the Savior of the world. Yes, yes, one day He will be ruler, but thanks be to God that before taking upon himself the role of David the King, He took upon Himself the role of Joseph the Savior.
He withstood temptation in His day, and you can withstand temptation in your day. Remember, the temptation is not sin, yielding to temptation is sin.
Until Next Time,
William T. Howe, Ph.D.