In Jesus' testing in the desert, evil is personified in the devil. One ancient name for the devil is Beelzebub which means "Lord of the flies." This is an apt metaphor: Not only do flies gather around refuse and dung, but flies are persistent and irritating. Wave a fly away and it comes back again and again.

Jesus' third test begins with the word "again" (Matthew 4:8). The flies just keep buzzing. Temptation does not take a holiday. It is like a constant, dull background buzz. It increases in intensity. The more we resist it, the greater the pressure to give in. We must remain ever alert to its reality in order that we are not lulled into a false sense of security. The scriptural warning is clear: "If you think you stand, take heed, lest you fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12). Christ's admonition to us is this: "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation; for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). Standing guard over our hearts is essential to "fighting the good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 1:18; 6:12; cf. 2 Timothy 4:7). Walking by faith necessarily involves fighting against powers of evil - both without and within - and striving to be virtuous.

The Third Test

Jesus' third test is the most challenging test yet. Each test increases in intensity. In the first test, the tempter feigns sympathy for Jesus in his hunger. He says, "You look famished. Use your messianic powers for personal gain by turning the stones into bread." In the second test, the tempter pretends to want to help the Lord's mission. He says, "Jump from the pinnacle of the temple. Prove your faith. Prove you are the Messiah. For if you truly trust God, nothing bad can happen." In the third and final test the devil casts off all pretence and comes as the "prince of this world." His intentions are no longer concealed. His subtle and crafty cleverness is put aside. He chooses to display the raw power that he wields. He clearly states his desire: "Bow down and worship me."

The intensity of the third test is great. It takes place on "a very high mountain" as Jesus is overwhelmed with the sight of "all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor." With this fantastic image filling Jesus' vision, the tempter states, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

The first question that comes to mind is this: Is this a true offer? Whose kingdoms are these to give? Can the devil legitimately offer the kingdoms of the world to Jesus?

The consistent testimony of sacred scripture is that "the earth is the Lord's and all it contains" (Psalm 24:1). "The Lord's kingdom rules over all" and "is an everlasting kingdom that endures throughout all generations" (Ps 103:19; 145:13a). Because of this - and the fact that the devil is a liar who works through deception - many interpreters conclude that the devil's offer is bogus. They interpret his statement as a crass lie, an empty boast, a hollow gesture. If they are right - if it is true that the kingdoms of the earth are not the devil's to offer -then the third test is the easiest one yet.

But there is more going on here. This is not the easiest but the most intense test so far - the climax of the devil's tests.

The Power and Glory of the Kingdoms of This World

There is a sense in which the devil's offer is a true and legitimate offer. God may be the creator of all, so that all the earth and all its inhabitants ultimately exist because of God's good pleasure, but that does not mean that all the earth and its inhabitants willingly desire to honor God. Clearly, the kingdoms of this world - even the best of them - do not completely operate according to the divine will. They are all severely and fundamentally flawed - compromised by sin and injustice. Diogenes Allen explains,

We can begin to understand Satan's claim by recalling how nations usually operate. Nations or kingdoms customarily act out of self-interest; they fear other nations and are on their guard against them. They often assert their power to protect themselves or conquer others. Nations love glory--they parade their history and their exploits before their citizens to win allegiance and devotion. Who wants to be devoted to a loser? So nations usually try to come out on top and keep others in check, either by sheer strength, or if they are small, by making alliances with greater powers.[1]

The power and glory of the kingdoms of this world are secured and maintained by force in the name of self-interest. This is true for all nations, not just our own. Certainly,

Many of us want our nation to operate on the basis of justice, respect for others, and good will, and not on a basis of sheer self-interest and the pursuit of glory, as did nearly all empires of the past... So often our best intentions must, we believe, give way to realism because other nations ruthlessly pursue their interest at our expense. It is a realm of power or might where frequently, when a decision must be made, idealism and moral virtues get crowded out by necessity.[2]

This is not only true for all nations, but it is true for all forms of government. In the book Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar... Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, authors Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein write,

Perhaps you're asking yourself, "What exactly is the difference between capitalism and communism." Perhaps not. In any case, it's really quite simple. Under capitalism, man exploits his fellow man. Under communism, the opposite is true.[3]

Try as we might, political systems alone do not change human hearts. Even the best forms of government are compromised by the failures of those who govern. Winston Churchill put it well, "Democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

The peace and prosperity of the kingdoms of this world are secured and maintained through a combination of military, political, and economic force. People generally focus solely on military force, but militaries are driven by political and economic forces. And even so-called peaceful political processes possess their own share of violence. For example, our system of democracy is a means through which one can exert his or her political will against others through the force or violence of a vote. Through our vote, we seek to bend other's will to our own. As Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon have noted, "Democracy is an attempt to get around the necessity for a hierarchy of virtue by majority vote."[4]

We seek to bend others wills through force because the exertion of force works. It is possible to subordinate others to one's will through force. And one's willingness to do so is heightened when one believes that good will come from it. It is relatively easy to justify questionable means in the name of our brand of "justice." Why? Because the end we desire is good and just.

