Temptation of Christ

The Temptations of Christ, 12th century mosaic at St Mark's Basilica, Venice.

The temptation of Christ is detailed in the gospels of Matthew,[1] Mark,[2] and Luke.[3] According to these texts, after being baptized, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the desert. During this time, the devil appeared to Jesus and tempted him. Jesus having refused each temptation, the devil departed and angels came and brought nourishment to Jesus.

Mark's account is very brief, merely noting the event. Matthew and Luke describe the temptations by recounting the details of the conversations between Jesus and the devil. Since the elements that are in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark are mostly pairs of quotations rather than detailed narration, many scholars believe these extra details originate in the Q Document. The story of the Temptation is one of the notable omissions in the Gospel of John.

Contents

Literary Genre

The account of Matthew uses language from the Old Testament. The imagery of a conflict between an earlier "Jesus" and "the devil" would be familiar to Matthew's contemporary readers, recalling the vision of a conflict between Satan and the Angel of the Lord. In the Septuagint Greek version of Zechariah 3 the name Iesous and term diabolos are identical to the Greek terms of Matthew 4.[4] Additionally Matthew presents the three scriptural passages cited by Jesus (Deut 8:3, Deut 6:13, and Deut 6:16) not in their order in the book of Deuteronomy, but in the sequence of the trials of Israel as they wandered in the desert, as recorded in the book of Exodus.[5][6]

Luke's account is similar, though his inversion of the second and third temptations "represents a more natural geographic movement, from the wilderness to the temple".[7] Luke's closing statement that the devil "departed from him until an opportune time"[8] may provide a narrative link to the immediately following attempt at Nazareth to throw Jesus down from a high place,[9] or may anticipate a role for Satan in the Passion (cf. Luke 22:3).[10][11]

Accounts

Major events in Jesus' life from the Gospels

In Luke's and Matthew's accounts, the devil tempts Jesus to:

Duccio's The Temptation on the Mount

Matthew makes clear that the Spirit (presumably the same Spirit, or "Holy Ghost" depending on which translation you read, prominently mentioned only two verses before) has led Jesus into the desert. Many scholars see Matthew as presenting Jesus being tested under the orders of God, in addition to the devil taking advantage of this opportunity. The Catholic and Orthodox teaching is that the Devil and the other demons are spiritual or angelic creatures created by God in a state of innocence, and that they became evil by their own act. Other non-Christian teachings see the devil's role here as echoing Satan's role in some parts of the Old Testament, or as taught in Modern Day Rabbinic Judaism where he is portrayed as an angel acting under God's orders as an official "opposing counsel" to test humans on behalf of God. Thus there are two understandings of Satan, the Christian one of a Satan who is a fallen angel in rebellion to God who became evil, and the Jewish one of a Satan who is not an evil fallen angel, but a servant of God carrying out God's will.

Fasting

Fasting traditionally presaged a great spiritual struggle.[12] Elijah and Moses in the Old Testament fasted 40 days and nights, and so Jesus doing the same invites comparison to these events. At the time, 40 was less a specific number and more a general expression for any large figure.[13] Fasting may not mean a complete abstinence from food; consequently, Jesus may have been surviving on the sparse food that could be obtained in the desert.[14][15]

Locations

Each temptation takes place in a different setting.

1. Stones to Bread

The temptation of making bread out of stones occurs in the same desert setting where Jesus had been fasting. Alexander Jones[16] reports that the wilderness mentioned here has since the fifth century been believed to be the rocky and uninhabited area between Jerusalem and Jericho, with a spot on Mount Quarantania traditionally being considered the exact location. The desert was seen as outside the bounds of society and as the home of demons such as Azazel (Leviticus 16:10). Some have read this reference to the wilderness as a comparison to Adam in the Garden of Eden, implying that Jesus was a new Adam (cf Book of Romans 5) . However scholars like Gundry reject this idea, stating that nowhere does Matthew's text imply such a comparison, but rather the desert is more likely an allusion to the wilderness through which the Israelites wandered during the Exodus, and more specifically to Moses.[15] Jesus replies, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'"[17]

