Understanding Jesus' Temptations (3)
| Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " 7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' " (Matthew4:5-7) |
In general terms, this temptation is about being spectacular and impressive - jump off the temple and have the angels catch you - everyone will be amazed! It's also about being presumptuous - expecting God to save you no matter how reckless or foolish your actions are.
For Jesus, specifically, the temptation is two-fold:
The first part of it is to take the role of the powerful political Messiah. To use power and miracles to win over the Israelites. Jumping off the temple and being caught by angels would impress the Pharisees and teachers of the law because it was the temple He leaped from and the angels would impress the masses and the military minded. This was the kind of Messiah the Israelites were desperately hoping for. It must have been so tempting to be the popular Messiah instead of the prophetic and suffering Messiah. (This temptation comes in other forms when Jesus feeds the five thousand and the crowd want to make Jesus king by force and He has to withdraw from them (John 6:15).)
The second aspect of the temptation is that it is another way to rebel against God. Jesus has been given a mission by the Father. If He were to jump from the temple (thereby, in His human state, ending His life) the Father would be forced to rescue Him by commanding His angels. Jesus would be "naming and claiming" a promise of God, but He would be presumptuously manipulating God. It is, once again, an act of rebellious independence that would be destructive to Jesus' relationship with the Father and the Spirit.
For us, this second part of the temptation is the most real around the promise of God's forgiveness. We choose to sin - knowing that God will forgive us... This is manipulative behaviour. I'm not saying we succeed in manipulating God, but our behaviour is manipulative. (Jesus sacrifice is big enough for our brokenness)
Jesus, once again, counters the temptation by standing on the firm foundation of Scripture - the one who is "the Word" quoting from the Word - it's really Jesus asserting His true and full identity and refusing to embrace a lower standard...
CHALLENGE: Are there times that you are driven more by the need for public affirmation than the call to be a servant? Have you indulged in manipulative behaviour in your relationship with God?
