The literary form of our text is a dialogue…a little conversation
with the devil. Jesus and the devil are conversing.
In the chat
the devil is trying to convince Jesus he has a better way to fulfill
Jesus’ task of being God—the Son of God. From the narrative
in Luke, the choice of method of being God flows logically. John has just baptized Jesus. Then, while in reflective prayer
God affirmed Jesus as the Son of God with whom he is pleased. It doesn’t get any better than that. Who more would you prefer
to have clap for you? Then Luke defines Jesus’ pedigree in the
Hebrew family as Son of God. Luke’s genealogy of Jesus goes
all the way back to Adam, referred to as “the son of God.”
Jesus knows
who he is from Almighty God and from human doctor Luke and has every
reason to be confident. But how is he to go about being who
he is, God on earth? Jesus knows how, after all he is fully
God on earth. But the devil thinks he has a better idea. There is never an absence of presumptuous persons who want to tell
us how to do, and how to do better, whatever it is we must do. Let’s listen in on the chat.
Jesus? Yea! Hungry are you
Jesus? Yea, devil, I’m hungry! Thought so! It’s
a pain to be human, Jesus. Tell me about it!
Devil, I’ve been
looking at the mess this world is in and wondering what is the best
way to fix it? What is the way to get these folks to pay attention
and come back to life in the Garden of Eden? They had everything
they wanted. And then you, devil, got in the way lying to them
about me, telling them the reason I didn’t want them to eat from the
one tree, among all the others was, I was afraid.
You said I was afraid
of them becoming my co-equal? You knew that was not the case. You lied, you double dog lied. You knew that if they ever got
that idea in their head they would feel competitive with me rather
than open with me. You knew that if you gave them your competitive
idea, the idea that caused you to rebel, they would rebel like you
did.
You knew, you knew that if you suggested if they did as I said,
it meant they were going to be less happy than if they developed their
own order of life. You knew, you knew if you suggested I didn’t
want them to be equals, it meant I wanted them to be unhappy, or at
the least, not as happy as they might be if they went their own way.
But
you lying creature, you never suggested that they be open with me
by talking with me about it.
I know! I know Jesus. I like
creating a little chaos. I enjoy, I mean I just enjoy seeing
them try to be who they can’t be, and so be miserable.
How about some
bread, Jesus? Your navel must really be gnawing at your spine
by now. Tell you what. You can feed yourself if you’ll
just turn those stones over yonder into loaves of bread. Come
to think of it, you could make things a lot easier on these poor arrogant
self-centered humans, if you just guaranteed groceries. After
all, you can do it. You got the power.
Jesus, you know
and I know you are just hurting yourself and your cause by not solving
the hunger problem. A lot more folks would worship you if you’d
take care of the hunger problem. People secretly wonder, Jesus,
even if they don’t always vocalize it. Why you allow folks to
die from hunger when you have the power to prevent it?
A lot of good
could come from such a move. Think of the children with extended
bellies. Think of the mothers who are too weak to feed their
own children. Making bread from stones could feed the whole
world. Isn’t God concerned about the hungry? You know
people really teeter on the edge of faith because you don’t use your
power to solve their hunger problems. What good is all that
power if not to do well? If I were you I would solve that problem. It would buy you lots of followers. If you are God act like
a real God!
Devil, it is written, “Man does not live by bread alone.” You know that. And if I did turn stone into bread that would
not solve those other social problems. If I gave them everything
they needed like I did in the Garden, they would be so independent
and self sufficient that they would have no need to depend on one
other. They would neither relate with me nor with one another
out of desire, but like robots. The quality of relationships
would be less. I would be discounting them and they would begin
to discount one another.
If I behaved your way and fed, clothed and
took care of all they needed and eliminated all needs, I would so
discount them as to make them like the animals rather than like people. Yes, what you suggest sounds merciful, but it would really be unmerciful
and change the status of humans with God and with
But
Jesus, it could make life for people so much more humane and painless
and easy if you’d just use your strength, your power, who you are
to make their life easier. What’s wrong with that? You’re
being selfish. What’s wrong with doing good with your strength. I know that is what you’re gonna teach folks to do.
Yea, but
there is more to being good my way than just eliminating all suffering
and pain. There is more to being good than taking away the blessings
that only come for folks from knowing the joy of being a blessing
to others in need and receiving the blessing of others for helping
them. There is no joy like the joy of being loved and being
able to help another without dominating and taking over that other.
