In the previous post we looked at the first temptation of Jesus as recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, namely, Matthew 4:1-4. In this post we will look at the second of these temptations as recorded in Matthew 4:5-7. The encounter between Jesus and Satan is an encounter demonstrating the stark contrast between the Kingdom of God vs. the Kingdom(s) of the World.
After Jesus responds to Satan’s first temptation, playing upon Jesus’ hunger (4:1-3), Jesus asserts Scripture (e.g., Deuteronomy 8:3) and declares that physical hunger is superseded by a hunger for the word from God. At this point, Jesus models a positional stance that we must emulate, placing obedience to God’s message above all other needs. All other needs will be provided when one’s foundation is the word received from God.
Undeterred, Satan attempts a second ploy:
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.’ ” (Matt 4:5–6)
The first thing to note about this passage is that much like (v4) i.e.,“The Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness…” is the upward movement that is employed again in (v5) as Satan takes Jesus to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple. This upward movement will continue during Jesus’ third temptation as the “devil took him to a very high mountain…” (4:8). This upward movement began with Jesus coming up from the water during his baptism (3:16).
The “pinnacle of the temple” or literally, the “winglet” of the temple has had many interpretive suggestions. To take but one example, Grant Osborne states that the best interpretive option would have been the highest point of Herod’s temple, the portico located on the southeast side overlooking the Kidron Valley which was hundreds of feet below.[1]
Satan commands Jesus to “throw himself down” before quoting Ps 91:11-12: “He will command his angels concerning you…On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” A couple of observations are worth noting here. First, unlike the first episode, where Satan does not quote Scripture, this time he does. In the first episode Satan tempts Jesus to use his divine prerogative selfishly, satisfying his hunger (4:3). In this second interaction, Satan does quote Scripture, tempting Jesus to use his status to prove he is indeed the Son of God, by having the angels rescue him from his fall. In Psalm 91, it is Israel who is being addressed with the implication being if God will do it for his chosen people, how much more will he guarantee the protection of his Son, Jesus. Satan is able to quote Scripture, but unfortunately for him, he is taking on the Logos of God (John 1:1). Second, it is important to keep in mind that the ability to quote Scripture does not necessitate the right interpretation and application of such passages. This is a helpful corrective to much of what we see in political discourse. Proof-texting, picking a passage divorced from its original context, can be made to justify even the most horrific of human agendas and policies. Remember, context is king.
Returning to the second temptation, Jesus wastes no time in countering Satan’s command, first by mirroring Satan’s introductory clause: “It is written” (4:7 cf. 4:6) and then quoting another part of Scripture, Deut 6:16: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” In the context of this quote, the test refers to the test of Exod 17:1-7:
All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Massah and Meribah meaning “the place of testing” and “the place of quarreling” respectively, became symbols of putting God to the test and thereby bringing judgment upon Israel (Ps 95:7-9; cf. Heb 3:7-4:13).[2] By quoting this passage Jesus understands the context of Deut 6:16 to be a reminder to do better than Israel had at Massah. It is “…not the people’s place to dictate to God how he is to express his covenant commitment to his people. Instead they should accept his pledge that he will do well by his ‘son’.”[3] Testing God’s Son means testing God himself and unlike Israel, Jesus triumphs over this temptation.[4] In other words, God the Father and God the Son are unified. For Jesus, despite having divine prerogatives, he models an obedience borne of sacrifice not selfishness. We as his followers are expected to do the same. When we weaponize the word of God to suit our own personal interests, we are not being faithful to the words we have been given. Further, we can cause irreparable harm when we misuse and abuse Scripture. We need to understand that the word of God is a gift, and it is the duty of every Christian to rightly handle the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). If Jesus models this example for us, how can we possibly do otherwise?
[1] Grant R. Osborne, Matthew, ZECNT (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 133.
[2] Osborne, Matthew, 134.
[3] John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Grand Rapids, MI; Eerdmans; 2005), 166.”
[4] Osborne, Matthew, 134.