Matthew 4:1-13
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 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.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 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.’ ”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
The Temptation of Jesus
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.
3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’ ”
5 Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 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,
SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’ ”
8 Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;
9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’ ”
11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
4:1–11pp—Mk 1:12,13; Lk 4:1–13
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted v by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “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.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS
4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”,
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
He will give his angels orders concerning you,
and they will support you with their hands
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.”,
7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”,
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”,
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.
Mt 4:1–11. TEMPTATION OF CHRIST. (= Mk 1:12, 13; Lu 4:1–13).
1. Then—an indefinite note of sequence. But Mark’s word (Mk 1:12) fixes what we should have presumed was meant, that it was “immediately” after His baptism; and with this agrees the statement of Luke (Lu 4:1).
was Jesus led up—that is, from the low Jordan valley to some more elevated spot.
of the Spirit—that blessed Spirit immediately before spoken of as descending upon Him at His baptism, and abiding upon Him. Luke, connecting these two scenes, as if the one were but the sequel of the other, says, “Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led,” &c. Mark’s expression has a startling sharpness about it—“Immediately the Spirit driveth Him” (Mk 1:12), “putteth,” or “hurrieth Him forth,” or “impelleth Him.” (See the same word in Mk 1:43; 5:40; Mt 9:25; 13:52; Jn 10:4). The thought thus strongly expressed is the mighty constraining impulse of the Spirit under which He went; while Matthew’s more gentle expression, “was led up,” intimates how purely voluntary on His own part this action was.
into the wilderness—probably the wild Judean desert. The particular spot which tradition has fixed upon has hence got the name of Quarantana or Quarantaria, from the forty days—“an almost perpendicular wall of rock twelve or fifteen hundred feet above the plain” [ROBINSON, Palestine]. The supposition of those who incline to place the temptation amongst the mountains of Moab is, we think, very improbable.
to be tempted—The Greek word (peirazein) means simply to try or make proof of; and when ascribed to God in His dealings with men, it means, and can mean no more than this. Thus, Ge 22:1, “It came to pass that God did tempt Abraham,” or put his faith to a severe proof. (See De 8:2). But for the most part in Scripture the word is used in a bad sense, and means to entice, solicit, or provoke to sin. Hence the name here given to the wicked one—“the tempter” (Mt 4:3). Accordingly “to be tempted” here is to be understood both ways. The Spirit conducted Him into the wilderness simply to have His faith tried; but as the agent in this trial was to be the wicked one, whose whole object would be to seduce Him from His allegiance to God, it was a temptation in the bad sense of the term. The unworthy inference which some would draw from this is energetically repelled by an apostle (Jam 1:13–17).
of the devil. The word signifies a slanderer—one who casts imputations upon another. Hence that other name given him (Rev 12:10), “The accuser of the brethren, who accuseth them before our God day and night.” Mark (Mk 1:13) says, “He was forty days tempted of Satan,” a word signifying an adversary, one who lies in wait for, or sets himself in opposition to another. These and other names of the same fallen spirit point to different features in his character or operations. What was the high design of this? First, as we judge, to give our Lord a taste of what lay before Him in the work He had undertaken; next, to make trial of the glorious equipment for it which He had just received; further, to give Him encouragement, by the victory now to be won, to go forward spoiling principalities and powers, until at length He should make a show of them openly, triumphing over them in His cross: that the tempter, too, might get a taste, at the very outset, of the new kind of material in man which he would find he had here to deal with; finally, that He might acquire experimental ability “to succor them that are tempted” (Heb 2:18). The temptation evidently embraced two stages: the one continuing throughout the forty days’ fast; the other, at the conclusion of that period.
FIRST STAGE:
2. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights—Luke says “When they were quite ended” (Lu 4:2).
he was afterward an hungered—evidently implying that the sensation of hunger was unfelt during all the forty days; coming on only at their close. So it was apparently with Moses (Ex 34:28) and Elijah (1 Ki 19:8) for the same period. A supernatural power of endurance was of course imparted to the body, but this probably operated through a natural law—the absorption of the Redeemer’s Spirit in the dread conflict with the tempter. (See on Ac 9:9). Had we only this Gospel, we should suppose the temptation did not begin till after this. But it is clear, from Mark’s statement, that “He was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan” (Mk 1:13), and Luke’s, “being forty days tempted of the devil” (Lu 4:2), that there was a forty days’ temptation before the three specific temptations afterwards recorded. And this is what we have called the First Stage. What the precise nature and object of the forty days’ temptation were is not recorded. But two things seem plain enough. First, the tempter had utterly failed of his object, else it had not been renewed; and the terms in which he opens his second attack imply as much. But further, the tempter’s whole object during the forty days evidently was to get Him to distrust the heavenly testimony borne to Him at His baptism as THE SON OF GOD—to persuade Him to regard it as but a splendid illusion—and, generally, to dislodge from His breast the consciousness of His Sonship. With what plausibility the events of His previous history from the beginning would be urged upon Him in support of this temptation it is easy to imagine. And it makes much in support of this view of the forty days’ temptation that the particulars of it are not recorded; for how the details of such a purely internal struggle could be recorded it is hard to see. If this be correct, how naturally does the SECOND STAGE of the temptation open! In Mark’s brief notice of the temptation there is one expressive particular not given either by Matthew or by Luke—that “He was with the wild beasts” (Mk 1:12), no doubt to add terror to solitude, and aggravate the horrors of the whole scene.
3. And when the tempter came to him—Evidently we have here a new scene.
he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread—rather, “loaves,” answering to “stones” in the plural; whereas Luke, having said, “Command this stone,” in the singular, adds, “that it be made bread,” in the singular (Lu 4:3). The sensation of hunger, unfelt during all the forty days, seems now to have come on in all its keenness—no doubt to open a door to the tempter, of which he is not slow to avail himself; “Thou still clingest to that vainglorious confidence that Thou art the Son of God, carried away by those illusory scenes at the Jordan. Thou wast born in a stable; but Thou art the Son of God! hurried off to Egypt for fear of Herod’s wrath; but Thou art the Son of God! a carpenter’s roof supplied Thee with a home, and in the obscurity of a despicable town of Galilee Thou hast spent thirty years, yet still Thou art the Son of God! and a voice from heaven, it seems, proclaimed it in Thine ears at the Jordan! Be it so; but after that, surely Thy days of obscurity and trial should have an end. Why linger for weeks in this desert, wandering among the wild beasts and craggy rocks, unhonored, unattended, unpitied, ready to starve for want of the necessaries of life? Is this befitting “the Son of God?” At the bidding of “the Son of God” surely those stones shall all be turned into loaves, and in a moment present an abundant repast.”
4. But he answered and said, It is written—(De 8:3).
Man shall not live by bread alone—more emphatically, as in the Greek, “Not by bread alone shall man live.”