Okay,
Jesus, but I know how much you want everybody to order their lives
your way. I know how much you want them to worship you. If you will just worship me, the devil, I’ll make sure they all worship
you. I’ll give you the credit!
Devil, it is written, “worship the
Lord your God and serve God only.” I’m not in this for the credit!
I
know! I know! But think of what you could do if you controlled
everyone. Think of what it would mean if you were really in
charge around here. “There would be no need of nuclear weapons
of destruction. Wealth and resources would be shared more equitably. You, Jesus, would guarantee the entire thing. It deserves some
thought, doesn’t it?
You’ve never gotten it devil. God’s manner
of control and your manner of control are not the same. Your control
is domination, force, coercion, and retaliation. Your method
and God’s method is different. God’s method of control is to
change hearts so they want, yea desire to please, rather than are
forced to please. God’s method is to change wants because people
are convicted that God loves them just because God wants to love them,
not because they deserve it. You have always assumed that God
does not love you, devil. You have always assumed God is in
competition with you. You have always assumed and acted as if
you have to convince or compel God to relate with you. You,
devil, have always acted as if you have to win over God.
Your way
of relating through control and God’s way of relating through promise
to be with you and others, produce very different ends. Your
way of control through domination produces fear, anxiety, resistance
and competition. Even now, devil, you’re request that I worship
you proves what I am saying. You assume we are in competition. You want me to worship you rather than relate with you by God’s intended
method. You insist, just as did Adam and Eve whom you convinced
to think God was in competition with them, that God needs encouragement. Get over it, devil, get over it!
You see, your method of exercising
power that you want me to adopt in order to rectify all wrongs, would
just continue to elicit competitive resistance from people. My way of changing hearts by showing them at the resurrection that
I am not in competition with them is eternal and everlasting. My way
is I am there with them to give them the very things that you rightly
say are better, but to do so through them wanting to do those things
themselves. My way of changing the heart creates an entire new
set of wants that makes them produce what I know is best for all.
Okay,
okay, I see you just don’t get it. My way would make everybody
do, as you want. Your way guarantees that some will behave,
as you want.
No, you do not get it devil. Without my taking
the risk that not all will get it, I would miss the whole point of
creation. And Jesus, what is that, pray tell? That creation,
including those you think we are competing for, may experience the
life for which they were created, the life ordered by divine rules. You know, that
There you go again, Jesus,
insisting that your order is superior to any other. I keep telling
you, people don’t believe it. Just look at how power hungry
they are. They want things their way! They prefer lying, stealing,
competing. There is just too much evidence to think otherwise. Give up, Jesus!
Devil, you give up. “Worship the Lord your God,
and serve God only.”
Jesus, I’ll try just one more time. Let’s go to the pinnacle of the temple.
Okay, we’re here devil. Jesus, if you will just jump off, your angels will save you. Then, well then folks will know you are the Son of God and will submit
to your method of being God of all living things.
Devil, you want
me to just manipulate folks into following. You want me to dazzle
them with God in my pocket, so if I jump or do some stupid thing,
God will rescue me. You want them to think they can have my
power in their pocket when they need it or want it. Don’t you
see devil? If I did that, if I used that method of being God,
I would not be God. They, they would be God because they would
be in control of me. That would insure that they were in competition
with me rather than being in cooperation with me, forever. A
God in their pocket is just not who I am nor is it my method. If I did as you say, it would not produce what I intent to produce
with them.
I tell you devil, “Don’t put the Lord your God to the test.” Because, you see in your very request, you, too, are trying to dominate
rather than relate with me for the good of all. Testing me to
see if I am who you think I am, is but another way of trying to prove
your superiority rather than experiencing life with me as it was created
to be. The tester always seems superior to the tested. So, stop it devil. Stop it!
The only way I could ever win with
you, Jesus, was to let you have your way by leaving you alone. So, I’ll leave you alone—I’ll take my marbles and go home—for a more
“opportune time.”
That is the very point, devil. You think
you must win. I don’t think that way. I want our relationship
to win. Leaving or running away is not the way. Admitting
your way produces a lesser quality of life and turning to work with
me is the only way. Otherwise, you will always have to leave. I have no desire, or need, to prove you wrong. I only want us
to work together on the very values and rules that create the perfect
order instead of the perfect chaos. You may kill me, devil,
but my method of being God is eternal and everlasting.
We’ll see,
Jesus. We’ll see!
And so will you and me! Jesus chose
his method of being God. Which method would you choose, my friends? Which method would you choose? Which God is best?
Well?