The Thin Line Between Innocent Fun and Temptation

Can you recall watching a toddler absolutely wreck a room while the parents laughed at how “cute” the behavior was? You might have been highly irritated, feeling sure you would not allow such wild behavior in your own child. The child could grow up to be an undisciplined, out-of-control monster!

That scenario seems like a fitting analogy for what Satan was enticing Jesus to become in the second of the temptations recorded in Matthew 4. Satan wanted Jesus to pull off a wild stunt, jumping off the highest pinnacle of the temple in front of crowds, so people could see the angels catch Him, expect...