A morning Bible reading, a God-thought, and a Sunday morning sermon led to this post. My morning read started with Luke 4. When I had finished the first temptation of Jesus a small thought said, “The Second Adam passed the test that the first Adam failed.” The “test” that Jesus passed was of earthly provisions/good food. O, Jesus gave a “Tree of Life” answer.

Temptation 2 and 3 are exactly the same, but Matthew and Luke reverse them. Thought #1 – Both of these happened, and Jesus passed and gave a “It is written” answer. Thought #2 – Is the order important? Please see Thought #1. Matthew, a Jew, put Jerusalem and the Temple first; Luke, a Greek missionary who traveled with Paul, focused on earthly kingdoms. Who is right? See Thought #1. What was the Holy Spirit trying to teach us and why would He allow these writers to do this? See Thought #1.  

Kingdoms of the World and Their Splendor

Satan/Tempter is a liar. A “good lie” needs facts in it or it will not be believed. Jesus did not argue the devil’s statements; He ended the lie with the truth – “It is written”. Who do earthly kingdoms serve? Jesus said and showed in John’s Gospel and Revelations that His Kingdom is not of this earth, and He will bring a new one with Him when He comes again. Adam gave his authority to satan in the Garden when he ate the fruit, so satan twisted the facts making a lie.

I will offer two of MY thoughts here.

1. The only mountain I can think of that is that high is the Mountain of God in Heaven.
2. When people want to assign blame; ask them if it is their god or our God that should get the blame. (Be firm in your knowledge of God and His nature.)

Jerusalem and the Temple

Any fall from a tower or city gate would have been high enough to have caused death. So, the location is what is important. God loves the Land of Israel and Jerusalem. Some scholars have suggested that this is where the Garden of Eden was. That step off of the Temple would have given the devil control over the worship of God. Ask yourself why the world wants to take His Land away from Jacob’s Children.

Another Layer of Thought

Earthly rewards (Temptation #1) will get most people’s attention. Once that has been surrendered the desire for power is right before you. But if Satan can get your right relationship with the Father; he does not need the first two.

The Sermon

Steven Furtick referenced the temptations today (9/21/2025) and compared them with Moses and the Children in the Exodus. That fits with Jesus’ baptism (passing through the Red Sea), 40 days (40 years) (Jesus’ earthly ministry could have been 40 months), and bread from stones (manna) as examples. I thought of the Garden in Genesis 3. The Holy Spirit layers lessons together to increase our knowledge of the work done for us.