The Intricacy of Temptation   

by Kenneth Chumbly

On a basic level, Matthew’s prologue (1:1–4:16) simply introduces his story of Jesus. But at a deeper level, the prologue is a carefully crafted text that highlights two key Christological themes—sovereignty and submission—that bracket the book. Christ’s sovereignty (1:1–2:23) and submission (3:1–4:16) at the beginning of the Gospel anticipate His submission (26:36–27:66) and sovereignty (28:1–20) at the end.

Contextually, the narrative in 4:1–11 furthers the point of 3:13–17. Matthew wants us to know that Christ fulfilled all righteousness not only at the Jordan but also in the wilderness when “evil appears before Him in all its tremendous strength and naked horror in the personality of the devil” (G. C. Morgan).

There are so many important angles from which to study the temptation that trying to say something about it on one page is almost an injustice. Nevertheless, here are some thoughts concerning Satan’s methodology in the temptation of Christ (2 Cor. 2:11).

First Temptation (4:3–4) If I am right in understanding Jesus’ baptism (3:14–17) as expressing His solidarity with sinners, it seems that this became Satan’s first target of opportunity. Sensing opportunity in Christ’s hunger (4:2), the devil said, “Fix yourself something to eat.” Makes sense to me. He who turned water to wine (John 2:8–9) could have easily turned stones to bread and eased His intense hunger. But to have done so would have been at odds with the identification implied in the baptism. If Christ, who claimed a willingness to limit Himself by our limits (Heb. 2:11–18), refused our limitations because He was hungry, what assurance was there that He wouldn’t bail out when facing the horrors of Calvary (cf. 26:37–38, 53; 27:40)? Christ, however, saw through the reasonableness of this temptation to its lethalness.

Second Temptation (4:5–7) The next temptation flowed from the first. Christ answered the first temptation with Scripture (Deut. 8:3), and the next thing you know the devil is quoting Scripture. “So, you’re going to trust God and follow his word? Let’s just see about that. If you’re as trusting of him as you claim, why don’t you prove it by jumping off the temple. After all, Psalm 91:11–12 promises that he won’t let any harm come to you.” Satan never hesitates to quote the Bible when it serves his purpose (2 Cor. 11:13–15; 2 Pet. 3:16). His use of Psalm 91 betrays just about every way he perverts Scripture (taking texts out of context, applying figurative language literally, etc.).

Third Temptation (4:8–10) Twice repulsed, my sense is that Satan loses patience and goes for the knockout by offering a Faustian bargain that required Jesus to just once (the devil used aorist verbs) take the road most traveled—the shortcut, the path of least resistance where the end justifies the means. Christ, however, refused to rationalize disobeying the first commandment.

Three strikes and the devil was out.

To see why Christ could hold firm in the wilderness (and everywhere else), study His four sayings in the prologue (3:17; 4:4,6,10); they reveal an attitude of total devotion to God’s will and an absolute belief in the authority, harmony, and applicability of God’s word.

Oscar Wilde said he could resist everything but temptation. Christ resisted temptation. Utilizing nothing unavailable to us, He routed the archenemy and showed the potential resident within us all. On a mountain, He rejected an offer of world dominion (4:8–10) for a course of obedience—which ultimately led Him to another mountain where He was given all dominion in heaven and earth (28:16,18)—because of His obedience. It was His submission that enabled His sovereignty (Phil. 2:5–11).

Could Jesus have succumbed to temptation? Absolutely! But He didn’t. And in that truth is His glory and our hope.