TEMPTATION THREE: THE LUST OF THE EYES-I CAN GIVE YOU THE WORLD
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”
Matthew 4:8-9
Then the devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. “I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,” he said. “For it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. So if You worship me, it will all be Yours.”
Luke 4:5-7
SUSIE: Satan has power (remember it is limited and controlled by God), and he whisked Jesus away to a point high enough to see for miles. Then the devil showed Jesus every nation of the earth and told Him he could rule over all of it!
SUSAN: You may be saying, “Wait a minute! Only God has the authority to put a person in that place of power!”
SUSIE: However, Scripture backs up what Satan claimed here—that God had given him authority over this world, even calling the devil the “prince of this world.”
Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out.
John 12:31
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Corinthians 4:4
SUSIE: For now, the whole world is under the curse and lies in the power of Satan (only as far as the Lord allows).
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
1 John 5:19
For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Romans 8:19-22 (NIV)
SUSAN: Satan’s condition for giving Jesus all He could see was that He worship him, give him the place reserved for the Father. Never ever shall that be!!!
SUSIE: Satan was appealing to the “lust of the eyes,” something ingrained in our fallen nature. A baby’s first words are often “no” followed by “mine!” If they see it, they want it. I remember reading a children’s book titled More, More, More Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams. Our quest for more begins early in life and can only truly be satisfied by a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
SUSAN: The devil was tempting Jesus to forfeit His purpose on behalf of the divine Kingdom and accept the poor substitute of ruling on earth.
SUSIE: Many of Jesus’s followers thought He should be an earthly king and conquer the Romans, but Jesus knew this was not the Father’s plan, and resisted the temptation to give in to their desires.
“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
Matthew 4:10
But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
Luke 4:8
SUSIE: Jesus again rebuffed Satan by paraphrasing Scripture.
You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Exodus 20:3-6
Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you.
Deuteronomy 6:13-14
SUSAN: In His replies, Jesus is paralleling His temptation with the wilderness experience of the Israelites, with the difference being that He succeeded in not giving in to the devil where the Israelites had failed.
SUSIE: We are not to place anything or anyone above the Lord our God. He alone is worthy of worship. We trust Him alone to give us what we need.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33
Then the devil left Him, and angels came and ministered to Him.
Matthew 4:11
When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:13
SUSAN: After Satan had put Jesus through the demonic wringer of temptation and was unsuccessful in his quest to destroy Him, he left Him for a time. God sent His angels to minister to His Son who as a human must have been completely weary and spent.
SUSIE: There were temptations for Jesus throughout His ministry as crowds continued trying to make Him an earthly King and detractors were always demanding a “sign,” a miracle to prove He was the Messiah.
SUSAN: Jesus passed every test that Israel had failed.
SUSIE: He passed every test that we fail in our human frailty. Therefore, He served as the perfect sacrificial Lamb to redeem us from sin.
SUSAN: Because of Jesus’s death in our place on the cross, and His subsequent resurrection from death, God sees those of us who believe and trust in Him as 100% clean and righteous!
SUSIE: He also promises to enable us to combat temptation:
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
Ways this applies to our lives:
- Jesus answered every temptation by quoting scripture. It is the “way of escape” promised to us. The Bible is our sword to fend off temptation.
- We need to not only read but meditate upon and memorize Scripture.
- We are to worship only God. No other person or thing should take first place in our lives.