The German theologian, Rainer Albertz, argues that “monotheistic religions become dangerous when their adherents use their cherished beliefs about devils and demons to label others as “children of the devil” (Albertz, 2011). The danger comes from the way this label creates the illusion of an enemy who must be defeated in any way possible.
This is the path followed by the Pharisees in their claim that Jesus derived his power to drive out demons from Beelzebub, the prince of demons. The Pharisees behaved this way because they had first embraced the lie that Jesus was a child of the devil. In other words, they used their cherished belief in the devil to demonize Jesus. He then became their enemy, and they aimed to kill him.
Jesus responds to the lie by turning their accusation into a dilemma. On the one hand, if the Pharisees are correct, then Satan is a house divided against itself and thus on the verge of falling. If they are wrong, on the other hand, then Jesus derives his power from God and the kingdom of God has arrived. No matter how they unravel this dilemma, Jesus concludes that “whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
The Pharisees lied about Jesus because they embraced the influence of Satan, who is the father of lies (Jn 8:44). Lying is how Satan derives his power to influence behavior. A lie works to influence behavior when it appears to satisfy some physical, psychological, or spiritual need we have. We conform our behavior to the lie when we embrace the possibility that the lie will satisfy the need at stake. This raises a question of how to distinguish a lie from the truth.
Jesus shows us how to identify a lie in his encounter with Satan in the desert. At the end of his 40-day preparation in prayer with the Father, Jesus faced three temptations presented by the “tempter” (Mt 4:3). The devil uses each temptation as an appeal to a physical, psychological, and spiritual need that all humans share at one time or another.
The first temptation by the devil to turn stones into bread is an appeal to physical hunger. Jesus responds that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Mt 4:4). The devil then appeals to a common need for safety and security in tempting Jesus to test God by jumping off the parapet. Jesus responds with a command to have faith and trust in God rather than test him (Mt 4:7). The third temptation that offers kingdoms to Jesus is an appeal to worship a false God. Jesus responds that worship belongs to the true God, who alone is the one to serve (Mt 4:10). His life and mission show us that we worship God and serve Him best by loving what He loves—his children and his creation.
The response that Jesus gives to each temptation—Word, Faith, and Love—reveals the tools that we too can use against the devil in time of temptation. These three tools give us hope to overcome all temptation (1 Cor 10:13). They also intensify the power of our prayer (Jm 5:16). In the words of St. James, resist the devil (with Word, Faith, and Love) and he will flee (Jm 4:7).
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