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God—Of all passages in Old Testament Scripture, none could have been pitched upon more opposite, perhaps not one so apposite, to our Lord’s purpose. “The Lord … led thee (said Moses to Israel, at the close of their journeyings) these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no. And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only,” &c., “Now, if Israel spent, not forty days, but forty years in a waste, howling wilderness, where there were no means of human subsistence, not starving, but divinely provided for, on purpose to prove to every age that human support depends not upon bread, but upon God’s unfailing word of promise and pledge of all needful providential care, am I, distrusting this word of God, and despairing of relief, to take the law into My own hand? True, the Son of God is able enough to turn stones into bread: but what the Son of God is able to do is not the present question, but what is man’s duty under want of the necessaries of life. And as Israel’s condition in the wilderness did not justify their unbelieving murmurings and frequent desperation, so neither would Mine warrant the exercise of the power of the Son of God in snatching despairingly at unwarranted relief. As man, therefore, I will await divine supply, nothing doubting that at the fitting time it will arrive.” The second temptation in this Gospel is in Luke’s the third. That Matthew’s order is the right one will appear, we think, quite clearly in the sequel.
5. Then the devil taketh him up—rather, “conducteth Him.”
into the holy city—so called (as in Is 48:2; Ne 11:1) from its being “the city of the Great King,” the seat of the temple, the metropolis of all Jewish worship.
and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple—rather, “the pinnacle”—a certain well-known projection. Whether this refers to the highest summit of the temple, which bristled with golden spikes [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 5.5.6]; or whether it refers to another peak, on Herod’s royal portico, overhanging the ravine of Kedron, at the valley of Hinnom—an immense tower built on the very edge of this precipice, from the top of which dizzy height JOSEPHUS says one could not look to the bottom [Antiquities, 15.11.5]—is not certain; but the latter is probably meant.
6. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God—As this temptation starts with the same point as the first—our Lord’s determination not to be disputed out of His Sonship—it seems to us clear that the one came directly after the other; and as the remaining temptation shows that the hope of carrying that point was abandoned, and all was staked upon a desperate venture, we think that remaining temptation is thus shown to be the last; as will appear still more when we come to it.
cast thyself down—“from hence” (Lu 4:9).
for it is written—(Ps 91:11, 12). “But what is this I see?” exclaims stately BISHOP HALL. “Satan himself with a Bible under his arm and a text in his mouth!” Doubtless the tempter, having felt the power of God’s Word in the former temptation, was eager to try the effect of it from his own mouth (2 Co 11:14).
He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands—rather, “on their hands.”
they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone—The quotation is, precisely as it stands in the Hebrew and the Septuagint, save that after the first clause the words, “to keep thee in all thy ways,” are here omitted. Not a few good expositors have thought that this omission was intentional, to conceal the fact that this would not have been one of “His ways,” that is, of duty. But as our Lord’s reply makes no allusion to this, but seizes on the great principle involved in the promise quoted, so when we look at the promise itself, it is plain that the sense of it is precisely the same whether the clause in question be inserted or not.
7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again—(De 6:16), as if he should say, “True, it is so written, and on that promise I implicitly rely; but in using it there is another Scripture which must not be forgotten.”
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God—“Preservation in danger is divinely pledged: shall I then create danger, either to put the promised security skeptically to the proof, or wantonly to demand a display of it? That were ‘to tempt the Lord my God,’ which, being expressly forbidden, would forfeit the right to expect preservation.”
8. Again, the devil taketh him up—“conducteth him,” as before.
into—or “unto”
an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them—Luke (Lu 4:5) adds the important clause, “in a moment of time”; a clause which seems to furnish a key to the true meaning. That a scene was presented to our Lord’s natural eye seems plainly expressed. But to limit this to the most extensive scene which the natural eye could take in, is to give a sense to the expression, “all the kingdoms of the world,” quite violent. It remains, then, to gather from the expression, “in a moment of time”—which manifestly is intended to intimate some supernatural operation—that it was permitted to the tempter to extend preternaturally for a moment our Lord’s range of vision, and throw a “glory” or glitter over the scene of vision: a thing not inconsistent with the analogy of other scriptural statements regarding the permitted operations of the wicked one. In this case, the “exceeding height” of the “mountain” from which this sight was beheld would favor the effect to be produced.
9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee—“and the glory of them,” adds Luke (Lu 4:6). But Matthew having already said that this was “showed Him,” did not need to repeat it here. Luke (Lu 4:6) adds these other very important clauses, here omitted—“for that is,” or “has been,” “delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it.” Was this wholly false? That were not like Satan’s unusual policy, which is to insinuate his lies under cover of some truth. What truth, then, is there here? We answer, Is not Satan thrice called by our Lord Himself, “the prince of this world” (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11)? Does not the apostle call him “the god of this world” (2 Co 4:4)? And still further, is it not said that Christ came to destroy by His death “him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb 2:14)? No doubt these passages only express men’s voluntary subjection to the rule of the wicked one while they live, and his power to surround death to them, when it comes, with all the terrors of the wages of sin. But as this is a real and terrible sway, so all Scripture represents men as righteously sold under it. In this sense he speaks what is not devoid of truth, when he says, “All this is delivered unto me.” But how does he deliver this “to whomsoever he will?” As employing whomsoever he pleases of his willing subjects in keeping men under his power. In this case his offer to our Lord was that of a deputed supremacy commensurate with his own, though as his gift and for his ends.
if thou wilt fall down and worship me—This was the sole but monstrous condition. No Scripture, it will be observed, is quoted now, because none could be found to support so blasphemous a claim. In fact, he has ceased now to present his temptations under the mask of piety, and he stands out unblushingly as the rival of God Himself in his claims on the homage of men. Despairing of success as an angel of light, he throws off all disguise, and with a splendid bribe solicits divine honor. This again shows that we are now at the last of the temptations, and that Matthew’s order is the true one.
10. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan—Since the tempter has now thrown off the mask, and stands forth in his true character, our Lord no longer deals with him as a pretended friend and pious counsellor, but calls him by his right name—His knowledge of which from the outset He had carefully concealed till now—and orders him off. This is the final and conclusive evidence, as we think, that Matthew’s must be the right order of the temptations. For who can well conceive of the tempter’s returning to the assault after this, in the pious character again, and hoping still to dislodge the consciousness of His Sonship, while our Lord must in that case be supposed to quote Scripture to one He had called the devil to his face—thus throwing His pearls before worse than swine?
for it is written—(De 6:13). Thus does our Lord part with Satan on the rock of Scripture.
Thou shalt worship—In the Hebrew and the Septuagint it is, “Thou shalt fear”; but as the sense is the same, so “worship” is here used to show emphatically that what the tempter claimed was precisely what God had forbidden.
the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve—The word “serve” in the second clause, is one never used by the Septuagint of any but religious service; and in this sense exclusively is it used in the New Testament, as we find it here. Once more the word “only,” in the second clause—not expressed in the Hebrew and the Septuagint—is here added to bring out emphatically the negative and prohibitory feature of the command. (See Ga 3:10 for a similar supplement of the word “all” in a quotation from De 27:26).
