As Jesus Walked: Christ Revealed in the Synoptic Gospels, #5 - The Temptation of Christ

 (This post is part of a series. For previous posts in the series please see #1, #2, #3, #4)

As we studied in the last section of Scripture, Jesus began His public ministry with an outward sign identifying with the sinners He came to save and demonstrating utter submission to His Father's will. With the divine seal of approval that followed His baptism, we might expect His next step to take Him into a prominent location from which He would correct all misconceptions about the Messiah and the Kingdom, and call people to follow Him. 

We would be so very wrong. Instead, Jesus first ministry assignment would take place solely before the face of God.

The Temptation of Jesus

(1) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (2) And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. (3) And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." (4) But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" (5) Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, (6) and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU'; and 'ON [their] HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'" (7) Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'" (8) Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; (9) and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." (10) Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" (11) Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and [began] to minister to Him.  [Matthew 4:1-11 NASB95]

(12) Immediately the Spirit impelled Him [to go] out into the wilderness. (13) And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him. [Mark 1:12-13 NASB95]

(1) Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness (2) for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. (3) And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." (4) And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.'" (5) And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. (6) And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. (7) "Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours." (8) Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" (9) And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; (10) for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU,' (11) and, 'ON [their] HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'" (12) And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is said, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'" (13) When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time. [Luke 4:1-13 NASB95] 

The Gospel writers all emphasize the divine nature of Jesus going into the wilderness. He was "led" (Matthew & Luke) or "impelled" (Mark) by the Holy Spirit to go into the wilderness. Luke, our chronological historian, tells us that the temptations were ongoing during these 40 days. He also provides the detail that Jesus was "led around" in the wilderness - He wasn't just sitting under a tree, He also wasn't taking a pleasant hike through a forest, what we might think of as a "wilderness" in the West. No, He was walking around a hot, dusty, unforgiving environment. A modern tour company prepares people for the experience today with this description: 

The Judean Desert is marked by barren wilderness, mountains, terraces and escarpments rather than rolling sand dunes. The final escarpment drops steeply to the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley. The desert is criss-crossed by a number of valleys (wadis) and has deep ravines cutting through the rock. (https://www.beinharimtours.com/judean-desert/, emphasis in the original)

Matthew and Luke are also consistent in telling us that Jesus only became hungry after the 40 days ended. God obviously miraculously sustained Him. Reading Matthew alone, we might think the temptations didn't begin until the 40 days ended. However, a parallel reading of Luke informs us that the temptations were ongoing throughout the 40 days. Both Matthew and Luke emphasize three specific temptations, but Scripture is clear that Jesus was tempted in ways beyond the three selected by the Gospel writers for emphasis: 

(14) Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. (15) For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. (16) Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help. [Hebrews 4:14-16 NET, emphasis added]

Jesus was tempted in every way that we are - either during the 40 day period through temptations we do not see in Scripture, or over the course of His ministry as Satan found other "opportune times" (Luke 4:13) we also are not given. These three, however, are considered relevant enough for God to inspire Matthew and Luke to include them in detail. Jesus Himself is the only possible source for these details, and so we are on the right track if we envision Him pulling aside some of His disciples and telling them, "Let me tell you what happened during those days after my baptism." He was constantly teaching them, preparing them for the calling and ministry He had for them and helping them understand the challenges they would face, both internal and external. Here, we see He isn't asking them to walk through anything He hasn't already faced. 

Temptation #1: Physical Need

Matthew and Luke both tell us that at the end of 40 days Jesus became hungry, and Satan then put forth a temptation related to that physical need. Hunger is an inescapable reality of being human; all people everywhere have to eat. Satan's temptation puts forth stones and suggests that if Jesus is really who He says He is - the Son of God - He can command them to become bread. It is apparent that Satan is casting doubt on Jesus' core identity. Jesus, however, fights the temptation with Scripture, specifically quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. Matthew's account quotes the verse more fully than Luke's - "Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." 

The Deuteronomy passage refers back to the manna that God provided in the wilderness. Moses, on the edge of the Promised Land, recalls Israel's history in the wilderness. He reminds them that God humbled them with hunger and gave them manna to teach them that physical needs are not ultimate - we have a deeper need, a spiritual need for the word of God. Jesus, the Word made flesh, fights the temptation by prioritizing the need for the word of God. In so doing, He also underscores that His identity as Son of God is not based on physical realities but on spiritual ones.

Temptation #2: Earthly Power

Matthew and Luke's second and third temptations are flipped, so we will use Luke's chronological account as the second temptation.  Satan takes Jesus to a high mountain and shows Him "all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time," claiming that he had been given the authority over them and could give it to anyone he wished. All Jesus had to do was bow down and worship Satan. 

