“The Pride of Life”

THURSDAY
“The Pride of Life”

Matthew 4:8-9
Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Satan now makes one final, desperate effort to corrupt Jesus. He reveals his real purpose, which is to get Jesus Christ to worship him. And He takes it up a notch by trying to sweeten it up for Jesus. Satan’s final test related to God’s plan for Jesus.

Some would say that Satan is offering something that Christ already had. But Satan was offering the fast track. Satan was saying, “You can have the kingdoms of this world right now and never have to go to the cross.” In this plan, Jesus supposedly could have been the King without the cross. This was a legitimate offer. Satan had the ability, under the sovereign authority of God, to give Jesus what he promised.

In the will of God, Jesus would achieve universal rule but only as the Suffering Servant who would have to endure the cross first. But the devil is offering it now… before the cross. One of the devil’s favorite methods is to entice us to attempt to achieve a worthy goal by unworthy methods.

Someone once said, “He who waits on God… loses no time.” In this third temptation, Satan appealed to the pride of life and tempted Jesus to be something apart from God’s will.

QUESTION: Are you trying to BE something apart from God’s will?