11. Then the devil leaveth him—Luke says, “And when the devil had exhausted”—or “quite ended,” as in Lu 4:2—“every (mode of) temptation, he departed from him till a season.” The definite “season” here indicated is expressly referred to by our Lord in Jn 14:30; Lu 22:52, 53.
and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him—or supplied Him with food, as the same expression means in Mk 1:31; Lu 8:3. Thus did angels to Elijah (1 Ki 19:5–8). Excellent critics think that they ministered, not food only, but supernatural support and cheer also. But this would be the natural effect rather than the direct object of the visit, which was plainly what we have expressed. And after having refused to claim the illegitimate ministration of angels in His behalf, oh, with what deep joy would He accept their services when sent, unasked, at the close of all this temptation, direct from Him whom He had so gloriously honored! What “angels’ food” would this repast be to Him! and as He partook of it, might not a Voice from heaven be heard again, by any who could read the Father’s mind, “Said I not well, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased?”
4:1 led up by the Spirit … to be tempted by the devil. God Himself is never the agent of temptation (Jas 1:13), but here—as in the book of Job—God uses even satanic tempting to serve His sovereign purposes. Christ was tempted in all points (Heb 4:15; 1Jn 2:16); Satan tempted Him with “the lust of the flesh”(vv. 2, 3); “the lust of the eyes” (vv. 8, 9); and “the pride of life” (vv. 5, 6).
4:2 forty days and forty nights. Similarly, Moses was without food or drink on Sinai for “forty days and forty nights” (Dt 9:9), and Elijah also fasted that long (1Ki 19:8). See note on 12:40.
4:3 If You are the Son of God. The conditional “if” carries the meaning of “since” in this context. There was no doubt in Satan’s mind who Jesus was; but Satan’s design was to get Him to violate the plan of God and employ the divine power that He had set aside in His humiliation (cf. Php 2:7).
4:4 It is written. All 3 of Jesus’ replies to the Devil were taken from Deuteronomy. This one, from Dt 8:3, states that God allowed Israel to hunger, so that He might feed them with manna and teach them to trust Him to provide for them. So the verse is directly applicable to Jesus’ circumstances and a fitting reply to Satan’s temptation. EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD. A more important source of sustenance than food, it nurtures our spiritual needs in a way that benefits us eternally, rather than merely providing temporal relief from physical hunger.
4:5 pinnacle of the temple. This was probably a roof with a portico at the SE corner of the temple complex, where a massive retaining wall reached from a level well above the temple mount, deep into the Kidron Valley. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, this was a drop of nearly 450 ft.
4:6 for it is written … YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE. Note that Satan also quoted Scripture (Ps 91:11, 12)—but utterly twisted its meaning, employing a passage about trusting God to justify testing Him.
4:7 it is written. Christ replied with another verse from Israel’s wilderness experience (Dt 6:16)—recalling the experience at Massah, where the grumbling Israelites put the Lord to the test, angrily demanding that Moses produce water where there was none (Ex 17:2–7).
4:9 I will give You. Satan is the “ruler of this world” (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), and the “god of this world” (2Co 4:4). The whole world lies in his power (1Jn 5:19). This is illustrated in Da 10:13 (see note there), where demonic power controlled the kingdom of Persia, so that a demon is called the prince of the kingdom of Persia.
4:10 For it is written. Here Christ was citing and paraphrasing Dt 6:13, 14. Again, these relate to the Israelites’ wilderness experiences. Christ, like them, was led into the wilderness to be tested (cf. Dt 8:2). Unlike them, He withstood every aspect of the test.
4:11 angels came and began to minister to Him. Psalm 91:11, 12—the verse Satan tried to twist—was thus fulfilled in God’s way, and in God’s perfect timing.
C. The King’s Testing (4:1–11)
SUPPORTING IDEA: God tested Jesus’ character through hardship and temptation in the wilderness.
4:1. These verses describe the moral testing of the king. High moral character is essential to effective leadership. We perform much the same testing of people who present themselves for leadership positions. Unfortunately, our culture has lost its bearings in this regard. This is a foreshadowing of our ultimate fall and judgment if we do not repent. But Jesus’ testing here is more of a powerful demonstration of his capacity than an “I-wonder-if-he will-pass” kind of test. God himself has recognized such testing as a necessary part of Messiah’s ministry.
Jesus’ preparation for ministry involved a combination of pleasant experiences (the affirmation at his baptism) and unpleasant experiences (his fasting and temptation). God uses the same pattern in our lives, and we should be surprised at neither great outward blessing nor great trials in our lives. Jesus faced forty days of direct confrontation with the archenemy whom his messianic ministry would destroy. Satan, the adversary, is always seeking to usurp God’s place and oppose God’s will.
One practical implication we may draw from this passage is that temptation itself is not a sin. Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (Heb. 4:15; see also 2 Cor. 5:21). A misunderstanding of this defeats many people before they begin resisting temptation. A false (devilish) guilt grips them, and they begin to lose the battle before they begin to fight it. Jesus’ temptation was a test not so much to see if he would fail (he could not!) but a “test” (much like the test drive of a new automobile) to demonstrate just how powerful the Son of God was, even in the face of the devil himself.
4:2. It is possible to fast forty days without food, but not without water, especially in an arid, hot climate like the Judean wilderness. The understatement about Jesus’ hunger is intended to show that Jesus fought his battle with a serious handicap but still came out victorious.
4:3–4. Satan’s words in Jesus’ first temptation indicate that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, and Satan acknowledged the fact. This might be better translated, “Since you are the Son of God.” See exactly the same wording used with sarcasm in 27:40. Satan was not questioning the fact of Jesus’ son-ship, but he was tempting him to misuse it.
In this first temptation Satan was tempting Jesus to rely on his own self-provision, rather than on the provision of God. Jesus often insisted he would do nothing of his own will. He came to do the Father’s will only. This would have been a departure from the mission on which the Father had sent him. Jesus would have been exercising improper independence.
Satan’s temptations follow the familiar pattern he used in Eden and which he has used ever since—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:6). “Try this good food (flesh).” “It looks good (lust of the eyes).” “It will make you wise and in charge like God (pride of life).”
In a similar manner, Israel was tempted by their hunger in the desert to seek ways to provide for themselves. When they found they had no resources, they grumbled. God demonstrated their need to depend on him by providing manna. Even then they were tempted to take care of themselves by hoarding the food. But the extra manna was always spoiled the next day, so they were once again dependent on God’s provision for that day. Through this concrete demonstration, God taught Israel to be dependent on him, in hopes that they would apply the same lesson concerning their dependence on God for truth, wisdom, and instruction.
Because of this parallel between Jesus and Israel, it is appropriate that Jesus quoted Moses’ words from Deuteronomy 8:3. In the larger context of Deuteronomy 8, Moses was reminding Israel of their need to depend on God’s provision. Jesus brought this truth to bear in his personal battle. Rather than launch out in independent self-provision, he entrusted his well-being to his Father. He refused to be improperly independent.
4:5–7. The highest point in Satan’s second temptation refers to the high southeast corner of the temple platform that overlooked the great depth of the Kidron Valley. This was a temptation to be “showy,” to do miraculous works to draw attention.
Again Satan used a conditional statement, If you are the Son of God (see 4:3). Again, he was not challenging Jesus’ sonship, but he was using it as a basis to argue to a false conclusion—that it is appropriate to “force” God into supernatural demonstrations of his faithfulness to intervene for our good. In this temptation Jesus was tempted to exercise improper dependence to “force” divine intervention. That is sin.
Satan, in quoting Psalm 91:11–12, misused Scripture in his attempt to deceive and mislead. It was a subtle challenge to Jesus to prove his deity.
In response to Satan’s second challenge, Jesus took the matter back to Scripture and quoted Moses from Deuteronomy 6:16, which prohibited testing God in this way. Jesus refused improper dependence.
4:8–10. The third temptation may have been the most appealing of the three to Jesus, not because of the anticipation of ruling the earth—that was already part of God’s plan—but because Satan’s offer would allow him to rule the earth without going through the sacrifice of the cross. God the Father had a plan for the certainty of the restored kingdom and great glory for Jesus. Satan offered an “even better” plan (both deceptive and impossible)—a kingdom and all its glory, minus the suffering. Satan tempted Jesus to believe that someone else could provide for him in a better way than God could. That is always the satanic appeal, whether it involves work, power, money, success, or some personal interest.
Again Jesus reached into Scripture, interpreted it accurately, and sent Satan on his way. We see a personal lesson here. The Bible is our only authority for right living. Old Testament Israel had bought the lie that God had competition. Jesus did not. He would be mastered by nothing and no one except the true God.
4:11. Satan’s departure from Jesus followed the king’s authoritative command, Away from me, Satan! (4:10). It is ironic that Satan had just offered to be the benevolent master to Jesus, but Jesus’ authoritative response and Satan’s cowering obedience demonstrated who was the real Master.
Thus the battle has begun. The rest of Matthew demonstrates its further development. Never again in this book do we see Satan openly engaging the king in warfare. But he has not gone away. From time to time Satan will try to turn Christ from the Father’s will and the route to the cross. But we will also see the wisdom and moral courage of the king as he dodges every blow, even taking the offensive at times, and ultimately finishing with the decisive victory.
Matthew 4:10
Ὕπαγε Σατανᾶ
Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”
The earliest available manuscripts have “Go away, Satan,” but some early manuscripts and related later witnesses have “Get behind me, Satan.” Both “Go away” and “Get” are translations of the same Greek which differ based on surrounding context. When “behind me” is present, it may be evidence of harmonization with a similar phrase in Matt 16:23.
4:1–11 The temptations faced by Jesus follow the same pattern as the Israelites’ disobedience in the desert. The Israelites demanded bread, doubted the Lord’s presence, and despaired of His help (compare Num 11). Jesus reverses all of these acts of faithlessness.
4:1 was led up into the wilderness God led His people through the desert for 40 years due to their unfaithfulness (see note on Luke 4:1). The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days so that His fidelity might be set in contrast to the nation’s infidelity.
The Temptations of Christ
by the Spirit Matthew emphasizes that the Spirit leads Jesus; the devil is allowed to test Him but does not lead Him.
devil The Greek term used here, diabolos, refers to a spiritual figure who is adversarial to God and His purposes. In Mark 1:13 and Matt 4:10, this figure is referred to by the Greek term satanas (see note on Mark 1:13).
Satan in the Old Testament and the Serpent of Genesis 3
4:2 fasted forty days and forty nights Fasting during this time period meant eating nothing at all. The text does not seem to imply that Jesus was sustained supernaturally during His fast; instead, it emphasizes that He experienced hunger. Jesus’ 40-day fast recalls Moses’ 40 days on the mountain (Exod 24:18), the Israelites’ 40 years in the desert (Num 14:33–34), and Elijah’s 40 days at Mount Horeb (1 Kgs 19:1–8).
4:3 the tempter approached and said to him The text does not say whether the devil is in human form.
If you are the Son of God The devil uses this challenge twice in his temptations of Jesus. He turns the words of Matt 3:17 into a taunt.
order that these stones become bread Parallels the Israelites’ failure in the desert. They complained that God did not provide enough food for them (Exod 16:3). The devil is tempting Jesus to break His fast, which the text implies would be equivalent to disobedience to God the Father.
4:4 It is written Jesus’ reply comes from Deut 8:3.
4:5 holy city A common term for Jerusalem.
highest point See note on Luke 4:9.
4:6 throw yourself down This test of God’s providence is far more extreme than any test Israel underwent in the desert. No biblical precedent exists for God’s choosing to save someone from falling in this way.
He will command his angels concerning you See note on Luke 4:10.
4:7 You are not to put the Lord your God to the test A quotation from Deut 6:16, which refers to the Israelites’ testing Yahweh in Exod 17:2–7.
4:8 very high mountain The location of this mountain is unknown. Matthew’s Gospel records many important events taking place on mountains—the Sermon (Matt 5:1), Jesus’ prayer (14:23), the transfiguration (17:1), and the Great Commission (28:20).
showed him all the kingdoms It is uncertain what Matthew intends to describe. The Greek word deiknymi used here means “to show or point out.” The apparent implication is that the devil simply points out the general direction of the kingdoms of the earth, naming them as he does so. Visions or physical movement may be involved, but this text does not mention such phenomena.
4:9 I will give See note on Luke 4:6.
fall down A common posture of respect and submission in the ancient Near East.
worship me The Greek word used here, proskyneō, does not necessarily refer to religious worship. It also can be used to describe the act of honoring an earthly king.
4:10 Go away, Satan Jesus later rebukes Satan’s work through Peter using a similar remark (Matt 16:23).
it is written Jesus quotes Deut 6:13, where the entire passage speaks against doubting Yahweh. Deuteronomy 6:10–11 describes how Yahweh would lead the Israelites into the promised land and provide them with an abundance of good things; Deut 6:12 warns against forgetting Yahweh. God led His people into the promised land despite the strength of its inhabitants. He also brought about the kingdom of His Messiah despite opposition.
4:11 angels came and began ministering to him Compare Luke 4:13, which strikes a more ominous tone. At Jesus’ arrest, He tells Peter that He could have angels sent to defend Him (Matt 26:53).
Satan (Matt. 4:1–11)
From the high and holy experience of blessing at the Jordan, Jesus was led into the wilderness for testing. Jesus was not tempted so that the Father could learn anything about His Son, for the Father had already given Jesus His divine approval. Jesus was tempted so that every creature in heaven, on earth, or under the earth might know that Jesus Christ is the Conqueror. He exposed Satan and his tactics, and He defeated Satan. Because of His victory, we can have victory over the tempter.
