Then the devil took him [Jesus] to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone’” (Matthew 4:5-6).
The devil presents even more cunningly. Jesus seemingly is trapped: if he refuses the twisted proposition it may be seen as a lack of trusting God the Father completely. If he accepts, it seems as though the heavenly Father is compelled to dispatch angels to save the Son.
Of course, Jesus does not need any angels any more than he needs us. Their creation, like ours, is solely out of perfect love. The philosophers explain existence as “contingent.” Not so with God.
Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test’” (Matthew 4:7).
Our blessed Lord has not become one like us in all things but sin in order to do meaningless miracles. This is no celestial circus act! Pure love always refuses to show off and perform; it continuously pours out for the benefit of its beloved. Similarly, we must remain vigilant and reject the temptations we experience having only to do with vanity. The desire to excel can be exhilarating. It also can be intoxicating and cause us to lose ourselves in its pursuit. Genuine Christians seek to strengthen their character by living with ever more integrity. Resist false presentations of God’s Word by coming to know what God really says and God really teaches. Refuse self-serving demands and extraordinary signs in order to believe.
What pleases God is that He sees me loving my littleness and my poverty, the blind hope that I have in His mercy…That is my only treasure…” (Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower of Jesus +1897)
