The Tempting of Jesus

Nathan Davies
Apr 20, 2023
8 min read

Introduction

All three of the synoptic gospels include something of the temptation of Jesus. In all three this period of forty days comes right after Jesus being baptised in the Jordan, and God speaking His love and pleasure over Jesus.

These accounts are found in:

Matthew 3: 13 - 4: 11
Mark 1: 9 - 12
Luke 3: 21 - 4: 13

The longer portion in Luke also includes a genealogy of Jesus.

In Matthew and Luke we get fuller accounts of this period than in Mark. This is because Mark is keen to get on with the main point of his gospel - the teaching and work of Jesus that show his Kingship and His Kingdom. Matthew and Luke, however, give some time to this account of Jesus being tempted. They are drawing out the humanity of Jesus with simple phrases like “He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry”, Luke 4: 2b. They will, as their Gospels unfold, also draw out the complete divinity of Jesus.

In this short study I am looking at the temptation event particularly, showing how Jesus, as the first human of the new creation, does what the first humans of the original creation could not - stand firm in the face of temptation and resist the devil. As followers of Jesus we too can make this stand.

Temptation 1 - have some food

In both Matthew and Luke the first temptation is to have some food.

“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell the stones to become bread.”

Matthew 4: 2-3

Jesus has been fasting for forty days, and nights. It seems Matthew is keen to underline that this fasting is complete. The Jewish people have a concept of a minor fast which runs from dawn to darkness, allowing them to eat overnight. Matthew is pointing out that this is a complete fast.

This temptation is real, Jesus was hungry, and He could have made bread, He is God, after-all. Yet the response given is straight out of Deuteronomy 8.

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’””

Matthew 4: 4

Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8: 3, and when we look at that verse we see the context for it is about obeying God’s commands, remembering God’s provision in the desert and acknowledging that God alone sustains and keeps us.

This is the response Jesus gives to the devil; I don’t need to create food, the word of God sustains me. When we consider this statement, we think of John 1.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning”

John 1: 1-2

Jesus is the living Word. In His response to this first temptation then Jesus is saying I am complete in myself, I do not need bread for I am the living Word.

Temptation 2 - test God’s love

The devil sees this simplistic temptation is not working, and moves on to something bigger.

Just before Jesus is led out into the wilderness we read of His baptism, and God declaring His love for, and pleasure in Jesus (Matthew 4: 17, Mark 1: 11, Luke 3: 22). In this next temptation the devil calls this into question.

“Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “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.’””

Matthew 4: 6

No longer appealing just to the physical need, the devil tries to draw Jesus to a place of doubt in who He is. The aim is to get Jesus to doubt God, and show a lack of trust in God by testing God.

Once again Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy, this time from chapter 6.

“Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the the test’””

Matthew 4: 7

I love how Jesus, in the use of the word “also” acknowledges that the devil has quoted scripture, for he has used Psalm 91: 11-12, then quotes scripture back, once again from the story of Israel. Quoting Deuteronomy 6: 16, Jesus is drawing on the history of Israel and the commandments God gave, chief among which is to have no other God, and to love your God.

This response builds on the response given to the first temptation. Jesus is building a picture of the perfect response, He is demonstrating what it means to follow every command given to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 8: 1).

Jesus is showing us what it means to be secure in our identity in God, and how, by putting God first, we can stand firm in that identity.

Temptation 3 - claim more authority

The final temptation is to offer the illusion of authority, the promise of power, and the mirage of equality with God.

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.””

Matthew 4: 8

The temptation is the promise of power, the cost is worshipping the devil. This is too great a price. It is also not something the devil can really offer, after all God alone is sovereign. This is an empty promise with a high price tag.

Jesus' response is once again from Deuteronomy 6, He knows the chief command.

“Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.””

This is, essentially, a summary of the first three of the 10 commandments; Deuteronomy 5: 6-10, Exodus 20: 1-7.

Jesus, in this trial, is showing us that God is sovereign, that God alone is worthy of worship. In His teaching Jesus draws out this point.

“”Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Matthew 22: 36-38

The result of Jesus standing firm against these temptations is that the devil leaves Him, and the angels come to attend Him (Matthew 4: 11).

Compare with Eden

As we read of these temptations we can see a parallel with the very first temptation.

Genesis 3 tells the story of Adam and Eve being tempted by the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

Here, in Matthew and Luke we have parallels, the temptations are similar, yet the result is so vastly different.

In the desert Jesus is tempted with food, this is much like in Eden.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?””

Genesis 3: 1

It seems like the temptation here is for food. Unlike Jesus, Eve is not currently very hungry, she has not been fasting for forty days, she is not in a desert, rather she is in the perfect garden with fruit trees in abundance.

At this point her response is good, we read in Genesis 3: 2-3 that she quotes the instruction from God. In that she acknowledges the abundance of provision and confirms that one tree is off limits.

The serpent next ramps up the temptation by casting doubt on God, and what He has said.

““You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.””

Genesis 3: 4-5

When we compare this to the second two temptations of Jesus in Matthew and Luke we see the parallel. Here is the temptation to test God's word, and to become like God. Once again, this is a hollow promise, one that comes at a great cost.

Here we see Adam and Eve fail, they give in to temptation, and are cast from the garden, read on in chapter 3 to see the full account.

This parallels the temptation of Jesus. Yet Jesus stands firm.

The result of standing firm is, as we see in Matthew and in Luke, that the devil leaves. This is a point made by James and Peter.

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

James 4: 7

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

1 Peter 5: 8-9

Much like Paul teaches in Ephesians 6, we are to stand firm, as we see Jesus do. Peter calls us not only to stand and resist the devil but to draw near to God. This is why the greatest command is to love God, this is part of worship. In worship we express love and draw near. As we draw near we are more positively standing for something, for someone. This type of stand is easier than simply standing against something.

Compare with the life of Jesus

When we keep these temptations in mind as we read the accounts of the life of Jesus we see that the Father had a better plan all along.

The devil tempted Jesus to miraculously create food for one. What we see later in the feeding of the five thousand (Matthew 14: 13-31, Mark 6: 30-44, Luke 9: 10-17) is that Jesus miraculously feeds many. The Father’s plan was far better.

The second temptation was to test God in a situation of peril, looking to achieve the rescue of one. During His ministry Jesus calms the storm, achieving a rescue for many (Mark 4: 35-41). More than that His whole ministry, His whole purpose, His sacrifice, achieves a rescue for all from the ultimate peril of eternity without God. Again, the Father’s plan was far better.

Finally, the devil tempts Jesus with authority. We read in Matthew that all authority is given to Jesus, He didn’t have to grab it, or take it on His own.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28: 18-20

Jesus receives heavenly authority, such that He can give it out freely. Heaven's authority has no limit. God’s view, unlike the view from the mountain (Matthew 4: 8), is all encompassing, it is not limited in any way. On this issue too, the Father’s plan was far better.

Practical Application

What does this mean for us, as followers of Jesus today?

We see that Jesus was tempted, we see that Jesus stood firm, choosing to follow the Father. Temptation, in all sorts of guises will come our way. Ultimately they all boil down to the one question, do you really need to follow and obey God when you could be a better god for yourself? This is the question asked in the garden and in the wilderness, it is the question we all face today.

Jesus shows us the answer to this - follow God, obey God, His plan is far better. As we face temptation, then, we can remember that we are in Christ, and that He is victorious. As a result we too can know victory today. We simply turn from the tempter to Jesus.