Wisdom's Corner
All the Kingdoms

Jesus had not eaten anything in forty days. He was very hungry. And he was very tired and weak. Satan had tried to get him to turn a stone into bread. But Jesus had resisted using his miraculous powers to serve himself. He stayed with his mission to serve others.

Satan then takes Jesus to the top of a high mountain. He shows Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world. He tells Jesus he will give him the power to be king over all of them and give him the great glory that would go along with that power. He would do this if Jesus would bow down and worship Satan.

Now Satan is the father of lies. But I do not think Satan was lying about being able to do this. Notice that in Luke 4:6, Satan states that the ability to give Jesus this power and glory had been given to him. Jesus does not answer that Satan is lying. His response assumes that what Satan is saying is true.

Satan had challenged God once before over Job. God had given Satan the power to do anything to Job that he wanted, except to kill him. It is very likely that God had given Satan the power to do all that Satan stated he would do for Jesus. That is what made this such a temptation for Jesus. He could have avoided being crucified.

But Jesus knew that this was not the way he was to become the King of Kings. He knew that he must teach the message of God for the next three years and then die on the cross. He would not be able to be the eternal King of Kings if he worshipped Satan. You or I might have been very tempted to do what Satan wanted. But Jesus gave us the perfect example of resisting Satan.

I am thankful that we have a Savior who loved us enough to suffer and die for us. I am thankful that he gave us the example of resisting Satan.

Until next time, keep reading your Bible. Learn the wisdom of God. Follow the example of Jesus. And if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.

Mark McWhorter

Copyright 1999

Published by The Old Paths Bible School
(http://www.oldpaths.org)