The Text
Last Time on ‘The Story’
This story happens immediately after Jesus’ baptism that we read last week, so not a whole lot to sum up.
Overview of Matthew
A reminder of the overall shape of Matthew as we consider the context of today’s story.
Ch. 1-3 Overture
1:1-2:23 Nativity
3:1-17 John the Baptizer
Ch. 4-7 Jesus’ early ministry, culminating in giving Torah (Sermon on the Mount)
4:1-11 Jesus’ Temptation
4:1-2 Jesus’ forty days of fasting
4:3-4 First temptation, stones into bread
4:5-7 Second temptation, throw himself off of the Temple
4:8-10 Third temptation, all the kingdoms of the world
4:11 end of temptation and providential provision
4:12-25 Jesus begins ministry in Galilee, gathers disciples, and ministers with the message “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.”
5:1-7:29 First set of Torah
Ch. 8-10 Enacting the Kingdom, culminating in Jesus’ instruction to his apostles (sent ones) as they go out.
Ch. 11-13 Responses to Jesus, culminating in Parables about the Kingdom
Ch. 14-20 Various Expectations of Messiah, culminating in Jesus preparing his disciples/apostles for his death
Ch. 21-25 Direct Confrontation with the Religious elites, culminating with a blistering critique of the Pharisees
Ch. 26-28 Crucifixion and Resurrection
Today’s Story
Matthew organizes the telling of Jesus’s life around five teaching or giving of Torah (instruction). Today’s reading begins this first movement of Jesus’ early ministry, which will end with the first set of Torah instruction, on the mountain (often called the Sermon on the Mount). Just as Moses and the Israelites came to Mount Sinai by way of the wilderness of Sin, so Jesus comes to the mount of instruction passing through the wilderness. Just as the people are tested in this wilderness journey (with a clear allusion to the testing of humanity in the garden, and repeated multiple times throughout Hebrew Scriptures), Jesus is tested as well. However, unlike the ancestors who came before him, Jesus passes the tests.
Led by the Spirit: Jesus has just received the Spirit in his baptism, and is now led into the wilderness. I presume that this would be the Negev desert in the southern end of Judah. Again, this idea of being ‘led by the Spirit’ is one that is common among many Christian communities. However, the phrase is not found in the Hebrew Scriptures, only in the New Testament. This is not particularly surprising given the talk of the ‘Spirit’ is one that is going primarily in Christian scriptures. However, there are lots of references to God leading, and unsurprisingly, the majority of these references are used of God leading the people of Israel in the wilderness time after the Exodus. During the Forty years of wandering, God led the people by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Many of these references are after the fact, pointing back to this wilderness journeys: Moses reminds the people multiple times of God leading them through the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:2, 15; 29:5; 32:10), multiple Psalms make reference to this leading in the wilderness (Psalm 78:14, 53; 106:9; 107:7; 136:16), and the Prophets refer back to this time of leading in the wilderness (Isaiah 48:21, Jeremiah 2:6; Amos 2:10). The other major use of God leading is in reference to the Exile (1 Kings 8:48; Jeremiah 22:12; Ezekiel 17:12; 39:28; Amos 7:11) or being brought back (Isaiah 55:12). Yet another connection to Moses and Israel’s history.
Wilderness to be Tempted: Again, the obvious connection to the children of Israel being led out of Egypt into the wilderness, both on the way to Sinai, and for the forty years between the giving of the Law and officially coming into the land. This time was marked by testing, between the Red/Reed Sea and Sinai, they were tested with the the bitter waters of Marah (Exodus 15), a lack of food and the providence of Manna and quail (Exodus 16), Lack of water and providential provision from the rock (Exodus 17), and the attack of the Amalekites (also Exodus 17). There are many other testing narratives throughout the wilderness journey, the Golden Calf Incident (Exodus 32), the opportunity to enter the land and refusal to do so (Numbers 13-14), Korah’s revolt (Numbers 16), and the Bronze Serpent (Numbers 21) to name a few. Every time, the people are given the opportunity to overcome the temptation, and every time they give into it. Matthew is bringing all of this to the table as they set up the story of Jesus in the wilderness being tempted.
The Devil: The Greek word diabolos means “slanderer” or “False accuser.” It is not technically used in the Hebrew scriptures, where Satan or the satan are used, meaning “the advisory” or “the accuser;” however, diabolos was used in the Septuegent Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which would have been well known among the 1st century Jewish community. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the satan serves as the judicial prosecutor before God in the book of Job. In later writings, the idea of an enemy of God which tempts people to sin (1 Chronicles 21:1, Psalm 109:6, and Zechariah 3:1,2) is alluded to, possibly influenced by Persian dualism or the Greek pantheon. By the first century, and the Christian Scriptures, the idea of ‘the Devil’ as opposition to God’s ongoing plan becomes more widespread. In the New Testament, The Devil is accuser (1 Peter 5:8), evil one (Matthew 13:19, Luke 8:11), enemy (Matthew 13:39), and the great dragon (Revelation 12:7-9). (From The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible).
