Who's the Boss?

I am studying the temptation of Jesus in preparation for a Scarred Perspectives podcast. Obviously, I don’t want to get too deep into the details, but…

I just had to stop for a minute to think about the way Satan tempted Jesus. I believe the temptation of Jesus is important to us for several reasons, including it shows Jesus being tempted just like we are…but what struck me was a very concrete example of how manipulative Satan is.

I heard someone say the other day, you THINK sin is freedom until you try and stop. As Christians, we talk about Jesus being a chain breaker, delivering us into freedom. When you talk to people who are on the fence about God, sometimes their reasoning is that God just wants to boss you around – follow my commands, love only me – and none of that sounds like freedom.

But let’s look at what Satan used to tempt Jesus:

1. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” – Matthew 4:3

2. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down…” – Matthew 4:6

3. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down [fall down] and worship me.” – Matthew 4:9

One of the commentaries I was using to study summed it up like this:

1. Use your miraculous powers to supply ordinary and personal needs at my command.

2. Prove your [Jesus] Sonship by demonstrating God’s protection; be reckless and make a sideshow of your [Jesus] power.

3. Use my [Satan] power, influence, worldly organizations and kingdoms to become great among the men [us] whom you [Jesus] seek power over.

Let me connect the dots of my wildly spinning head…

The first temptation is generally viewed in this context: step in where God isn’t meeting your need right this moment and meet your own need because you can. But what stood out to me this time was a new layer…do this right now because I’m telling you to do this right now. It’s about power. It’s about command. Do what I say, when I say it. Had Jesus turned the stone to bread before the temptation, or even a few hours after – it wouldn’t have held the same consequences. The temptation was magnified by the fact that Satan said do it and do it now.

The second temptation is generally viewed in this context: test God and see if he will do what his Word says. Well, of course that’s part of it, that is directly what Jesus answered…but what I have previously neglected to see was the spectacle that would have created; had Jesus tested God in that moment it would have made God’s powers a novelty. “Oh, yes of course God’s word is true and he will always abide by it, and that means I can just pop a miracle out whenever I decide…who needs God’s omniscience, plan or purpose anyway?” Do you see the full ramifications if Jesus had fallen for that? It would have discredited God’s WORD even while fulfilling it!

The final temptation is personal because it would directly affect us. Jesus came and died on the cross to give us the opportunity to reconcile with God. Not require our allegiance, but to give us the option. Satan offers up control, without choice, of the world. He’s basically saying, hey instead of doing all this work to give them a choice, you can just have them if you do it my way.  And here we realize in black and white, we are just pawns of the enemy. We’re pieces to move to manipulate his way…and when we don’t choose Jesus, we choose that.  

We have a God who has set out commandments for us to live by IF we decide we want to be on his team. He very plainly, up front, tells us the price we must pay to join him, and he tells us what the outcome will be if we do. Or we have Satan who will use us to do his bidding; he will lie and scheme and manipulate us to do it unknowingly a lot of the time. He won’t ask if we want to be a part of it, or if we choose the consequences that come out of doing things his way – he just leaves us to suffer them once he’s finished. 

So, tell me again, who offers freedom? I don’t know about you, but I’ll take the freedom to choose any day.