The Wilderness, part 3

 Luke 4:9-12

9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’11 and On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Satan begins the third temptation with a conditional “If”. “If you are the Son of God…”  But remember, after Christ’s baptism God, in an audible voice, said,  “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  Jesus knew that He was the Christ.   Satan knew who Jesus was.  But the world at large did not yet know.

Satan was asking Jesus to subvert God’s plan; to show himself to be the Christ to people in a flashy, worldly way that would not accomplish God’s plan of redemption, but would accomplish only temporary, worldly fame.  

But Jesus knew His purpose on earth. It was not the easy, flashy, way.  His way was the eternal way, the difficult way…

 but the only way that accomplished God’s plan for humanity.

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”  (Matthew 7:13-14)