Just as the first Adam met Satan, so the Last Adam met the enemy (1 Cor. 15:45). Adam met Satan in a beautiful Garden, but Jesus met him in a terrible wilderness. Adam had everything he needed, but Jesus was hungry after forty days of fasting. Adam lost the battle and plunged humanity into sin and death. But Jesus won the battle and went on to defeat Satan in more battles, culminating in His final victory on the cross (John 12:31; Col. 2:15).
Our Lord’s experience of temptation prepared Him to be our sympathetic High Priest (Heb. 2:16–18; 4:15–16). It is important to note that Jesus faced the enemy as man, not as the Son of God. His first word was, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” We must not think that Jesus used His divine powers to overcome the enemy, because that is just what the enemy wanted Him to do! Jesus used the spiritual resources that are available to us today: the power of the Holy Spirit of God (Matt. 4:1), and the power of the Word of God (“It is written”). Jesus had nothing in His nature that would give Satan a foothold (John 14:30), but His temptations were real just the same. Temptation involves the will, and Jesus came to do the Father’s will (Heb. 10:1–9).
The first temptation (vv. 1–4). This involved the love of God and the will of God. “Since You are God’s beloved Son, why doesn’t Your Father feed You? Why does He put You into this terrible wilderness?” This temptation sounded like Satan’s words to Eve in Genesis 3! It is a subtle suggestion that our Father does not love us.
But there was another suggestion: “Use Your divine powers to meet Your own needs.” When we put our physical needs ahead of our spiritual needs, we sin. When we allow circumstances to dictate our actions, instead of following God’s will, we sin. Jesus could have turned the stones into bread, but He would have been exercising His powers independently of the Father; and He came to obey the Father (John 5:30; 6:38).
The Lord quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 to defeat Satan. Feeding on and obeying God’s Word is more important than consuming physical food. In fact, it is our food (John 4:32–34).
The second temptation (vv. 5–7). The second temptation was even more subtle. This time Satan also used the Word of God. “So You intend to live by the Scriptures,” he implied. “Then let me quote You a verse of Scripture and see if You will obey it!” Satan took the Lord Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, probably 500 feet above the Kidron Valley. Satan then quoted from Psalm 91:11–12 where God promised to care for His own. “If You really believe the Scriptures, then jump! Let’s see if the Father cares for You!”
Note carefully our Lord’s reply: “It is written AGAIN” (Matt. 4:7, emphasis mine). We must never divorce one part of Scripture from another, but we must always “compare spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:13). We can prove almost anything by the Bible if we isolate texts from the contexts and turn them into pretexts. Satan had cleverly omitted the phrase “in all Thy ways” when he quoted from Psalm 91. When the child of God is in the will of God, the Father will protect him. He watches over those who are “in His ways.”
Jesus replied with Deuteronomy 6:16: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” We tempt God when we put ourselves into circumstances that force Him to work miracles on our behalf. The diabetic who refuses to take insulin and argues, “Jesus will take care of me,” may be tempting the Lord. We tempt God when we try to force Him to contradict His own Word. It is important for us as believers to read all Scripture, and study all God has to say, for all of it is profitable for daily life (2 Tim. 3:16–17).
The third temptation (vv. 8–11). The devil offered Jesus a shortcut to His kingdom. Jesus knew that He would suffer and die before He entered into His glory (Luke 24:26; 1 Peter 1:11; 5:1). If He bowed down and worshiped Satan just once (this is the force of the Greek verb), He could enjoy all the glory without enduring the suffering. Satan has always wanted worship, because Satan has always wanted to be God (Isa. 14:12–14). Worshiping the creature instead of the Creator is the lie that rules our world today (Rom. 1:24–25).
There are no shortcuts to the will of God. If we want to share in the glory, we must also share in the suffering (1 Peter 5:10). As the prince of this world, Satan could offer these kingdoms to Christ (John 12:31; 14:30). But Jesus did not need Satan’s offer. The Father had already promised Jesus the kingdom! “Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen [nations] for Thine inheritance” (Ps. 2:8). You find the same promise in Psalm 22:22–31, and this is the psalm of the cross.
Our Lord replied with Deuteronomy 6:13: “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Satan had said nothing about service, but Jesus knew that whatever we worship, we will serve. Worship and service must go together.
Satan slunk away, a defeated foe; but he did not cease to tempt Jesus. We could translate Luke 4:13, “And when the devil had ended every possible kind of temptation, he stood off from Him until a suitable season.” Through Peter, Satan again tempted Jesus to abandon the cross (Matt. 16:21–23); and through the crowd that had been fed, Satan tempted Jesus to an “easy kingdom” (John 6:15). One victory never guarantees freedom from further temptation. If anything, each victory we experience only makes Satan try harder.
Notice that Luke’s account reverses the order of the second and third temptations as recorded in Matthew. The word “then” in Matthew 4:5 seems to indicate sequence. Luke only uses the simple conjunction “and” and does not say he is following a sequence. Our Lord’s command at the end of the third temptation (“Get thee hence, Satan!”) is proof that Matthew followed the historical order. There is no contradiction since Luke did not claim to follow the actual sequence.
After Jesus Christ had defeated Satan, He was ready to begin His ministry. No man has a right to call others to obey who has not obeyed himself. Our Lord proved Himself to be the perfect King whose sovereignty is worthy of our respect and obedience. But, true to his purpose, Matthew had one more witness to call to prove the kingship of Jesus Christ.
2. BY TEMPTATION (4:1–11) (Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–13)
4:1–2. After being baptized, Jesus was led immediately by the Spirit of God into the desert (traditionally near Jericho; see map) for a period of testing. This period of time was a necessary period under God’s direction—a time in which the Son obeyed (Heb. 5:8). After fasting 40 days, when the Lord was hungry, the tests began. From God’s standpoint the tests demonstrated the quality of the Lord. It was impossible for the divine Son to sin, and that fact actually heightened the tests. He could not give in to the tests and sin, but He had to endure until the tests were completed.
4:3–4. The first test pertained to the matter of sonship. Satan assumed that if He were the Son, perhaps He could be persuaded to act independently of the Father. Satan’s test was subtle for since He is the Son of God, He has the power to turn the stones all around Him into bread. But that was not the will of His Father for Him. The Father’s will was for Him to be hungry in the desert with no food. To submit to Satan’s suggestion and satisfy His hunger would have been contrary to God’s will. Jesus therefore quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, which affirms that man does not live on bread alone, but by God’s Word. It is better to obey God’s Word than to satisfy human desires. The fact that Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy showed that He recognized the inerrant authority of that book, one often criticized by scholars.
