What does Jesus temptation say about the devil's power?

[On Easter Sunday] First a greeting to all who read this blog: Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen indeed!
Let's celebrate with this song: Christ is Risen - by Matt Maher!
And today at the worship service, I learned from John 5:24-30 and now I can say "I have Risen, I have Risen indeed!"

Now back to the topic of this post. When I read Luke 4:1-13 this morning I was surprised how much power the devil was given. In the second temptation (it's recorded as the third temptation in Matthew 4:1-11), the scripture says: "The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”"

The commentary by Chuck Smith in the Blueletterbible.org pointed out a number of interesting points:

• "All the kingdoms of the world" - "So before His eyes flash the kingdoms of the world. He saw Caesar sitting on the throne in Rome. He saw all of the power that world rulership brought. All of the honor, all of the glory. He saw the servants as they bowed and as they brought the delicacies. And He saw the people as he had the audience before him. Saw the power that he wielded from the throne."
• The power was delivered to Satan in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned against the commandment of the Lord. They forfeited the earth to Satan. "Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" (Romans 6:16). And Satan took control of the earth, as man yielded to his power, to his control, to his suggestion. "in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." (Ephesians 2:2)
• Jesus did not dispute Satan's claim when Satan said, "Look, it's mine, it's been given to me, it's been delivered to me, and I can give it to whomever I will." ...He knew that was true, and that's what He had come for, is to wrest it from Satan... Now what Satan is actually suggesting here is that Jesus can escape the cross. "You don't have to take God's plan. You don't have to take the path that God has prescript to redeem. I'll make a deal with you, I'll give it to you right now, without the cross. Only one little hitch, bow down and worship me."   

[Written on Easter Monday]Bible.org also has a good summary of the teaching points from the temptation of Jesus. And the key points I learned:

• Jesus was NOT tempted to sin - as in wanting to sin but just holding back the urge. James 1:13 tells us, “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone”. Christ does not have a sin nature as we do... Christ’s temptation was an outward exposure to Satan’s ploys. The significance of these temptations being offered to Christ, and His refusal to partake, is that Jesus remained sinless and therefore remained the perfect sacrifice, able to take on the sin of mankind on the cross.
• Satan is very clever. He tempts when you’re hungry, angry, lonely, tired. Satan also tempts when you’ve just had a wonderful, spiritual event in your life. Satan tried to tempt Jesus right after Jesus was baptized by His cousin, John.
• Again, focusing on Satan's power - Satan offered Jesus the power to rule the earth. But, the world was not even Satan’s to offer (Psalm 22:28; Isaiah 37:16). This was the very temptation that had ensnared Satan which caused him to be thrown out of heaven. It was Satan’s overwhelming greed for power that caused him to rebel against God. Satan is the one who desired to become more than he was. Just the opposite, Jesus already had all power and glory, but willingly gave it up to come and give His life for mankind (Philippians 2:5-8).

In summary, the temptation of Jesus did not prove that Jesus could resist temptation. This scripture is meant to demonstrate to me what I need to do to resist temptation. (1) When I feel to need to be drawn closer to God (such as fasting) I will most likely be tempted. (2) When I am weakest I will be tempted to yield to Satan's promise for power. (3) Yet the road to salvation is never without suffering. Learn from Jesus. By suffering to the point of death, even death on the cross He was able to show us what it is like to have the resurrected power. Easter will always remind me of this. Thank you Jesus!

Just as an aside - I just finished a lovely vacation in Barbados. I was struck by the flag of the country which shows what appears to be a pitch fork:


It immediately brought to my mind a typical cartoon of Satan:


It turns out according to Wikipedia that the "trident" symbol was taken from Barbados' colonial badge, where the trident is shown with Britannia holding it. The broken lower part symbolizes a symbolic break from its status as a colony. The three points of the trident represent the three principles of democracy – 1) government of, 2) for, and 3) by the people.

Be strong and courageous

Here I am having a marvelous time in beautiful Barbados. My wife's sister just turned 50 and she decided to invite her best friends and siblings to celebrate it with her and her family here. This is truly a special vacation for me. My wife and I had been here many years before when our middle daughter did an exchange program while she was attending McGill University, which happened to have a small campus here on the Barbados Island. And now she is working as an engineer, happily married to a fine man. Moreover, I have recently decided to retire at the end of June. Looking back in time I can see the Lord's hand providing all my family's need and God has been traveling by my side all these years - making sure that I have the spiritual nourishment I need to grow in my faith.

