Paradise Regained (Novel version)

Chapter 5 - The Temptation Continues

And thus, Jesus was still in the wilderness. And His thirty-ninth day came upon Him. He sat down on a rock to rest Himself, and tried to fight through the fatigue. For now, He was very hungry. But, He thought of Elijah and Daniel. He thought about how He was now suffering the same turmoil that that they faced.

And Jesus, only smiling through His pain, for He knew it was of good purpose, stood. "Let your will be done above all things, Heavenly Father. If the prophets did this, then I shall walk in their footsteps."

Jesus walked some more and He came to a large hill, and as He reached over it He looked upon nature. Meadows and trees stretched over the land, and there were rocks from where springs were formed. And bright colors shown from what He had not seen in a month. It was pleasing to His eyes, and it brought newfound hope to His heart. For He remembered, as He was in Heaven, He created all, and now He could see it how man sees it, for as you must remember His knowledge and wisdom were perfect, but it was limited to the human form. And He looked, and tears came to His eyes. And truly was it not so, as God made beauty and nature that the beauty of art came from nature itself?

And as Jesus walked beyond the beauty, He came back to a more desolate part of the wilderness. And He heard something like the trotting of hooves upon rock, and the jingling of coins. He looked up, and there was a man who looked rich, very rich indeed. He was upon a camel and dressed in fine red clothing and had every jewel you could think of upon his person.

And the rich man greeted. "Shalom!"

Jesus looked upon Him and greeted back. "Shalom."

The rich man got off of his camel and approached Jesus. "You're a long way from home, are you not?"

"You say so, tempter?"

And the devil realized that he was found out, but he did not care to turn back into his demonic form. "Your eyes are truly holy indeed, but it was worth the try was it not?" he said.

Jesus responded. "As worthless as you, deceiver. For did you forget that you asked me if you could join me on my journey? There is no one out here of your regalia that would venture out here. So speak, what do you want?"

And Satan spoke. "You have continued your journey since I left you, and you have not turned back in the slightest. For this, I give you the utmost praise. But now, surely your quest is drawing near and you are extremely famished. And look around the land, was this not the same wilderness as the Israelites entered into when they were subjected to it for forty years? Moses, did he not call down manna from Heaven in order to feed the people of the Lord? If the prophets asked of it, then surely you should feel no shame in your hunger, for it indeed took a miracle to feed the people of the Lord so long ago. So, thus, call it down upon us so you may eat!"

Jesus responded. "I hunger, yes. But indeed I tell you I am not needing of anything. For the Lord gives me all that I need. So surely, I will not take something or commands from a creature with a motive that is all his own and for his own pleasure and power."

Satan put his hand upon Jesus' shoulders and Jesus wished it not, but He allowed Satan to have his fun for He knew it would not affect Him. Satan spoke. "Dearest Jesus, have you forgotten that all nature is yours? It indeed belongs to you! Was this world not your creation? You have never taken anything, but only given for your entire existence, both on Heaven and now on Earth. And now, people are holding things upon the Earth, and do they not realize that it belongs to you? Dearest Jesus, you could have whatever you so desire, and it would not be as stealing, for is it not yours to begin with?"

And Satan led Jesus to the forest and brought Him to a great banquet that was in the forest. And upon the table were fruits as sweet as that of the Tree of Knowledge, and every kind of meat and dessert that had ever been known to mankind. And around the table were servants, the women as beautiful as you could possibly imagine, and the men as resolute as soldiers.