The concept of Satan/Devil as a direct personification of evil will not be developed until after the New Testament is written. However, during the intertestamental time there is a growing interest in demonic powers, and the devil as an opposing force to God. Whether this constitutes a growing awareness of an actual demonic spiritual force antithetical to YHWH or the popularity of a rhetorical concept alone is beyond my pay-grade.
The literary connections with the temptation of humanity in the garden of Eden are clear. This temptation is played out in dialogue between Jesus and the devil, just as the first one was driven by dialogue between the serpent and Eve. While there is no direct connection between the satan and the serpent in the Hebrew or Christian Scriptures, it has become a common interpretation that the two are one, or at least connected. While Matthew and their audience may have not directly connected the serpent with the concept of Satan or the Devil, they are clearly connecting the two stories. This is intentional, as we as readers are to bring to mind the theme of test and temptation as it played out in the garden of Eden, as well as throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. Those texts would have formed the readers into an expectation of Jesus’s failure. Yet this allusion also brings forth the hope of a Child of Eve who will crush the head of the serpent.
Fasted for Forty Days and Forty Nights: Fasting has long been a spiritual practice, both inside and outside of the Judeo-Christian world. In the Hebrew Scriptures, fasting is often accompanied by other physical performances of mourning: weeping, tearing clothes, donning sackcloth, etc. Often individuals would fast for a period of time, and in some cases the whole community was invited into the practice. In the Old Testament, fasting was taken on in a situation of real or threatened loss such as mourning the death of a loved one. Fasting is seen both in the Jewish and Christian mindset as a penitential act, either an outward sign of an inward contrition, or an act of atoning for sin. Fasting is also connected with the act of prayer, removing the added distraction of eating, as well as honing the experience of hunger. This seems to be the reason that Jesus is engaging in this act here. In some ways it is similar to the Muslim practice during the holy month of Ramadan, which is spent in fasting (during the day) and overall focus on God/Allah ending with the celebration of Eid at the first light of the new moon. Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement which is traditionally marked by a 25 hour (from Sundown to Sundown) fast from food, drink, sex, and bathing.
The number of forty days and nights has an obvious connection to multiple biblical stories. There is the connection to the wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus, as mentioned above. The fact that it is forty days and nights also connects to the de-creation of the Genesis Flood. This is an interesting connection, and may have some interesting parallels to meditate upon. First of all, the story is about a new start for humanity, which has become hopelessly corrupt. The story of the flood also centers around a singular righteous person in all the world, through whom God provides salvation from the coming destruction. Noah is also an example of the theme of God choosing a singular person to bring righteousness, and their ultimate failure to do so; a theme that Matthew is specifically drawing on and subverting.
It is possible (maybe even likely) that the mention of forty days and nights is intentionally hyperbolic, the gospel writer is here stressing the hunger of Jesus, and connecting this story to other scriptures. However long the fast lasted, this section also ends with one of my all-time favorite statements in Scripture, “and afterwards he was famished.”
First Temptation- Stones for Bread: There is the surface temptation here of food. Jesus is hungry, and he is tempted to do something about it. There are lots of ways to go deeper, however.
Personal use of power vs. corporate use of power: This is the ‘personal gain’ rule from Charmed (the OG, I have no time for the reboot). Arguably Jesus will provide food miraculously, but that is to feed the 5,000 men plus women and children who have gathered to hear him. To use such power to meet his own personal needs could be seen as a misuse of that power. Selfish vs. Selfless.
Providence: Looking forward to the Sermon of the Mount, which this narrative is building to, has a lot of focus on ‘our daily bread’ and God’s providence for our daily needs. There is a subtle lesson of faith here, where Jesus is faithfully waiting for God’s providence, rather than ‘worrying about what he will eat or drink.’ Many prophets were provided with food in desperate times, especially Elijah and Elisha. God provided food through ravens and widows, and the prophet was called to trust. This story then also serves to heighten those lessons of daily bread. Imagine hearing about poverty from someone who has clearly never experienced it in their lives (certain members of congress come to mind). However, those who have experienced true poverty not only have more credibility, but see the issue very differently.
Delayed Gratification: All of these temptations/answers have an element of delayed gratification to them. The Devil is offering an instant answer (ultimately with problematic long-term effects), but Jesus delays that gratification in the now, for a greater answer in the log-term/ultimate scale.
