This post is the second in the series of sermons on
the three temptations of Jesus Christ in the wilderness, juxtaposed with 1 John
2:16. The first sermon, Desires of the Flesh, highlighted the fact that the
tempter appeals to our basic human appetites and needs to lead us to sin.
Because the temptations are related to our human appetites and needs, they are
actually difficult to discern and overcome.
This second sermon will deal with the second temptation
of Jesus Christ, which John referred to as “the pride of life” (1 John 2:16).
Matthew 4:5-7, ESV, records the second temptation:
The devil took him to the holy city and set him on the
pinnacle of the temple 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,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You
shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
One of the lessons I have never forgotten is from my
Doctrine of Holiness class from fifteen years ago. Rev. Randy Lingenfelter
commented that everyone has pride. The fact that we check ourselves in the mirror
before leaving our homes reveals that we want to appear presentable to other
people. He said that this is an evidence of pride. I agree with him. Everyone
possesses a lingering amount of pride. This means that pride is not altogether
evil. Without pride, we would all be dirty and smelly. In the first temptation
of Jesus Christ, Satan appealed to His human basic appetites and needs. In the
second temptation, Satan again appealed to our human sense of dignity.
In the Syriac and Arabic manuscripts, the translation
is “the pride of the age.” What is it that drives people today? What do people
want to achieve in life right now? What characterizes success today? It would
not be an exaggeration to say that there is a feeling of unrest and
un-accomplishment among peoples of the world today. This is partly because we
compare ourselves to others, resulting in self-pity, discontentment, and
careless busyness. But it is also partly because we live as people trying to
feed our pride.
In 2015, the estimated annual income of Filipino
families is Php267,000.00. If compared to 2006, when the annual average income
was Php173,000.00, there was actually a 35% increase over the last ten years.
But do Filipinos feel as if they are wealthier and are saving more? I highly
doubt it. There is a widespread discontent and desire for more. People still
feel that they are poor, but why? Dewi Hughes is right: “The widespread
consumerism and materialism of the culture—expressed above all in our incessant
advertising—seduces many people into making extravagant decisions about major
purchases like houses and cars and smaller things like recreation, eating out,
vacations, etc.; and the result is that most families are financially pressed
in spite of enormous wealth.”[1] In short, people feel that they are poor because they are proud.
They want to compete with their neighbors and friends, because their pride
won’t allow them to not enjoy the same things the people they know are
enjoying. Once, a salesman became very successful by using one line to sell to
his customers: “Let me show you something several of your neighbors said you
couldn't afford.”
Temptation about Public Life
Interestingly, temptations related to the pride of
life are temptations that involve our public life. Most of the times, we are
tempted in relation to our private lives, and we want to hide the sins that we
do. People watch pornographic videos while doors are locked and the curtains
are closed. Shoplifters steal very discreetly. Big time robberies are committed
by people wearing masks. Corrupt politicians stealing the government money do
so in secret, making sure to remove trails leading to them. When people commit
fornication and adultery, they do so in a carefully planned way so that they
remain hidden from the world. Sins of lust are committed in secret or in the
dark.
But the temptations related to the pride of life are
different. These are public sins. We do them while others are around, inviting
everyone to see them. They are things done in the open. This is the temptation
to show off what we already have. First, it is the temptation to display
one’s glory and achievements. In Filipino homes and offices, it is not
uncommon to see certificates, diplomas, trophies and medals hanging in walls,
displayed for everyone to see. This has a name: “The WOW! Wall.” Honestly, I
have never felt comfortable doing this, which is why I never put these things
in display.
Secondly, it refers to the temptation to show off
our wealth. A popular Filipino story I heard when I was young was about a
young lady went to the market wearing a huge gold ring on her finger. She would
intentionally raise her hands to point at things in the market in order to show
off her ring. In one of the stores she entered, a merchant happily assisted
her, but when the merchant realized that the lady was just showing off, he
began to smile from ear to ear. The young lady was shocked, because she saw
that all the teeth of the merchant was made of gold. Jeremiah 9:23 warns us
about showing off: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the
mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches.”
Thirdly, this also includes the temptation of public display of religiosity.
Jesus warned His followers about this as well: “Beware of practicing your
righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them” (Matt 6:1).