4:5–7. The second test by Satan appealed to personal display or popularity. This test built on the first, for if He is the Son of God and the Messiah, nothing could harm Him. Satan took Him to … the highest point of the temple. Whether this was actual or simply a vision cannot be determined dogmatically. Here Satan made a subtle suggestion to Jesus as the Messiah. In effect he was reminding Jesus of Malachi’s prophecy (Mal. 3:1), which had led to a common belief among the Jews that Messiah would suddenly appear in the sky, coming down to His temple. Satan was saying, in essence, “Why don’t You do what the people are expecting and make some marvelous display? After all, the Scripture says His angels will protect You and You won’t even hurt a foot as You come down.” Satan may have thought if Jesus could quote Scripture to him, he could quote it too. However, he purposely did not quote Psalm 91:11–12 accurately. He left out an important phrase, “in all Your ways.” According to the psalmist, a person is protected only when he is following the Lord’s will. For Jesus to cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple in some dramatic display to accommodate Himself to the people’s thinking would not have been God’s will. Jesus responded, again from Deuteronomy (6:16), that it would not be proper to test … God and expect Him to do something when one is out of His will.
4:8–11. Satan’s final test related to God’s plan for Jesus. It was and is God’s design that Jesus Christ rule the world. Satan showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world with all their splendor. These kingdoms presently are Satan’s, as he is “the god of this Age” (2 Cor. 4:4) and “the prince of this world” (John 12:31; cf. Eph. 2:2). He had the power to give all these kingdoms to Jesus at that time—if only Jesus would bow down and worship him. Satan was saying, “I can accomplish the will of God for You and You can have the kingdoms of this world right now.” This of course would have meant Jesus would never have gone to the cross. He supposedly could have been the King of kings without the cross. However, this would have thwarted God’s plan for salvation and would have meant Jesus was worshiping an inferior. His response, once again from Deuteronomy (6:13 and 10:20), was that God alone should be worshiped and served. Jesus resisted this temptation also.
Satan’s Temptations of Eve and of Jesus
Temptation
Genesis 3
Matthew 4
Appeal to physical appetite
You may eat of any tree (3:1).
You may eat by changing stones to bread (4:3).
Appeal to personal gain
You will not die (3:4).
You will not hurt Your foot (4:6).
Appeal to power or glory
You will be like God (3:5).
You will have all the world’s kingdoms (4:8–9).
Interestingly Satan’s temptations of Eve in the Garden of Eden correspond to those of Jesus in the desert. Satan appealed to the physical appetite (Gen. 3:1–3; Matt. 4:3), the desire for personal gain (Gen. 3:4–5; Matt. 4:6), and an easy path to power or glory (Gen. 3:5–6; Matt. 4:8–9). And in each case Satan altered God’s Word (Gen. 3:4; Matt. 4:6). Satan’s temptations of people today often fall into the same three categories (cf. 1 John 2:16). The One who had identified Himself with sinners by baptism and who would provide righteousness proved He is righteous, and revealed His approval by the Father. Satan then left Jesus. At that moment God sent angels to minister to His needs.
Jesus, the Spirit, and Temptation. It is not surprising to read in 4:1 that the Spirit led Jesus, since the reader already knows that the Spirit is the agency behind Jesus’ virginal conception (1:18, 20) and empowerment for ministry (3:16–17; cf. 12:18–28). Furthermore, John’s prediction that Jesus would baptize in the Spirit (3:16) anticipated his exaltation following his death in Jerusalem (cf. 28:18–20). But it is striking that Jesus was led by the Spirit to the desert in order to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4 clearly indicates that while the Spirit is the agent who led Jesus, the devil is the agent who tested Jesus. How should we understand this convergence of God’s benevolent purpose with Satan’s evil designs? The verb used here (peirazō [3985, 4279]) may express both the positive nuance of testing, which develops character and achieves approval (cf. John 6:6; LXX Gen 22:1; Exod 20:20), and the negative nuance of tempting, which solicits evil and achieves disapproval (cf. 1 Cor 7:5; 1 Thess 3:5). The positive or negative nuance depends upon the motive in each context. Here both nuances are pertinent, since the Father, through the Spirit, led Jesus to be tested in order to confirm him in his role as the messianic son and servant, yet the devil tempted Jesus to achieve messianic status by using his prerogatives selfishly in disobedience to the son/servant paradigm. The Father’s aim was to accredit Jesus, the devil’s to discredit Jesus (Calvin 1972:1.136). The convergence of the benevolent plan of God and the malevolent schemes of Satan may be difficult to explain fully, but it is found elsewhere in Scripture (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–6; Acts 2:23).
Jesus as a Model for Christians. In Matthew 4:1–11, Satan appears in a role that ought to be familiar to those who read the Scriptures. In challenging Jesus’ unique sonship, so recently announced by the approving Father, it is as if Satan were saying again, “ ‘Did God really say ‘you are the Son of God?’ ” (cf. Gen 3:1). It is clear from the narrative parallels and from the Scriptures Jesus cites that his temptation recapitulates that of Israel in the wilderness. But from the widest scriptural perspective Jesus’ temptation recapitulates that of Adam and Eve in the garden (so the theme of John Milton’s epic poem, “Paradise Regained”). Through Jesus, God is calling into existence a new humanity (16:18), which will be characterized by the obedience modeled by Jesus, not the rebellion of its first parents. What can be learned from the example of the beloved son?
Concerning the avenues of temptation, it is clear that Satan tempted Jesus (and continues to tempt Jesus’ people) in the area of daily sustenance. But instead of succumbing to the temptation to acquire one’s “bread” by sinful means, Christians must remind themselves of the biblical truth that true life comes from hearing and obeying the word of God (Deut 8:3), and that the God of the word knows all about their daily needs (6:11). Another avenue of temptation could be a desire for spectacular manifestations of God’s power or protection, but Christians must never leap disobediently away from the path God has revealed and ask God to catch them while in mid-air. This amounts to a selfish testing of God (Deut 6:16), not a serene reliance on his love and providence. Yet another avenue of temptation is the desire for glory and power. Satan continues to promote idolatrous ways of achieving status, but the Christian must rely on God for advancement and seek only that glory which is consistent with the way of the cross (Deut 6:13; cf. Matt 6:24, 33).
How did Jesus withstand temptation? His spontaneous citation of appropriate Scriptures when under temptation showed that he was conscious of the past failure of God’s people and aware of the reasons for their failure. In short, he knew the Bible. But he also was conscious of the endowment and leading of the Spirit of God (3:16; 4:1; 12:18–21). Therefore, Christians today must likewise withstand temptation by knowing the Scripture and by being strengthened in the Spirit. Obedience and victory in the face of temptation come from knowing what God commands and having the capacity to perform it. Christians who regularly study the Bible and humbly depend on the Spirit for the strength to obey it can successfully resist the devil today.
