Servant or Tyrant?

Satan offered Jesus unlimited political power to achieve his messianic mission if only he acknowledged the Devil as his Overlord.

Satan tempted Jesus by offering him political power over “all the kingdoms of the world,” an offer he refused. Instead of power and grandeur, he submitted to the way of the ‘Suffering Servant’ that led inevitably to death on the Roman cross. Jesus did not dispute the Devil’s claim to have jurisdiction over political systems and governments.

The Son of God and Messiah of Israel was “driven” into the wilderness by the Spirit to be “tested” by the Devil. He was tempted in four ways, and his greatest challenge was Satan’s offer of political power - (Matthew 4:8-11).

[Photo by Daniil Silantev on Unsplash]

The Devil took Jesus to a high mountain and showed him all the “kingdoms of the world (‘kosmos’) and their splendor.” He offered him more than just sovereignty over the Jewish nation or the territory of Palestine. The term translated as “world” or ‘kosmos’ could refer to the entire planet if not the Universe. The Devil would provide him with the means to establish the “Kingdom of God,” the very thing for which God sent him.

In the version of the story in Luke, the Tempter declared that he would give Jesus “all this authority” if he only acknowledged Satan’s overlordship. He claimed that “it has been delivered to me, and to whomsoever I will, I give it.”

Jesus did not call him a liar or dispute his right to dispense political power, which almost certainly he would have done if the Devil did not have it. Furthermore, if Satan received this authority from a higher source (“it has been delivered to me”), that could only be God. Behind this claim was the fall of man recorded in the Book of Genesis. Satan’s dominion over humanity was due to Adam’s sin - (John 12:31, 14:30).

To acquire political power Jesus had to “render homage” to the Devil. The Greek verb so translated denotes giving allegiance to someone of higher rank. In other words, to gain universal sovereignty he needed to acknowledge Satan as his Sovereign.

Was he not the Messiah appointed by God to reign over the nations? How could he govern the world without the military and economic might of the World Empire? - (Psalm 2:6-8).

Satan offered a shortcut to the God-ordained sovereignty promised to the Messiah, a way for Jesus to avoid suffering and death. Imagine all the good he could do if he possessed Caesar’s throne and commanded the legions of Rome! No doubt righteousness and peace would soon prevail throughout the Empire! Who was better qualified to command the legions of Rome than the Prince of Peace?

SUFFERING SERVANT

Rather than bow to Satan or stoop to the violent methods of the present world order, Jesus chose the path of the Suffering Servant. In his Kingdom, victory is achieved through self-denial and sacrificial service. “Greatness” is measured by acts of mercy and love, especially when done for one’s “enemy.”

Jesus embraced the “form of a slave” and became “obedient unto death.” Therefore, God exalted him to reign and gave him the name “above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth.” Calvary must precede exaltation, and his disciples are summoned to adopt this same orientation by letting this “mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus”:

• “Who being in the form of God, counted not the being like God a thing to be seized, but instead, poured himself out, taking the form of a slave, being made in human likeness; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross” - (Philippians 2:6-9).

Institutional Christianity has a long sordid history of mixing Church and State. The temptation to use political power to impose “right” beliefs and conduct rather than persuasion is too great. However, advancing God’s Kingdom through the political means of this fallen age means resorting to the State's coercive power to impose our agenda on others.

The disciples of Jesus must choose between following the “slain Lamb wherever he goes,” or giving their allegiance to the “Beast.” When they employ the corrupt political systems of this world, they embrace the “Beast from the Abyss,” prostrate themselves before its “image,” and begin to “take its mark.”

Believers must take seriously the Scriptural portrayal of political power as Satan’s territory. If the Devil works behind the scenes of this world, and if the possession of political power necessitates giving allegiance to Satan, and since Jesus himself refused to do so, should we not follow his example, or should we embrace what he rejected rather than the Cross of Christ?

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SEE ALSO:

• Why do the Nations Rage? - (The conspiracy by the earth’s kings to unseat God’s Son is applied by the New Testament to the plot to destroy Jesus – Psalm 2:1-6)

• Shepherding the Nations - (Jesus is the promised ruler from the line of David, the King who is shepherding the nations to New Jerusalem – Revelation 12:5)

• The Supreme Ruler - (Jesus, the Faithful Witness, now reigns supreme over the Kings of the Earth, and he is shepherding the nations to the Holy City of New Jerusalem)