NL 122: Temptation in the Wilderness

image: Temptation of Jesus, Josef Karl Huber, 1902-1996, photo by Adrix3000 (WikiMedia)

Matthew 4:1-17

Initial Thoughts

  • Weird to hear this outside of lent…yet oddly refreshing due to the continuity of the Gospel story

Bible Study

  • Connected to Baptism

    • “This passage is not to be reckoned a historical narrative in the strict sense. Its intent is not to convey objective, biographical data. This we understand by comparing it with similar rabbinic stories. It constitutes a piece of haggadic midrash, that is, it is a fanciful story whose purpose is to interpret Scripture.” (Douglas Hare, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Matthew, p. 22-23)

      • Will that preach in your context?

      • Can you treat this is a story - not historical fact? 

      • Regardless of historicity of the story, this ultimately a story about Jesus’ identity.

      • “In its present form, however, the story is less involved with the vanquishing of Satan than with the meaning of Jesus’ divine Sonship. It is, in effect, a theological meditation on the baptismal narrative, addressing the question: [what did God mean by] “This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased?”

  • If “Then the Spirit led him” 

    • Comes directly after “he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.”

    • The same Spirit that descended upon him, has now led him into the Wilderness

    • After being declared “Son of God,” Devil now addresses him as such.

  • Wilderness – a time of trial – matches the time of trials – Flood, Israelites in Wilderness, etc.

    • Jesus is led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit- but not necessarily left there- Is the Spirit with Jesus in the midst of temptation?

      • God, not the devil, is initiating this situation

    • Similar to Moses and Elijah

    • Wilderness is not only a physical place but a spiritual place - to be tested and transformed. See this article for more on forest/wilderness symbolism in literature. Or The Wisdom of the Desert by Thomas Merton:

      • “It would perhaps be too much to say that the world needs another movement such as that which drew these men into the deserts of Egypt and Palestine. Ours is certainly a time for solitaries and for hermits. But merely to reproduce the simplicity, austerity and prayer of these primitive souls is not a complete or satisfactory answer. We must transcend them, and transcend all those who, since their time, have gone beyond the limits which they set. We must liberate ourselves, in our own way, from involvement in a world that is plunging to disaster. But our world is different from theirs. Our involvement in it is more complete. Our danger is far more desperate. Our time, perhaps, is shorter than we think.”

  • Ancient contest of wit and knowledge (Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Hillel, etc)

    • If you are the Son of God then….

    • Jesus proved he is the son of God by responding faithfully as oppose to acquiescing to the devil

    • Devil

      • the opposition, the tempter, the “other”, the adversary or accuser

    • Each time Jesus responds with Torah - even when the Devil quotes Ps 91, Torah wins out.

    • In each temptation Jesus is asked to diminish himself in relation to Satan - to “look selfishly within, to lift him (the devil) up, and to throw himself down.” Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, “Luke”, True to Our Native Land, p.164.

  • The Devil - diabolos, equivalent of the Hebrew satan or accuser

  • All of Jesus' responses come from Deuteronomy

  • “Since you are the Son of God” or “If you are the Son of God.”?

    • NRSV - If

    • CEB - Since

    • Douglas Hare, Rob Myallis (Lectionary Greek blog), and Common English agree that it should be “Since”

      • “In this sentence, it seems odd that the devil would wonder if Jesus is the son of God.  The devil is saying, more likely, "As the son of God, do X, Y and Z."  Not only does this make more sense in the narrative, but grammatically, the fact that the verb [ει] is in the indicative and not subjunctive mood, also suggests this.” (Rob Myalis)

      • It does not seem like Satan is trying to find out if Jesus is the Son of God, but what is the nature of such a position.

      • What does a Son of God look like and act like? As opposed to Augustus

  • A second Exodus (Douglas Hare)

    • Jesus’ 40 days in wilderness = Israel’s 40 years.

    • Temptations are the same

      • Bread in face of extreme hunger - like Israelites in Ex. 16:3.

        • Israelites complained about hunger, and betrays trust. Jesus shows complete faith and appeals to higher calling than hunger.

