46. Tempted By Fame

Deuteronomy 6:16, Psalm 91, Matthew 4:5-7, Luke 4:9-12

Key Verse: Jesus answered: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

Deuteronomy 6:16, Matthew 4:7 & Luke 4:12

Is satan daring Jesus to prove Himself here?  It sure looks like it.  It would appear that satan finds it hard to believe that all powerful Jesus wouldn’t want to resist show off His power just a little.  Could this have been a vulnerability for Jesus?  Is this really a temptation to prove Himself?

It would appear here that Satan is offering Jesus a different entrance into ministry.  Jesus wouldn't have to mingle with the rabble.  He could show off for the teachers of the law, the rabbis and the Pharisees.  They would be impressed and he would have their allegiance no matter how the crowd would treat Him.  Instead of compassionate ministry, he could use his power to show off the way the Pharisees like to do, be one of them.  It looks like an easy way to gain acceptance from the people in power.  Truthfully, I think I might have taken it.

Again satan demonstrates that he knows scripture too, though he misuses it rather than uses it appropriately, as we mentioned two days ago.  "He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."  (Psalm 91:11-12)  Basically, satan is saying, "You're safe!  Go ahead, do something spectacular.  Show everyone how powerful you are.  Then, there will be no doubt that you are from God.  Nothing can happen to you."

Jesus, however, once again, had the bigger picture in view.  "Do not put the Lord, your God, to the test." (Deuteronomy 6:16) First of all, Jesus reminds satan that He, Jesus, is still satan's God.  Jesus is still in control, even if it doesn't appear to be so.  Besides, trusting God means that we do not put him in a position where he must prove that he is trustworthy.  Trusting God means that we don’t have to make Him prove it.

Secondly, Jesus doesn't need to prove anything.  He knows who He is and He knows what His responsibility is and showing off for the religious leaders is not part of the job description.  He did not come to win the approval of the religious.  He came to seek and to save that which is lost.  He came to redeem them and give them a hope and a future.  Mingling with the "rabble," is what He came to do; to touch them with God's love and to show compassion in a way that they would understand. 

Jesus shows us here how to resist the urge to prove ourselves.  When we stay focused on who we are in Him, then what the world thinks will not matter anymore.  We may be tempted, in our flesh, to prove to others that we can, but when we remember that we are a Child of God, and that He is our Father, and that we can do all things through Him, when He asks it of us, we can resist this temptation because it is not from God. 

Hymn: "I Love You and You Are Mine"