Servant or Caesar?
In the wilderness, Satan tempted Jesus by offering him political power over “all the kingdoms of the world,” an offer he emphatically refused. Instead of power and grandeur, he submitted to the way of the ‘Suffering Servant’ that led inevitably to Calvary. But the most startling detail of this encounter is that he did not dispute the Devil’s claim to have jurisdiction over the political systems of the world, including its most powerful empire.
Jesus was “driven” into
the wilderness by the Spirit to be “tested” by the Devil. Thus, the event
was instigated by God. There, Satan tempted him in four ways, and his greatest challenge was the offer of unlimited
political power - (Matthew 4:8-11).
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| [Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash] |
The Devil took Jesus to a high mountain and showed him all the “kingdoms of the world (kosmos) and their splendor.” He was offering him more than just sovereignty over the Jewish nation.
THE TEST
In the passage in Matthew, the term rendered
“world” or “kosmos” can refer to the entire physical world if not
the creation itself, or the ‘Cosmos.’ Satan was offering Jesus a means to
establish the “kingdom of God,” the very thing he came to do.
In the version
of the story in the Gospel of Luke, the Tempter boasts that he will give
Jesus “all this authority” if he only acknowledges his overlordship, and he
declares that “it has been delivered to me, and to whomsoever I will, I give
it.”
But Jesus did NOT
call him a liar or dispute his right to dispense political power, which almost
certainly he would have done if the Devil did not have this authority. And if Satan
received this authority from a higher source (“it has been delivered to me”),
that could only be God.
Very likely,
behind Satan’s claim is the fall of man as recorded in Genesis. His
“right” or rulership over humanity is the consequence of Adam’s disobedience - (John 12:31, 14:30).
In Matthew, to acquire
such awesome power, Jesus must “render
homage” to the Devil. The Greek verb so rendered denotes giving homage
or even allegiance to someone or something of higher rank. Thus, to gain universal
sovereignty it was necessary for the Nazarene to acknowledge Satan as his master,
or at least according to the “god of this world.”
WHAT KIND OF KING?
Was this a real temptation for
the Son of God? Was he not the Messiah appointed by God to reign over all the earth?
But how could the Davidic king reign over the rebellious nations of the earth without
the military and economic powers of the World Empire? - (Psalm 2:6-8).
Satan was providing a shortcut to the God-ordained sovereignty over the world promised to the Messiah of Israel, a way for Jesus to avoid suffering and death on a Roman cross.
After all, imagine all the good
he could do if he possessed Caesar’s throne and commanded his legions! With the
military and economic might of Rome at his fingertips, would not righteousness and
peace prevail throughout the Empire?
Surely, if ever there was
justification for resorting to State power and force, this was it. Who is better
qualified to wield the imperial might of the Empire than the Prince of
Peace?
SUFFERING SERVANT
But rather than bow to Satan and
stoop to the corrupt and often violent methods that dominate the present age, Jesus
chose the path of the Suffering Servant.
In his kingdom, victory is achieved through self-denial and sacrificial service for others, and “greatness” is measured by acts of mercy even if not especially to one’s “enemy.”
Contrary to the expectations of
his Jewish contemporaries, and in defiance of Satan’s offer, Jesus embraced the
“form of a slave” and became “obedient unto death.” Therefore, God
exalted him to reign over the Cosmos and gave him the “name, which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on
earth and under the earth.”
But Calvary must precede exaltation.
And his disciples are summoned to adopt
this same PERSPECTIVE by letting this “mind be in you that was
also in Christ Jesus”:
- “Who being in the form of God, counted NOT the being like God a thing to be seized, but instead, poured himself out, taking the form of a slave, being made in human likeness; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross” - (Philippians 2:6-9).
Institutional Christianity has
a long and sordid history of mixing Church and State. It seems, the temptation to
use political power to impose “right” beliefs and conduct is too great. But sooner
or later, advancing God’s kingdom through the political means of
this fallen age necessitate resorting to the coercive power of the State.
Thus, disciples of Jesus must
choose between following the “Lamb wherever he goes,” or giving their
allegiance to the “Beast from the Abyss.” When they employ the corrupt political
systems of this world, they willingly embrace the “Beast,” prostrate
themselves before its “image,” and even “take its mark.”
The disciples of Jesus must
take seriously the scriptural portrayal of political power as being part of
Satan’s domain. If the Devil works behind the scenes in this world, and if the
possession of political power necessitates giving allegiance to him, and since
Jesus himself refused to do so, should we not follow his example? Should we embrace what he rejected?