      • “Throw yourself down.” Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, referring to when the Israelites questioned the Lord was in their midst.

      • Idolatry. Despite many warnings to the contrary, the Israelites worship idols and graven images - from the very start of the covenant. Jesus, on the other hand, refuses to worship anyone but God.

        • Idolatry was an incredible temptation to early Christians, who were kept from regular Roman culture - everything before them - if they did not participate in Emperor worship.

  • Jesus’ 40 days in wilderness = Israel’s 40 years.

    • Food

      • mimics Israel in the wilderness in Ex. 16:3- demand for Manna, Water, etc

        • Israel is unfaithful- Jesus is faithful

        • Jesus shows complete faith and appeals to higher calling than hunger

      • Jesus responds - Deuteronomy 8:3

      • Temptation for material items

      • “Give us this day our daily bread” - a gift from God given, not something demanded

    • Survival

      • Israel repeatedly makes concessions to other nations and powers in order to ensure its own survival - often against the will of God or the prophets (Elijah vs Ahab/Jezebel, Isaiah and Ahaz, etc)

      • Foreshadows Jesus’ death Psalm 91:11-12- the Devil’s quote

        • knowing scripture and being faithful are 2 different things

      • Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 6:16- referring to when the Israelites questioned whether the Lord was in their midst (cf. Exodus 17).

        • Despite many warnings to the contrary, the Israelites worship idols and graven images - from the very start of the covenant. Jesus, on the other hand, refuses to worship anyone but God.

        • Idolatry was an incredible temptation to early Christians, who were kept from regular Roman culture - everything before them - if they did not participate in Emperor worship.

    • Power

      • mimics Israel’s desire for a King

      • Deuteronomy 6:13

      • total power corrupts totally

      • Won’t the world be better off with Jesus as the leader? Temptation of ends justifying the means

  • Douglas John Hall - Beware these temptations for the church

    • Satan’s temptation is the same here as in Genesis - to tempt people to “become like God”

    • Temptation to Attempt the Miraculous - beware of a theology which promises glory without sacrifice, resurrection without crucifixion, and cheap grace

    • Temptation to Spectacle - beware the ecclesiology of local church or local pastor worship - the ecclesiastic cult of celebrity. You and your church are not the savior- only Jesus is

    • Temptation to Political Power - Political power is about domination and winning against others, Jesus’ way is about loving and forgiving others- about an emptying of power.

  • Pride, power, possession.

    • “‘The tradition teaches that these temptations stand for pride, power, and possession,’ And all of the sudden my soul - not my mind, but my soul -said ‘Aha!’ as a puzzle piece clicked into place.  I didn’t know much about Jesus, the devil, or that desert, but I knew pride. I knew the desire for power; I knew the wish for possessions. I was familiar with all of them, from painful experience… All of the sudden the story wasn’t about Jesus; it was about me, too. And not just me; it was about all humanity.” (Nurya Love Parish, The Christian Century, “Living by the Word” Feb. 15, 2017. Vol 134, no 4)

  • “When Jesus heard that John was arrested.”

    • Synoptics agree that Jesus did not begin his ministry until John was arrested.

    • Was it intentional for Jesus? Did he purposely wait until that moment, or did John’s arrest somehow spur him to action?

    • Tense of the verb that is translated “arrested” is similar to “handed over” or “delivered up.” This is a divine passive tense that implies that it was God who “handed over” John. This implies that John’s arrest was a part of God’s plan - as was Jesus’ arrest later in the gospel story. (Douglas Hare, Interpretation: Matthew, p. 28)

    • Sometimes it moments of crisis that give us the nudge.

      • How many are arrested for civil disobedience, often inspiring others to do more, e.g. MLK in Birmingham Jail, Leah Gunning Francis’s book Ferguson and Faith. 

