Jesus’
Second Test.
We’ve been looking at how Satan tested the humanity of Jesus Christ at the very beginning of His public ministry. Here is the second test.
Matthew 4:5-7
5 Then the devil took
Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
Satan picked the place for the second test. The pinnacle of the temple was the highest
place in
6 and said to Him,
"If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down;
for it is written,
'HE WILL COMMAND HIS
ANGELS CONCERNING YOU';
and
'ON their HANDS THEY
WILL BEAR YOU UP,
SO
THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'"
Remember when Jesus answered Satan’s first test, He used the Word of God. Now Satan tests Him with the Word! He takes something that is written in the Word, and takes it out of context and makes a wrong application. In this way, he distorts it! Look closely at the passage that the devil is quoting:
Psalms 91:11-13
11 For
He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To
guard you in all your ways. (Notice Satan leaves this part out! This is a guarantee given to the
nation of
12 They will bear you
up in their hands,
That
you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread
upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and
the serpent you will trample down.
Striking your foot against a stone doesn’t refer to jumping off of a cliff, but to an ACCIDENT! Satan is completely distorting this passage. He’s trying to lure Jesus into an impulsive state of mind, to get Him to prove the power of the Word of God to him. Satan is saying, “If it’s really true, just show me!”
But God doesn’t condone any foolishness. Satan misquotes and distorts a scripture that doesn’t apply to the situation. Jesus answers with a scripture that absolutely applies to the situation!
7 Jesus said to him,
"On the other hand, it is written, "YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR
GOD TO THE TEST.'"
There’s one interesting word in Jesus’ answer: YOUR! Whether Satan (or any other unbelievers) acknowledges it or not, Jesus Christ is the Lord of ALL. Look what’s going to happen in the future:
Philippians 2:10
10 so that at the
name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on
earth and under the earth,
Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 to remind Satan who created him!
Twice Satan has tested Jesus, trying to get Him to use His own power or trying to get Him to prove the power of God. But Jesus, who could have answered any way He wanted, answered by quoting the correct principle of scripture that applied to the situation.
He used the same thing that we have available to us! The Word of God.
We’ll see the third test tomorrow.