Jesus temptation gives us hope to defeat our temptation
I always was confused at Satan's brash temptation of Jesus when he offered him all the kingdoms of the earth. Up until now I was missing one key word in that passage, "given" or "delivered" in the ESV rendering.
The Devil was "given" authority over the kingdoms of the earth. But, "who gave him that authority?" I asked myself.
The passage in Luke reads...
"And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 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." (Luke 4:5-6 ESV)
For all you 'Greek Geeks' out there, the Greek word for "delivered" in this passage is...
παραδίδωμι
Pronounced par-ad-id'-o-mee
It means to surrender, i.e yield up, intrust, transmit:--and it is translated in other contexts as betray, bring forth, cast, commit, deliver (up), give (over, up), hazard, put in prison, and recommend.
So my question still remained, "who gave Satan authority over the kingdoms of the earth? Of course the answer is, Jesus did...Jesus gave Satan that authority...Jesus is the controller and sustainer of all kingdoms and authorities.
We read in Colossians...
"For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:16-17 ESV)
So in the infinitely wise counsel of the Godhead, Jesus gave Satan the authority to temp Himself in the end. So Satan was duped and tricked by the eternal power, authority, and plan of the Godhead...but even still Jesus did not use this information against Satan to rebuff his temptation, for instance Jesus didn't say to Satan, "hey I gave you the authority over those kingdoms in the first place, so..." Instead Jesus used God's eternal, infinitely powerful, and helpful Word to rebuff Satan's weak and authority-less temptation.
That is why we can call on Jesus in our temptation, because we know that He has the power and authority to overcome it! Every temptation of Satan is ultimately a temptation that is allowed by God's good hand to make us more like Jesus, and with Jesus help and authority we can rebuff the Enemy.
Hebrews describes Jesus victory over temptation and sin...
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15 ESV)
So when you are tempted today call on Jesus the great high priest, author, and perfecter of our faith! He will deliver you! Worship Him now for His deliverance.
