The Temptations of Jesus - Essay Example

The Temptations of Jesus Introduction The gospel written by the disciple Matthew, chapter 4 verses to 11presented Jesus being tested in the wilderness. Accordingly, the verses are quoted, to wit: “  1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted [a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."     4 Jesus answered, "It is written: People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. [b]"     5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:        " He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands,        so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. [c]"     7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test. [d]"     8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."     10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. [e]"     11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. “ (IBS-STL 2008) According the Deffinbaugh (2006) there are three reasons why the temptation accounts are of great significance: “(1) First, the temptation accounts confront the student of the New Testament with some tensions within the biblical text; (2) Second, from the standpoint of our Lord’s ministry and calling, His entire mission is contingent upon His victory over every temptation of Satan; (3) Third, by studying the temptation of our Lord by Satan, we learn a great deal about our adversary, Satan and (4) Finally, we see in our Lord’s successful resistance to Satan’s solicitations those very means which God has made available to us to withstand Satan’s attacks.” It is in this regard that this essay is written to present a topical paper focusing on the temptations of Jesus as written by Matthew. An analysis of the verses would likewise be detailed utilizing insights from different translations, theological dictionaries, and commentaries. Scriptures Analyzed In the first verse “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil”, it can be clearly deduced that it was the Spirit that led Jesus to the wilderness, specifically, to be tested by the devil. Ross (2006) averred that “it was the plan of God for Jesus to begin His ministry with this challenge--and that it was not the devil’s doing. The devil was willing to tempt Jesus, to be sure; but it was the Spirit of God leading Jesus to it. The devil could tempt Jesus with every power he had, but he would not succeed. The temptation episode was God’s way of showing that Jesus was the perfect man, that He could resist sin, that he could defeat Satan.” This is very aptly explained by Ross and clearly depicted the ultimate objective or purpose of the temptations of Jesus. The second verse “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” Apparently, when one reads this verse, it can be implied that facts are merely stipulated. However, several scholars have attempted to make some parallelism between the fasting of Jesus for 40 days and the nation of Israel which was in the wilderness 40 years. Israel hungered even as our Lord did. In both cases God was testing man. (Deffinbaugh 2006) The third verse “The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” was in fact Jesus’ first temptation. Since Jesus fasted for 40 days, his body naturally lacks all the strength needed to sustain his life. However, what is more important is to determine that Jesus’ mission of going into the wilderness was for a spiritual sacrifice. Ross (2006) emphasized that “the devil wanted to ruin the mission of Jesus, and so if he could convince Jesus on this seemingly trivial thing to abandon a spiritual work, then he would have had him. The temptation was to turn His spiritual nature into a means of satisfying His material need without reference to finding the will of God. In fact, he would be doing the will of the devil. The devil simply chose a little thing for the test; but it would have destroyed the work of Christ.” This is actually a test on the physical realm of Jesus. To this, Jesus’ reply on the 4th verse confirmed the devil’s defeat in the first temptation. The second temptation of the devil was “If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down.” This temptation tests Jesus’ spiritual realm. According to Schweizer & Green (1975), the second temptation exemplified Jesus’ complete trust in God by renouncing all guarantees. They emphasized that “Jesus’ status and miraculous powers mean nothing (or worse) if he is not prepared to give them up”. In addition, as Ross pointed out, what is interesting in this scenario is Satan’s utilization of the Scripture, specifically Psalm 91:11 and 12 saying that “God will give the angels charge over him so that he will not dash his foot against a stone”. Concurrently, Jesus’ response was also quoted from the Scriptures, specifically Deuteronomy 6:16: “It is also written, ‘You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.” Finally, the third temptation stipulates “All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." In analyzing this verse, scholars and theologists have contended that this is a malicious temptation coming from Satan who is known as the Prince of Liars. Secondly, the Kingdom that Satan is offering is a “cheap substitute” for the Kingdom of God. And finally, Jesus victoriously triumphed in this temptation by stressing that “worship God only” so He would receive the kingdom in God’s time, and in God’s way--by defeating Satan, first here in the temptation, and later at the cross.. And His will be a far better kingdom than this world could ever offer. (Ross 2006). In addition, Just (2008) stipulated that “the last temptation in Matthews account is that Jesus could receive supreme political power ("all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor"), if only he worshipped Satan rather than God. This clearly connects with the emphases throughout Matthews Gospel on the "Kingdom of Heaven" and on Jesus as the true "King of the Jews." Ross (2006) presented a meaningful revelation of the temptations of Jesus in his account by stipulating the following: “Jesus could defeat Satan because He knew the word of God better than the tempter. He could come back with the wider picture: It is also written. Often temptation requires “getting rid of” one verse, or a prohibition that stands in the way (“if only that passage could be explained differently”). But the victorious believer will know how all of Scripture works and that behind a prohibition or an instruction there is a general theological revelation that will govern the interpretation and application of details.” Although Satan utilized the Scriptures in the hope of luring Jesus into his mission, this strategy failed because Jesus is more competent and expanse in his knowledge and understanding of the verses in the Bible. Further, Jesus has complete and unwavering faith and trust in God. He came into this world for a mission of salvation by suffering on the cross. And therefore, He is to fulfill that mission according to the will of God. Analysis According to Just (2008), “the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness occur just before he begins his public ministry and immediately after his baptism in the Jordan river, when the Holy Spirit had descended upon Jesus "like a dove" and a voice from heaven was heard to say, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:9-11; par. Matt 3:13-17; Luke 3:21-22). Thus, Jesus is not alone; the Holy Spirit is with him to help him resist the temptations he must face. Jesus is not running away from God, nor has God abandoned him. On the other hand, God and/or the Holy Spirit are not doing the testing/tempting (cf. James 1:13). Rather, the one who confronts Jesus is the supreme personification of evil, referred variously as the devil (), or the tempter (), or Satan (). (ibid.) Further, since he just came to the wilderness from his baptism, Just (2008) further averred that “the devils primary objective is to get Jesus to doubt or deny his identity, that he is truly the Son of God!” when the devil knew that “the voice from heaven proclaimed, "You are my beloved Son...". However, despite all the prodding of the devil, Jesus still emerged victorious. Conclusion The gospel of Matthew focusing specifically on the temptations of Jesus made several references of Jesus to the Old Testament. B.B. Warfield says that “the significance of these formulas is perhaps most manifesting where they stand alone as the bare adduction of authority without any indication of any kind whence the citation is derived.” In other words, Jesus intentionally leaves off any indication as to where and when who said what, but rather makes the simple claim, “It is written.” In doing so, he makes it clear that for him it is sufficient that it is written, and whatever is written is absolutely authoritative and beyond questioning or exception. For the one who has not come to abolish the Law and Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matt 5.17-20), it is of utmost importance for Jesus to live in “humble submission to Scripture” in order to fulfill them in the fullest possible sense of that word. In addition, Carson (1984) appropriately synthesized the accounts on the temptations to Jesus to wit: “the temptation of Jesus, alone in the desert reveals to us, not how Jesus teaches us to understand him, but how he in fact sees himself. And when Jesus sees himself, he acknowledges that he is the fulfillment of Israel, the true Son of God toward whom all things have been pointing up until that moment in redemptive-history. He himself is the climax and the fulfillment of the plot.” Readers would truly appreciate the accounts of the temptations of Jesus and understand its meaning if they have a deep awareness of the parallelism being referenced from the Old Testament. The lessons imparted by Deffinbaugh (2006) are relevant since the time these accounts have been written until contemporary situations of today. Works Cited Carson, D.A. (1984) “Matthew” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary with the NIV, v.8. Frank Gæbelein, ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. Deffinbaugh, B. (2006). The Temptation of Jesus Part I (Luke 4:1-13). Biblical Studies Press. International Bible Society and Send the Light Global. (2008). Jesus Is Tested in the Wildernes. Today’s New International Edition. Just, F. (2008). The Temptations of Jesus in the New Testament. Retrieved on July 3, 2009 from Ross, A. (2006). The Temptation of Jesus Part I (Luke 4:1-13). Biblical Studies Press. Schweizer, E. & Green, D.E. (1975). The Good News According to Matthew. John Knox Press. United States of America. Warfield, B. B.(1970). The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible. Philadelphia: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company. http://bible.org/seriespage/temptation-jesus-part-i-luke-41-13 Read More