It's almost as if the devil is trying to figure out what Jesus is here for -what His mission is. The first two temptations helped to narrow it down. They were real temptations, but somewhat off the mark. This one, however, is close.
The devil shows Jesus all the nations of the earth and suggests that he will deliver the nations to Jesus if Jesus will simply bow down and submit.
Jesus' mission was, in fact, to redeem the earth. So, in an immediate sense, the devil was offering a short cut. What the devil did not realize, however was the scope and extent of the salvation Jesus was bringing to earth. The Father's plan for Jesus was not simply to temporarily take authority and dominion of the earth. In fact, if that had been the plan, God could have done it with a single word. Satan and God are not equal but opposites. God is the Creator and Satan is a created being...he is not a god.
What Jesus was seeking was not physical domination -what Jesus came to do was destroy the works of the devil -to eternally redeem the world that Satan had corrupted. Jesus was mounting an all-out attack on the kingdom of darkness. Jesus was unleashing the antidote for mankind's sickness: the cure for greed, selfishness, pride, anger, bitterness, corruption, deception, depression, fear, guilt, shame and all the consequences of these things. And this was, in fact, accomplished in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
What the devil was offering Jesus was trivial, laughable, in comparison to the salvation accomplished at the cross.
Because Jesus did not settle for temporary power, He, in a sense, put to death, death itself.
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