    • “Thus, the pericope's opening verse is not simply a way to mark time, but it signals that John's arrest is a dangerous situation for Jesus, and he must choose how to respond. There will come a time, later, to face such threats head-on (particularly when Jesus goes to Jerusalem prior to the crucifixion), but for now Jesus pulls away in order to carry out his ministry of proclamation in and around Galilee.” (Audrey West, Working Preacher)

  • V. 13-17 are easy to be throw-away location explanations that has lost meaning to us. Tendency is to skip these and get to the good stuff.

    • John was baptizing near Jerusalem in the Jordan (Bethany beyond the Jordan).

    • Returned to Galilee (about four day journey from baptism)

    • Went to Galilee, left Nazareth (about ten miles from the sea), and settled in Capernaum, in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali, quotes Isaiah 9:1-2

      • “According to the book of Joshua, after the conquest of the promised land, the lower land of Galilee west of the Lake of Galilee, which includes Nazareth, belonged to the tribes of Zebulun; and the area to the northwest of the Lake of Galilee belonged to the tribes of Naphtali. Matthew lumps them together as the primary location of Jesus’ ministry… Isaiah 9:1-2 - When Tiglath-pilesar, king of Assyria, invaded Israel in 732 BCE, he captured Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali (2 Kings 15:29). As a result, this region the Assyrian province of Galilee with Megiddo as its capital. That is probably why this region is called, “Galilee of the nations [or Gentiles]” in Isaiah 9:1-2. Matthew will later develop the significance of this phrase when he reports Jesus’ words that salvation is to include “all nations” or “the Gentiles.” The prophecy in Isaiah referred to the birth of a Davidic heir as promise for the restoration of the occupied Assyrian provinces. For Matthew, this message is fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus.” (notes in the Common English Study Bible, p. 11NT).

    • This area, according to Jewish history and tradition is a place of political upheaval. Jewish in one sense, Assyrian in another. 

    • Capernaum was a growing city because a Roman highway passed along its northern edge.

    • “Matthew alone among the Gospels explicitly suggests that Jesus transferred his residency from Nazareth to Capernaum. The reason is not given.” (Hare, p. 28)

    • “This Isaiah text functions in Matthew 4:12-16 as an analogy for Rome’s empire. “Galilee owned by or under the Gentiles” now belongs to and is ruled by another Gentile empire. Roman control had been freshly asserted over Galilee in destroying Jerusalem and its temple in 70 CE. Matthew’s Gospel, written in the 80s, cites Isaiah 9:1-2 to describe Roman rule as “darkness” and “death.” It positions Jesus, at the beginning of his public ministry, as the light or saving presence that shines in the darkness of Rome’s imperial domination. Jesus asserts God’s light or saving rule in Roman Galilee.” (Warren Carter, Working Preacher)

    • “Although the point is implicit only, we are surely on safe ground in assuming that Matthew’s quotation is intended to remind his readers that the preaching ministry begun by Jesus in Galilee in fulfillment of Scripture would eventually issue in the mission to the Gentiles.” (Hare, p. 28)

Thoughts and Questions

  • What does the Son of God look like? What does it look like to have that kind of power and status? 

    • Similar to what happens in Ch. 27 when the Chief priests “led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.” 

    • Pilate’s question: “Are you the King of the Jews?”

      • What is the nature of Jesus’ Kingship?

    • Pilate would expect a king to have wealth, political clout, and military strength.

      • Satan’s questions are about wealth and power.

    • Jesus is a disappointing Son of God to Satan, just as he is a disappointing King to Pilate.

  • Satan is well versed in Scripture, and tries to use it against Jesus, but ultimately, Jesus’ command of Scripture is stronger. Simply knowing the Scripture is not enough. Like Jesus, who declares “You have heard it said… But I say to you.” The Word of God is more than the words on the page. It is the way of God, which does not include giving in to easy paths of surface-level victories.

  • Jesus’ temptations are our temptations still. Though none of us are tempted to turn stone to bread, and hopefully none expect to survive jumping off a building, we are still tempted to pursue other paths to wealth, influence, and power. We are still tempted to seek short cuts, ignore God’s will, and pursue goals that promise fulfillment, but only lead to emptiness.

Year 1Eric FistlerMatthewComment