Testing Jesus
Here are some thoughts on Sunday's gospel. Let's talk about it.
Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11
1Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
It’s a set up: it was God’s Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. What is this really about? This too, was preparation for Jesus before he began his public ministry.
All of the enemy’s tests regarded the nature of Jesus as the Son of God, with the final one being a challenge to worship the enemy to have everything—which was already his anyway! Did you notice Jesus’ response in each instance? “It is written.” Jesus knew scripture and was confident in who he was.
Did you notice that in the second temptation the devil has caught on and uses the words, “for it is written.” Pretty sly, huh? And Jesus’ reply, “Again it is written.” It’s not enough to be able to quote scripture but to have it enter your heart and transform you. Ultimately, Jesus is the Word of God and scripture tells us about the living Word.
Jesus demonstrated his identity in testing so that through our identity in Christ, we transform our community. Because Jesus knew who he was, he could confidently confront the devil. Do we know who we are as beloved children of God?
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, we thank you that in holy baptism you have made us your own beloved daughters and sons. May we remember this as we live our lives in you. Amen.
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