I don’t really know why but I had to think about the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil this week. I had not read it or heard about it. But for some reason it didn’t let me go. So I’ll write about it. And the story basically goes like this:

Jesus is in the desert after 40 days of fasting and the devil shows up looking to cause mischief. And since Jesus hadn’t had a good byte for a while the devil says: “Hey, why don’t you turn the stones into bread? You are the son of god after all.” But Jesus replies: “A man does not live from bread alone but from every word coming from the mouth of God.” So the devil takes him to the top of the temple an asks him to throw himself down. “God will keep you from hurting yourself. So the bible says.” But Jesus answers: “It also says that you shall not test God.” So the devil shows him all the earth and says: “You can have it all if you fall down and worship me.” But Jesus goes: “Na, for you shall only worship God.” At this point the devil is frustrated and leaves the scene. And angels come to feed Jesus. (See for example Mathew 4:1-11)

For as long as I can remember I always wondered why the devil is giving up so easily. I mean, he is driving a hard bargain, but only three temptations? And thinking about it this week I realized that it is not to keep the number three appearing in the bible but because there was nothing left to tempt Jesus with. But wait! Isn’t there plenty of things left? Like health, long life, women and so on? I would say No! for otherwise the devil would have brought it up. So somehow all of that is included in these three. So what are they?

First of all a disclaimer. Yeah, we all like them, don’t we? I don’t think that I have cracked that passage. All I want here is to share a few thoughts. Feel free to add your own down below.

The first temptation is strait forward. “What? You haven’d eaten for 40 days? Make yourself a sandwich.” But Jesus denies himself that food. It’s not the fasting. That is over since the angels come right afterwards to feed him. But he is starving, so what’s the point? I think it is the source. For Jesus answers: “I don’t live from bread but from my father.” To me it feels like the devil is saying: “You are dying. Save yourself.” And Jesus replies: “I gave my survival instinct to God and I stopped fighting for myself.” So Satan is tempting His will of self preservation.

The second one is stranger. “Throw yourself down, god will save you.” “No, I will not test God.”

There is a scene in the 2005 version of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” where the White Which mentions the rules of Narnia and Aslan roars in her face: “Do not recite the Deep Magic to me, Witch! I was there when it was written.” Which forces her to sit down again while the good animals and children cheer. Strangely that is exactly not how Jesus reacts when the devil is quoting the Psalms. He would have any right to do so, but the quote was accurate. His response is more “Don’t rip sentences out of the context of the whole.” But what is being tempted? My best guess is submission. It seems to me like the devil is telling Jesus to test the limits of Gods protection. It sounds like “Do not stay close to the wall. Go to the edge of the canyon and see if the guard railing is holding.” But Jesus sees no point in that. He stays in the center of God’s way, on the safe side.

The last one puzzled me from the first time on I heard the story. How could the devil offer Jesus, the King of the universe, to give him the earth? Didn’t it all belong to Him anyway? It took me years to realize that with placing humans in charge of creation God had given that right to Adam and Eve. And they lost it to the snake, that is the devil. So yes, when he took Jesus on the top of the mountain to show Him the world he was right when he claimed it all to be his. Otherwise it would be no temptation at all. “Do something you would really hate and I give you something that is already yours.” That wouldn’t work. The devil offered Jesus something He really wanted. And one of the reasons He came to this earth was to win the world back. So in other words the devil offered him a shortcut.

I heard a definition of sin once that went like this: Sin is when you try to get the blessing of God without gaining it the way God has appointed. Wealth for example is meant to be worked for not just taken from someone else. The loving relationship to a partner is in a marriage modeling the relationship of God and Israel and the Church and not outside. And so on. So the devil is offering Jesus what he came for without going to the cross and suffering tremendously. Knowing what lay ahead of him I bet that was very tempting. The devil is asking Jesus to cut corners. But hey, I mean, it can’t be that bad to leave the way for a little bit, can it? I will get back on it very soon. But it saves me a lot of trouble, doesn’t it? No, that is not what Jesus does. He sticks exactly to the path laid before him. For he knows that his Father knows best.

I am sure that this is far from being complete. But when it comes to God those are great advices. Leave your instinct of self preservation in His hands. It is His decision when we live or die anyway. Then, stay on the safe side. Don’t test how far you can go or you will surely fall. And last, don’t cut corners when it comes to following God. Because shortcuts always lead through the devil’s hands.