“Jesus’ Temptation!”
(Grace Note #95)
By Gary L. Clendenon, January 26-February 2, 2021
After all, He was GOD on Earth. He represented right and good and had come to overcome Evil. He created the Earth and its inhabitants, so He had every right to free them from their slavery.
Yoder argues that Jesus faced this temptation three times that we are told of in the Bible: 1: Just after the “Feeding of the 5,000”. 2: At the “Triumphant Entry” into Jerusalem. 3: In the Garden of Gethsemane.
In John 6:1-14, John says that the people were so impressed by Jesus’ miracle of unlimited bread and fish that they wanted to make Him their King right then and there! In verse 15 John says, “Jesus knew that they were about to come and seize him in order to make him king by force; so he went off again to the hills by himself.” Jesus quietly headed for the hills! He knew that it wasn’t His time, nor, more importantly, it wasn’t His method. Fickle popularity, swept by emotion, force—these were not The Way of GOD.
All four Gospels contain the story of “The Triumphant Entry in Jerusalem”. It was a large, noisy, and exciting time as Jesus rode the Messianic Donkey into Jerusalem, surrounded by thousands of people. There was no doubt in the mind’s of the Disciples, Jesus’ friends and followers, and all the other Jews around: Jesus was declaring Himself Messiah and King of Israel! According to John 12:13, they shouted, “God bless the King of Israel!” Ellen G. White says “hope brightened in their hearts with the joyous thought He was about to enter the capital, proclaim Himself King, and assert His royal power.” (1)
It didn’t happen. Interestingly, the Bible with its four different versions of this story, does not tell us why Jesus was not made King, but it didn’t happen. There are hints in a Jesus that breaks into sobbing at the sight of the Temple—always a damper on a joyous occasion, hints of push-back from the Temple Leaders, who didn’t want Jesus to be their King and no doubt appealed to the Romans to stop Jesus’ un-permitted parade. One version just says “It was late in the day.” Once again, Jesus quietly left the scene. He had done what He had come to do, but His Kingdom was “not of this world”. He had passed the second Temptation to make it so.
When the crowd came to arrest Jesus in the Garden, it could be argued that Judas and Peter had put in motion their Messiah’s insurrection and were ready to rumble—clearly evidenced by Peter pulling out his sword and whacking off a guy’s ear. But, Jesus quickly put a stop to that—having just overcome that temptation and said to the Disciples: “Put your sword back in its place. All who live by the sword will die by the sword. Don’t you know that I could call on my Father for help, and at once he would send me more than twelve armies of angels? But in that case, how could the Scriptures come true which say that this must happen?” (Matt. 26:52-54)
Jesus had overcome the temptation to use force. He knew that the only way to victory over Evil was through unconditional, self-sacrificing Love. Ellen G. White wrote regarding this: “Earthly kingdoms rule by the ascendancy of physical power; but from Christ’s kingdom every carnal weapon, every instrument of coercion, is banished.” (2) No coercion. No manipulation. No force. These are the weapons of evil.
White states further that there was only one way to overcome the Kingdom of Darkness: “Satan’s deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority.” (3)
As Creator of Heaven and Earth, Jesus had the authority, the power, and every right to defeat Satan by might and force. It would have been so easy. But, being from a Kingdom built on Unconditional Love and Free Will, Jesus denied that temptation and choose the most difficult, most horrific, most painful path.
People with weapons of might and force laugh at the seemingly powerless tools of non-violence, pacifism, and unconditional love, but Jesus showed us that in the end, Love Wins! The Truth is that in this universe Love is the factor that is greater than all other powers, and those who practice this seemingly powerless Love will come out on top in the end. Jesus wasn’t joking when He said, “The last will be first.”
Few have been brave enough to try Jesus’ way, but those who have, have won in notable fashion. Mahatma Gandhi led a nonviolent movement in India that led to the independence of that nation from the British Empire! Gandhi taught: “Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love.”
In our country, we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He also led a nonviolent movement against seemingly insurmountable odds for the installation of civil rights for all Americans, but especially for those in our country who wear a darker skin. He is famous for his sayings: “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” and “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden too bear.”
Like Jesus, Dr. King was assassinated for his “dangerous” teachings, but also like Jesus, the momentum of King’s teachings could not be stopped. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The unrighteous practices of segregation and not allowing minorities to vote were all overturned in the 1960’s. Love won. President Reagan signed a law in 1983 stating the MLK’s birthday would now be a federal holiday. Showing the challenge of Dr. King’s teachings, though, it took until the year 2000 for all 50 states to agree to celebrate MLK day.
I am allergic to the evil tools of force, manipulation, control, coercion, violence, and hate. I am thankful that Jesus overcame evil with good—choosing the uncommon path of Unconditional Love. I am thankful for all those down through the ages who have chosen the “Road less traveled” and stood as beacons of light and hope during the dark days and nights of hate—men like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. and all those who bravely followed them.
I have written several “Gary-isms”. I will close this writing with the one that most fits with the topic of this Grace Note, Gary-ism #8:
“Love is the answer. I triple-dog-dare you to show me any eternal good that hate, arrogance, power, control, force, or domination have brought about. Without love, there is no good. Without love, what purpose has life?”
1. The Desire of Ages, p. 570.
2. The Acts of the Apostles, p.12
3. The Desire of Ages, p. 22
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