And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 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. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'" Luke 4:5-8.
Some reflections that God gave me while meditating on this passage over the past few days:
I was thinking about the phrase "all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time." Glenn, feel free to jump in here, but to me this sounds like the "in a moment of time" phrase may refer to the future. I'm not sure Satan knows the future. Perhaps for the sake of argument, since he is a part of the spiritual realm (whole other topic), he can see somewhat into the future. Thus, perhaps what Satan is showing Christ here is the Roman empire, the Ottomans, the numerous Chinese dynasties, Indian dynasties, the Soviets, Napoleon, even modern America.
Christ came to earth so that His name would be renown among all people and all creation. Thus, from the initial appearance of Satan's offer, Christ would do this simply by taking Satan up on his offer. This raises some huge practical issues. What would it be like for Satan to have give Jesus glory and honor among all of these kingdoms of all time? What if all ruler's loved Jesus? What if Christianity was mandated by all governments and rulers? From one angle, it's a very tempting prospect. What then happens to the church? What happens then to the crucifixion? Would the Jews of the day still hate Christ and demand He be put to death?
If Christ had said yes, he may have succeeded in making his name known throughout history (of course we know He has still accomplished this) - BUT it would not have come through the regeneration and rebirth and repentence of souls. People would know and honor Christ but would they love Him?
You see, there is a reason that Satan is called the Great Deceiver. (Here's the point that God made real to me yesterday that got me pumped and inspired me to write this to you). Forget for a moment that you know that Christ is already the ruler and already has the authority and glory that Satan is trying to promise him. Satan tells Christ he is going to "give" Jesus "all this authority and their glory." But what's the cost? Worshipping Satan. Thus, to agree to this, is to become a puppet. Is Christ really in authority over these kingdoms and does he really receive their glory? How could he if Christ was worshipping Satan? Christ would then be acting as a funnel for glory to Satan. Then how long is it before people realize, "hey we're worshipping Christ, but He's worshipping Satan, so maybe we should just worship Satan instead."
Thus a less painful, seemingly easy short-cut ends up ultimately undercutting Christ and His ultimate purpose.
Now, of course, we all know this is wild, crazy speculation. After all, Christ didn't do this and wouldn't do this and thus it is a completely moot point. But I do think it has relevance for how Satan tempts us. We are tempted to take easier, less painful, short cuts because they may get us to the ends that we desire - ends that may be truly Biblical.
I remember once asking my mom when I was a kid, "If I could be a movie star, I could give lots of money away and push for good causes and tell people about Jesus. However, I might have to say cuss words in movies or kiss a woman who I wasn't married to, etc. But wouldn't God think that was okay since ultimately, I was doing good things for Him?" Though I don't remember her exact words, she said "No" and then explained why that wasn't really what God wanted us to do. That he would rather have us be poor and honor Him, than to dishonor him by getting rich.
Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:
"Take heed to yourselves, lest your example contradict your doctrine, and lest you lay such stumbling blocks before the blind, as may be the occasion of their ruin; lest you unsay with your lives, what you say with your tongues; and be the greatest hinderers of the success of your own labors." - Richard Baxter (English Puritan)
Take courage brothers. The road is long and narrow and difficult. God will challenge you and refine you and allow you to be tempted, but stay true to Him and His word in your ends and in the means you choose to seek those ends.