This is the essence of the devil's temptation. He invites Jesus to secure the cooperation of the nations through the tried and true way of political force. To use questionable means - the ways of the world - for good ends. To gain the world, but lose his soul.

And the force of the temptation - its main allure to Jesus - was the success possible through such a venture. The world has been changed by force with good consequences. Three hundred years before Jesus, Alexander the Great had conquered the world, unifying the nations through Greek culture, common roadways and a common language. A little less than two hundred years before Jesus, Israel had achieved independence through guerrilla warfare tactics under the leadership of Judas Maccabaeus and his family.

A Touch of Hate

The essence of the devil's temptation can be summarized in the words of Simon the Zealot in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. In the song, a mass of crowds sing of their devotion toward Jesus and commitment to his mission:

Christ you know I love you.
Did you see I waved?
I believe in you and God,
So tell me that I'm saved.
Jesus I am with you.
Touch me, touch me, Jesus.
Jesus I am on your side.
Kiss me, kiss me, Jesus.

Then one of Jesus' disciples, Simon the Zealot, attempts to get Jesus to take advantage of his power and popularity. He sings,

Christ, what more do you need to convince you
That you've made it, and you're easily as strong
As the filth from Rome who rape our country,
And who've terrorized our people for so long.

Simon says, "Jesus, they love you. They accept you. You just need to make one minor modification if you are going to be successful."

There must be over fifty thousand
Screaming love and more for you.
And everyone of fifty thousand
Would do whatever you asked them to.
Keep them yelling their devotion,
But add a touch of hate at Rome.
You will rise to a greater power.
We will win ourselves a home.
You'll get the power and the glory
For ever and ever and ever

Do you hear the voice of the tempter working through Simon? "Add a touch of hate at Rome" is the equivalent to the devil's "Bow down to me." And what will happen? "You will rise to a greater power.

Jesus responds to Simon with a mixture of great anguish and anger:

Neither you Simon, nor the fifty thousand
Nor the Romans, nor the Jews
Nor Judas, nor the twelve
Nor the priests, nor the scribes
Nor doomed Jerusalem itself
Understand what power is
Understand what glory is
Understand at all
Understand at all

Blinded by the power and glory of this world, we are unable to recognize true power and glory.

Away With You!

The temptation surfaces again in Matthew 16:13-23. Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" The disciples offer a variety of answers. Then Jesus makes it personal: "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter says, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." To which Jesus replies, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."

At this key juncture Jesus reveals for the first time that his way of kingdom living will inevitably lead to a cross: "From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." And it is here that the devil shows up again, this time, speaking through Peter:

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." But Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." (Matthew 16:22-23)

Peter is offended by the cross. He cannot see it as the way of power and glory. His understand of power and glory aligns with the ways of the kingdoms of this world, not with the way of the kingdom of God.

But Jesus will establish the kingdom of God through self-giving love, not through self-interested power. He refuses to carry out his divine mission according to principles of this world - which is a commentary on the revolutionary movements of his day (and many in our own). Jesus refuses to compromise with the evil powers of this world to inaugurate or sustain his kingdom. It is not the kingdom of men, but the kingdom of God Jesus serves. He has only one response, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

In short, he refuses to capitulate to idolatry. He will live as the truly faithful one who consistently lives according to God's kingdom principles. He will establish his kingdom, not through the force of military, political, economic, or even religious power, but through the power of love.

He will give himself for the life of others. We celebrate this in communion when we partake of the body and blood of Christ. We recognize that alongside the kingdoms of this world, a new kingdom has arisen - a kingdom not established or sustained by violence and force, but rather, a kingdom established and sustained by the self-giving, sacrificial, non-violent love of God in Christ.

We are invited to find our primary sense of identity - our citizenship - in this kingdom. Jesus calls us to walk in the way of the kingdom of God even in the midst of this fallen world. Immediately after rebuking Peter in Matthew 16, Jesus then addresses his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but lose their soul?"

Jesus chose to pit the power of love against the lover of power. This is the power we confess to be true, good, and beautiful. This is the power we confess every time we conclude the Lord's Prayer with "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever."

© Richard J. Vincent, 2010

There is no testimony without a test. Through trials and temptations in the desert places of our lives, our faith is tested. A test proves whether our faith is genuine or spurious. Through tests our faith is either purified and strengthened or destroyed and abandoned.

Immediately following his baptism, "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert in order to be tempted by devil" (Matthew 4:1). He fasted for forty days. The tempter approached Jesus with the first temptation - a temptation that, on the surface, seems rather benign: "The tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread'" (Matthew 4:3).

