This essay continues a sequence. Read the previous one here.
If we need miracles to believe, we have no real belief.
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In “Command That These Stones Be Made Bread!“, we began exploring the meaning of that first temptation. In that essay we suggested that at least two questions arise:
- What is the correct attitude towards “bread” vis-a-vis The Word?
- What is the place of miracles in the dissemination of The Word?
We explored only the first question. Now, let’s discuss the second one.
What’s So Tempting?
Our discussion will highlight some issues relevant to another temptation (the second temptation according to Matthew, and the third temptation according to Luke):
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city,
— Matt 4:5-7, KJV
and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
And saith unto him,
If thou be the Son of God,
Cast thyself down:
for it is written,
He shall give his angels charge concerning thee:
and in their hands they shall bear thee up,
lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Jesus said unto him,
It is written again,
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
For Lucifer’s suggestions (whether turning stones into bread or leaping from the temple) to qualify as “temptations” there must be something wrong with them.
The Word vs Miracles
Christ was the manifestation of The Word (ref. “What The Word Is: The Basics“). Therefore, He gave of Himself through the words He spoke, when He explained life to us (ref. “What Is Truth?“).
So, the “eating of His body” and the “drinking of His blood” should be interpreted as the personal absorption of His Word and the reshaping of one’s life accordingly:
The words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit, and they are life.
— John 6:63
This is the road to true spiritual freedom. Anything that deviates attention from it is wrong.
So, what is happening here is that the Tempter is suggesting that Christ win mankind over with a miracle-oriented approach, as opposed to an approach that emphasises Christ’s Message (The Word) and the personal effort required to understand and apply It.
Focusing on miracles would have led to greater excitement about Him and rapid growth in the number of His followers. But such followers would have a “belief” that is superficial (ref. “Act To Experience To Know“).
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The “belief” that arises from excitement about signs and wonders is shallow, whereas the belief that arises after personal consideration, research, and testing leads to spiritual knowledge and personal change (ref. “Experience“).
Christ’s Mission Is The Word, Not Miracles
Christ rejected the sensationalist approach to disseminating The Word, in this and many other instances, e.g.:
And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
— Luke 5:13-14
And He charged him to tell no man…
And straightway his ears were opened,
— Mark 7:35-36
and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
And He charged them that they should tell no man…
Believing in Christ because of a personally-attained understanding of His Word leads to personal renewal. Miracle-oriented belief merely leads to a personality cult (ref. “The Word Is Christ, Not Jesus“), which Christ also rejected:
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
— Matt 7:21
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory:
— John 7:18
but He that seeketh His glory that sent Him,
the same is true,
and no unrighteousness is in Him.
The personal effort to attain to experiential understanding of The Word must be placed at the heart of any genuine followership of Christ (ref. “Act To Experience To Know“).
It is only through Christ’s Word that we can actually understand Him and connect with Him (ref. “The Word Is Christ, Not Jesus“).
We have discussed the concept of miracles in earlier essays, e.g. in “Human Expectations vs Divine Possibilities“. Miracles happen, but should always be interpreted within the context of The Word and the Love of God.
We investigate further aspects of “Cast Thyself Down!” in the next essay.
Today’s Resolution:
- We shall anchor our faith not in external happenings, but in the spiritual reality of The Word.
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