Since Lent is patterned after the forty days of Jesus’
fasting in the wilderness immediately after His baptism, and since I already
dealt with prayer and fasting, it is just appropriate that I also deal with the
temptations of Jesus Christ that marked the culmination of His days in the
wilderness. Matthew 4:1-11 records the temptation story:
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 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 these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on
every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
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.’”
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is
also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
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.”
Jesus said to him, “Away
from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve
him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
In movies, the castles and hide-outs of villains are truly
quite impressive: the White Witch’s Castle (The Chronicles of Narnia),
Sauron’s tower at Mordor (Lord of the Rings), and El Macho’s Crib (Despicable
Me 2). These citadels or strongholds are presented as huge, and often
scary. Imagine these citadels and how frightening it is to invade them. Scary,
right? When Matthew 4:1-11 narrates that Jesus was led into the wilderness to
be tempted (4:1), it was actually saying that Jesus was led into the very
domain of Satan in order to be tempted. In Jewish mentality, the wilderness
(along with the sea) is the place of evil. This means that Jesus was led to be
tempted precisely in Satan’s stronghold. Therefore, it was not as if Jesus was
on the defensive side; rather, Jesus was actually in the wilderness to defeat
Satan in his own turf.
So how did Satan try to defeat Jesus Christ in his own turf?
What were Satan’s strategy? In this post, we are going to focus on the words of
Satan. In particular, we will try to discern the presuppositions he had when he
tempted Jesus.
If You are the Son of God… (4:3, 6)
When I was an elementary pupil, fights among children were
almost a daily occurrence. Fights did not really erupt with violent punching
and hitting. Rather they were usually characterized by a long standoff. The
fighters would stand in their fighting stance, but they would not touch one
another. In order for the fight to start properly, a ring leader was often
necessary. The ring leader would say things like, “If you are really not
scared, touch his ears,” or “If you are not scared, walk closer to him.” So the
one challenged to do the touching, in order not to be called a coward, will
touch the other child’s ears, and the violent hitting would officially begin.
I think the nature of the temptation of Satan to Jesus is
similar to this. Satan was tempting Jesus to do something by saying “If you are
the Son of God, you will do this.” The implication, of course, is that when
Jesus does not do what Satan asks, Jesus’ identity will be called into
question. Satan’s temptations are well-laid traps.
From Satan’s tactics, we can discern that temptations are
specially tailored according to our own identities, personalities, and
capabilities. Satan knew that Jesus is the Son of God, and he knew about Jesus’
capabilities. Although it is true that Satan tempted Jesus in consideration of
Jesus’ weakness (hunger), the neglected other side of the coin is that Jesus
was tempted in consideration of Jesus’ strength and capability. The temptation
to turn bread into wine and to jump from above unharmed only works with Jesus
because He is capable of doing them. An illuminating dialogue from the 2003
movie Luther was between Cardinal Cajetan and the young priest Aleander:
Cardinal Cajetan: “What is your
desire in life, Aleander?”
Aleander: “To serve God with all
my heart.”
Cardinal Cajetan: “Then it is
through your desire that you will be tempted.”
The fact is that we are tempted not only in accordance with
our weaknesses, but also in accordance with our strengths. What are we capable
of? If we are rich, we face temptations related to our wealth. If we are
good-looking, we face temptations related to our physical attributes. If we are
politically and socially influential, we face temptations related to our
influence. If we are leaders, we face temptations related to our
responsibilities and privileges.
We face temptations grounded in who we are and what we have.
The temptation of Jesus reveals the fact that there are
limitations related to our capabilities. There are things that we are able
to do but should not do. Satan tempted Jesus to do what Jesus was capable of,
but Jesus knew that if He does what Satan suggested, He would be abusing His
own powers for His own self-interest. This is one of the crucial elements in
the story. Doing something we are capable of doing is not inherently wrong.
What is wrong is using our own influence, power, wealth, talents, gifts, etc.
for our own self interests. Jesus can easily turn stone into bread in the
wilderness like He turned water into wine at the wedding of Cana (John 2:1-12),
but why did He do the latter and not the former? Because the former benefits
Him only and the latter is for the sake of others. Why did He not violate the
laws of nature (or gravity) in the wilderness when He can actually control
waves, winds, and storms? It is because He did not want to abuse His own power
if it is only for His own sake.
The Great Wall of China is a gigantic structure which cost
an immense amount of money and labor. When it was finished, it appeared
impregnable. But the enemy breached it: not by breaking it down or going around
it. They did it by bribing the gatekeepers. It was breached because some soldiers
abused their power and capability.
If You Will Bow Down and Worship Me (4:9)
Jesus overcame the first two temptations, and so in the
final temptation, Satan changed his tactic. If Satan failed to tempt Jesus by
appealing to what Jesus is, in the last temptation Satan appealed to what Jesus
is not yet enjoying: kingly reign.
Satan’s temptation is actually very tricky. When he said
“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me”
(4:9), he was actually saying “be my son, and I will give you all of these.” In
Jewish culture, like ours today, children are heirs of everything their father
owns. Bowing down to Satan is reminiscent of the bowing down of sons in order
to receive the blessing of their father (eg., Jacob in Genesis 27:27-29).
So if the tactic to appeal to the identity and capability of
Jesus did not work, Satan tried to tempt Jesus with what Jesus did not have
yet. We can translate Satan’s words as “You are the Son of God, but here you
are in the desert suffering. Is this really the life of a King? Why don’t you
worship me and I will give you rulership right here and right now?” The third
temptation, therefore, is a temptation based on who we are not yet, what we do
not have yet, or what we are not yet enjoying. John Piper says that sin “gets
its power by persuading me to believe that I will be more happy if I follow it.
The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier.”
What is hidden in the temptation, however, is a necessary
exchange. In order to gain something, you will have to give up something. A
survey was conducted about what people are willing to do for $10,000,000? Here
is the response of the respondents:[1]
Would abandon their entire family
(25%)
Would abandon their church (25%)
Would become prostitutes for a week or more (23%)
Would give up their citizenship (16%)
Would leave their spouses (16%)
Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free (10%)
Would kill a stranger (7%)
Would put their children up for adoption (3%)
Would abandon their church (25%)
Would become prostitutes for a week or more (23%)
Would give up their citizenship (16%)
Would leave their spouses (16%)
Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free (10%)
Would kill a stranger (7%)
Would put their children up for adoption (3%)
Of course, there is nothing wrong with the desire to have
what we do not have yet. It is alright to dream for a new car or a new house.
It is alright to dream for promotion at work or to have higher socio-political
status. The problem is when we are tempted to obtain or accomplish these godly
dreams in the wrong way. Satan was tempting Jesus to be glorified now and in
the wrong way. Jesus will be glorified by His Father in heaven anyway, but the
road to such glory is not through Satan’s suggestion, but through humility and
the cross. Paul wrote:
In your relationships with one
another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to
the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name (Phil 2:6-9).
and gave him the name that is above every name (Phil 2:6-9).
Conclusions
One of the most important English words is “No.” We face
temptations on a daily basis. But like Jesus, we can become victorious in the
power of the Holy Spirit, with whom we are all baptized with (1 Cor 12:13).
According to the writer of Hebrews, “We do not have a high priest who is
unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted
in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Heb 4:15).
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