Matthew 4- The Temptation of Jesus

Tonight at house church we'll be discussing Matthew 4, which includes the temptation of Jesus in the desert and the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, including the calling of the first disciples. It would probably greatly benefit me as well as the group if I actually owned a Bible commentary, but I don't, so here are some thoughts that I had on this passage.

To begin, the devil comes after Jesus when he's profoundly physically weakened. The devil is evil, but he's also clever. Human beings do tend to be weak spiritually when we're physically weakened. This idea relates back to the last post about sleep; it is harder to obey God (particularly those pesky commands about love) when we're sleep-deprived. The devil knows it and is prepared to exploit that fact. It's also worth noting that the devil begins by offering to fulfill what must be, by this point, one of Jesus' most profound desires--the desire for food. This is only one aspect of the first temptation, but I don't think it's insignificant.

The second thing that occurs to be is the structure of the devil's temptation.

• He begins by tempting Jesus to test his own identity, "If you are the Son of God..."
• He next tempts Jesus to test God's identity. Specifically, this temptation asks Jesus to both test his identity as God's Son, and also God's faithfulness to do what he has said.
• Finally, he tempts Jesus to weigh both his identity and God's identity against Satan's identity. Satan promises that which is not his to give (all the kingdoms of the world), in exchange for that (misplaced worship) which would cost Jesus the very world that he is to inherit. I think it's exactly that sort of twisted boldness that makes Satan so interesting to writers.

The twisted rhetoric of the devil's temptation then contrasts starkly with Christ's replies to him. Scripture--that's it. Jesus does not reason with the devil, he just quotes his Father.

The conclusion to this passage is angels coming to minister to Jesus. When I think of this scene, I tend to think of Frodo waking up in Rivendale after being stabbed by the ringwraith. It's terribly geeky, but I think Tolkien brings home the sense of indescribable comfort, care and warmth that we will only know in the world to come beautifully. Attended by angels--compare that with what the devil was offering--formerly-rock-bread.

That's all I have time for right now, so if you want to comment on this, or on the following verses, please feel free.