In the third temptation, the devil presents Jesus with all the worldly fame and power that no one ever could begin to imagine.
Then the devil took him [Jesus] up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me” (Matthew 4:8-9).
Knowing perfectly who He is and what He has come to do for us and for our salvation, our blessed Lord altogether dismisses the tempter.
At this, Jesus said to him [the devil], “Get away, Satan! It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve’” (Matthew 4:10).
The devil makes promises he never will keep because he never can keep them. He is the deceiver, the father of lies (John 8:44) never intending to make good on any offer he makes. He never offers happiness, only misery. Temptation always is a miserable deception. Customarily, the devil looks to prey upon our personal ambitions. How alert we must remain lest we become an idol unto ourselves.
Material goods and the adulation of others cease to be good the moment they separate us from God and family and friends. We are to worship and serve the Lord God alone.
