To understand how the devil is tempting Jesus here in this second temptation, we first need an accurate picture of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a city which was built on a very high plateau and is surrounded by deep valleys. Whenever you read in the Bible about someone going to Jerusalem you will notice that it always says that they go up to Jerusalem. Also, the city is fortified with huge walls which encircle it. At the edge of this high, walled city is the Temple area which is also the highest point in the city. The Temple itself is surrounded with a very large wall that connects to the outer city wall. When Sue and I went to Israel we looked up at the Temple wall from the Kidron Valley, and believe me it is an impressive sight. It was atop the outer wall of the Temple area where the devil takes Jesus, and as they look down from the dizzying height, the devil suggests that Jesus jump, so that all the angels of heaven would rush to his rescue.
It is interesting to note that the devil quotes Scripture here. He still quotes Scripture to people if he can distort it for his own purposes. As always he leaves parts out, twists its true meaning and suggests taking the Scripture to its illogical extreme of literalism. He quotes Psalm 91:11-12 to Jesus: “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” What the Psalm is suggesting, by way of poetic symbolism and hyperbole, is that the Lord will be with the person who is doing his will and trusting him. It is not a law, it is a principle that says: God will guide and guard the person who obeys him. But the devil insinuates that this Old Testament song is to be taken literally in every situation, and suggests that Jesus test God to see if he would do what he said he would do. He is saying, “If you are the Son of God, prove it. After all, Elijah was swept into heaven by a fiery chariot, surely God would do no less for his Son. Do you really trust in God and believe what is said in the Scripture? Do you really believe God will protect you? If this Scripture is true, what about the death you will have to suffer? Is the Scripture trustworthy, and can you really count on God to keep you from being hurt by me?”
The Charismatic movement made this very mistake in its interpretation of Scripture with its emphasis on healings and miracles, making them out to be the norm. And although we have learned many good things from the Charismatic movement, and it has affected the church in many positive ways, this was a particularly tragic mistake that has left many disillusioned people in its wake. There are many of those dear people who are no longer following God because they were led to believe that God guaranteed things which he never promised. Some are disillusioned because they think that since they experienced difficulty God is punishing them for something, and they have no idea what it is. Others want to know why someone they loved became ill, or died, when they had prayed and believed God for a healing. They want to know why God did not protect them from the misfortune they experienced. They gave their money and still went bankrupt. What happened? Where did they go wrong... or was it God who let them down?
The devil tempted them by saying, “If you are a Christian why don’t you believe what God said in his Word? Take every word literally and take the leap of faith. Prove that you trust in God and his Word.” What sounds spiritual is sometimes just stupid. Faith can be perverted. In fact, what may appear to be faith may not be faith at all, it may be stubborn self-will — an insistence of having your own way. What appears to be faith may in reality be pride and self-glorification. It may even be an attempt to control God.
Our temptation is sometimes similar to the one Jesus faced: We want God to do something spectacular and make us look good or prove he is on our side. The temptation is to want God to perform a miracle and save us from hard work. The temptation is to want life to be easy. We want God’s will and work to be effortless. God’s will done in God’s way still takes hard work. Even though we have his blessing and help there are few shortcuts or sweatless solutions.
We can make impulsive decisions based on our impressions or emotions. And we are often tempted to take the Scripture more literally than God intended for us to take it. The trap is to take one verse of Scripture, wrench it out of context, and base an important decision on it without consulting the whole message and tenor of the Bible. The snare we face is finding in the Bible what we want to find, and doing something that is not within the will of God, but holding on to a verse of Scripture to justify our actions — a verse that may have been quoted to us by the devil himself.
Remember that the devil is trying to end the life and ministry of Jesus before it has a chance to begin. He is trying to get Jesus to leap to his death, and he is using the Bible to get him to do it. The devil tried to accuse Jesus of not being who he claimed to be, and questioning his belief in the Scriptures, as well as his Father. He tried to push him to an extreme. He made him question whether God was good and truly loved him, and he is still using the same tactic today. Have you ever questioned the goodness of God when things did not go your way? Sometimes it shakes us when we suddenly realize we do not have God in our back pockets.
There are those who insist that God always heals, and if there is no healing, there is either sin or a lack of faith on our part. They ignore the fact that when Jesus came to the pool of Bethesda with many people laying around that pool needing and wanting to be healed, he healed only one man of his lameness. There were many who died among his followers, but not many were raised from the dead. He could have fed the entire nation of Israel every day, but the miracle of the loaves and fishes only occurred twice. He could have calmed all the storms, but that happened only twice. He could have delivered Israel from Rome, but he chose not to. He could have arrived on planet earth with the armies of heaven and great glory, instead of coming through an unknown, young virgin’s womb in a dark stable. He could have opened the skies and shown everyone the throne of God.
But that was not his task, for he knew that even if he provided proof, there would still be those who would not believe and rebel against the Most High. There would always be those who would take his bread and reject the Bread of Life. There would always be some who would follow him as long as they could use him, and reject him when he would no longer produce. There would always be those who would run to him when they were in trouble, needed a favor, or wanted healing for themselves or a loved one. But if he did all that, where would the people be who would live by faith alone? How would people respond to God out of pure love rather than selfish motives? Where would the people be who would love God for who he is, rather than what he could do for them?
People often have very unusual ideas of what God is going to do for them. Sometimes people give their lives to God thinking he is going to automatically make everything great, and then when they still have problems they leave the Christian life. If you are going to be a Christian you still have to be responsible. You still have to balance your checkbook. You still have to work at your relationship with your marriage partner. You still have to work at getting along with other people. You still need to see your doctor. God does bless us; he does help us, but he doesn’t do it all for us. We still live in a fallen world and will experience the normal difficulties of life everyone else experiences. The difference is that we have Someone to help us through this life. We have a Partner who is guiding and supporting us. We know that God is committed to us in love. We have some clue as to what this life is supposed to mean, and how life is to be lived. Becoming a Christian is not a license to be reckless and irresponsible.
I had a friend who was a pastor, and there was an occasion where we had to ride together to a meeting. He was driving, and we were riding over back country roads where there were lots of hills and curves. And every time we came to the crest of a hill he was at least half way over in the oncoming lane of traffic. When this happened several times I said, “Bob, do you realize that you are in the other lane when you crest these blind hills?” He said, “Yes, but I just believe that God is going to take care of me and not let anything happen.” I said, “Well, until I get that kind of faith, please drive on your own side of the road, or let me out of the car.” That was not faith, it was stupidity.
But, then, I have been stupid a lot of times myself. I have been tempted many times to do foolish things thinking they were faith things. I have seen many people leap into some kind of venture with absolutely no preparation; unwisely believing that God was going to take care of them. God expects us to live by faith, but he also expects that our faith will be a reasonable and responsible faith. We have all seen news reports of families who have refused medical treatment for their children because they believed God was going to heal their child. In one instance, when the child died they would not bury the child because they believed God was going to raise their child from the dead. They sincerely wanted to believe God, but their sincerity was misguided.
When people take the truth of Scripture and stretch it to its illogical extreme, it may sound like great faith, but in truth, they have fallen to the temptation that the devil tempted Jesus with: the desire to see God do the spectacular, as though they and others will be convinced that God is real if they see that kind of miracle. The devil was suggesting to Jesus that if he would leap off the Temple wall that he would leap into the arms of angels from heaven who would rush to rescue him. He insinuated that people would see the heavenly miracle and everyone would believe in God—and they would believe in him. They would clearly see that he was from God. It would be God’s sign of approval. What a marvelous way to get the attention of the world, and what more convincing way to get them to place their faith in him. And what could be more spiritual than to leap from the Temple, the place of God’s dwelling? The devil challenged him by saying, “Show that you believe God and trust the truth of the Scripture. Demonstrate your faith. Show that you are of God.” The devil was asking him to do something unwise by dressing it up as something spiritual. Sometimes the line between faith and foolishness is dangerously thin.
