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Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert, for forty days being put to the test by the devil. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, “If you are Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.” But Jesus replied, “Scripture says,
Human beings live not on bread alone.
Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, “I will give you all this power and their splendour, for it has been handed over to me, for me to give it to anyone I choose. Do homage, then, to me, and it shall all be yours.” But Jesus answered him, “Scripture says:
You must do homage to the Lord your God, him alone you must serve.
The devil is not discouraged by Jesus’ resistance to his first temptation - there are other tricks in his bag. Next he shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world at once, and offers them to Jesus. What an opportunity! How many times have each of us thought, “If only I were President (or King, or Queen) - I’d run things differently, and there would be peace in the world and people would have enough to eat and be treated fairly.&rdquo Here is JesusŐ chance to do just that - and with perfect knowledge and wisdom, Jesus would do it right - he would make no mistakes.
Jesus turns it down flat. Our first clue as to why comes straight from the devilŐs mouth:
“I will give you all this power and É splendour, for it has been handed over to me É” The
kingdoms of the world belong to the devil.
Last Modified: 5.26.03