By Jerry Donovan
The devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offered them to him in the fourth chapter of The Gospel of Luke. All he had to do was worship Satan. Can you imagine if you or I received an offer like that today? Why it would be like hitting the Mega Lottery for a Billion Dollars. You could do anything, anything at all because you would be in charge. No one could boss you around, the only rules you would follow are the ones you made for yourself and you could change them any time you wanted. No rules, no laws, no government, no worries, no problems just fun, fun, fun.
Why if you were in charge you could change the entire world and make it just the way you wanted it. When you traveled around the world you might notice people ill and with pain or suffering from persecution or just hungry and that would ruin your day. What would you do?
Many generations of people have been willing to pay the price believing that the end justifies the means, and that God does not intend for us to be too scrupulous about how we get what we want so long as we can claim that we have a good purpose in the getting. That suggestion often seems so very sensible but actually it may be Satanic.
No, says Jesus. This is an adversarial relationship. God’s way is not the way of the kingdoms of this world. “It is written, ‘You shall bow down before the Lord your God, and the Lord your God alone shall you serve.” The authority Jesus will have over the kingdoms of the world will not come by submitting to their way of power and glory, but by conquering their ways with God’s way.
He refused to take the easy way of changing the world. The time has come to choose. Will you follow and choose the most popular ways of the world or the more difficult way by following Jesus.
Luke (CEB) 4:6 The devil said, “I will give you this whole domain and the glory of all these kingdoms. It’s been entrusted to me and I can give it to anyone I want. 7 Therefore, if you will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It’s written, you will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”
