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.