It's another Bible story that is so familiar it's possible to overlook how profound it all is.
This time as I have been rereading it, I have been struck by the three categories Satan's temptations fall into.
The first temptation is to turn stones into bread. When we think of temptation and sin, things that appeal to our bodily appetites are often the first to come to mind. Drinking, smoking, overeating, etc.
The second temptation (at least in Luke's account) has to do with Satan's appeal to the ego: Satan offered Jesus a shortcut to authority over all the world.
It seems to me that the ego has a bigger appetite than the body, but sins of ego are less visible. Covetousness, gossip, lying, pride, tearing others down, etc.
The final temptation has to do with testing God's love. Maybe this one can be seen as an umbrella over the other two.
In essence it is this mindset: Given the fact that God loves me and is willing to forgive me, how much can I get away with and still have the Lord's protection over my life?
Jesus says: don't do that.
God's protection is there for when you trip over an unforeseen rock in your path, not when you purposefully throw yourself off the roof of a building.
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