Matthew 4:5-6

"Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge of you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone'" (Matthew 4:5-6).

Question:

I would like to know what is meant by "lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

Comment:

Jesus' three temptations in the wilderness are basically focused on one thing: the temptation to use his newly-realized spiritual identity for personal gain instead of dedicating himself to the betterment of mankind. He is on a Vision Quest, communing with his own shadow self. The first temptation is for personal abundance, and the third is for the power to make people obey his dictates. This passage is the second temptation—for personal fame. He imagines himself at the pinnacle of the Jewish world—the very top of the temple in Jerusalem. By demonstrating his power there he could become a sensation in the world he knew. His dark self tempts him by manipulating the meaning of scripture. (Hence the saying that 'The devil can quote scripture for his own purpose.’) The passage from Psalm 91 is from a passage of assurance that those who trust in the Lord—their own spiritual identity—have nothing to fear. 'Angels' metaphysically represent divine ideas. When we are linked with our spiritual Truth, we can trust those divine ideas to express through us. We can move forward with assurance that we will not trip over any obstacles along the way.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed