The adventure show ALONE is so popular it has spawned foreign-language versions in Danish and Norwegian, and English versions filmed in Australia and Britain. And I’m reading the Bible and find myself imagining the scene as an episode of the show:
“Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals,” Mark 1:12-13. [Really? What animals? I’d like to hear more about THAT!]
“Jesus … was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil [sometimes GOD LEADS us to hard places]. He ate nothing … The Devil said, ‘If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ But Jesus answered, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ So the devil … showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. He said, ‘I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given to me, …. If You will worship me, all will be Yours’ Luke 4:1-7.
Did Jesus and the Devil see the future together? “He showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” It’s possible. Second question: Could the devil actually give what he offered? YES—otherwise, it would not be a temptation. Which means, ‘all the kingdoms of the world’ ACTUALLY HAVE been given to the devil…
How does Jesus fight temptation? With scripture.
But who else quotes scripture? The devil. He says, ‘Throw Yourself down and let’s see the angels save You. For it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge over You … lest You strike Your foot against a stone’ 4:10-11. The devil quotes Psalm 91. How does he know it’s a prophecy about the Messiah? (Because I can’t tell!) But the devil does not just read scripture, he studies it. He understands it.
Scripture is our DEFENSE. We should study it with as much energy as our enemy studies it.
God, fill us with a passion for Your word! Make us crave it!
ΑΩ
Household Words: 