This morning's scripture is from Joshua 1-3 and Mark 16. The first words that jumped out of these passages are "Be strong and courageous". The context is that Israel was about to enter the promise land. The last time they were here, they did not trust God and wound up returning to the dessert for another 40 years, until an entire generation, who had witnessed God's deliverance from Egypt, perished (see my blog on the Book of Numbers concerning this account). This story serves as a warning to me the consequence of not placing my trust in God. Sometimes warning works to steer me away from making bad decisions, but most of the time it's the Lord's great love and encouragement that helps me the most. So today's passage is very precious.

This article from Jack Wellman is very helpful to understand courage. I quote a paragraph here:
Courage from Encouragement
"I love what I call the three E-migo’s…edify, exhort, and encourage (or give courage to).  We all need encouragement from time to time just as we all need courage.  What does the word encouragement mean and what does it have to do with courage?   When the word is used in the Old Testament, it is the word “chazaq” which means “to strengthen, prevail, be strong, courageous.”  In the New Testament the Greek word for encouragement is “paraklesis” ... which is extremely close to the word used for the Holy Spirit “Paraclete.”  ...  Para means to come along side.  Someone who encourages another comes alongside the person they want to encourage and gives them courage. ...“klesis” which can mean a calling near, a summons or call for help, exhortation, admonition, and consolation.  So in the New Testament, the word for encouragement can be said to be someone who comes along side another to be near, to respond to their call for help, to exhort them, admonish them and console them and yes, to give them courage.  That is what encouragement does…it gives others the courage to carry on."

In the Joshua passage, God encouraged Joshua three times (I guess he really needed to hear it three times before taking on such an onerous task!):
"No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:5-9)

The reasons for Joshua's courage can be understood here:

• God promised to be with him as He had been with Moses. God will never leave him nor forsake him.
• God had sworn to his ancestors to give this land to them. God never broke His promises before and He won't break His promise now.
• He had given them a guidebook to be successful - his job was to "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

God has given me the precious scripture to guide me. "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" (Psalm 56:3-4). "I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2, yes the entire Psalm!)

He has been faithful to all His promises before (you only have to read Mark 16 to see the fulfillment of a Savior - His death and resurrection) and I can be assured of His promises for the road ahead (His kingdom now and the one to come). My retirement does not mean that I stop working. It will give me more time to focus on doing what I do best because of what He has given me. I look forward to the new promise land - land flowing with milk and honey! It seems to have begun, right here in Barbados!

Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s

This is actually the third time I am writing on this verse (Mark 12:17). I reflected on Paying Taxes in 2013 and then in 2014, Jesus' answers to "trick" questions (it was great to refresh my memories of what I wrote). This morning I have a chance to dig further into the background and possible lessons I can learn from this message:

"Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we? But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him." (Mark 12:13-17)

To start with, it was a "trap" question. Mark, the writer of this gospel, says "they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words". The Pharisees and Harodians were most likely sent by the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders (see the previous verse):

"Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away." (Mark 12:12)

So the question was meant to get Jesus into trouble. If He had answered "YES" He would have alienated the people, especially those who were following Him (and of whom they were afraid - verse 12). The Jews were under Roman rule at the time and paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar amounts to capitulating to the enemy. And if He had said "NO" they would have reported Jesus to the Roman authority and had Him arrested for inciting rebellion.

But wait, there was more risk than losing the crowd support! They had preceded the question with a few superlatives: "Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth." By saying YES to complying with an evil empire, Jesus could lose his integrity; He would become a crowd-pleaser; He would be putting human law (paying taxes to Caesar) above God's (paying temple taxes). But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. He knew they were trying to trap Him and He told them so. And He saw an opportunity to teach them as well as the crowd that were following Him. He used the coin (a denarius - about a day's wage for an unskilled person at the time) for an object lesson. He asked them (and those who were listening) "Whose image is this?". Commentators have referred the idea of an image to Genesis 1:26-30 “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness" (Genesis 1:26 and 27). So in essence He spoke quite clearly the two kingdom reality for humankind. The kingdom of this world (Caesar or the Government of Canada) and God's spiritual kingdom. We are to live in both kingdoms to fulfill our purpose on earth. The kingdom of this world bears the image of its rulers and kings whereas we bear the image of God! We are to bear witness to the wonders of God's creation (read Psalm 8 below - one of my favorites). So Jesus answer their question: "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s" He in fact said YES to paying imperial tax. He also reminded them (and us) that we give back to God not only our money but all of our lives as well. O they were amazed at Him. I am amazed at Him. He tells it like it is. We do well by listening to Him.


