What a wonderful series of events we have in the fourth chapter of Matthew, in which Jesus' temptation in the wilderness is presented. The first of these deals with the problem of food, and when the tempter bade Jesus use his mental power, strengthened by a forty days' vigil, to produce bread from a stone, he resolutely refused because with clear vision he could see that man really lives, not by matter but by "every word" of God. He was next taken to a pinnacle of the temple and bidden to cast himself down that so he might, as it were, test the divine promise of protection. From that outlook he was far above formal or ceremonial religion, yet he turned away from the temptation to indulge mortal mind by a merely spectacular display of power, and again he used as his weapon the written word: "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."
The next recorded temptation relates itself most vividly to different events in human history, and especially, perhaps, to the present hour. We read that the devil took Jesus up into a very high mountain and showed him "all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them," at the same time boldly intimating that he might become ruler, dictator, arbiter, over all of these if he would but bow down to the carnal mind, that which is the opposite of God, divine Mind. Then with the calm dignity of man as God's likeness the Master said: "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." These words of Christ Jesus recall our Leader's statement on page 143 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures": "If Mind was first chronologically, is first potentially, and must be first eternally, then give to Mind the glory, honor, dominion, and power everlastingly due its holy name."
The thought of an outlook into the vast realm of Mind recalls Moses' vision at the Red Sea, when apparently nothing but annihilation awaited himself and the people whom he was leading out of bondage. The very hopelessness of the situation from a human viewpoint forced them to turn to God; and when they went forward in obedience to the divine command the way was opened up for them, and their enemies were destroyed. From this we go to quite another outlook on the part of Moses, after he had led his people through many dangers and difficulties and proved for them again and again the ever presence of the Mind that governs the universe. As we think of him, standing alone on Mount Pisgah, we are aware that something far grander than an earthly Canaan met his gaze, and these words of an old hymn point to that which opened up before his spiritual vision:—