What could be so wrong with a hungry man turning stones into bread? What's more right and proper than that an exhausted hungry man should eat? The suggestion does not appear self-indulgent. The temptation is not to turn stones into steak and ale but to merely provide the most meager provision for a famished man.

The temptation may initially appear relatively harmless, but upon reflection, it proves to be a radical compromise of God's will. If Jesus would have turned the stones into bread he would have (1) used his messianic powers for his own purposes, (2) failed to fully identify with the human experience, and (3) failed to trust God to provide in the desert.

Distorting Jesus' Mission

Turning stones into bread would have involved using Jesus' messianic powers for his own purposes. Jesus was annointed and empowered by the Spirit at his baptism for his messianic mission. His powers were given to him for the good of others. He was God's servant: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life  ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).

If the tempter had merely suggested that it would be a good thing for Jesus to eat there would have been nothing evil in his suggestion. Instead, the tempter urges Jesus to us his messianic powers to remove his hunger. But this is not the purpose of his power.

In all four gospels, Jesus' miraculous powers - which serve as signs of God's coming kingdom - are only used during the three years of his public ministry. In one instance, you may recall, he does use his messianic powers to perform a food miracle - multiplying the loaves and fishes - but he does it, not for his own sake, but for the welfare of the famished people who have spent long hours listening to his preaching and teaching.

Jesus uses his powers for the welfare of others, but not for his own. In the final week of his life - Passion Week - Jesus refuses to use his messianic powers to eliminate or reduce his suffering. No miracles occur on the road to the cross or upon the cross. Though Jesus could have used his powers to save himself, he refused to do so. His suffering was not alleviated by miraculous powers.

Jesus refused to abuse his power by using it to his own advantage. We can learn from Jesus' example. We also have been given a measure of God's Spirit. Every member of the body of Christ possesses a spiritual gift - given not for our own selfish ends, but for the common good: "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:7).

This is especially important for leaders to remember. What Father Gerald Vann writes about his own church - the Catholic church - applies to all religious leaders:  

Those of us who are priests, for instance, are given power, authority, and influence in order to serve souls; but we can be tempted to abuse these things and pervert God's order by turning them to our own advantage, our own desire for self-aggrandizement of one sort or another. Instead of being true priests, we can degenerate into money-grubbers or petty tyrants, careerists or snobs.[1]

We must never forget the great temptation to abuse positions of power. People "can be led to seek for power and office in order to minister to their own pride and selfishness and self-esteem."[2]

But we have to remember, too, how easy it is for us to deceive ourselves, to rationalize, and to find respectable or even noble reasons for making what is, in fact, a purely selfish use of the good things God has given us. We delude ourselves into thinking that ambition or the lust for power are really zeal for God's house or enthusiasm for an ideal or a loving concern to better the lot of our fellowmen.[3]

Tragically, "we are capable of transforming even the most selfishly motivated action into an act of sacrificial altruism in our own minds."[4] We can easily become "religious tyrants" by advancing our own agendas with zealous religious language. Only when we are willing to admit the persistent possibility of ungodly motivations are we able to combat and correct them. Sadly, "because ambition is easily disguised in Christian circles and couched in spiritual language (the need to fulfill the Great Commission and expand the church), the dysfunctions that drive Christian leaders often go undetected and unchallenged until it is too late."[5]

Father Vann notes that this distortion can also occur in the household. In the name of service, parents can force children to serve their own selfish ends. In the name of love, possessive mothers may seek to keep their children tied to their apron strings and domineering fathers may turn power into tyranny.

This leads to the second thing wrong with the tempter's suggestion. If Jesus had changed the stones into bread, he would have failed to completely identify with humankind. We do not possess special powers to allow us to make food appear from nowhere or to alleviate suffering for ourselves. Jesus would have completely disassociated himself from the human family had he used his powers for his own purposes whenever he was inconvenienced or uncomfortable. How could he identify with us if, like a magician, he provided for his every need whenever he felt like it? A self-serving wonder worker, flexing his power for his own ends, would not be fully human.

Finally, if Jesus had changed the stones into bread he would have proved that he believed God cannot be trusted. Jesus' response to the tempter - a quotation from Deuteronomy 8 - helps us put his temptation into context. In Deuteronomy 8, the people of Israel had been hungry just like Jesus, and God sent them manna to eat. Allowing God's people to hunger in the desert was part of God's test to determine whether they trusted God to provide or not:

Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)

The hunger they experienced for the moment was part of the journey to lead them to a greater place - a land flowing with milk and honey (Deuteronomy 8:7-9). Israel had to learn to trust God in times of abundance and times of want. Like Israel before him, Jesus chose to trust that, even though he was hungry, God would provide in the desert. He trusted God and passed the test of faith.

