The Temptation
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’
and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Once Jesus had been baptized, he really was different. Now God allowed him to use a much greater measure of his power, as he was now engaged in his heavenly father’s business. Thus, he is now full of the Spirit. That’s important, because since he became a man he cannot use his divine power without a mechanism that humans can also use. And prophets have been filled with the spirit from time immemorial. Jesus, as God, can do what he likes; but Jesus, as a man, must be filled with the Spirit. The only difference here between Jesus and the old prophets is that Jesus’ power is his own; for the prophets, they were empowered by an external supernatural being.
The exact phrase “full of the Spirit” actually only occurs in Luke and Acts, but the idea is old.
“The word of the Lord came” to a prophet such as Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Jonah, Hosea, etc.
“The Spirit of the Lord” “Rushed” or “Came” or “Was” upon someone; David, for instance.
The Lord promised to be with Moses and Aaron and teach them what to say and what to do.
The exact phrase also occurs with several people in Acts - Stephen (Acts 6:5; 7:55); and Barnabas (Acts 11:24).
Now we ought to distinguish between the filling that happened to prophets and judges and the Biblical command for us to be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18). Clearly, since Jesus never sinned, his new filling with the Spirit doesn’t describe any moral difference, but a difference in power. Jesus can now do what he didn’t have the right to do before, though obviously he was always still omnipotent. Just as the old prophets were enabled to speak God’s Word to people, and the old judges were enabled to rule Israel.
But the first thing the Spirit directs him to do is not to go and preach, but to go into the desert for advanced spiritual warfare. God intended this testing to demonstrate that Jesus would succeed in the most severe temptation ever endured; in fact, he would succeed exactly where our first parents, Adam and Eve, had failed. The difference was, Adam and Eve had every possible advantage, yet did not obey; Jesus had every possible disadvantage, yet succeeded (Gen 3:6). Eve failed in three areas - she saw the tree was good for food, that is, she gave in to her need of food; she saw that the fruit was a delight to the eyes, that is she now saw it and wanted it; and she thought it could satisfy her ambitions - she wanted to be wise, and thought this was the way to get wisdom. Jesus’ temptation covered those same three areas, but he had to endure much more severe testing.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
We find these same patterns of temptation laid out for us in 1 John 2:15-17. The “lust of the flesh,” refers to any physical need, not just sexual ones. Meaning God gave your body needs - food, water, shelter, etc. Now having these needs aren’t wrong in themselves, but they become wrong when you seek to satisfy them in ways that are contrary to the Law of God. The “lust of the eyes” refers to what happens when you see something nice - you may not have been thinking of it before, but now that you see it, you want it. Again, it’s not wrong to want nice things per se, but it becomes wrong when you satisfy your wants in ways contrary to the Law of God. the “boastfulness of life” refers to ambitions, things you want because they touch something you want out of life in general. Again, ambitions aren’t wrong in themselves, but they become wrong when you seek to satisfy them in ways contrary to the Law of God. Eve wanted food, and that was OK. She could have satisfied her hunger from any other tree, and God would have been happy. Eve saw a beautiful fruit, and wanted it - what made that a problem was just that God said not to eat that. Eve wanted to be wise, and God wanted her to be wise too. But he wanted her to be wise by obeying him.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
These three areas are the primary categories of temptation - needs, wants and ambitions. You either need something, and choose to satisfy that need by breaking God’s law; you want something because you saw it, and choose to gratify your wants by breaking God’s law; or you have an ambition, and choose to get it by breaking God’s law. Jesus resisted all three kinds of temptations. And it is important to realize that he resisted temptation by the very same means available to every Christian; indeed, he resisted temptation by means available for Old Testament Saints. You have the New Testament - Jesus didn’t and obeyed God anyway. Jesus could have just commanded the Devil to leave - he has the unique right to do that. You don’t. But he didn’t order the Devil to leave. He used purely human techniques and withstood the Devil. So don’t go saying you can’t do what he did because you aren’t God. You can, and it’s only your own moral weakness if you don’t.
One other thing. Jesus fasted for 40 days. Some have wondered if this is possible, and the answer is a clear yes.
On September 5, 2003, Magician David Blaine began an endurance stunt in which he was sealed inside a transparent Plexiglas box. The case was suspended 30 feet (9.1 metres) in the air next to Potters Fields Park on the south bank of the River Thames in London, and measured 3 feet (0.9 metres) by 7 feet (2.1 metres) by 7 feet (2.1 metres). A webcam was installed inside the box so that viewers could observe his progress. The stunt lasted 44 days, during which Blaine drank 1.2 US gallons (4.5 litres) of water per day and did not eat.
