The Temptation of Jesus I

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ 4 Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’

5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ 8 Jesus answered him, ‘It is written,
“Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” ’

9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying 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 protect you”,
11 and
“On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”
12 Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’ 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Introduction

This essay will focus on four or five larger themes to help us understand this passage in the context of Luke's Gospel and our life as Christians today, while the next essay looks at the text itself and the three temptations. First, this passage is an appropriate one to begin Lent. Lent is the time of the Christian year where we take a step back from the hectic pace of our lives and ruminate on our humanness and try to develop lives of repentance and disicipline as we devote ourselves anew to God. Jesus' fasting during the 40 days of testing in the wilderness is symbolic of the spirit of self-denial, rather than indulgence, which should characterize this time. One will discover that the spiritual disciplines such as fasting, meditation, prayer, etc., though they seem to "take away" from our normal productive routine, actually turn out in the end to multiply our sense of mission and effectiveness. Thus, we curiously enhance ourselves when we deny self, repent, and reflect on life in imitation of Christ, who began his ministry in this fashion.

Second, the Bible has several significant narratives where testing of humans is in view. In fact, one might look at three previous OT testings as preparations for our understanding of the anguish, depth, and seductive nature of Jesus' tests. We have the "testing" of Adam and Eve in Gen. 3. Here the test is rather "easy," from our perspective. All they had to do was to refrain from eating from one tree in the entire garden, but they weren't up to the challenge. A second "testing" is of Abraham in Gen. 22. This is a much more rigorous and serious test, an almost inhumanely demanding one, since Abraham is being asked to offer his only son, whom he loves, back to God. Then, we have the testing of Job in Job 1-2. God proudly points out to The Satan that Job is faithful, and The Satan then asks permission to afflict him terribly. In contrast to Abraham, where one son was only potentially lost, here we have ten children actually lost, as well as sores on Job from his head to his foot. These three OT tests build in intensity. Why not see Jesus' test as the fourth in a series? If we do, we will need to understand it as something even more trying than Job's miserable experience. Can we do that? We sometimes brush over Jesus' temptations with ease; why not look at them as the most severe, the most demanding of all the Biblical testings?

Third, the narrative in Luke 4:1-13 connects Jesus with the historical experience of Israel in the wilderness. In this regard the testing of Jesus is like the testing of God's other "son"--Israel. "When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son" (Hos. 11:1). Jesus, recognized by God as the Son (Lk 3:22), will be tested. However, in contrast to the experience with Israel (see Hos. 11:2--"The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols"), Jesus would be faithful. Israel was 40 years in wilderness; Jesus was 40 days in wilderness. The people of Israel experienced hunger and thirst, complaining against Moses to God (Ex. 15:24), while Jesus experienced a famishing hunger but remained steadfast in faith to God. Throughout Jesus' experience in the wilderness I hear a deep echo of the Book of Hebrews, the one NT book that deals most powerfully with themes of wilderness and the high priestly work of Christ: "Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered" (Heb. 5:8). We need not look at Jesuis' suffering as confined to the cross; his wilderness experience launched it.

Fourth, 4:1-13 in the narrative of Luke's Gospel neatly complements the preceding passages of Jesus' baptism (3:21-22) and his parentage (3:23-38). In the earlier passages we have Jesus' passive competence presented. That is, he receives the Holy Spirit through baptism; he is descended of noble stock. But in 4:1-13 we have Jesus' active competence presented--he will go into the wilderness, face the pain of hunger, and then actively refute the blandishments and temptations of the devil. It is through this combination of passive and active competence that Jesus is prepared for his public ministry. Indeed, after the testing narrative, Jesus almost immediately appears in his hometown synagogue with the message of release of captives from Isaiah. He has learned to receive and he has learned to fight; both of these attributes will be essential for him as his ministry develops.

Fifth, and finally, the testing narrative in 4:1-13 brings together some thoughts from earlier in Luke's Gospel regarding the darkness and evil which will surround the revelation of the Son of God. In other words, the devil's appearance in 4:1-13 crystallizes or helps focus our attention on the theme of darkness or opposition which will characterize much of Jesus' life. We have already seen 1:78-79, where the gift of God will be to "give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." We have already seen the unique Lucan verse of 2:35 where Simeon blesses Mary and says "a sword will pierce your own soul, too." Finally we have the intemperate action of Herod in 3:19-20 of summarily imprisoning John the Baptist. Testing and salvation will occur in a world of darkness, pain shooting through one's soul and injustice.

Let's move now to the verses themselves, focusing especially on Jesus' use of Scripture in the three temptations.

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