Matthew 4:5-7 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6and 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.’” 7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’ ”
The second temptation again focuses on Jesus’ identify as the Son of God. It is a direct challenge to the voice from heaven from 3:17 that proclaimed Jesus as “my beloved Son.” The Greek grammar is similar as verse 3 with the sense, “since you are the Son of God.” The devil’s temptation challenged how Jesus interpreted his sonship. The devil took Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem, the place of power and center of the religious activities. The pinnacle would have been the highest place on the temple. This would have been the most visible place for people to see such a miracle. It would have created quite a scene for the people to see angels swooping in and rescuing Jesus. This temptation tested both Jesus’ divinity and humanity. The angels would have confirmed his divinity, and the danger of the fall would have confirmed his humanity.
The devil gets tricky and twists the word of God by using it in the wrong way. He quotes Psalm 91:11-12 only in part to make it say what he wanted. The implied message is that God would keep Jesus safe from any physical harm. If Jesus gave into this temptation, he would have taken the first step away from the path to the cross. His journey to the cross would require physical suffering as he identified with frail humanity in our own suffering. Isaiah 53:4 says about the coming One: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.”
Jesus again responds with a quote from Scripture from Deuteronomy 6:16. There is never any doubt who is in command during this time of testing. The devil can only twist the truth in order to deceive. He did not have any power of authority over Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus knew his identity. This temptation was a test of both Jesus as the Son of God and the plan of God the Father.
The devil does not have any power over those who abide in Christ. He only confuses us about God’s promises and what God wants to do for us. We are tempted to think that as a Jesus follower, we will have health, wealth, and prosperity as promised in certain passages of the Bible. But the real journey of discipleship is one of full dedication and may require that we experience suffering. Through this testing, our character will become stronger and our hope more sure (Romans 5:3-4).
For older posts, click here.