The Bible contains two contradictory words for temptation: temptation and testing. Temptation is a movement of hesitation in humanity between divine grace and sin. The tempter is always the devil. Thus, temptation in this sense is an invitation to death (James 1:13-15). Testing is a disciplinary method that God uses to purify his people as gold and silver are purified. While temptation brings death, God guides man through testing to life.
The first thing that strikes us when we return to the temptation of Jesus (we will rely in this article on the order of the Gospel of Luke 4:1-13; see also Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12, 13) is that the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke) mention the story immediately after Jesus’ baptism (only Luke inserts between the two events the genealogy of Jesus, which Matthew mentions at the beginning of his Gospel and which we do not find in Mark). This is because they wanted to reveal, from the beginning of the new message, that Jesus, who was consecrated by baptism to become the suffering servant of whom Isaiah spoke, triumphed over the temptations that his people fell into in the wilderness for forty years, after the Lord had led them across the Red Sea. While Israel had previously angered God in the wilderness, Jesus—the new Adam—succeeded in the temptation and pleased his Father by obeying his word.
It is important to know that the content of the temptations that targeted Jesus’ work and message is much deeper than the metaphorical form in which they were placed. And we should know, next, that the tempter, although he felt that he was facing a solid enemy, did not really know the greatness and holiness of Jesus (Saint Ambrose says: Satan “was tempting to discover, and was discovering to tempt”). In this article, we will try to stand before the three temptations (the temptation of bread, power, and the temple) that Jesus, “the Son of God,” was exposed to, and see how, in this skin, he was able to remove the mask of deception from Satan’s face and defeat him in his own home.
The “bread temptation” (Satan said to him: If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread) goes back to Jewish tradition, since the Jews believed that the age of the expected Messiah was an age of satiety and material blessings. It is the first cunning exploitation of the Evil One, who wants Jesus to go against the will of his Father and, in accordance with the expectations of the people, announce, by a miracle, that he is the awaited Messiah (John 6:14). Jesus rejects this proposal and removes from him “the cunning of that beast” by saying to him: “Man shall not live by bread alone” (a phrase taken from Deuteronomy 8:3, the book from which Jesus, in his temptations, will take all his answers). This reliance on the Word of God, which is the true strength and power of the righteous (Moses, Elijah…), shows Jesus to be the obedient Son of his heavenly Father and the teacher who is alert to the temptations of the Evil One. This is his method, to show by means of poverty (not by outward grandeur) that he is truly the Son of God. This is to teach us that whoever humbles himself before God, trusts in Him, and does what pleases Him will live even if he is hungry, because He who of old fed His people with manna in the wilderness is alone able to sustain the lives of people and provide for them with things other than natural food (“every word proceeds from the mouth of God,” as Matthew continues).
Satan was defeated in the first temptation. However, his resolve was not discouraged, and he wanted to hide his hostility under the guise of gifts. Luke says that Satan took Jesus up a high mountain and showed him “all the kingdoms of the world,” and said to him, “To you I will give this power and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I will. If you will worship before me, all things shall be yours.” This temptation places the two adversaries in the heart of the world, as Satan offers Jesus rule and authority over “all the kingdoms of the world.” In doing so, he inspires him to fulfill the hopes and dreams of the people. The Jews had been ruled, throughout the ages, by foreign powers (Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman), and they were waiting for the coming of the Messiah to liberate them from colonialism and restore their kingdom. Jesus rejects the image of the political Messiah and believes that accepting it is the worship of Satan (he says to Satan: “You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only,” Deuteronomy 6:13) and leaves it to God the Father, who alone has the right to be worshipped, to give authority and glory to whomever he wishes. In his second victory, Jesus demonstrates his humility and commitment to the will of his Father who sent him to save the world from the government of Satan and establish his eternal kingdom.
Satan makes a final attempt. He takes Jesus to Jerusalem, sets him on a pinnacle of the temple, and says to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge over you to guard you, and they will bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” The form of this temptation is certainly less important than its meaning. Jerusalem as a place of temptation is the ultimate temptation in Luke’s Gospel, as it will be throughout his theology. Jesus’ ministry is a journey to Jerusalem. Satan based his argument in this temptation on verses 11 and 12 of Psalm 91, for there were those who believed that the Messiah, when he came, would rend the heavens and descend, carried by angels, into the midst of the temple, gathering around him the people from the ends of the earth. This temptation is the only one in which Satan uses Scripture, weaving his temptation around this great sign that will be fulfilled at the end of time, in which angels will play a remarkable role. It is a cunning temptation because the Jews love miracles, and this is the kind of Messiah they want. Jesus rejects this offer because accepting it would mean exchanging his Messiahship, which proclaims the power of holiness, for the image of a dazzling Messiah. The reference to Jerusalem in this temptation is an allusion to Jesus’ great temptation (the temptation of escape from death). Jesus distances himself from this temptation because it means tempting God (he said to Satan, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test,” Deuteronomy 6:16), and demanding an intervention from him that is not in keeping with his divine plan.
Jesus succeeded - and we succeeded with him - in his temptation, exposing Satan, who clearly appeared to be the adversary of the Kingdom of God and the enemy of man created “in the image of God.” This victory achieved by the Lord is an anticipation of his final victory on the cross. It is an invitation for us to ally ourselves with Jesus and imitate him, because the “conqueror” is our helper in trials, and from him we learn to call upon the Father to deliver us from every temptation and evil, and through him and with him - alone - we can know victory and be truly children of God.
About my parish bulletin
Sunday, January 17, 1999
