But Jesus refuses, referring once again to Deuteronomy 6:16, “You must not put the Lord your
God to the test.”
Leaping from the pinnacle and being saved by the angels would not bring people to faith,
because there would really be no faith at all. If one’s belief in God is dependent on signs and wonders
then there is no belief. Remember in the Old Testament how the plagues did not convince the
Egyptians.
Jesus would work miracles in his ministry, but they would be done for specific purposes, not to
offer proof of God’s power. The third temptation was for Jesus to receive all the kingdoms of the
world and the glory of them if he would but fall down and worship the devil.
Jesus had come for the world, to bring them into the dominion of God. Here he was being
offered the opportunity to accomplish his mission in one fell swoop. All the world for Christ – what a
dream, both for the people and for the glory of God!
Even though this temptation sounded like it would fulfill Jesus’ mission, it would not, because
receiving the glory in this way would require bowing down to one other than God.
Jesus draws strength from God’s command in Deuteronomy, “You shall worship the Lord your
God and God only shall you serve.” (Matthew 4:10)
To yield to the temptation to immediately receive the kingdoms of the world would achieve the
desired end, but the means in doing so would compromise Jesus’ relationship with God. He refused to
choose a method other than one that allowed absolute obedience to God.
Each of these temptations offers the same choice: to serve God or not! The temptations were
real. They posed live options – not absurd and fanciful impossibilities. Jesus was actually tempted.
Jesus was human.
In the fulness of his humanness, Jesus experienced temptations that would have compromised
who he was called to be as a person in relationship with God.
Jesus drew on his faith in God, the profound religious experience he had at his baptism, and his
knowledge and understanding of scripture to remain obedient to God when he was put to the test of
how he would fulfill his mission.
Even though we are not Jesus, there are times when we are tested. We have moments when
choices are placed before us that – on the surface – seem viable, even ethical. We have to decide how
to proceed with our mission, our life’s labor. And we have to weigh whether our choices are in
obedience to God’s will for our lives.
Synthetic biologists are on the forefront of rewriting genetic codes that will make possible new
interventions in fighting diseases. Biologists soon will be able, through genetic engineering, to efficiently
battle diseases such as malaria. The gains being made in synthetic biology would be nothing but exciting
were it not for the realization that the scientific breakthroughs that will alleviate suffering may just as
easily be used to induce suffering. The same technology for eradicating diseases may be used to
develop diseases.
Oliver Morton, a co-author of Safe: The Race to Protect Ourselves in a Newly Dangerous
World, sternly warns biologists to beware their power. Morton signals the need for scientists to
understand the choices they face, the temptations that will come their way. He writes, “Before the trees
of knowledge in their synthetic garden bear their strange fruit, the gardeners should heed the lessons of
history. They should start talking to one another, and to the rest of us, about what to do when the
serpent turns up.” (“Biology’s New Forbidden Fruit,” by Oliver Morton, The New York Times,
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