“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.'” – Matthew 4:8-9
Take a moment to consider what Satan was offering to Jesus out in the desert. Satan’s offer to Jesus was authority over all the earth in exchange for worship. Standing as we do on this side of Christ’s resurrection, we know that God has given Jesus, “all authority in heaven and on earth.” So what was Satan really offering here? The opportunity to gain that authority without having to suffer the horrors of the cross.
Satan’s goal was to get Jesus to shortcut His very reason for being born into this world. Satan offered Jesus earthly authority, so long as Jesus would submit to him rather than to God’s will. Gain without pain, that was the temptation here. Thankfully, Jesus resisted this temptation, just as he resisted every temptation. This was not an uninformed decision. Jesus understood what obedience to God would cost Him.
Jesus remained in God’s eternal, redemptive will to rescue mankind from our sin by His own bloody, excruciating, sinless sacrifice on the cross. Jesus resisted Satan’s evil offer and chose to carry the terrible weight of your sin on His shoulders as He was nailed on a cross to die for you. Jesus chose to experience the terrible force of God’s righteous wrath for your sin so that Satan would be ultimately defeated. Jesus took no shortcuts to His authority and we praise Him for that, for by His perseverance and suffering, we are saved!