Temptation of Christ

Biblical Text and Content

The event appears in all three Synoptic Gospels. Immediately after his baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where he spent forty days. Mark 1:12-13 states briefly that Jesus was tempted by Satan, that he was with the wild beasts, and that angels ministered to him. Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13 describe three temptations in detail.

• Stones into bread: When Jesus was hungry after fasting for forty days, the devil told him that if he were the Son of God, he should command the stones to be made bread. Jesus answered with the words of Deuteronomy 8:3, that man does not live by bread alone.
• Casting himself down from the temple: The devil set Jesus on a pinnacle of the temple and, quoting Psalm 91:11-12, told him to throw himself down. Jesus answered with Deuteronomy 6:16, which forbids tempting the Lord God.
• The kingdoms of the world: The devil showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world and promised to give them to him if he would fall down and worship him. Jesus answered with Deuteronomy 6:13, which commands that God alone be served.

Matthew concludes by saying that the devil departed and angels came and ministered to Jesus. Luke presents the second and third temptations in the reverse of Matthew's order and records that the devil departed "for a season" (Luke 4:13).

Background

The Greek word translated "tempt," peirazō, carries both the sense of "to test" and "to tempt." The word rendered "devil," diabolos, originally means "slanderer" or "accuser." The number forty recalls Moses' forty-day fast on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:28) and Elijah's forty-day journey (1 Kings 19:8). Above all, it parallels Israel's forty years in the wilderness. One tradition identifies the so-called Mount of Temptation near Jericho as the site of the event, but the biblical text does not specify the location.

Significance Within Scripture

All three verses Jesus quoted come from Deuteronomy 6-8, chapters that convey the lessons Israel was taught in the wilderness. For this reason, many interpreters read the event as showing Jesus remaining obedient where Israel had failed in the wilderness. Luke places a genealogy tracing back to Adam immediately before this account, and on that basis some interpret Jesus as the "new Adam" who overcame temptation. The Epistle to the Hebrews states that Jesus was tempted in all points yet was without sin, and is therefore able to help those who are tempted (Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews 2:18).

Interpretations and Debates

• Could Jesus have sinned? One view holds that Jesus by nature could not sin (impeccability). Another holds that he could have sinned but did not (peccability). Both views affirm that the temptations were real, but they explain their significance differently.
• Manner of occurrence: Regarding scenes such as Jesus viewing all the kingdoms of the world from a high place, interpreters are divided between those who take the events literally and those who understand them as a vision or an inward experience.
• Later associations: A widely known interpretation pairs the three temptations with "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" in 1 John 2:16. This is an interpretive tradition; the Gospel texts themselves do not make this connection.

In the Korean Church

In churches that follow the liturgical calendar, this passage is often read and preached on the first Sunday of Lent. The forty days of Lent are also explained in connection with this event. Jesus' use of Scripture to answer temptation is frequently cited in sermons that encourage believers to stay close to the Word and to practice Scripture memorization. The forty-day fasting prayers and forty-day special prayer meetings held in Korean churches are also sometimes understood in light of this event.