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by Sandy Shaw
We are reading of Jesus Christ being tempted by the devil, in Luke Chapter 4, immediately following His being anointed with the Holy Spirit. Having looked at that temptation to turn stones into bread, the enemy now has another attempt.
Do not think you will get off with one brief battle! The question in our title is more real than many realise. Verse 5. Jesus is led up to a high mountain, above Jericho, at the north end of the Dead Sea, where you can see for miles. I have been there on various occasions and as one imagines what it must have been like all this can suddenly become so very real. We are dealing with real places and real incidents. Bow down and worship me and you can have all that! What is he saying? What is the nature of the temptation? "Bypass the cross. I will make it easier for you. Be quiet about what your Father said to you. You won't need to go up that other mountain. Soft pedal your message. Forget about your mission. Ignore the experience you had at the Jordan River. Do it my way and there need be no persecution." It is all there! It is again all so plausible and so subtle. You must have experienced the pressure to water down the Gospel and compromise the truth of God. The devil wanted to control and boss Jesus. Submit to my terms. It is written…. Jesus was full of the Spirit and acknowledged the Word of God. He then takes Jesus up to Jerusalem - a three hour walk away - and takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple and says "Jump" It is 90 feet above the valley at the south east corner. What a scene if Jesus had jumped! It would have been like some circus act. It is so bizarre. Jesus would have been like some showman, and people may have followed for a season, but for all the wrong reasons. Do something dramatic. Appeal to people's curiosity for the unusual and for the extraordinary. ENTERTAIN US! Does that sound familiar in these present times? Yes, there might have been crowds, but only for a brief season. Crowds are never keen to carry crosses. They soon look elsewhere. I have never seen a crowd where Jesus Christ is handing out crosses! The devil tries to help Jesus get the wrong kind of kingdom, and become the wrong kind of king. The devil raises up only to cast down. Jesus Christ comes when a person is down to lift up. And - being in holy places does not protect us from temptation. The enemy can hover around the Temple. Jesus replies on each occasion with the Word. Jesus could have produced some new original truth, but He honours the writings of Moses and recognises their authority. Jesus honours the Scriptures. HE WON! It can be a lonely fierce battle! That is why Fellowship is vital! Jesus returns to Nazareth. He emerges victorious. Because Jesus Christ was victorious we too can be victorious when faced with temptation but seldom will it be easy. Know that now. Recognise the reality of that today, and be aware that the battle is becoming fiercer.Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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