Satan Cannot Stand Against The Mighty Word

The third and final temptation our Lord Jesus faced from the devil was to bow down to the god of this world who promised Jesus everything. All he had to do was worship the devil.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" - Mat 4:8-10 ESV

What is Matthew telling us when he says that the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain? I've been to the top of a high mountain in Colorado, but I could not see all the kingdoms of the world. Perhaps Satan took the Lord there in spirit. Perhaps he filled his imagination with high and lofty visions.

"Imagine! Just imagine all the kingdoms of the world—the vast Roman empire, the Ethiopians, the Persians, the strange kingdoms of the orient, the Egyptians and on and on—imagine all of them bowing before you. I can make that happen. I am the ruler of this world. I have all this power. In many devious ways I control what these people do, how they think and what they want. And I can give them all to you." 

How often kings and emperors have fallen into this trap. In their pride they boast as did King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

"Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?" - Dan 4:28, 30 ESV

You and I may have no such lofty visions. And yet . . . we all may have dreams of glory and power, of some small kingdom, some kind of recognition, some control, some wealth, some happiness. But how? Then comes the whispered temptation to bow down and worship the god of this world. Follow his ways and this will all be yours. So the vision grows.

The record of people falling into such temptations is written in every daily newspaper or media report. Lie, murder, cheat, steal, deceive, break promises—do whatever it takes to make it, get what you want. Bow down to Satan and it will be yours. Here are but a few of today's headlines:

• Jail, Probation for 76-Year-Old Mom in 1957 Murder
• NJ Pastor Convicted of Attempted Murder; Stabbed Mistress 28 Times
• Jodi Arias Takes The Stand For Cross-examination In Her Murder Case
• Cannibal Cop Trial To Start In New York
• NYC Man Arrested in Meat Cleaver Attack

And so it goes, day after day, from city to city, country to country. The god of this world successfully tempts and controls millions with his false promises. He tried his wiles on the Lord Jesus. But Jesus showed us how to resist. He turned again to the written Word of God. He quotes Moses.

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ... It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you—- Deu 6:4-5, 13-14 ESV

Jesus is that LORD who brought Israel out of Egypt. But even more than that He brought us out of the bondage of death and eternal separation from our Creator by His death upon the cross. In Him we have forgiveness and life. When tempted to turn to the ways of this world and the methods of this world's god, we take hold of the written Word. Before it Satan cannot stand. He must flee from the terrifying Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17).