But Jesus knew doing something spectacular would never work. Remember the time Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead? The Scripture says that some placed their faith in him, but there were many others who were unmoved by this obvious miracle. In fact, there were those who not only still doubted him, but were more determined than ever to kill him. After his resurrection — and what could ever be a more convincing proof of his power and deity — the Bible says, “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted” (Matthew 28:17). It is hard for some people who find it natural to believe in God to imagine that there are many people who would not follow God and love him, even if the skies split and God spoke to them from his glorious throne in heaven. It is a real temptation to become preoccupied with proofs for the Bible, the existence of God, or the reality of the spiritual world. It is a real temptation to want miracles—to try to come up with something spectacular that will turn people’s attention to God. But it is actually an illusion. If people do not want to believe, all the proof in the world will not convince them. If people do not want God interfering with their lives, it will not matter how convincing your evidence is, they will not be touched.
Human nature has not changed in thousands of years. Look at the Israelites who came out of Egypt. God sent many miracles and plagues to force Pharaoh to free the Israelites. He parted the Red Sea and let them pass through on dry ground. He miraculously fed them and gave them water in the desert. He appeared to them on Mount Sinai so that they trembled before the sight of his power and presence. But did it make a difference? No sooner had Moses left them to go up the mountain than they were engaged in worshiping the golden calf and indulging in immorality. In the history of the world no people have ever been blessed with more visible evidence of the presence and power of God than those people, yet they were among the most faithless people who have ever lived. They were such doubters and complainers that God left them in the Sinai desert and they never saw the inheritance God wanted to give them. They never stopped to thank and praise God for his goodness and power in delivering them, and he kept them from entering the promised land because they would despise it as well. In fact, they complained that they wanted to go back to Egypt.
God does not bribe people to believe in him. He does not manipulate us in order to get us to believe. He is not looking for people who are convinced by some kind of miraculous proof; he is looking for people who will live in trust and obedience. The protective acts of God are not novelties to be played with, they come as a result of desiring and doing God’s will.
If God had asked Jesus to leap from the Temple wall it would have been right for Jesus to do it, and God would have given him his protection. But it was not God’s idea, nor was it his will, and as such Jesus could not have asked for God’s protection. The message is clear: You cannot create your own willful plans and expect the blessing and protection of God. You cannot go in your own power and strength, failing to check your plans with the fuller plan of God and expect to succeed. His protection comes only as a result of doing his will. Don’t throw yourself into a dangerous situation where God has not led you and then ask him to rescue you. You cannot ignore his will and expect to avoid the natural consequences. When we are in the presence of God we are not in the position to make demands.
Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Are you testing God or trusting him? Are you insisting that he do things your way and making him pass your test? Are you angry when he doesn’t rescue you when you jump? Are you demanding more than he has promised? How good it is to be able to rest in God, accept his will, take what he gives and trust him with life. How good it is not to have to put him to the test so that he has to prove himself continually. There are many people today who are still putting God to the test: “Prove you love me! If you are God you will do this for me and keep this from happening to me.” But when we put God in the position of having to prove his love to us, all we are doing is proving our lack of love for him. We are demonstrating that we are more interested in using him than loving him—getting our way rather than having his way. When we are testing God we cannot be trusting him. Do not put the Lord your God to the test; put your trust in him.
A few years ago the news carried the story of a group of people who were flocking to a housing project to see the face of Christ which supposedly appeared in the smeared dirt of a window in one of the apartments. I have always wondered why people flocked to those kind of things. Crying icons and other apparitions are interesting to some people because they like magic. The question is do we love God or do we only love his miracles? Do we love him for who he is or what he can do for us? God is not looking for people who look for magic, he is looking for those who will trust and love him.
In Dostoyevsky’s book, The Brothers Karamozov there is a wonderful chapter entitled “The Grand Inquisitor.” In it the inquisitor says to Jesus: “What man seeks is not so much God as miracles. And since man is unable to carry on without a miracle, he will create new miracles for himself, miracles of his own... You did not come down from the cross when they shouted to you, mocking and deriding you: ‘If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ You did not come down because, again, you did not want to enslave man by a miracle and because you hungered for a faith based on free will and not on miracles. You hungered for freely given love and not for the servile raptures of the slave.”
God gives us the opportunity for a relationship with him based on freedom not force — faith not proofs, forgiveness not guilt, reality not magic, trust not tests. Will you test God or trust him?
Rodney J. Buchanan
March 20,2011
Amity United Methodist Church
rodbuchanan2000@yahoo.com
