I came to the conclusion that there were four temptations and not just three. The temptations are formidable. Provision (bread out of rocks). Safety (jump off the temple). In my opinion, the last of the temptations was the most tempting–if Jesus would worship the devil, the devil would give Jesus the world–that’s us. If Jesus would take a short cut, Satan would leave us alone. But our Lord would not take a short cut. The cross was the only path to our redemption.
But back to the idea that there were four temptations. Satan prefaces the first two temptations with the mocking rhetorical, “If you are the Son of God.” Jesus’ identity as the only begotten Son of God was challenged. Are you divine? Do you doubt your calling? When you face the cross, are you going to take a short cut then? I wonder if the question to identity is the toughest of all. I know it is for me. Allen, if you were really such a great Christian, you would...fill in the blank. Now my identity as a child of God is on a performance metric. If I do good things, if I don’t do bad things, my identity is secure. If I “fail the test” then I wonder if God still loves me. No wonder Jesus dismissed Satan with the reminder to worship and serve God alone.
My reading has taken me through Matthew to the crucifixion. The words jumped off the page:
t that time two rebels *were being crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those passing by were speaking abusively to Him, shaking their heads, 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Matthew 27:38-40
There it is again. “If you are the Son of God, come off the cross.” Save yourself. Take a short cut. Trade who You are in order to make the pain stop. But Jesus didn’t succumb to that temptation any more than He did at the beginning of His earthly ministry. No short cuts. As we approach Holy Week, I am again brought to my knees over the presence of sin in my life and that Jesus willingly went to the cross for it. Past sin. Present sin. Future sin. Shame, guilt, things I should do and don’t, things I shouldn’t do and do...He took the cup of suffering because that was and is the will of God. His plan, His purpose, His passion. His identity.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life." Our identity as followers of Jesus is secure. Our response to it is obedience, but it cannot be questioned, and it can only be challenged if we don’t dismiss Satan through our worship and service of God and God alone. Wayne Watson wrote a song that expresses my praise and prayer for my identity in Christ. The chorus goes like this:
Called from the dark and delivered from shame
One Holy race, Saints every one
Because of the blood of Christ Jesus the Son
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