Tempted By Satan
“I answered and said to him [Jesus], “Master, we can obey you if you wish, for we have forsaken our fathers and our mothers and our villages, and followed you. Give us the means not to be Tempted by the evil devil.” The master answered and said, “What good is it to you if you do the father’s will but you are not given your part of his bounty when you are tempted by Satan? But if you are oppressed by Satan and persecuted and do the father’s will, I say he will love you, make you my equal, and consider you beloved through his forethought, and by your own choice. Won’t you stop loving the flesh and fearing suffering? Don’t you know that you have not yet been abused, unjustly accused, locked up in prison, unlawfully condemned, crucified without reason, or buried in the sand as I myself was by the evil one? Do you dare to spare the flesh, O you for whom the spirit is a wall surrounding you? If you consider how long the world has existed before you and how long it will exist after you, you will see that your life is but a day and your sufferings an hour. The good will not enter the world. Disdain death, then, and care about life. Remember my cross and my death, and you will live.”” ~The Secret Book of James
Give Us the Means
James or one of the other disciples of Jesus says they can obey him, but it would be easier if Jesus would give them a way to avoid being tempted by Satan. This disciple is essentially asking Jesus to give them smooth sailing at all times. No storms, no errant winds, no rogue waves, all smooth sailing. It is an unrealistic request. As long as we are in the physical world we have to face adversity and deal with it. Jesus isn’t going to make the obstacles of disease, hunger, storms, earthquakes, etc. go away. They are part of this world, which is not God’s world. This world is the creation of the Demiurge or Fallen Angels, so Satan has power here. As long as we are in the physical realm, we will be tempted by Satan.
If Tempted By Satan
Whether or not Jesus could do as James asks, Jesus replies that he has no intention of preventing them from being tempted by Satan. He gives them a good reason why, if they understood. it. Jesus asks them, “What good is it to you if you do the father’s will but you are not given your part of his bounty when you are tempted by Satan?” What he is saying is this. When we do good because there is no alternative, we have not accomplished much. If the only option we have is to do God’s Will, then doing it is good, but not special, not deserving any reward. On the other hand, if we are frequently tempted by Satan and his minions to do what is pleasant, comfortable, fun, but in violation of God’s Will, and we resist and do what is right, we have accomplished something to be proud of.
When a swimmer swims against a current, he grows stronger and stronger. If he just floats in an unmoving pool, he gains little. If a weight lifter lifts barbells and dumbbells with no weights attached, she doesn’t get stronger, she doesn’t increase her stamina. But if she adds enough weight to strain her muscles, she will increase strength and stamina. In the war of Light against darkness, God needs soldiers of Light who are strong, who have stamina, and who resist temptation. When tempted by Satan, they must say no, not whine for the temptation to go away. Overcoming the obstacles makes us stronger and more useful to ourselves and to God.
Disdain Death, Care About Life
Jesus also replied that the disciples should disdain death and care about life instead. What he means by that is we should care about real life, eternal life, the life of the spirit and soul, rather than the life of the physical body which is going to die at some point no matter how well we care for it. That doesn’t mean that we should ignore the needs of the body, but the needs of the spirit should take priority.
Remember My Cross
In the final line of the paragraph quoted, Jesus reminds the disciple to remember his cross. This will almost certainly be considered by most to be the crucifix that Jesus was hung on to die. To a limited degree, it is. Jesus, who is now appearing to them in spirit after his physical death, is reminding them of the suffering he faced that was worse than being tempted by Satan. But he is also talking about the Cross of Christ which is different from a crucifix. It is not a symbol of death, but one of eternal life. Its design is recognized by the spirit and soul that understand the language of symbols.
The paragraph after the one quoted above goes into that more, and I will probably cover that in another post.
