Following after Jesus #30

Today we read the final paragraph in Luke's account of the Temptation of Christ by Satan: 

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,

    to guard you,’ 11 and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,

    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

As we have seen, every temptation really is about who or what we worship, be it our own abilities, our own comfort and safety, other people or powers, or the life of least resistance. Satan kept pushing Jesus to do things to make God prove that He really is loving and powerful, to "put Him to the test". But God is all of that by His very nature. Our testing God is a prideful perspective that we can dethrone God if we want to - and maybe even be our own gods. What we do not want to miss in this passage is the conclusion: Satan did flee; he did back off. Yes, he did come back over and over, but the important thing is that it is possible, with Christ's grace and power, to say "no" to him. When we do, we too, will live in the "power of the Spirit," and see God glorifying Himself through us.  He will do in us what He has always wanted to do.