2. Pinnacle of the Temple

After the first temptation is rejected, the devil takes Jesus to a high pinnacle in what Matthew terms the holy city. Most Christians consider that holy city refers unquestionably to Jerusalem and the temple to which the pinnacle belongs is thus identified as the Temple in Jerusalem. Gospel of Matthew refers to "the temple" 17 times without ever adding "in Jerusalem". That Luke's version of the story clearly identifies the location as Jerusalem may be due to Theophilus's unfamiliarity with Judaism.[18]

What is meant by the word traditionally translated as pinnacle is not entirely clear since the Greek dimunitive form pterugion ("little wing") is not extant in other architectural contexts.[19]. Though the form pterux ("large wing") is used for the point of a building by Pollianus [20] Schweizer feels that little tower or parapet would be more accurate, and the New Jerusalem Bible does use the translation "parapet". The only surviving Jewish parallel to the temptation uses the standard word šbyt "roof" not "wing": "Our Rabbis related that in the hour when the Messiah shall be revealed he shall come and stand on the roof (šbyt) of the temple." (Peshiqta Rabbati 62 c-d) [21]

Gundry lists three sites at the Jerusalem temple that would fit this description[15]:

"If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." (Luke 4:9-13)

Once more, Jesus maintained his integrity and responded by quoting scripture, saying, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'"[22]

3. Mountain

For the final temptation, the devil takes Jesus to a high place, which Matthew explicitly identifies as a very high mountain, where all the kingdoms of the world can be seen. Interpretations of this are as follows:

Jesus replies "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'"[24]

Purpose

16th century master illuminator Simon Bening's depiction of the devil approaching Jesus with a stone to be turned into bread

Exactly what the devil was trying to achieve by these temptations has been open to debate. The traditional view is that the devil on each occasion is trying to make Jesus commit a particular sin - avarice by offering power over the kingdoms of the world, gluttony by suggesting a way to relieve Jesus' hunger, and hubris by suggesting that Jesus jump and rely on angels to break his fall. Most modern scholars do not accept this view; Jones, for example, noted that labeling someone a glutton after a fast because of the temptation of food is a hyperbole.

Another view popular for a time (for example, see Dostoyevsky's The Grand Inquisitor in The Brothers Karamazov) was that the devil wasn't so much tempting Jesus as presenting him with the different options he could take to be a Messiah, and making him choose one. Evangelicals point to the word usually translated as tempt as being more accurately translated as test, i.e. that the devil was testing Jesus' understanding of his role rather than trying to lure him to sin.[14] Rejected options under this interpretation are:

Another view, popularized by the book The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder, suggests that the three temptations of Jesus foreshadow the three points in his ministry where political temptations were the greatest:

There remains the question of the validity of the temptations offered to Jesus. As the Son of God, he would be able to attain any of these desires without the aid of the Devil. He was, in essence, being tempted with offers that he already had in his hand. However, Hebrews 4:15 states that Jesus is one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are. The author of the book of Hebrews clearly purports that Jesus was tempted in the same way as other men (i.e., without supernatural powers). Granted this scriptural passage, it only makes sense that Jesus was required to pass these tests before God without relying on powers that other men do not have.

Jesus' banquet

Thomas Cole's Angels Ministering to Christ in the Wilderness

Once the temptations are over, the narrative has the devil depart and Jesus being looked after by angels. In the original Greek of Matthew, "devil left him" was in the historic present tense, indicating a lack of permanence, i.e. that the devil would later return to further tempt Jesus (which Luke spells out explicitly). While both Mark and Matthew mention the angels, Luke does not, and Matthew seems once again here to be making parallels with Elijah[25], who was fed by ravens. The word minister/served is often interpreted as the angels feeding Jesus, and traditionally artists have depicted the scene as Jesus being presented with a feast, a detailed description of it even appearing in Paradise Regained. This ending to the temptation narrative may be a common literary device of using a feast scene to emphasize a happy ending[13], or it may be proof that Jesus never lost his faith in God during the temptations.[16] In the War Scroll found at Qumran, angels are described as forming an army to battle evil, which is somewhat at odds with most interpretations of the portrayal of angels here, but it could indicate that the angels in the passage should instead be interpreted as ministering to Jesus by driving off the devil. After forty days and nights of no food, Jesus needed sustenance and once the temptations had ceased, miraculous aid was at hand. God kept his promise to take care of Jesus.

