Jesus disappears into the wilderness, alone. He lets himself become very weak, fasting for 40 consecutive days. When the enemy sees the advantage is his, he emerges from hiding and strikes. As I imagine their encounter, it goes like this:
The tempter comes disguised as someone Jesus recognizes from his youth. Perhaps he comes as a rabbi or a family friend, a familiar face with bushy eyebrows and a charming grin. When Jesus notices the man approaching, he isn’t sure if he is hallucinating a childhood memory or if the ancient serpent has arrived at last.
The old man squats across from Jesus with a look of concern. He pleads, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread!” Jesus, why are you denying yourself?
Jesus responds with a verse from Deuteronomy: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
The old man looks away, disgusted. Was 40 days not long enough? Still, the enemy knows he has the edge. He knows what Jesus wants even more than food: he wants his people to recognize who he is and embrace him as messiah. With this knowledge, the enemy remains confident. Jesus, slumped against a stone, eventually lays his head back. The man’s bushy eyebrows are the last thing Jesus sees as his mind drifts away.
Abruptly alert, Jesus finds himself in Jerusalem. He is perched high above a bustling crowd of hundreds of people. He is peering down at them from the pinnacle of the Temple. From this position the priest would regularly watch and wait for dawn, eager to give the signal to commence the Temple services, the morning sacrifice always set to occur precisely at sunrise. The Temple’s pinnacle is a place of anticipation and new beginnings. Jesus knows this intuitively as he surveys the setting that now surrounds him.
Beside him stands a man dressed in priestly garments. The priest invites Jesus forward. With a reassuring voice, he says, “If you are the Son of God, jump off. For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Give your people what they need to recognize you! Jesus, it’s exactly what you want made as easy as gravity.
As I imagine the enemy dressed in priestly garments, so his temptation is dressed in Scripture. But Jesus calls up Deuteronomy 6:16 and responds, “It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
The priest raises an open palm and Jesus winces, bracing for impact. Instead, the man’s hand swipes the whole scene into oblivion. Jesus is hit not by a hand but by a blast of icy wind that stabs his sun-burnt face.
He has been transported to the summit of a colossal mountain, its flanks so staggering and steep that no man could scale them. Jesus shares the summit with a towering, magnificent archangel adorned with precious stones and buttressed by mighty, outstretched wings. This goliath angel, tall and striking, holds a pose that accentuates his most stunning and wonderful features. But the man peering up at him is unimpressed.
The angel directs Jesus to the edge of the mountaintop. There, beyond the dizzying drop off, is a scene so captivating it is difficult to describe. Here is how I imagine it:
Draped over the landscape is history distilled into a single panorama. The most glorious kingdoms of every era stretch as far as the eye can see. And against their glow, these two figures stand with long shadows behind them. The angel lets Jesus take in the captivating view. The angel pretends to look too, but the kingdom he covets most is in the boney frame of the man standing next to him.
The enemy finally speaks. “All these things I will give you,” he says above a whisper, “if you fall down and worship me.” The course of the world, up for sale! Rule it as you see fit! Simply bow to me and it’s yours.
Jesus turns to the angel and, for a third time, answers with a verse from Deuteronomy. “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
The angel’s countenance tumbles down the mountainside. Somehow, despite the odds, this weak and emaciated man has prevailed.
There is a sudden, disorienting whirlwind, and Jesus finds himself slumped against a rock in the desert. It’s twilight and the stars are coming out. Across from Jesus is a strange man with black eyes that don’t blink. Motionless and crouching, he stares at Jesus without speaking or breathing. Jesus blinks and the man is gone.
At least, until an opportune time presents itself (Luke 4:13).
* * *
The opportune time arrives as Jesus hangs on the cross. Around him is an audience of hecklers, and among them is a strange face that Jesus recognizes. It is the enemy weaving his way through the crowd, his face turned sideways and set on Jesus as he walks. He says nothing directly, but he speaks through the spirit of those around him. Someone yells, “If you are the Son of God, come down from that cross!”
Recall the enemy’s temptations in the wilderness: “If you are the Son of God...” “If you are the Son of God...” and now again: “If you are the Son of God, come down from that cross!” This time, Jesus’ response will be different than before.
In the wilderness, Jesus relied on Scripture to do battle. There are five books in the Torah he could have chosen from, but a single book (Deuteronomy) was enough to put down the enemy.
In another great showdown, David went against Goliath at the end of 40 days. David “chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine . . . David took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.”
David relied on those stones to do battle with Goliath. In his bag there were five stones he could have selected, but a single stone was enough to put down the enemy.
But there again, the showdown wasn’t yet over. After dropping the giant with a single stone, David drew Goliath’s sword from its sheath. Using Goliath’s own weapon against him, David cut off Goliath’s head.
In a similar way, Jesus responds. Hanging on the cross, he looks down at the enemy. Before he had struck the enemy down with a single book, but he will finalize the victory with a different weapon: death itself. Death is drawn up into his hands. Using the enemy’s own weapon against him, Jesus dies on the cross, and with that death, he crushes the serpent’s head.
