Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness with all the power and glory the world has to offer.
He said, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ” (Matthew 4.9-10)
Jesus was entirely correct to state that worship is due to God and him alone. Jesus also could have reasoned with Satan’s temptations to worldly power and glory with these words.
“For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” (Mark 8.36).
The Value of the Kingdom
Jesus told two parables that highlighted the incalculable value of living in God’s kingdom.
He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and reburied; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13.44-46).
Jeff Bezos’ parents were the first investors in Amazon. They committed a significant amount of their life savings, around $246,000, to their son’s new venture.
If you were given an opportunity to invest in Amazon, knowing then what you know now about the company, what would you have done? My guess is, that you would have been “all in” on Bezos’ plan.
Jesus notes that something greater than a multi-billion dollar corporation is available to us: the kingdom of God. It is worth all that we have.
On the negative side, if we’ve gained the whole world but lost our soul, we’ve made a bad bargain.
On the positive side, fully living in the Kingdom of God allows us to realize a depth of character that cannot be achieved in any other way than commitment to the Lord.
Jesus’s interactions with Satan in the wilderness put the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world in perspective. Jesus denied the power and glory that Satan offered him because he knew the great value of worshiping God and Him alone.
As we are tempted to envy those who have seemingly gained the whole world, let’s remember this and commit our lives to the Lord completely.
Accountability
God created humans to bear his image (Genesis 1.27). The fool is someone who doesn’t care about revealing God’s image. They eat people like bread and believe there will be no accountability for their actions (Psalm 14.1-4).
In another parable, Jesus emphasized the importance of bearing God’s image by embracing His kingdom and attempting to live a life modeled by Jesus.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.
“So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13.47-49).
Jesus told us that it is not our role to judge other people (Matthew 7.1-4). There will come a time, however, when judgment is made.
The Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18.25) will render judgment based on our response to his kingship.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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