The stunt ended on October 19, and Blaine emerged in tears saying "I love you all!" and was subsequently hospitalized. The New England Journal of Medicine published a paper that documented his 44-day fast and stated his re-feeding was perhaps the most dangerous part of the stunt.[32] The study reported, "He lost 24.5 kg (54 lb)—25 percent of his original body weight—and his body mass index dropped from 29.0 to 21.6. His appearance and body-mass index after his fast would not by themselves have alerted us to the risks of refeeding.” The journal concluded that he ended up with some symptoms of refeeding. However, since he had good medical care, he survived.
For Jesus, Matthew tells us that angels came and ministered to him after the temptation (Matt 4:11), thus, Jesus too had access to a grade of medical care after the temptation not available in the ancient world. So yes, survival was certainly possible.
With that out of the way, let’s look at each temptation individually.
I. Stones to Bread
I. Stones to Bread
Now I’ve said that each temptation focuses on one aspect of temptation, however, just as Eve’s single temptation involved all three, so Jesus’ temptations involve more than one category. In this case, it’s clear that the big difficulty was about need. Jesus was desperately hungry. What is less obvious is what would be wrong with it. Clearly there’s nothing wrong with eating bread. And Jesus clearly has the power to turn stones to bread if he wants to. Why would it be wrong? Because he was led into the wilderness by the Spirit - if the Spirit had wanted him to eat, he would have directed him to take provisions. Jesus must choose to trust God when the direction involves hunger to the point of starvation - so this test asks how far Jesus will go to follow God’s clear revelation about what he is supposed to do.
But the other two aspects are here too, just not as strong. The Devil begins his temptation with “if you are the Son of God.” Jesus knows exactly who he is, and the Devil knows Jesus knows it. The Devil is challenging Jesus to use the power that is his already. Jesus wouldn’t be taking power that doesn’t belong to him; he would be using the power that is his already. And the Devil shows him a bread-shaped rock. It’s not just the idea of bread, but he sees a rock that looks a bit like bread, so he also has the “lust of the eyes” to resist.
But how does Jesus beat the temptation? With a very relevant quotation of Scripture. The context of Jesus’ quote is instructive (Deut 8:2-3). Just as Israel was directed by God to be briefly hungry, so God could test them to see if they would obey, so Jesus too was tested to see if he would obey. And the point is that humans live because God’s word declares that they should live. The bread is a common means of ensuring people live, but the source is God’s Word. There are other ways - Moses didn’t eat or drink for 40 days on Mt. Sinai, and was just fine; and was apparently not hungry as Jesus was here. Therefore if God’s Word directed Jesus into the wilderness without bread, and it had, then God’s Word will keep him alive until he leaves. He doesn’t need to worry that he will die out here, and it’s more important to do God’s Will than to eat food. You can survive for 40 days without bread, if you’re young and healthy enough; you can’t survive 40 seconds without God’s Word.
And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
II. The Kingdoms of the World
II. The Kingdoms of the World
The second temptation is the most blatantly wrong. The strength of it is in the Devil’s salesmanship. He showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, and the Devil is a consummate salesman. The primary focus of this temptation is in the “lust of the eyes,” meaning that the Devil shows off the glory of the world to get Jesus to want what he sees.
Now the audacity of this temptation would likely make it not much of a deal for you and me, for we are well aware that we don’t deserve and couldn’t profit from such a gift. But Jesus was different. Not only does he have what it takes to wield universal authority, but it is already promised to him by God (Psalm 2:7-9). So there’s a bit of the “pride of life” here as well, since Jesus’ ambition is to rule as God has promised him.
“I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”
Now because Jesus also knows better than anyone what he is here on earth for, he also knows that the proper road to receiving the nations of the world is going to be long and hard. He will have to suffer more than any human who has ever lived or will live. (Isa 53:3, 5-6, 10). Thus appeal of this temptation is that of a short-cut to what he already deserves and will have. Instead of the difficult and painful road that God had laid out for him, he can simply bow and have it all today, no waiting. But that bears the question, is the Devil’s deal real? That is, can he really do that, or is he lying about his ability to give the kingdoms of this world to whoever he wants? After all, we know that the Devil is the father of lies.
Well he certainly doesn’t have the right to do that. God has never abandoned his right to rule the nations. (Psalm 22:28; 47:8). Thus, whatever authority the Devil possesses, he possesses by usurping authority that doesn’t belong to him. Of course, Satan cannot do anything without God’s permission, but that doesn’t change the fact that Satan does not have the right to rule. But that doesn’t really answer the question. Does Satan, in fact, have the ability to give the rule of the world to whomever he wishes?
For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations.
God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.
After all, one day he will give the kingdoms of this world to the Antichrist (2 Thess 2:7-12). The Devil is already at work preparing for someone to take the throne of the world, but for now he is unable to succeed precisely because the Holy Spirit restrains evil and prevents it from reaching its full extent. But someday, when God removes his Spirit from this world, Satan will succeed and give his authority to the one he has chosen (Rev 13:2).
