“The Temptation in the Wilderness” by Briton Rivière (1898).
START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 4:1-11
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OBSERVE:
The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness takes place near the very beginning of his ministry. In a sense, this is a transitional moment in his life — he has just been baptized by John, with the dramatic affirmation from the other two persons of the Trinity:
He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).
And following his 40-day ordeal of fasting and temptation, Jesus will begin his ministry in Galilee with the preaching of his central message:
Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17).
The ordeal of Jesus in the wilderness is no accident. All three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) make it clear that Jesus goes into the wilderness in obedience to God:
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Two items deserve our notice before we continue — one is the person of the devil; the other is the spiritual discipline of fasting.
If we read the New Testament following the church’s arrangement of the canon, this is the very first mention of the devil. But it is certainly not the last. There are 33 references to the devil in the New Testament, but none in the Old Testament. Jesus refers to his adversary as Satan in verse 10. There are 34 references to Satan in the New Testament, and 14 in the Old Testament, primarily in Job and Zechariah. Demons appear 49 times in the New Testament, and just twice in the Old Testament.
Needless to say, in the New Testament world-view the existence of the devil is assumed to be real. While this is not the place for an extended discussion of demonology, we can at least say this — in the New Testament the devil is presumed to be a supernatural being who leads a host of evil supernatural beings:
The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him (Revelation 12:9).
And this devil and his angels have nothing but malice toward God and human beings. The word devil — from the Greek diabolos — means slanderer or backbiter. Satan means adversary or enemy.
Clearly, this encounter in the wilderness is a pitched battle of wills between God and Satan, and between good and evil.
But we can also say that Jesus has been preparing for his contest with Satan. He has been fasting for forty days and forty nights. Although we are told that Jesus was hungry — of course — this is not necessarily to be seen as a sign of his vulnerability. Fasting in Scripture is regarded as a spiritual discipline, accompanied by intense prayer. Fasting is a way of detaching. If anything, Jesus has been strengthening himself for this moment through fasting! The spiritual discipline of fasting is called a means of grace.
The three temptations the devil brings attack Jesus at a radical level. The first two temptations begin with Satan questioning the very affirmation that God the Father made when Jesus was baptized:
If you are the Son of God…
This phrase will come up again — when Jesus is nailed to the cross. Those who mock the dying Jesus say:
If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross! (Matthew 27:40).
In the first temptation, Jesus is tempted to use his unique relationship to the Father to satisfy his own appetites:
command that these stones become bread.
Jesus doesn’t respond by exerting his own authority, or even by invoking the power of his Father. He responds by quoting the Scripture. In other words, he uses another means of grace. He quotes Deuteronomy 8:3:
It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’
In other words, Jesus declares his ultimate dependency not upon physical resources but upon what God has declared in his word. And what has God told him? That he is the Son of God, and therefore he need not prove it to himself or to Satan!
The second temptation is certainly paranormal — the devil transports Jesus to Jerusalem and sets him at the peak of the temple. And now the devil changes his tactics. The devil still calls the identity of Jesus into question, but he himself quotes Scripture, from Psalm 91:11-12!
If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you.’ and,
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’
I can’t help but think of Shakespeare, who writes:
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart:
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!
(The Merchant of Venice, Act I, scene 3).
This must remind us a bit of the serpent in the garden of Eden, who also sought to undermine Eve’s confidence in God’s word. The serpent asks her:
Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’ (Genesis 3:1).
Jesus, however, doesn’t take the bait. Although he knows that Satan is misusing the Scriptures, he turns again to God’s word, from Deuteronomy 6:16:
Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’
As it happens, this is exactly what Satan is doing — he is testing — tempting God’s own Son, God in the flesh! Once again, Jesus feels no need to prove his relationship with the Father by performing a magic trick and throwing himself down from the temple.
Finally, the devil gives up any pretense at all. He has appealed to the self-interest of Jesus, urging him to use his power to turn stones into bread. He has attempted to tempt Jesus into proving his identity by putting the Father to the test — and even invoked Scripture in the process! Now he cuts to the chase:
Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”
This is a somewhat disturbing scenario. If it is true that all of these kingdoms and their glory belong to the devil, then Jesus has entered enemy-occupied territory! In fact, this is an accurate picture, Biblically. Yes, God has created all things and called them good (Genesis 1). However, the fall of humanity has permitted Satan to take possession of God’s world.
The analogy given by Oscar Cullman seems very applicable. He compared the occupation of this earth by Satan and his angels to the occupation of Europe by the Nazis in WWII. The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus was like the landing on D-Day by the allies. Just as D-Day was the beginning of the end of Nazi occupation, so the coming of Christ was the beginning of the end of the reign of Satan.