Conclusion. This section of Matthew cannot be left without a reiteration of how Jesus is presented as the personification of Israel in Matthew 3–4. Jesus passed through the waters and entered the desert to be tested, just as Israel did. Remarkably, Scriptures from Deuteronomy 6–8, which remind Israel of its past failures in the wilderness and present obligations in the Promised Land, were on the tip of Jesus’ tongue when Satan tested him. Once Satan was vanquished, Jesus moved on to begin his own ministry and to call his first disciples (4:12ff). Davies and Allison (1988:402–403) are certainly right when they say “this means that the baptism and temptation of Jesus inaugurated the renewal of the people of God.” We should also note here that Matthew’s Gospel uses the literary technique of inclusion—the mount of temptation (4:8) ultimately leads to the mount of commission (28:16). Jesus’ obedience to the Father eventually led to his crucifixion, but he was raised from the dead and received all authority, not only on earth but also in heaven. Thus, by obedience to the way of the cross, he received infinitely more than Satan promised.
4:1–2 The temptation of Christ highlights numerous parallels between Jesus and OT Israel. Deuteronomy 8:2–3 says that the Lord led Israel into the wilderness to be tested for forty years. Similarly, Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested for forty days. The three temptations Jesus faced parallel the tests Israel faced in the wilderness, and every Scripture that Jesus quoted in response to his temptations was drawn from God’s message to the Israelites about their wilderness test (Dt 6–8). Israel failed its tests, but Jesus passed his and in doing so “fulfilled all righteousness” (see Mt 3:15). Thus he is qualified to create a new spiritual Israel. Several features of Matthew confirm Jesus’s intention to gather a new people for God. He chose twelve disciples to parallel Israel’s twelve tribes. This was a conscious effort to identify his followers as the new Israel. The fact that Jesus was hungry shows that he was truly human as well as divine.
4:3 The stones that littered the wilderness floor resembled small round loaves of bread in shape, size, and color. Interpreters disagree as to why it would have been wrong for Jesus to transform and eat the stones. Most suggest that he was tempted to exercise supernatural power rather than depend on God’s provision. Clues in the text suggest that the Spirit, who led Jesus into the wilderness, commanded this fast. Thus, breaking the fast prematurely would have been an act of disobedience, preventing Jesus from fulfilling every act of righteousness (3:15). Jesus aimed to end his fast when the test was over and no sooner. God would signal the end by providing food. Matthew 4:11 shows that at fast’s end, angels came and “began to serve” Jesus. The verb serve means “to serve as a table-waiter” and implies that the angels fed Jesus. During their wilderness wanderings, Israel failed to trust God to provide food and water. Jesus, the embodiment of the new Israel, had unwavering trust in God’s care. On Son of God, see note at 3:17.
4:4 Jesus quoted Dt 8:3. His reference to every word that comes from the mouth of God recalls the OT theme that God’s words are not idle but are to be received as commands. Deuteronomy 8:1, 6 emphasize the need to obey God’s commands, and Dt 8:1 teaches that man lives by following God’s commandments just as 8:3 says that man lives by what comes from God’s mouth (Dt 6:24). Thus the OT text that Jesus quoted teaches that obeying God is more important than being well-fed. Israel struggled to learn this truth (Ex 16:3; Nm 11:4–5). In contrast, Jesus hungered for righteousness more than bread and thirsted for obedience more than water. He urged his disciples to have the same priority (Mt 5:6).
4:5–7 Satan quoted Ps 91:11–12 out of context, trying to convince Jesus that the Father would supernaturally protect him even if he gambled with his life. Jesus responded by quoting Dt 6:16 which refers to the time when Israel, angry and thirsty, questioned God’s presence until he miraculously produced a stream of water from a rock: “They tested the LORD, saying, ‘Is the LORD among us or not?’ ” (Ex 17:7). Had Jesus succumbed to Satan’s temptation, it would indicate that his faith was frail and depended on God’s miraculous action. Jumping from the pinnacle of the temple would test God by attempting to force him to perform a miracle.
Satan implied that God is trustworthy only when he rescues us from suffering and danger. Jesus knew better. God is trustworthy even when he allows us or even causes us to suffer. True faith recognizes this and perseveres through hard times. When Jesus suffered on the cross (27:41–44), those who tormented him used arguments similar to that of the devil: “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” They even quoted Ps 22:8 to argue that Jesus would be rescued if God really loved him, much as Satan quoted Ps 91:11–12 to argue that God would rescue Jesus from a deadly fall if he were really God’s Son. Again, Jesus knew better. He trusted God even through a brutal scourging, even when nails were driven through his limbs, and even when God let him suffer a horrible death.
4:8–9 Although Satan exercises some authority over the world (Lk 4:6; Jn 12:31), the kingdoms of the world belong to God, and he promised to give them to his Son (Ps 2:8).
4:10–11 Jesus responded to Satan by quoting from Dt 6:14 and 10:20. If Jesus had worshiped Satan in order to gain worldly power, it would have indicated that he valued creation more than the Creator and the kingdoms of the earth more than the kingdom of God. Jesus insisted that only God is worthy of worship. After citing Dt 6:13, Jesus’s reception of worship later in this Gospel (8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9, 17) without rebuking the worshiper (cp. Ac 10:25–26; 14:11–15) strongly implies his deity. That the angels came to serve Jesus further implies his superior status.
4:1–16 Testing and preparation
4:1–11 Jesus is tested in the desert (see Mk. 1:12–13; Lk. 4:1–13). ‘Temptation’ suggests a purely negative experience; but this was a divinely intended (1) preparation for Jesus’ mission. The word more commonly means ‘test’, and this is a better translation here.
The focus is on Jesus’ recently declared status as Son of God (3:17; 4:3, 6): what are its implications for his relationship with his Father? The three tests examine aspects of that relationship, and the ways in which a misuse of that status could ruin Jesus’ ministry. He must be ready to accept privation in fulfilling his God-given task without ‘pulling rank’ (2–4); to trust his Father’s care without the need to test it by forcing God’s hand (5–7); and to reject the ‘short cut’ to the fulfilment of his mission which would be achieved at the cost of compromising his loyalty to his Father (8–10).
Each suggestion is rebutted by a text of Scripture, all of which come from Dt. 6–8. That passage relates Israel’s experience of testing in the desert (‘as a man disciplines his son’, Dt. 8:5; cf. 8:2), and the texts quoted focus on the lessons Israel should have learned by that experience. Now a new ‘son of God’ is being prepared for his role, and the same principles of obedience, imperfectly learned by Israel, must be the basis of the ministry of Jesus, the ‘new Israel’.
Notes. 1 The devil was the agent and tempted Jesus to misuse his position; but his hostile purpose was put to the service of God’s testing of his Son. 2 Jesus’ fasting and hunger show that the Son of God was not free from real human suffering. 6 The devil’s quotation from Ps. 91:11–12 was quite accurate (and no doubt, if tested, would have proved reliable), but even a correct quotation of Scripture can be misapplied. 8 Contrast 28:18, where, by the path of obedience, Jesus has received all authority not only on earth but also in heaven!