Jesus’ answer to the Devil is that “One does not live by bread alone,/ but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” which is a great clap-back, rivaled only by Pharaoh having Moses/Aaron take away the plague of frogs “tomorrow” instead of ‘this very moment’. As previously established, Jesus is famished, he could really use something to eat, but he is not going to allow the Devil to tempt him into a bad move. You also note that the emphasis is on the ongoing revelation of God’s will (“every word that comes from the mouth of God”) rather than only past revelation (Word of God). Just interesting.
Second Temptation- Throw Himself Off of the Temple: I think this is an interesting one, but it is a bit hard to discern where the temptation part comes in.
Testing God: The interpretation that I often hear is that the Devil is tempting Jesus to test God. If Jesus throws himself off of the Temple, making God send a legion of angels to save him, it is simultaneously a test of God, and providing proof (ostensibly to Jesus) of his divine mandate. This interpretation calls to mind the story of Gideon (Judges 6) who asks for sign after sign from God in order to ‘prove’ that God has in-fact called him. God then returns the favor, and tests Gideon’s faith, so turn about’s fair play I suppose. This is a very valid interpretation, since Jesus’ response is not to test God.
Fast Track: I think that the temptation is a totally different one. The location of the temptation is important. You notice that the Devil does not tempt Jesus to throw himself off of some random cliff, it is not (just) about testing God or being a daredevil (pun-intended). If Jesus were to throw himself off of the Temple roof and be caught by a legion of angels, it might get some attention. Not only would it get attention, but attention from the kinds of people that would be looking for signs like that. Would there be any doubt that this Jesus of Nazareth (who, didn’t you hear? Landed in the Temple courtyard carried by a flock of angels) was the messiah that they had waited for. How would this change the story to come? There would be no struggle over figuring out what parables mean, people would just take everything he said as truth, no matter how enigmatic. The religious elites would have no choice but to accept him, and reform the Temple system not out of a change of heart, but out of necessity. He certainly would be more on Rome’s radar, who might still end up killing him, but would walk a very different line, perhaps adding Jesus to the Pantheon. Perhapse the Devil is presenting an ‘easy button’ alternative to the next three years of Jesus’ life.
Here Jesus responds that one should not put God to the test. I will also note that the devil has started using Scripture in their temptation, which is an interesting fact. Not everyone who is able to quote scripture and use it to justify their actions is doing so with the best intent.
Third Temptation- All the Kingdoms of the World: This one is pretty straight forward. The Devil here presents power to Jesus. The old adage that ‘power corrupts, and ultimate power corrupts ultimately’ comes to mind. There are a few interesting assumptions and tidbits here:
The Devil is presenting something that is within their control. Paul and others suggest that the Devil and demonic forces have been given authority over earthly kingdoms. This goes back to the Deuteronomistic histories where conflict with another nation is ultimately a religious conflict between divine forces.
In my head cannon, Jesus is not only shown the kingdoms of the world at the time, but all the kingdoms/empires that will yet come.
Getting even further afield, the devil could also be showing Jesus a glimpse of all the evil that will be performed in his name, the empires which will rule just like Rome, and yet claim Christianity. Perhaps then the implicit temptation is that Jesus could force his will on this movement, make them (us) do what he wants, rather than allowing for the twisting of his words. Yet Jesus refuses to use coercive power, refuses to take control away from human hands. Again, this is not robust enough to be anything other than conjecture, but something to think about.
Ultimately, the Devil wants Jesus to worship them, instead of God. This is always the temptation, to take our focus away from the Living God, and have anything else in that place. The word ‘sin’ comes from an Old English word that means to get anything but the bullseye in archery. There is one thing that we should be shooting for, one orientation that we need, and that is the Living God. Anything else, whether it is power, or money, or the United States of America, ourselves, our safety, our health, or the Devil themselves; anything else that takes our focus is ‘sin,’ missing the mark.
Interesting that this temptation is one that lines up with what we believe to be ultimate truth. “YHWH said to my Lord, sit here until I make your enemies your footstool” (Psalm 110:1), “Therefore God also highly exalted him/ and gave him the name/ that is above every name,/ so that at the name of Jesus/ every knee should bend,/ in heaven and on earth and under the earth,/ and every tongue should confess/ that Jesus Christ is Lord,/ to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). This is Jesus’ ultimate fate, but again the Devil is providing an easy track, which ultimately spoils the whole thing. Jesus would ‘win,’ but at what cost?
Jesus again rejects the Devil, proclaiming that God alone is the one to be worshiped.