The Heart of the First Test

There is a sinister suggestion at the heart of the first temptation. Not only did the tempter seek to influence Jesus to abuse his power, he sought to do it by urging Jesus to place the satisfication of his personal needs and desires over and above his commitment to do the will of God. If Jesus had given into the adversary's temptation, he would have - like Adam and Eve in the Garden - embraced "the arrogant assumption that the satisfaction of one's own needs, desires, and ambitions is more important than doing the will of God."[6]

This temptation is not nearly as benign as it initially seems. The tempter desires no less than that Jesus seek his own desires above God's will. He seeks to influence Jesus to place the immediate above the ultimate - to sacrifice his ultimate commitment to God for the sake of immediate gratification. The temptation is to allow immediate desires to overshadow ultimate concerns - to allow fidelity to God to fade into the background because of the pressing needs of the moment.

Jesus was challenged to raise his needs and passions above God's will. Instead, he chose to subject his desires to God's will - even if it meant suffering. Jesus believed it was better to suffer loss than to sin. He understood that in order to do the will of God, one must learn to deny self for we cannot give ourselves to one another - much less God! - if our personal desires take precedence over everything else.

Jesus demonstrates his commitment to God's will above all else when, at the cross, the tempter whispers through the people, "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Save yourself" (Matthew 27:40). By refusing to come down - even though it was in his power to do so - Jesus chooses to suffer rather than sin. Jesus chooses the will of God regardless of where it leads.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of Jesus' example in a culture of immediate gratification. Sometimes the easier path is not the better path. We are called to follow the road less traveled, to walk the narrow way, the way of Christ - the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. The one who would rather suffer personal loss than sin against God's will.

There are many legitimate things we naturally desire: affection, security, and sustanence among them. These are all important, but they are not ultimate. There is a reason that "Thy will be done" is prayed before "Give us this day our daily bread." Whether we have bread or not, God's will remains the priority. Our faithfulness should not be contingent upon God's provision. We need bread to live, but we do not live by bread alone.

Why Bread Alone is Not Enough

Bread is important, but it is not the most important thing in life. There is more to life than food. Just a few chapters later, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches,

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:31-33).

Life is hardly worth living if life is reduced to what we eat or drink. A full stomach is not a sign of spiritual fullness. We are more than material beings; we are spiritual beings. We hunger for more than bread. We hunger after meaning, purpose, and value. We hunger after God.

This is why, as tempting as it is, we dare not reduce the church's work to merely providing social services. Henri Nouwen calls this "the temptation to be relevant." "This is the temptation to be relevant, to do something that is needed and can be appreciated by people--to make productivity the basis of our ministry."[7]

How often have we heard these words: "What is the value of talking about God to hungry people? What is the use of proclaiming the Good News to people who lack food, shelter, or clothing? What is needed are people who can offer real help and support. Doctors can heal, lawyers can defend, bankers can finance, social workers can restructure. But what can you do? What do you have to offer?"

This is the tempter speaking![8]

We do have something to offer that no social agency can. We offer the "bread of life," the "word of God."

The old adage, "Don't preach to a starving person" is as true as ever, but we must offer more than bread alone. "Jesus did not deny the importance of bread but rather relativized it in comparison with the nurturing power of the Word of God."[9] It's not just "bread alone" but "bread and the Word of God" that people need. "Bread is given to us by God so that we will entrust ourselves completely to God's word."[10]

While not undermining the need for social work, we must never allow this to overshadow the church's call to witness to what is most important - the word of God. Jesus - the Word of God made flesh - gives us "the bread of life" through his own self-sacrifice. We must not allow the things of God to fade into unreality, to become options that no one really needs, by focusing exclusively on the present. Giving bread matters, but offering the bread of life matters most. Social work without a call to fidelity to God reduces those we help to eating, breeding, and meeting machines rather than ennobling them as image bearers of the living God.

Conclusion

Clearly, the first temptation is not as harmless as it initially appears. Jesus responded to the tempter's subtle influence with "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). We must not forget this or we will impoverish ourselves. "It is not enough just to say that man does not live by bread alone: we need the strong faith that will convince us, in mind and in heart, that the saying is true."[11]

Our greatest need is not bread - as important as bread is - but God. The adversary's temptation lives on. There are plenty of immediate needs to keep us from our ultimate need - the one thing necessary. Too often, our needs and desires drive our faith, rather than our faith forming our needs and desires.

Jesus' greatest desires is not merely that we would survive, but that we would thrive with the abundant life that God offers through a steady diet of feeding upon the word of God. For to Jesus, life in the truest sense is fellowship, harmony, and union with God. One may have to die to self to gain this, but the life that is found by doing so is so great, the only word for it is "eternal life."

© Richard J. Vincent, 2010