The Temptation of Jesus: The Desires of the Eyes (Luke 4:5-8)

Temptation of Christ by Gustav Dore

(1 John 2:15-17; Genesis 3:6)(Deuteronomy 6:13)

“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

“So when the woman saw that the tree… was a delight to the eyes…”

The next temptation Jesus faces is also common to man: the desires of the eyes. Just as Eve saw that the fruit was good for food, she also saw that it was beautiful. In Jesus’s case, the devil shows Him all the kingdoms of the world. What does this have to do with beauty? You might think that the temptation here is to possess power. That is only a portion of wht is going on. The devil SHOWS Jesus. It is the beauty and the desirability of the kingdoms of the world that entices here. Jesus is tempted to possess them.

Again, we face a quandary. Is recognizing the beauty of God’s creation sin? As we can even better see in this example of Jesus’s temptation, it is not merely admiring the beauty of God’s creation that is the sin. It is the desire to take it for ourselves. Eve didn’t just decide that the fruit was beautiful. She reached out and took it, even knowing that this was forbidden.

Similarly, Jesus is not just tempted with appreciating the beauty of humanity. He is offered to have power over it in exchange for serving the devil. This is a terrible idea for a lot of reasons. Was the offering even the devil’s to offer? He says he is the ruler of the world, and Jesus does not argue with him. However, we know that the devil is the Father of Lies. Also, Jesus’s purpose was to be the Messiah, and He was destined to rule the whole world. Following God’s plan would get Him the same result—only in a much more difficult manner. (It should be noted that the devil’s plan would not lead to the promise he was making.)

Jesus again answers from scripture, and again from Deuteronomy. Chapter 6 verse 13:

It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.

No matter how good the promise of temptation seems, it is always a lie. We do not become like God. Jesus would not have had rule over humanity. Temptation leads to sin and sin leads to ruin, every time. Instead of bowing the knee to any form of self-worship, or worse, trading the loving, Creator God for a deceitful con artist, we should serve and obey God only!