Satan pulled back the curtain of deception, “and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” He whispered in his ear. He hissed into his soul. “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” he said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please.” (Luke 4:5-6)

I’m powerful. You can be powerful too.

They liked that. They swallowed the deception of the serpent. And the hoary tentacles of sin, with its coming millennia of destruction and grief, bringing death in its wake, infected the human race. Jesus had no such intention. Instead, he invoked the Torah:

“The scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” (Luke 4:8) God first, always, and only—not power.