Immediately the Spirit orchestrated the circumstances that would permit the devil to test Jesus’ understanding of that sonship. Would He use His elevated power and position for self-aggrandizement or for military or political ends? Would He turn out to be another would-be liberator of the Jews from Rome? Or would He follow the way of the Suffering Servant, the way that leads to the cross? The three temptations epitomize all major categories of human temptation, what the apostle John later would call the “lust of the flesh,” “the lust of the eyes,” and “the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Where Adam, the nation of Israel, and indeed all humanity had previously failed, Jesus remained faithful. His ministry proceeded according to plan. As it did, He would continue to fulfill Scripture.
The temptation of Jesus follows in 4:1–11. Jesus’ fast of forty days and forty nights (v. 2) in the Judean desert (cf. 3:1) recalls Israel’s forty years in the wilderness, and especially Moses’ fasts of forty days and forty nights on behalf of faithless Israel (see Exod. 34:28; Deut. 9:9, 18).
The Spirit leads Jesus into the desert and the devil tempts him (v. 1) for the purpose of testing his commitment to sonship and to mission as defined at the Jordan (3:17). The reality and severity of the tests must not be minimized. By relying on the Father and the Spirit, Jesus is able not to sin, able to resist and to conquer the devil. Unlike God’s son Israel, this Son remains faithful in the desert.
In the first temptation (vv. 3–4) the devil, far from questioning Jesus’ sonship, capitalizes upon it: “Since [a better translation than “if”] you are the Son of God” (v. 3). He seeks to draw Jesus away from submission to the Father into an independent, self-serving use of his status. Moreover, in tempting Jesus to satisfy physical cravings, he recommends a mission more concerned with social reform than with spiritual upheaval (1:21). In quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, Jesus affirms his dependence on the Father, who has not yet ordered an end to the fast. He shows his reliance on God’s Word by quoting the Scriptures, as he will do in response to each temptation. In each case he quotes from Deuteronomy (a book associated with Israel’s wilderness wanderings). Here he reaffirms that his mission is primarily spiritual in character. Mere social reformation would rob man of his most desperate need—to receive God’s Word and to be rightly related to him. (The word alone in v. 4 is crucial; later chapters of Matthew show Jesus’ compassion for the physically and materially needy.)
In the second temptation (vv. 5–7) the devil says in effect: Since you are God’s Son, give the Father an opportunity to honor his promise (Ps. 91:11–12) and prove his love (Matt. 3:17). The choice of “the highest point of the temple” (450 feet above the Kidron Valley) urges a public display of messiahship. Satan urges Jesus to leave the Servant’s lowly path and to use his divine power to gain popular acclaim—which would merge easily with popular ideas about the Davidic Messiah. Jesus responds that he who really trusts the Father (“the Lord your God,” v. 7) will trust—not test—his Word.
In the third temptation (vv. 8–10) the devil depicts himself as a king with vast holdings (vv. 8–9) and asks accordingly that Jesus pay him homage—for which he shall grant the desired end (rule over “all the kingdoms of the world”; cf. 4:17) without the costly means (3:15–17). But Jesus recognizes that worship should not be divided between God and Satan (God alone is worthy of worship), and indeed cannot (How could one’s ultimate allegiance be divided?). In obedience to the Father, Jesus will gain the world’s kingdoms not by worshiping Satan but by wresting them from his grasp (12:22–29; 28:18).
Jesus not merely resists but conquers the tempter; in obedience to Jesus’ command, the devil departs (vv. 10–11). The Son who refused to break his long fast by the wrong means (vv. 2–3) now receives provisions (v. 11). The bond between Father and Son is confirmed (the devil could not sever it), and the Son is ready for his appointed mission.
4:1–25 Jesus the Messiah Begins to Advance the Messianic Kingdom. Jesus triumphs over the devil in the wilderness (vv. 1–11), proclaims the kingdom of God (vv. 12–17), and calls disciples to follow him (vv. 18–22).
4:1–11 Temptations of the Messiah. The temptations are a diabolical attempt to subvert God’s plan for human redemption by causing Jesus to fall into sin and disobedience, thus disqualifying him as the sinless Savior.
4:1 Jesus was led up by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit guided Jesus in his earthly life, providing a pattern for Jesus’ followers to be empowered and led by the Holy Spirit (cf. notes on Gal. 5:16; 5:17; 5:18). The Greek for tempted (peirazō) can also mean “test.” While God clearly never tempts anyone to do evil (see note on James 1:13), he does use circumstances to test a person’s character (e.g., Heb. 11:17). by the devil. Diabolos (Gk. “slanderer, accuser”) is here preceded by the definite article to indicate that this one who tempts Jesus is uniquely “the devil” (see also Matt. 4:5, 8, 11; 13:39; 25:41). Although the devil intends to thwart God’s plan and purposes, the Father uses his evil intention for the good purpose of strengthening Jesus in his messianic role.
4:2 fasting forty days and forty nights. Jesus’ experience of 40 days of fasting in the wilderness corresponds to Israel’s experience of 40 years of testing in the wilderness (Deut. 8:2–3). Jesus endured his testing victoriously and obediently. Moses also fasted and prayed for 40 days and nights on two occasions (Ex. 24:18; 34:28; Deut. 9:9, 11, 18, 25; 10:10; cf. Elijah in 1 Kings 19:8). Fasting was a means of focusing intently on prayer. Forty days is about the longest a human can fast without permanent bodily harm.
4:3 If you are the Son of God. Jesus, of course, was (and is) the Son of God, but he refused to be tricked by the devil into using his divine prerogatives to make the trial any easier for himself. Jesus obeyed as a man, as the representative for all who believe, so as to “fulfill all righteousness” (3:15) on behalf of his people.
4:4 It is written. Jesus responds to each temptation by quoting from Deuteronomy, linking his experience to Israel’s in the desert. In Deut. 8:2 Moses reminds the Israelites of God’s testing through hunger and his miraculous provision of manna.
4:5 The holy city is Jerusalem, and the pinnacle of the temple is probably the southeast corner of the temple area, the top of which was some 300 feet (91 m) above the floor of the Kidron Valley (cf. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 15.411–412). See The Temple Mount in the Time of Jesus.
4:6–7 for it is written. The devil’s quotation of Psalm 91 is a blatant misuse of Scripture in an effort to manipulate Jesus. Such a spectacular display as jumping from this great height unharmed would have gained him an enthusiastic following, but it would not have followed the Father’s messianic and redemptive plan of suffering and proclaiming the kingdom of heaven.
4:9 fall down and worship me. The devil offers a shortcut to Jesus’ future reign in God’s kingdom—a shortcut that side-steps Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross and comes at the cost of exchanging the love of the Father for the worship of Satan. All these I will give you was a lie (see note on Luke 4:5–8; cf. John 8:44.)
4:11 Then the devil left him. Jesus resisted the devil by standing firm on God’s Word, setting an example for his followers (cf. James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9). angels came and were ministering to him. Their ministering probably included much needed physical sustenance. All of heaven knew the significance of Jesus’ initial victory in this cosmic battle.