O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: 
(Psalm 8:1-6)

Everyone will be salted with fire

"Everyone will be salted with fire" (Mark 9:49)

This verse reminded me of my early days as a Christian. I became a Christian when I was working as an engineer in Ottawa.  The church where I was attending had many university students many of whom were members of a Christian fellowship group called CCF (Chinese Christian Fellowship). I started going there because of the attraction of young people being very enthusiastic about their faith. I soon joined an organizing committee for a devotional conference for Christian students across the province. It was held annually in the campus of Trent University, thus the conference was fondly referred to as "Camp Trent". I was there the year before and was greatly encouraged by it. So I became more involved with the organization of the conference that year. That is probably why I have always been involved with campus ministries, even to this day.

At this conference the main speaker used Mark 9:49 to admonish us to give ourselves wholly to God. I don't remember exactly what he said but I remember something about how difficult it was to interpret this verse. So I decided to do a little more research on it now, more than 35 years later!

Barnes Notes: Every one shall be salted with fire - Perhaps no passage in the New Testament has given more perplexity to commentators than this, and it may be impossible now to fix its precise meaning.

Weston W Fields from Grace Theological Seminary wrote a scholarly piece on this. He said in his introduction: "Among the difficult sayings of Jesus, Mark 9:49 is one of the most enigmatic. What could Jesus have meant when he said, 'Everyone will be salted with fire'? Stated in a context of judgment in the fire of Geh-Hinnom (the valley of Hinnom outside the southwest walls of Jerusalem), this strange mixture of salt and fire has perplexed Greek scholars for a very long time."

These are some of the points I have learned through reading his article and other references (see bottom of the blog), plus my own reflection:

• Although the New Testament text was written in Greek, there is a need to understand the context in its Hebrew lingual background. So the meaning of "salted with fire" can represent a Hebrew idiom that described the sacrificial procedure where the animal would first be salted (to achieve homeostasis) prior to being burned in fire. Apparently this way of interpreting scripture is particularly important when reading through the Book of Mark.
• In Judges 9:45 (note the exact chapter and verse numbers as Mark 9:45!) "All that day Abimelek pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it." This verse and in other places in scripture, the meaning of "to salt" is often associated with "to destroy completely". The Old Testament (OT) was written in Hebrew but the New Testament (NT) in Greek. It is possible that when a NT writer translated literally an OT story (such as "to salt" as in "to destroy completely"), the original meaning (of "to salt") is lost.
• Looking at the previous verses prior to Mark 9:49 :"If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where ‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ Everyone will be salted with fire." (Mark 9:42-49) The sin of causing one of these little ones to stumble is huge, as is the consequence of it. Whatever it takes, we must avoid the punishment where everyone (of those who committed the sin) will be destroyed by fire. 
• Interestingly the verse that follows immediately after is “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” (Mark 9:50). It brings to mind the Sermon on the Mount in Matthews 5: 13-16. Jesus used the Salt and Light metaphorically to encourage us to live lives that represent Jesus Himself ("In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16). Salt serves the function both to preserve and to add taste. Our lives should keep society from moral decay and help everyone find the true meaning of life.

Therefore the phrase "Everyone will be salted with fire" have been explained by some in terms of "judgement", and by others, in terms of "purification", the result of offering a sacrifice. It serves both as a warning (for the consequence of sin) and sanctification (to purify us to be more holy). Jesus has already offered the ultimate sacrifice, where instead of complete destruction, everlasting life.

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Colossians 4:6) 

"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:6-7)













" For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Yes JESUS!!!

Other references:
Bible Hub: http://biblehub.com/commentaries/mark/9-49.htm
Weston Fields: http://www.jerusalemperspective.com/2192
Rethinking Hell (by Chris Date): http://www.rethinkinghell.com/2012/06/salted-with-fire-annihilation-and-mark-949/
JP's mind: https://jpsmind.wordpress.com/2007/06/03/salted-with-fire/