I touched upon the subject of Christ's temptation briefly in my exposition of James 1:12-15, but felt the passages in Matthew warranted further consideration for the mutual benefit of my readers and myself.
Before I begin, let me bring rememberance to what was said about the word peirazó and how it contributes to an understanding of this text. Scholars translate it in these verses as temptation of Christ, and indeed Satan intends to tempt. However, these verses demonstrate that Jesus shows no vulnerability to lies and no desire to disobey the Father. Therefore, the sense in which Jesus is tempted is that he is tested by the devil. Christ gives no meaningful consideration to the devil's schemes, for his desire is always obedience to the Father.
A cynic might see the above as an attempt for me to blindly follow a pre-existing belief that Jesus is God no matter the cost. They say "Christ cannot be God, because God is never tempted and it is clear that Jesus was tempted". Wholeheartedly I disagree with any sentiments that I blindly follow my beliefs, and their conclusion from these passages.
I contend scripture includes peirazó in many ways, and that the context in which it is used results in significant differences.
Satan is The Tempter
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Matthew 4:1 ESV
This verse in Matthew is a simple sentence with only one independent clause. There is a subject noun (Jesus), and a predicate (led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil). There are several verbs, but the main verb phrase is "was led up", whereas "into the wilderness" and "to be tempted" modify where and why he was led. We should conclude from this sentence that Jesus didn't wander and stumble upon the devil. His actions were ordained as a part of God's salvation plan.
Pay attention to the passive voice of the verse. Although Jesus is the subject, he is the recipient of the verbs. Because of this, the voice and meaning is different from James 1:13. While Jesus is never tempted with evil [active voice], that does not prevent the devil from tempting him [passive voice]. There is no logical incoherence with that statement, for they state two different things. Here's a mild example to illustrate the point:
She tempted him to buy her cake, but he was not tempted and he bought no cake.
The difference is clear: one describes an external actor in action, whereas the other describes an internal state. In the following verses we will see three times the devil attempts to entice Jesus to sin, but he was not successful even once.
The First Test
And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:2-4 ESV
Each of the three verses contain a single sentence with two clauses, therefore they are easy for us to understand.
Verse 2
The second verse (Matthew 4:2) includes an introductory dependent clause. We start with somebody fasting and how long they fasted, but we don't know who or why the fasting is important. The independent clause reveals that "he [Jesus] was hungry". Therefore, we understand his hunger to be the result of his fasting for forty days, but not the test.
Verse 3
The third verse (Matthew 4:3) is where we see one of the ways that the one who tempts (peirazó) tempted Christ as described in the first verse (Matthew 4:1). The devil speaks to Christ and says "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." He tested Jesus by asking for a proof that he is the Son of God through a miracle. However, of great significance is that it remains unclear at this stage why turning stones into bread is meaningfully different from turning water into wine (John 2:9).
Verse 4
To understand this test we must read the fourth verse (Matthew 4:4). It is the final piece of the puzzle. It is a compound-complex sentence made of two independent clauses and linked by one dependent clause:
But he answered,
“It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Clause 1
The main clause includes a subject (He [Jesus]) and an intransitive verb (answered). It is intransitive because no direct object is stated, but the context dictates that Jesus answered the devil.
Clauses 2 and 3
His response is then broken into a dependent clause which has omitted the subordinating conjunction "that" and the independent clause is what was written (Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God).
It is vital to understand that the dependent clause points to the independent clause. Jesus is not answering 'I would comply but it is written down.' The reason he will not comply is because what is written is the greater truth he cannot disobey. Jesus quotes the Law (Deuteronomy 8:3), which reveals to us the significance of the forty days and forty nights in pointing us towards the forty years that Israel spent in the wilderness. However, what is true of God at the time of Moses was also true at the time of Adam, and at that present time too.
We are meant to see both the symmetry and asymmetry between these stories. Christ is tested by one who despises all that God loves, Israel were tested by God. Nevertheless, Jesus demonstrates obedience where Israel did not. Therefore, he is the obedient Israelite that trusts in God.
The Second Test
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said 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, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’
Matthew 4:5-7 ESV
This second test has a far more complicated compound sentence structure than we typically see in English. Translators for the English Standard Version use two sentences across three verses, whereas translators for the New International Version simplied the text by breaking it into three sentences. We will review this more complicated translation, but you should read the simplified version if you are struggling to grasp the concepts in the passage.
Verses 5 - 6
Let us start with a breakdown of the six clauses in the single compound-complex sentence spread across the fifth and sixth verses (Matthew 4:5-6):
Then the devil took him to the holy city
and set him on the pinnacle of the temple
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down,
for it is written [that],
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Clauses 1, 2, and 3
The first clause is an independent clause, containing the subject (the devil), the verb took (paralambanó) is followed by a direct object and modifier, which therefore forms a coherent thought. Afterwards, even though the subject is omitted to avoid repetition in the following clauses, we understand it is still the devil that sets Jesus upon the pinnacle of the temple and who tells Jesus to throw himself off the building that it might be proven he is the Son of God.
