It could be said that the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness progressed from the mundane to the climax of them all. The tempter began by asking Jesus to command stones to turn to bread. He situated that temptation in the context of Jesus’ immediate need. Of course, Jesus knew that life is more than immediate gratification of any pressing physical need. It is the word of God that must be the sustainer of life. The second temptation came quickly; and that was for Jesus to recklessly display His power. He was told to throw Himself down from a cliff. That was also rebutted with the word of God. Finally, Satan offered to Jesus all the glories of the physical world in exchange for worship. He was willing to part with what he had had under his control since Adam if Jesus would bow down and worship.
“worship means total submission…Every time you defer to the Lord, you are worshipping in spirit and truth.”
Two things come to light from this climax of a temptation. Firstly, we see how both God and Satan are seeking for worship. For the fact that Satan was willing to let everything go in exchange for worship, it proves the importance of the subject. Secondly, we can from here draw an inference with regards to the meaning of worship. When Satan demanded worship from Jesus, he did not ask for a song; he asked Him to bow. Literally, he wanted Jesus to surrender to him. So, invariably worship means total submission. To this extent, worship is not what we do when we gather in church services only. Every time you defer to the Lord, you are worshipping in spirit and truth. What this means is that someone might sing sonorously and not be worshipping. Another may not sound so convincing with his voice or may not even sing at all, yet he gives acceptable worship to the Lord. It is all about being yielded to God.