The Greek word used in 1 John 2:16 is alazoneia,
which means boasting. Boasting seems so simple, but why was it given that much
attention in the temptations of Jesus Christ? Considering that there are other
seemingly bigger sins out there, why would the second temptation be related to
boasting? Is boasting really such a big thing? Paul actually writes the
seriousness of this sin in Romans 1:28-30, “God gave them up to a debased
mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all
manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy,
murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers,
haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to
parents.” This means that boasting is a product of a debased mind or corrupted
mentality. In short, boasting is done by crazy people! This is all the more so
because if this temptation is related to the things we do in public, radical
shamelessness is a necessary requirement if a person is to commit it.
Temptations about Power
Looking closely at the three temptations of Jesus, the
second temptation is quite unique. The temptations related to the desires of
the flesh and the desires of the eyes are related to things that Jesus did not
have: food and wealth. Quite simply, Jesus was hungry and poor. But the second
temptation is a temptation related to what Jesus already had. As the Son of
God, He had the power and capacity to call for angels to help Him. Satan was
right. In fact, the whole temptation narrative actually ends with a note that
angels did come to help Him: “the devil left him, and angels came and
attended him” (Matt 4:11).
So what is the temptation all about? The temptation
about the pride of life is related to the things that we already have, and we
are tempted to show them or use them for our advantage. This is the temptation
to use our authority, positions, social status, economic status in a way
advantageous to us. There are many examples: a teacher using her authority to
extort money from students, a policeman using his authority to accept bribes, a
businessman using his money to evade the law and social responsibilities, a
parent using his authority to abuse his children, a muscular student using his
strength to bully other students, a leader using his power to siphon money from
the company, a manager using his authority to delegate all works to his
subordinates while he plays Clash of Clans at the office. The examples
can go on and on.
Jesus refused to use His authority over the angels of
heaven in order that He might have a graceful landing when He crazily jumps
from a high place. He refused to take advantage of what He had at His disposal.
Paul alludes to this characteristic of Jesus in Philippians 2:5-7 (NIV),
Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant.
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant.
Temptation about Preponderance
Moreover, the second temptation of Jesus was also
about enjoying more than what He was currently experiencing. Satan’s words can
be paraphrased as: “You are not getting the treatment you deserve. Are you not
interested in enjoying more benefits than what is currently available for you
right now?” These are the whispers of the tempter to us as well: We deserve
more. We deserve a better status. We deserve greater things than what we are
enjoying right now. We deserve better!
This was the same tactic that Satan used to tempt Eve
in the Garden of Eden: “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:5, ESV). Satan
was telling Eve that there was a better status and greater knowledge that was
available for her. She deserved to enjoy greater benefits. The means to achieve
greater knowledge was right there at the Garden, ready to be picked, so Eve did
not really need to wait. The pride of life is the desire to have more than what
we currently have. In essence, this is a good thing: the desire to be better is
godly. But it is precisely this desire that Satan uses to appeal to us so that
we might sin.
The Israelites in the wilderness also fell because of
this desire. They complained to Yahweh because they were hungry, and God
provided them manna (Exo 16:1-36). But they soon got tired of eating manna, and
began to complain again: “The rabble that was among them had a strong
craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that
we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt
that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the
garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is
nothing at all but this manna to look at” (Numbers 11:4-6, ESV). Again, the
desire was to enjoy life a little better. It is amazing how the simple desire
for preponderance can lead many to sin.
Moses’ demise is also related to pride. He desired
greater respect and honor. Numbers 20:2-12 records the story where because his
authority and leadership were questioned by the Israelites, he decided to take
the glory that should belong to God for himself. He was tempted to raise his
status in the eyes of the Israelites by using God’s own miracle. This was why
God told him: “because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel
at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did
not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel…
you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land
that I am giving to the people of Israel” (Deut 32:51-52). Ironically, Moses’
desire for greater authority was precisely his downfall.
Why does Satan use this trick to tempt humanity? The
answer is because this temptation is very effective even for the holy ones. In
fact, this was the temptation that was actually potent even to Satan himself.
It is so effective that Satan himself became a victim of this temptation.
Isaiah 14:12-15 (ESV) writes:
“How you
are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground…
You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.”
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground…
You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.”
It would do us a great deal to remember that the sin
that resulted in Moses not receiving the fruits of his 40-year sacrifice and
labor with the Israelites, the expulsion of Satan from heaven, and the
banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden came through the temptation
to be better or have a better status in the eyes of people.
Conclusions
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