Cross Before Crown

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Matthew 4:8-11

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

 
 

The essence of the devil's testing of Jesus in the Wilderness in Matthew 4 is about suffering. The crucial question: is there a shortcut through suffering for Jesus?

Jesus and the devil are in agreement: Jesus will reign in the end. The question is, can he receive his glory without going through suffering? Look carefully and see that the temptations are all about a shortcut through suffering: food instead of fasting, safety instead of danger, the crown without the cross.

The temptation for Jesus to avoid suffering must have been nearly irresistible.

Nearly irresistible, but not ultimately so. Jesus resists. He knows that, for whatever reason, there is no shortcut through suffering in this life. For whatever reason, the cross comes before the crown.

I wish I could tell you that it is possible to live life without difficulty, but that would be a lie. The good news, though, is that there is nothing unusual about your difficulties--everyone has trials. The even better news is that God redeems all that he allows, and that our "present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).

So, there's no shortcut through suffering. It's just one foot in front of the other. But, be hopeful: the Lord has something amazing planned at the end.

 

P.S. I preached about this topic last Sunday.

P.P.S. Let the countdown begin: churchwide Bible study next Wednesday, September 13. 6:30-8:00 PM. Whom are you inviting? We won’t have another Bible study until October—DO NOT MISS THIS ONE.

P.P.P.S. I’ve been reading one psalm a day, every day for the last several years. No matter what other reading plan I’m in, no matter what’s going on, I just stick with that simple rhythm. Today, I start over again with Psalm 1. Wanna join me? Here’s the schedule we’ll be following. And guess what? In 150 days, we’ll start over again. Let’s GO.