Dealing with the Devil

Or, How Not to Gain the World

It would be tempting to miss the point of this passage and preach a compelling misreading. Instead I want to preach the actual compelling point.

We're looking at the devil's three big temptations of Jesus after Jesus had spent 40 days without food in the wilderness. In the first temptation Satan wanted Jesus to satisfy His human hunger for food. All Jesus had to do was exert His own will against the Father's. In what Luke orders as the second temptation Satan wants Jesus to satisfy His human hunger for power. All Jesus has to do is worship someone other than His Father. When you're dealing with the devil, remember, he's always trying to sow false ideas about, and break up fellowship with, God.

Usually preachers explain this temptation as a deal the devil offers Jesus to get out of suffering. Satan offers Jesus the crown without the cross. That'll preach, for sure. A few years from this point in Jesus' ministry, Jesus calls Peter Satan when Peter rebuked Jesus for talking about suffering and being killed and rising on the third day (Matthew 16:21-23). Shortcuts to glory are real temptations.

But this temptation is not about avoidance, it's about allegiance. There may be some issue of timing, sooner rather than later, but it's more an issue of trust. Who gives the glory?

As we look at the temptation and the response, let's note what the devil's deal includes, what Jesus' quote from Deuteronomy does, and then at the end I'll add an additional observation about how Jesus outmaneuvers the devil.

The Display (verse 5)

At the start of chapter 4 we noted that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and was being led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Now Luke says the devil takes Jesus to a one-of-a-kind destination.

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, (Luke 4:5)

They went up. Up where? Matthew specifies that it was a “very high mountain” (Matthew 4:8), but he doesn't name the mountain, nor do we know of any mountain in the world that has this view. Somehow the devil has a spot to show all the kingdoms of the world. Were these the current kingdoms, and which ones? There wasn't any mountain in Israel from which they could have seen Greece, let alone India, or China, and so on. All they could have likely seen was land under control of the Roman Empire. But the devil displayed them all.

And what's the point of showing in a moment of time? That suggests that it was a unique vision, and not purely physical. It was a flash, in an instant, the biggest widescreen advertisement ever.

The Deal (verses 6-7)

The great perverter-of-truth presents his deal.

and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. (Luke 4:6)

He starts with the offer, and it is quite an offer. He leaves the condition to the end, and it is quite a condition.

The devil starts with to you, with the customer, so to speak. He wants Jesus thinking about what's in it for Him. And this is a generous offer, I will give it to you; hey, what's money between friends? And it's a complete package, all this authority and their glory of the kingdoms. What would it take to get you into all this dominion and power and honor today?

Before we ask, yes, it is the devil’s to give. This part, like any tempting offer, has to have some truth in it. Jesus does not dispute any of the devil's claims here, that the devil is the ruler or that the devil could transfer the rule. Jesus knew what we learn from other places in the Bible. Satan is called “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), and even “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

What the devil didn't have to, or want to, clarify is who delivered this rule over to him (it was his Enemy). All his authority is delegated authority, not absolute. For that matter, Satan knew enough to know that he wouldn't really be able to keep it. It's less likely that the devil thought that if he could get Jesus on his side that together they could defeat God, but more likely that if he could somehow persuade Jesus to join him that that division would be defeating God.

The price comes last. It's the small print where the most significant clause comes.

"If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." (Luke 4:7)

That's quite a condition, but this is the deal. This word for worship is often used for bowing before a person of authority and dignity, to prostrate and maybe even kiss their feet. In Luke this word only appears here and in 24:52 when the disciples see the resurrected Jesus.

"You want to gain the world? Give me the glory that Your Father refused to give me. Recognize my greatness." Isn't it a tiny ask compared to the big promise?

The Devotion (verse 8)

For the second time Jesus quotes Deuteronomy.

And Jesus answered him, "It is written,
'You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.'"
(Luke 4:8)

There's nothing in the exchange about glory instead of suffering. Rather the offer is glory from an alternative source, and the reply is about worshiping and serving the true God with complete allegiance.

This is from Deuteronomy 6:13. In that context, Israel is on the edge of the promised land about to receive cities they hadn’t built, houses full of good things they hadn't filled, vineyards they didn't plant. They were about to “gain the world” that they didn’t earn. And Moses warns them to “take care lest you forget the LORD” (6:12). They would be tempted to misplace their allegiance.

Worship and serve the Lord your God only. The Son remained devoted to His Father.

Conclusion

Jesus knew Deuteronomy, and no doubt He also knew Psalm 2. He could have replied to the devil that all the kingdoms and all their authority and all their glory was promised to Him, and He would have been right. There is nothing wrong with the authority and the glory, and all of that would be given to Him. But the Son would ask the one who laughs at rebels, not the one who lies as a rebel.

The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
(Psalm 2:7–8 ESV)

But there was an additional part of the plan. This is how Jesus outmaneuvered the devil. In this stage before Jesus began His ministry and teaching, Satan wasn’t thinking about the cross, let alone offering a way to the crown bypassing the cross. His temptation was an allegiance play. Having failed at that, Satan wanted to put Jesus to death.

If Satan had known that “word of the cross” would be “the power of God” for salvation (1 Corinthians 1:18), he “would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8). Satan didn’t know that killing Jesus would enthrone Him. Where do you think the story idea came from, "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine"?

“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). The answer is obvious. Instead, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalm 2:12) Don’t take any other deal.

Charge

There are no shortcuts to glory. Maybe you have the burden of prosperity, tempted to think your strength is your success. Maybe you have the burden of pain, tempted to think that God doesn't care. Christian, He is shaping You for a weight of glory in His kingdom. So serve the Lord.

Benediction:

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28–29 ESV)