3. Minsinterpretation 2: Temptation of Jesus
4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not [a]tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, [b]“Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
–Matthew 4:1-15 (NKJV)
The focus of this section is verses 5-7. Why is this the case?
Are ya’ chicken?
In verse 5 Satan takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and challenged him to put his faith into action by throwing himself off the temple because…
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,
‘In their hand they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’
Didn’t the Bible (God) say the angels will protect Jesus from striking his foot against a stone? Therefore, if he throws himself off the temple, he won’t hit the ground. Shouldn’t we take the Bible seriously?
Let’s examine this, shall we?