6/18/11 Matthew 4:8-11 Serve Him Only

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

(3rd temptation- William Blake 1803-5)

Thoughts: Here Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:13 which has its roots in the first of the Ten Commands (you shall have no other gods before me).  Even Jesus was tempted with worldl power.  How much more are we tempted with worldly power and goods?  But Jesus would not worship Satan even for a short, quick time-- not even to gain the whole world.  Perhaps Jesus thought even then, "What good will it profit a person if they gain the whole world but lose their soul?"  This would show us the how weighty and important is the first command.  The whole world is not worth one little act of worship of a false God.  Jesus' desire is that we worship Him in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:4).  Part of that is worshiping the true God by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Help me to value my worship of you more than all the world, O Lord.

John Calvin Abridged: (From the Institutes): The Lord wills to be preeminent among his people and to exercise complete authority over them.  We owe God four things: 1) Adoration (worship by submitting to his greatness); 2) Trust (assurance coming from repose and communion with Him); 3) Invocation (calling upon Him as our only help); 4) Thanksgiving- (gratitude to praise Him for all good things).