Before addressing Jesus' response, a word must be said about Satan's claim. Some teach that Satan truly was given this power and so those nations have to be "reclaimed". (Some do teach that they were "reclaimed" through the cross.) These teachings fail to take two facts into consideration: 

1) Satan is a liar (John 8:44). We can assume that whatever he says is false, even when mingled with truth twisted to his own purposed.

2) God gave His Son the authority to ask Him for the nations as an inheritance (Psalm 2). Even allowing for the fullness of this promise to only be in place after the resurrection, Jesus was standing on that mountain knowing He had been promised exactly what Satan was offering - and knowing, as He would later teach, that Satan was, and always had been, a liar. (And indeed, Matthew's gospel ends with Jesus asserting that "all authority in heaven and on earth" had been given to Him - far more than Satan's false offer (Matthew 28:18-20.)

Jesus doesn't address these two facts, however. Instead, He cuts to the heart of what Satan was wanting - worship. He goes back to the first commandment - again quoting from Deuteronomy (Deut. 6:13). He refuses to worship and serve anyone but God.

Temptation #3: Testing God

Finally, Satan takes Jesus into Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and quotes Psalm 91. Again challenging Jesus' identity, Satan suggests that He throw Himself off the temple and let God catch Him. In this temptation we hear a foreshadowing of the mocking Jesus heard at the cross (see Matthew 27:40). Jesus resists the temptation to use Psalm 91 in a self-protective way. Instead, He again pulls from Moses' words, this time quoting Deuteronomy 6:16. 

In this passage Moses is reminding the Israelites of when they tested God at Massah, demanding water and questioning whether Moses led them out of Egypt just to die in the wilderness. In Deuteronomy, Moses reminds them of that sin and implores them not to repeat that when they cross into the Promised Land. Instead, they should just focus on doing right in the sight of the Lord (Deut. 6:18) and let Him take care of their enemies. (See Deut. 6:16-19). In quoting this verse, Jesus is telling Satan that He isn't going to be presumptuous and "test God" just because of a few verses taken out of context; instead, He is going to focus on doing what is right and allow God to be his protector as He sees fit. 

Lessons Learned

As noted in the previous posts,  I am seeking to frame my lessons learned, the "what does it mean for me" around four questions to help my theology meet my reality: 

• What does this story teach me about Jesus and the life He gives? (1 John 1:1-2)
• How does this story about Jesus reveal God to me? (Hebrews 1:1-3)
• What does this story teach me about walking as Jesus walked, being conformed to His image? (2 Cor 3:18; 1 John 2:6)
• How does this story increase my fellowship with God and others? (1 John 1:3-4) 

What does this story teach me about Jesus and the life He gives? 

As the Hebrews passage above reminds me, Jesus was tempted "in every way" as we are, yet without sin. This passage tells me some of what that temptation looked like - but not all. As John Piper has said, Jesus' temptations were stronger than ours, not weaker, because we don't resist to the degree He did. We often give in to sin, ending the temptation; He never did. This story tells me I have a Savior who truly has been tempted, and can walk with me through any temptation I might ever face.

How does this story about Jesus reveal God to me? 

While Mark doesn't include the details of the temptations, he does tell us Jesus was "with the wild beasts". Matthew and Mark both tell us that after the temptations, angels came to minister to Jesus. The sense that is given is that God was watching and just waiting to minister to Jesus, healing Him from the challenges He faced physically from "wild beasts", the wilderness, and Satan himself. This shows the Father's heart toward His Son. He could have caused Jesus' certainly-sore feet, fatigued body, and exhausted spirit to heal with just a word, but He sent angels - angels from the realms of glory where Jesus had lived in eternity with the Father. Angels that had to be a reminder of Home in a desolate place that was nothing like the glory He had left. What an amazing portrait of the heart of God. 

What does this story teach me about walking as Jesus walked, being conformed to His image? 

Jesus fully relied on God and His word during times of temptation. This reliance was so thorough that even the passages He quotes are  reflective of His present experience. All come from Deuteronomy, when the Israelites were encamped in another wilderness awaiting entrance into the Promised Land. As a Jewish man, Jesus would have known these stories by heart. He would have memorized the Psalms from which Satan drew two of the temptations. Similarly, I need to be steeped in His word to face any temptation. Satan was looking for an "opportune time" to tempt Jesus further, and I can be assured he is always on the lookout for such an opportunity with me. It's not a matter of if, but when, I'll need to apply what I know of His character access His word to a time of temptation. 

How does this story increase my fellowship with God and others? 

Leaning on God and knowing His word well will draw me into closer relationship with Him during my times of temptation. It is easy to focus on Satan and the attack during times of spiritual warfare. Jesus' temptations show me that I should keep the emphasis on God and His word. Knowing the He is who He says He is, that I am who He says I am, and that His word is sufficient, will only increase my fellowship with Him. 

Physical presence enhances fellowship with others. The fact that God sent angels to minister to Jesus demonstrates that even the God-man Himself benefitted from physical presence.