Temptation of the Christ

The crowds, Jewish leaders, and robbers all join in a Satanic temptation” “If you are the Son of God.”  Jesus is Adam at the tree,a tree that has become a means of execution rather than a source of fruit.  The temptation of the Christ is the same as the temptation of the first Adam: Yea, has God said?  Did God say that He’d rescue you?  Where is He?  And if Your Father promised a rescue and doesn’t come, then can God be trusted? He’s sent you to an excruciating death; He’s sent you into a place where you are surrounded by a mob of mockers.  What kind of Father is that?  How can you trust a Father who would lead you here ?  Can you trust a Father who would lead you here and then leave you on your own?

Jesus stays on the cross because He knows that this cross is proof of His sonship, proof of His kingship.  And we should too.  When we suffer, we are tempted to doubt our Father’s word and our Father’s goodness.  When the Father puts us on a cross, we want to climb down as quick as we can.  But that’s a temptation to be resisted.  The cross, with all its pain, shame, humiliation, and mockery, is where we belong, because that’s where Jesus is, that’s where our King hangs, and that’s the way of kingship.