[Matthew 4:5-6]

The devil says to jump.

That’s what Matthew tells us in his description of the testing of Jesus.

You know the thing mothers are supposed to have said? When you say that everyone is doing something, they are supposed to say, “If everyone was jumping off a cliff would you jump?” We know enough to not respond to that kind of pressure.

But what if ‘everyone’ was quoting the Bible?

I mean, that’s pretty authoritative, right? So if the Bible says “jump”, then we should jump.

But the Bible doesn’t say to jump, particularly not in the passage that the devil quotes. The passage is about protection in the face of adversity, not willful leaping from tall buildings for the sake of defending God.

“What? For the sake of defending God? Where is that in the text?”

The devil quotes scripture. The implication is, if you really believe in God, you will do this. Otherwise you prove that you don’t really believe God, that you don’t trust him, that you aren’t really a follower. You have to jump to defend God.

But here’s the risky business of the title. It isn’t in jumping. It’s in listening to single sentences out of context from known deceivers.

When a person known to lie about everything accuses someone of not being very Christian, what, exactly, does that mean? Compared to how Jesus would have responded in the same setting?

When a person unfamiliar with any of the Bible says, “Aren’t you supposed to love everyone? So why are you not helping me?”, what exactly, does that mean? Compared to how Jesus would have responded in the same setting?

Jesus will respond to the devil with a different passage, one used accurately. And in that, a guideline:  read the whole book.