Matthew shared how Jesus was “baptized” and he wrote, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, And said unto him, If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning you: and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God”, and in chapter four and verse eight of his book, Matthew shares how, “the devil” tempted Jesus on “an exceeding high mountain” where we read:
Again,
the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
The verse reads, “Again, the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain, ...” Matthew began with the word, “Again” which means “once more or furthermore”, “the devil” or “the one prone to slander, false accusation who is a calumniator” “took him up” which means “carried or showed Jesus the way up” “into an exceeding high mountain” which means “to a great, chief and beyond measure place of the earth rising above the plain”. Matthew shared how “the devil” led Jesus up to a very tall “mountain”.
The verse goes on to say, “... and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;” Matthew continued with the words, “and showed him” which means “and exposed by evidence or proof to Jesus” “all” or “each, every, the whole and everyone of” “the kingdoms” which means “the royal powers, dominions and rule” “of the world” or “belonging to the circle of the earth where men and human families are inhabitants”, “and the glory” which refers to “the splendor, brightness, honor and magnificence” “of them” which means “pertaining to the royal powers and dominions”. Matthew shared how “the devil” exposed Jesus to all the “splendor and glory” of every “kingdom” which was on the earth.
When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus is tempted with the “lust of the eyes”. The “devil” “showed” Him all these kingdoms and their splendor, and the idea was to entice Jesus to desire them. God knew there would be attractive things that are presented by the “devil” to entice men to worship them, and His desire was to demonstrate how His Son Jesus, the Messiah, would be able to resist them. Jesus Christ was victorious over every sin presented to man, and no matter how “glorious” that sin may be, Jesus has the power to overcome it.
Next time Matthew shares how the devil told Jesus, “all these things will I give you, If you will fall down and worship me” so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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