Parallels in Gospel of John

The story of the Temptation is one of the notable omissions in the Gospel of John. However some readers have identified parallels inside John which indicate that the author of John may have been familiar with the Temptation narratives in some form.[26]

Cultural influences

The temptation of Christ has been a frequent subject in the art and literature of Christian cultures. It is largely the subject of John Milton's four-book epic, Paradise Regained. Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Grand Inquisitor, part of the novel The Brothers Karamazov, features an extended treatment of the temptation of Christ. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar has brief references to Christ being tempted by mortal pleasures and Stephen Schwartz devotes a scene to it in Godspell. A stanza on the poem "O Operário em Construção" ("The Building Operary"), by Vinícius de Moraes, alludes to the temptation as well. In W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge, the narrator uses the gospel of Matthew to introduce his own ending in which Jesus accepts death on the cross "for greater love hath no man" while the devil laughs in glee, knowing full well that man will reject this redemption and commit evil in spite of, if not because of this great sacrifice. Lastly, the film Jesus of Montreal has a parallel scene where the actor playing Jesus is taken to the top of a skyscraper and offered lucrative contracts by a lawyer if he will serve him.

Parallels in Other Religions

In Buddhist tradition, the god of Illusion tempts the Buddha in various ways, including urging him to transform the Himalayas into gold.

In Egyptian tradition, Horus fled to the desert and was tempted by Set, the Egyptian God of evil and chaos. Much like Jesus, Horus resisted the temptation (though not before being blinded in one eye).

See also

References

  1. ↑ Matthew 4:1-11, New International Version
  2. ↑ Mark 1:12-13, NIV
  3. ↑ Luke 4:1-13, NIV
  4. ↑ Donald A. Hagner Matthew 1-13 Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 33a 1993
  5. ↑ Jeffrey B. Gibson, Temptations Of Jesus In Early Christianity 2004
  6. ↑ "USCCB - NAB - Matthew 4". http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/matthew/matthew4.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-07. , footnotes 1 through 5
  7. ↑ Raymond F Collins, The Temptation of Jesus, The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Doubleday 1992
  8. ↑ Luke  4:13, English Standard Version
  9. ↑ John Nolland Luke 1:1-9:20 Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 35a, 1989
  10. ↑ Hans Conzelmann, The Theology of St. Luke. Trans. G. Buswell. New York, 1960 p.28
  11. ↑ "USCCB - NAB - Luke 4". http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/luke/luke4.htm#foot6. Retrieved 2010-01-07. , footnotes 1 through 5
  12. ↑ Hill, David. The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Clarke, Howard W. The Gospel of Matthew and its Readers: A Historical Introduction to the First Gospel. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 France, R.T. The Gospel According to Matthew: an Introduction and Commentary. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1985.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Gundry, Robert H. Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Jones, Alexander. The Gospel According to St. Matthew. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1965.
  17. ↑ Matthew 4:4, New American Bible
  18. ↑ Joseph A. Fitzmyer The Gospel According to Luke I-IX: Introduction, Translation, and Notes The Anchor Bible, Vol. 28, Doubleday 1982
  19. ↑ http://old.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2391157
  20. ↑ # Pollianus Epigrammaticus 7.121, 2C AD in Anthologia Graeca.
  21. ↑ Rivka Ulmer, A Synoptic Edition of Pesiqta Rabbati Based upon All Extant. Manuscripts and the Editio Princeps. South Florida Studies in the History of Judaism 155, 1995
  22. ↑ Matthew 4:7, New American Bible
  23. ↑ Watkins, P. The Devil, the Great Deceiver, Birmingham 1971
  24. ↑ Matthew 4:10, New American Bible
  25. ↑ 1 Kings 19:4-9
  26. ↑ Whittaker H.A., Studies in the Gospels, Biblia, 1996 p319

External links

Temptation of Jesus
Life of Jesus
Preceded by
Baptism of Jesus
   New Testament   
Events
Followed by
Wedding at Cana