Everybody Wants to Rule the World

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