WEDNESDAY 21st MARCH 1984
TEMPTATIONS
READING: Luke 4:1-13 English - Vivien Chinese - Wilson
The Temptation of Jesus
1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit
2 for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."
4 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'"
5 And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,
6 and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.
7 If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours."
8 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'"
9 And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here;
10 for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you,'
11 and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"
12 And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"
13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
COMMENTARY - Victor
After Jesus was baptized he went away into the desert. It is good for us to note that he went on a "40 Day Famine". Medical specialists today confirm that it is possible to survive for 40 days without food, as long as one gets enough water. Some people are worrying whether they will survive 30 HOURS without food. Jesus survived 40 DAYS.
But this is not the main point of this story. Jesus was tempted in three ways. The first temptation, to turn stones into bread, was a temptation to put himself first, to take care of himself. We sometimes hear this temptation. "Look after number one." "Charity begins at home." "I'd give to World Vision if I were richer."
Jesus rejected this temptation. He trusted God to take care of him, and instead concentrated on caring for others.
The second temptation was a temptation to be successful. Jesus wanted to rule the world. He wanted the Kingdom of God to be in power all over the world. But the end does not justify the means. We all want the 30 Hour Famine to be successful. Sometimes we are tempted to think that, because our ambition is a worthy and noble one, it may be OK to break the rules God has laid down for our behaviour.
The third temptation was a temptation to seek personal glory. In our business, in which media relations and publicity play such an important part, it is tempting to seek our own glory. It is nice to see our photo in the papers, or to read the things we have said to reporters. But, if we trust God and allow him to have the glory, we shall not be diverted by this temptation. There's no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.
NEWS
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we pray that we shall not give in to the temptations to put our own well-being before the needs of others, We pray that we shall not seek after success for ourselves, but only for your work. And we ask that when the spotlight shines, may it honour you.
In Jesus' Name we pray. A-men
POST-SCRIPT
If this was written prior to the decision to let the recently hired new CEO go, then it was a remarkable piece of prescience! I do believe we asked him to go straight after A-men.