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
Having said that, The Devil is the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). He does have considerable real authority on planet earth, even if he has no right to it. Satan may have conveniently skipped over his limitations regarding what God allows him to do, but I don’t think that the one the Scriptures call the god of this world was just bluffing, at least in regard to Jesus. Given that it was impossible that the Holy God could sin, yes, the Devil really could do that. When God gets out of the way, he will actually do it in the future.
So how does Jesus beat him? Again, he doesn’t wield the authority to command that is rightfully his; instead Jesus again uses the same method available to every believer in both the Old and New Testaments. He quotes Scripture. And again, the context is interesting (Deut 6:13-15). The idea is that you must worship God alone, because God does not tolerate rival gods. To worship any god but God is to invite God’s wrath. Jesus is declaring that the Devil’s offer is not worth the cost, because to invite God’s wrath is certain destruction, and that would completely invalidate anything the Devil could ever promise.
You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.
You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you
(for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.
III. The Pinnacle of the Temple
III. The Pinnacle of the Temple
Now Matthew has a different order for the temptations. The second and third temptations are in opposite order. That’s not a problem, as the gospel writers did not claim to write everything in chronological order. Luke only promised that the account would be orderly, not what order he would put it in. It doesn’t matter too much which one came first, but Luke likely is the one who rearranged it so Jesus would end with Jerusalem. It fits Luke’s interest in geography.
Still, as it happens, Luke’s order works nicely for us, since it focuses on the third type of temptation - that of ambitions. It is entirely on this basis that the temptation lies, as Jesus would need to overcome mankind’s natural fear of falling. Though Jesus has already abundantly demonstrated that he fears nothing, so that’s not really an issue here. Whatever Jesus does, it won’t be because he’s a coward. the Devil has enough insight into human nature to know this.
There’s of course something else that makes this temptation especially difficult - the Devil quotes Scripture. Now you might think that the Devil quotes it out of context, but I don’t think so Psalm 91:10-13. Some focus on the omitted phrase “to keep you in all your ways,” but that phrase simply reinforces the main idea that God will protect the righteous man. Psalm 91 isn’t a Messianic psalm per se, but rather assures the righteous man that God will protect him in the most dangerous of circumstances. Now since Jesus is the righteous man par excellence, it is actually quite appropriate to apply it to him. The Psalm exhorts the righteous man to trust that God will deliver him regardless of the apparent danger he might be in.
No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
So if that’s true, where’s the deception? Since this is the Devil talking it seems obvious that there has to be a trick somewhere, and there is. Some have suggested that the temptation would be a display of power to those in the temple, thus jump starting Jesus’ road to the throne. However, the Devil tried that already, so I’m not sure he’s trying it again. To figure out the Devil’s lie, we can look at Jesus response. Again he quotes Scripture, something every one of us can do as well. Jesus quotes Deut 6:16, referring again to Israel’s wilderness wanderings. So we see that Jesus defeated the Devil by quoting from just one book of the Bible, and from only two chapters in that book. But the event Moses refers to is the first time Moses brought water out of the rock. Again they blame Moses and demand water, accusing Moses of bringing them out to kill them. Moses is so desperate that when he turns to the Lord, he mentions that the people are almost ready to stone him. Here, God asks Moses to strike the rock, Moses does so and the people have water. And the name of the place was called Massah because Exod 17:7.
“You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah.
So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
That is, to tempt the Lord is to assume that God isn’t going to keep his word, and to dare God to prove them wrong. This is the very attitude that the Devil was trying to get Jesus to hold. He wanted Jesus to doubt that God could protect him and accomplish all that God had promised him, and so want to do something to prove it. In other words, this is the same kind of failure as when Gideon set out a fleece, only much more dramatic (Judges 6:36-40). Difference is, that Gideon asked for confirmation, the Devil wants to try to get Jesus to force one; and of course, the Devil’s temptation is considerably more dramatic. But it’s still the same basic thing.
When Jesus quotes the testing of the Lord at Massah, he’s declaring that the two are basically the same. The Devil’s Scripture is out of context because it is talking about a righteous person needing to trust the Lord when confronted by danger; it’s not daring him to test the Lord’s faithfulness by seeking out danger just to see if God is trustworthy. God may be gracious and help you anyway if you put out a fleece, but that’s not what Psalm 91 is talking about. It only applies to the righteous person who is trusting in God to deliver him. The point of the psalm is that God is trustworthy; if you’re putting God to the test, you’re not living out the whole point of the psalm. Thus, the one who really trusts God would not throw himself off of the temple - he doesn’t need to prove God by forcing a situation. Though if someone threw him off the building, God would protect him. Thus, the Devil can’t throw Jesus off the temple, because if he did then the passage would apply and God would deliver him; but then there’d be no sin, so the Devil would lose. Thus, he’s not about to throw Jesus off. In fact, since it would defeat his purpose, he would actively prevent Jesus from falling. In other words, God is currently using the Devil to do exactly what Psalm 91 is really all about.