Original Broadcast: August 2008
Monthly Theme: Gospel in Country Music
Country Song: "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.
(Matthew 4:1)
One of my favorite country music songs of all time is “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”. It tells of the fiddling duel between a young man named Johnny and the Devil himself.
The story begins:
The Devil went down to Georgia. He was lookin’ for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind ‘cause he was way behind, and he was willin’ to make a deal.
The song continues to tell a story much like the Temptation of Jesus recorded in the Gospels. While the Devil was not “way behind” when he tempted Jesus, he wanted to make sure that he would never fall behind. If he could successfully tempt Jesus, God’s family would be eliminated. The Devil would finally win the war and be greater than God.
Finally, the Devil makes a deal with Jesus. Everything in the world could be His simply by bowing down to Satan. Jesus refuses and Satan is defeated. He has to leave just as when he laid the golden fiddle at Johnny’s feet. Jesus successfully withstood the temptation.
You stumble and fall into temptation all the time. But, because of your baptism into the body of Christ, you receive forgiveness for your stumblings because Jesus won the battle in the wilderness. Take a moment to thank Him for your victory today. Amen.