We can summarise the first three clauses as the devil is tempting Jesus to test God's divine providence.
Clause 4
Typically we would end a sentence at this point, just as the NIV authors did. However, the ESV authors stick to the original text and join another two independent clauses through a single dependent clause.
I conclude "for it is written" should be considered a dependent clause on the ground it changes the subject and implies a subordinate conjunction. What I mean is that although the devil is speaking, "it" is a demonstrative pronoun that takes our focus away from the one who is speaking to what was written. Otherwise, if we didn't read it this way, we might conclude the pronoun (He) in the fifth clause refers to the same subject (the devil).
Clauses 5 and 6
We can summarise the devil's tactic for tempting is to quote "God will command his angels concerning you" and "on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone". Both are taken out of context from a single psalm (Psalm 91:11-12).
Verse 7
In the final verse Jesus responds "Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’" He neither considers jumping nor does he jump. Instead he quotes from scripture (Deuteronomy 6:16) that we should not test God. Once again the devil tempts Jesus, but there is neither an indication that Jesus is fooled nor tempted.
The Third Test
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Matthew 4:8-11 ESV
The final test is much easier to read and understand. Each verse is broken into one or more setences, and include a small number of clauses for us to break down.
Verse 8
In the eighth verse (Matthew 4:8), Jesus is again taken by the devil. But this time he is taken to an undisclosed mountain. It is a compound sentence with two independent clauses:
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
The first is a simple independent clause that reveals the subject (the devil), verb (took), direct object (him), and completes the thought by saying where Jesus was taken (to a very high mountain).
The second independent clause omits the subject because of repetition, but it is clear that the devil is the one who 'showed him all the kingdoms of the earth and their glory.' But what does that mean? Given that it is impossible to see all of the world at once, I take this passage to mean that Jesus could see a great deal of land and its inhabitants. The horizon entails that there is even more beyond what can be seen, and it is not crucial for Jesus to see all kingdoms simultaneously.
Verse 9
Then, in the ninth verse (Matthew 4:9), we have a complex sentence made of a dependent and independent clause:
And he said to him, “All these I will give you,
if you will fall down and worship me.”
The first independent clause reveals the test he has in store for Jesus; he will give Jesus all the land, its inhabitants, and all its glory. However, the dependent clause adds a condition that reveals the true motive behind his offer. He will only give it to him if he bows down in worship. At this time, although God created and rules the world, man follows the devil in disobedience. We are not his to give, but his power over us which emboldens him to offer us as a prize.
Verse 10
In the tenth verse (Matthew 4:10) we find the response Jesus gives to the devil. It is formed from two sentences with a total of three clauses:
Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan!
For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”
Clause 1
The first clause is simple sentence with a single independent clause. It includes a subject (Jesus), a verb phrase (said to), which then requires a direct object (him), before revealing what was said: "Be gone, Satan!"
Again the devil failed. Jesus was not tempted by the offer. It is a pivotal moment because it is clear that the devil will not willingly hand us over without the Son of God bowing down. Elsewhere in the bible it is clear Jesus' death is propitiation for our sin, but we see here a second reason for his sacrifice: he must exhaust all the power of the devil over man.
Clauses 2 and 3
Afterwards, in the second sentence, Jesus expands upon his answer. He starts with an introductory dependent clause (For it is written), which points us to the main clause: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’
Again it is vital for us to recognize there is more than grammatical difference between the dependent and main clause. Jesus is not rejecting the devil because it was written down. We cannot conclude that had it not been written, Jesus would have bowed down in worship of Satan. Instead we must emphasise the worship and service of God because it is the greater truth. We can understand it as such: Jesus is quoting scripture (Deuteronomy 6:13), but he points us to a truth that existed long before Moses wrote it down.
Verse 11
In the eleventh and final verse we have a compound sentence that includes two independent clauses.
Then the devil left him,
and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Clause 1
The first clause is independent. It includes a subject (the devil), a verb (left), and then a direct object to complete the thought (him). Where he went is not important. It is clear the devil failed to tempt Jesus. It brings us full circle to the beginning: though Jesus was tempted by the devil; Jesus was not tempted. He did not sin.
Clause 2
After the conjunction (and), the word behold is an interjection. It is used by the author to show surprise at what happened afterward. The second clause includes a new subject (angels), a verb phrase (came and were ministering to), and a direct object to complete the thought (him). It shows both that the experience took a physical toll on Jesus, but also the divine providence of God to minister to him.
Final Remarks
The story of Jesus being tempted by the devil is not proof that Jesus is not God. They are written in different voices. As we carefully examine the text it is clear to us that Jesus did not struggle to reject the devil. He remained obedient to God where we as sinners would have failed.
We can refer to these passages as the tempting of Jesus, but we must remember he was tempted by sinful people his whole life. It is good that we remember he was tempted to the fullest extent in every regard, yet he was without sin. He is able to sympathise with us, but being without spot or wrinkle, he was the perfect sacrifice once and for all.
Comments