The Tempting Power Of Images

During this Lenten season I have been meditating with you upon the temptations the devil placed before Jesus during the forty days he spent in the wilderness after his baptism (Matthew 4:1-11). Matthew writes about the third temptation in this manner:

"Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory." 

Jesus was tempted as we are and on our behalf, as the Hebrews writer says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). So I ask, why a very high mountain and how did the tempter show him all the glory of worldly kingdoms?

My wife and I have a second home in some very high mountains of Colorado. Here's a sample of what we can see from them.

Note that you can see a long way, but you cannot see all the world by any means, regardless of how high you go. And yet there is a sense of superiority. You are looking down at everything that is spread before you. We own but a tiny piece of all this, but what if it were all ours?

My second question is how did the devil do this? The text seems to suggest that the temptation was internal, especially since satan and his minions are spirits that interact with our spiritual nature. Let me give you an example of how the word show is used in this manner. It's from the Acts of the Apostles, the story of how Peter came to realize that the Gospel is for all manner of men (Acts 10:1-43). While Peter was on a rooftop praying something very strange happened to him. He had a kind of dream. His way of seeing things was altered. What he saw was inward and yet it seemed to appear before his eyes. Most translations call this a trance. One translation copies the Greek to call it an ecstasy.

What Peter saw was something like a great sheet of linen held up by its four corners. In this huge sheet were animals, reptiles and birds of all kinds. Peter, as a devout Jew knew full well that the Lord forbad him to eat many of these creatures (Deut. 14:3-21). They were unclean. Listed among them are camels, rabbits and pigs. Birds of prey such as the eagle, vulture, falcon and owl were also forbidden. And yet he heard a voice distinctly saying, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." When he objected the voice came a second time, "What God has made clean, do not call common or impure."

My point is simply that inward visions can have a powerful impact upon us. The devil knew this full well as he pulled up a mighty vision of the world's kingdoms in their majesty and power to parade them before Jesus "in a moment of time," as Luke writes (Luke 4:5-7). "All this authority and their glory can be yours. I can give it to you if you will only worship me."

We live in a multi-media culture, dominated by visions and images of all sorts. Do not under estimate the impact and power of such. The advertising and entertainment industries do not. Nor does the pornography industry. The god of this world uses these images to tempt us in all kinds of ways to abandon the will of God in favor of the pleasure, power and glory they offer. As always, this prince of darkness says, "All this can be yours if you will only worship me."

Consider carefully that these are lies. Know your own weaknesses. Admit your failures and how you have fallen into such temptations. And take then the counsel of the Hebrews writer to heart as he urges you to draw near to Christ's throne to receive forgiveness, mercy and "grace to help" in those times of grave spiritual need (Hebrews 4:16).