Empty Promises
Jan 21, 2025 by Addison Crissone
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their
glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."
Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan!"
-Matthew 4:8-10
glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."
Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan!"
-Matthew 4:8-10
How many times has Satan told us all a lie like this? By promising us everything in the world we could ever want but never dream of actually having?
Maybe his promise to you is something you have wanted since you were a child.
He could promise you love.
Approval or acceptance.
Belonging.
Happiness.
He could be tempting you with thoughts of success or wealth. Money. Fine possesions. Fame and Fortune. Fnne possession and immense popularity. Perpetual good health.
It could be anything your heart lusts after or desires.
You can have it all.
Satan just has one teeny weeny little stipulation to the agreement here.
That you "fall down and worship" him. To fall to your knees and praise the fallen angel that has been walking the earth and tormenting souls for millennia. He wants you to worship himself and not God. He wants you to deny your Creator. He wants to separate you from your Heavenly Father. The devil wants your heart to be away from its Creator.
Luckily, God wants your heart for Himself.
The great Charles Spurgeon put it this way- "Consider how precious a soul must be when both God and the devil are after it."
And in the next verse, we hear Jesus' response.
"Be gone, Satan!"
The beauty of this passage is that Satan tempted Jesus just as he does us today. This is so that Jesus would know and understand what we go through and thus be able to plead on our behalf to the Father. Paul tells the Corinthians in the tenth chapter of his first letter that "no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond our ability, but with the temptation, he will provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it," (v.13).
As a man, Jesus went through the same things that we do today, that all humans have ever gone through throughout history. He suffered both spiritually and physically. He walked through temptations and disappointments. But as the God-man, He did not fall into sin even though he was tempted. He was able to cling to the Father when Satan came prowling to lead the Son of God astray. He whispered in his ear and promised everything the world had to offer.
He promised the world on a silver platter.
But Satan's promises were empty. They always are.
Jesus knew this.
My friend, Jesus knows the temptation you are facing today. Whether it's the temptation to crumble under the weight of grief or to throw in the towel on that relationship that you think is gone forever, He knows. Maybe you are tired and want to give up. You are exhausted. You are weary. And just ready to be done.
Once again quoting Charles Spurgeon in closing:
"However difficult and painful your road, it is marked by the footsteps of your Savior; and even when you reach the dark valley of the shadow of death and the deep waters of the swelling Jordan, you will find His footsteps there. In all the places whithersoever we go, He has been our forerunner, each burden we have to carry, has once been on the shoulders of Immanuel."
Jesus has already faced all the grief, shame, mockery, pain, and temptation that was meant for you; He has already been in the valley. He understands. So when you are facing temptation and trials, He is with you.
"I am with you always, to the end of the age," He has already promised us (Matthew 28:20).
And His promises are never empty.