Providence: It particularly struck me in this reading that after the Devil leaves, “angels came and waited on” Jesus. There is the obvious providence of sustenance, and therefore a response to the first temptation. Jesus was hungry, he did not give into the easy answer of turning stones into bread but instead faithfully waited for his ‘daily bread,’ which God here provides. What is more, it is provided by angels, perhaps the same angels that the Devil tempted Jesus with being caught by, are here providing for his safety in a much more secret and intimate way. He does not give into the drama that would have been his plummet to the Temple grounds, and then being caught up in the air. And these angels wait on him, suggesting his ultimate authority. This service is rendered not out of fear, or through Jesus’ direct action, power, control, violence, demand, etc, but is an act of service rendered. How profound that all the temptations are answered in this moment. As we meditate over all of the other failed tests in Scripture, as well as our own, we might imagine the providential answer to each lying just beyond the horizon. “Now to [God] who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20)
John Arrested: Note that Jesus does not begin his public ministry until after the arrest of John the Baptizer. This has a couple implications. First that Jesus in some ways is carrying on the same message (see below). There is also the possibility of John’s arrest being the jump-start that was necessary for Jesus to begin. We see in John’s account particularly Jesus’ hesitation in beginning ministry when Mary asks him to intervene at the Wedding of Cana. Jesus’ ministry starting at John’s arrest also casts a shadow over the coming events. We are reminded from the very beginning that this is dangerous work. The Powers that be, whether they are the Political elites of Rome and their sycophants, the Religious elites of Jerusalem, or (as was often the case) both, do not take kindly to correction, and will not hesitate using their hegemonic powers to silence their detractors.
Capernaum: John is arrested, and Jesus begins a new phase of ministry. He is now centered in Capernaum, a small fishing village on the sea of Galilee. John Dominic Crossan makes the interesting claim about the economic and social situation, especially of Capernaum. Not long before this would have been, Herod Antipas moved is capital to Tiberius, on the lakeshore. This would have a major impact on the fishing villages, and the fishing industry as a whole. Suddenly there are a lot more commercial and imperially backed fishing rigs, and the small family-based fishers (many of which have likely been at this for generations) are suddenly not only unable to make a profit, but can barely make it financially. While there is a lot of evidence that this was a generally prosperous time for a lot of people, there were still those who experienced severe financial strain. No wonder, Crossan says, that this new kingdom revolution would take root in such a place and situation.
Repent, For the Kingdom of Heaven has Come Near: It should not be lost on us that this is exactly the same message as John’s. We as readers are to see a direct line from the ministry of John to the ministry of Jesus. The ultimate message is exactly the same, even if their tactics might be different.
Pop Culture References
There are lots of great references to temptation in Pop-culture. One of my all-time favorite pop songs is Brittney Spears’ Toxic, whether she performs it herself, or one of the many awesome covers. The lyrics speaks to the deep temptation of that thing that you know is a “poison paradise,” yet being lost, “I’m addicted to you, Don’t you know that your toxic?”
Another great one is from the Muppet Show, and is one of the first indications of the Kermit/Ms. Piggie romance(?). (In fact, it is so early that in this sketch, Piggie is performed by three different people, singing voice, speaking voice, and performer are all different). The ‘Muppet Show Glee Club’ (for before Glee) sing the song Temptation, and Ms. Piggie is overtaken with her own.
I haven’t referenced the Matrix for a couple of weeks, so here you go: Cypher is tempted by ‘the Matrix’ and is willing to give up his knowledge of the ‘real world’ (along with all of his ship-mates) in order to get plugged back in. He wistfully states, “ignorance is bliss.”
Ultimately, while there are lots of examples of those giving into temptation, there are not a lot of examples of those who do not give into it. One of the few is one Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings, who does not give into the temptation of the Ring of Power, but instead helps Frodo throw it into Mt. Doom.
I will also note, that while it doesn’t really get into the movie (some, but it is subtle, especially in the theatrical cut), Foromere does not give into taking the ring, and in so doing redeems his brother, Boromere’s, story; and proves that he is the stronger of the two.
Hymn Suggestions
Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God
What a Friend we Have in Jesus
Lord Speak to me That I May Speak
Lord Who Throughout These Forty Days
Links
Homebrew Christianity: The Galilee Boat with John Dominic Crossan
Prayer of the Day
God of choice, we know that we have failed to make wise decisions before, just as those who have come before us. We are tempted at every turn, both by the outright evil and by the seemingly good before us. We have too often leaned on our own understanding about what is good, rather than trust your wisdom. Inspire us by Jesus’ example, who in every way was tempted like we are, yet without sin. Help us to trust you alone in all things, and choose your way over our own. Amen.