Temptation of Kingdoms

Temptation of Kingdoms

Luke 4:5 – Then the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. 6 – And he said to him, “To you I will grant this whole realm – and the glory that goes along with it, for it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. 7 – So then, if you will worship me, all this will be yours.”

verse 8 – Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”

This temptation reminds me of a statement a king made when he elevated a slave to be ruler. This is what Pharaoh said to Joseph – Genesis 41:40 – You, then, are to be over my house, and all my people will be ruled by your word: only as king will I be greater than you. 41 – And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt. 42 – Then Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and he had him clothed with the best linen, and put a chain of gold round his neck.

Verse 43 – And he made him take his seat in the second of his carriages; and they went before him crying, Make way! So he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. 44 – Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without your order no man may do anything in all the land of Egypt.

Do you see what was described here? Pharaoh, using the devil’s language, relinquished rulership of Egypt to Joseph, yet one very important fact remained: Joseph was not king. Joseph was given second place. He second to the king. Only as king was the Pharaoh greater than Joseph.

No matter how the devil chose to describe how he came to be responsible for the whole realm of the kingdoms of the earth, one fact remained and it was revealed in his temptation. By asking for Jesus to worship him, the devil was admitting that he did not yet have what he really wanted. What did the devil want? He wanted first place. He wanted what Jesus already had. Isaiah 14:14 quotes Lucifer’s (the devil’s) heart – I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high – If the devil could get Jesus to relinquish his position as King of Kings then his overthrow of the universe would be complete.

Praise God! The devil did not succeed in taking the throne from Jesus but now he wants to take your crown – a crown that every human who believes in Jesus will one day possess. Here is a promise given to the believers of the church in Philadelphia and for us today! “…Because you have kept my admonition to endure steadfastly, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one can take away your crown. The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never depart from it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God_, and my new name as well.” – Revelation 3:10-12.

Let us hold on, as Jesus did, to the writings of the Word of God and steadfastly endure all the temptations of the devil. Let us, in the name of Jesus, conquer the devil today!