Three times in the Gospel of John, Jesus refers to the prince of this world, meaning Satan (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). And Jesus makes it quite clear in John’s Gospel that though Satan has had temporary control in the world, his “reign” is at an end:
Now the prince of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself (John 12:31-32).
For a third time, Jesus responds to Satan with Scripture, this time from Deuteronomy 6:13:
Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”
Jesus passes the “test.” Worshiping and serving God is not a means to some other goal — such as power and glory. God is the goal. That’s why Satan has nothing to offer Jesus that Jesus really wants. Were he to worship the devil, it would be a subversion of everything that Jesus is.
In the last verse of this lectionary passage, there is an easily overlooked nod to grace:
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.
The devil leaves, and Jesus is ministered to by God’s angels — he is never really quite alone.
APPLY:
The typological method of Biblical interpretation is very fruitful when we consider this passage. In this method, there are passages and characters from the Old Testament that prefigure the life and character of Christ — these Old Testament passages and characters are types that foreshadow Christ. And there are events in the life of Christ that are the antitype that look back to Old Testament passages and characters. There is a kind of dialogue, or a correspondence, between the two.
It is easy to see that the temptation of Christ corresponds with the temptation of Adam. The devil comes to Jesus and seeks to subvert the authority of God’s word; and attempts to offer something “better” that God doesn’t seem to be offering at the time.
The primary difference, of course, is that Adam succumbs to temptation, and Jesus does not. And I think both Adam’s failure and Jesus’ success hinges on the same concept. The serpent tells Eve that if she eats of the fruit:
your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5).
The irony is that Adam and Eve are already like God — they are made in the image of God! Eve either doesn’t believe that this is so, or wants to test it by “having her eyes opened.”
Jesus is tempted to prove that he is the Son of God by making stone into bread, or throwing himself down from the temple — and to worship something other than God in order to gain power and glory. The truth is, the Father has already assured Jesus at his baptism that he is the beloved Son. And Jesus does believe it. The temptation loses its power because of his faith.
What does this mean for us? We know what it is to be Adam and Eve. We know what it is to want to take control of our own lives, and to seek our meaning in something other than God. And Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted in the same way:
Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold tightly to our confession. For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need (Hebrew 4:14-16).
Jesus is Son of God and Son of Man. In becoming fully human, Jesus can identify with our infirmities when he is tempted; but because he is fully God, Jesus remains sinless. As our high priest he is able to mediate between ourselves and God — to be the bridge between us. As Hebrews also says:
Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted (Hebrews 2:17-18).
Perhaps a practical way to say it is this — when we are faced with temptation, we handle it the way Adam and Eve did. Inevitably, we give in at some point because we respond to temptation in our own strength. And eventually human nature breaks.
However, when we are identified with Christ by faith, he enables us to overcome because he is in us:
Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
RESPOND:
Reading this account of Jesus’ temptation reminds me of the Heroes Journey as described by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This journey of the hero can be described in different ways, but similar elements appear in many ancient epics, myths and sagas, as well as in modern literature.
For simplicity’s sake, here is a broad outline of the hero’s journey:
[from Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero by David Adams Leeming]
- A miraculous conception and birth
- The initiation of the hero
- Withdrawal for the purpose of meditation and preparation
- Trial and quest
- Death
- Descent into the underworld
- Resurrection and rebirth
- Ascension, apotheosis and atonement
The parallels between this overview and the life of Jesus are obvious. BUT THE LIFE OF JESUS IS NO MYTH. I appreciate C.S. Lewis’ conclusion, after years of study as a scholar of literature — the Gospel is the myth that has become fact!
Jesus is the ultimate hero, who enters into the ordeal against Satan, and even descends into death through the cross, and — in my own understanding of Christian doctrine — descends into hell. And then he rises to life bringing us with him.
This is fascinating to me. I was an English major in college, prior to entering seminary. The thought that the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus is the historical fulfillment of The Heroes Journey makes sense to me. By faith in his reality, I too have been delivered from the power of sin, death and the devil. As Jesus tells his disciples:
I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
Our Lord, you have warned us that temptation is sure to come in our lives. Satan wishes to separate us from you. Thank you that we have a high priest who has endured the worst that Satan can deliver, and has overcome the world. And thank you that through our faith in our high priest we too may overcome the world! Amen.
PHOTO:
“The Temptation in the Wilderness” by Briton Rivière is in the Public Domain.
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