THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
The Testing of Jesus: Mt 4,1-11
"Testing" is a better word to describe this scene because Jesus is being tested to prove his commitment to this calling. At the baptism Jesus was proclaimed Son (3,17). Twice in this scene, the devil says to Jesus "if you are Son" (verses 3 & 6). This scene is therefore a testing of Jesus' response to the voice from the cloud. It is the Spirit who leads Jesus into the desert. That may be an indication that Jesus himself needs time to come to terms with what had taken place at his baptism. That it was only afterwards that Jesus was hungry (4,3, "afterwards" is unique to Matthew) shows that this was not a penitential fast.
In a way, we could also say the devil is God's agent - hence my reference to Job, where God puts Job into the power of Satan (Job 1,12 & 2,6). Like Job, Jesus is triumphant in his testing (4,11).
The background to this testing of Jesus which is brought out by Deuteronomy 6-8, is the testing of Israel in the desert following the exodus. Just as Jesus in chapter 2 went down into Egypt like the people of Israel so now he shares their experience in the desert.
Thus the forty days and forty nights of verse 2 echo the time of fasting of both Moses (Ex 34,28 or Dt 9,9) and of Elijah (1 Kings 19,8). Forty days also echoes the forty years the people of Israel spent in the desert (Dt 8,2-3).
The devil with his suggestion of turning stones into bread in verse 3 is a reminder of God's care for his people in the desert (Dt 2,7). There they failed the test and did not trust in him (Ps 78,18-22). Jesus though has his priorities right, humans do not live on bread alone (Dt 8,3).
Matthew unlike Luke (Lk 4,4) quotes the verse from Deuteronomy in full, including the line "but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord".
The second test takes place on a pinnacle or wing of the Temple. "Under his wings you will find refuge" says the psalm 91,4 which is the key to this test.
The devil duly quotes psalm 91. I mentioned two verses refering to the snare of the fowler (verse 3) and "no evil shall befall you" in verse 10. The point is much stronger in the Greek Bible which makes a reference to demons. The devil is quoting a psalm which actually speaks about the dangers he causes. Irony - and a sign of the devil's incompetence.
Jesus duly "trumps" the devil by quoting from Torah, the Law. This is a superior scripture reference compared to the psalms.
The emphasis on the third test in verses 8 to 10 is special to Matthew. Unlike Luke he makes this one his climax by locating it on a very high mountain. We mentioned in our overview of the Gospel the importance of the mountain as a setting in this Gospel. This mountain of testing anticipates and provides a contrast with the mountain where the risen Christ will commission his disciples at the end of the Gospel (28,16).
Moses was given a glimpse of all the land he was not to enter (Dt 34,1-3) and we will see more of this shortly. Worshipping the devil is the great human temptation, Apoc 13.
The devil therefore gets a sharp rebuke in verse 10, "get thee hence, Satan", as an old translation puts it. It will be on the final mountain that the disciples worship Christ (28,17).
Verse 11 then moves from the devil to angels and their care for Jesus, fulfilling the quotation of Ps 91,11 in verse 6.
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