From the Series: Reflections and Teachings in the Desert
DESERT
TEMPTATIONS
“Jesus was
led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” (Mt 4:1)
The Gospel for today is taken from Lk4:1-13. This is under the title “Temptation in the wildernessa”. Footnote a
says “Lk continues Mk’s data (40 days of
temptation) with Matthew’s (three temptations at the end of 40 days’ fast). He
changes Matthew’s order so as to end with Jerusalem; cf. Lk 2:38+.”
Parallel texts are:
1. Mt
4:1-11 - Temptation in the wildernessa
Then Jesus was led by the Spiritb into the wilderness to be
tempted by the devil (v. 1) He fasted for forty days and forty nights, after
which he was very hungry (v. 2), and the
tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God,c tell
these stones to turn into loaves’ (v. 3). But he replied, “Scripture says: Man
does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth
of God’ (v 4). The devil then took him to the holy city and made him stand on
the parapet of the Temple (v. 5). ‘If you are the Son of God’ he said ‘throw
yourself down for scripture says: ‘He will put you in his angels’ charge, and ‘
they will support you on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a
stone.’(v. 6). Jesus said to him, “Scripture also says: ‘You must
not put the Lord your God to the test’ (v. 7). Next, taking him to a very high
mountain the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor
(v. 8), ‘I will give you all these’ he said ‘if you fall at my feet and worship
me’ (v. 9).Then Jesus replied, “Be off, Satan! For scripture says: ‘You must
worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.’ (v. 10). Then the devil left
him and angels appeared and looked after him
(v. 11) Footnote a says
“That these diabolical suggestions were actually made is quite compatible with
Christ’s sinlessness, Jesus was faced with the idea of being a material and
political Messiah with its accompanying human privileges of wealth, glory,
power. He chose instead utter dependence on God, humility, obedience to God’s
will, cf. Mt. 16:21-23; 26:36-46; Heb. 5:7-9; 12:2”; Footnote b says “The
Holy Spirit. The temptation was therefore willed by God”; and Footnote c
says “The biblical title ‘Son of
God’ does not necessarily mean natural sonship but may imply a sonship which is
merely adoptive, i.e., which as a result of God’s deliberate choice sets up a
very intimate relationship between God and his creature. In this sense the
title is given to angels (Jb. 1:6), to the Chosen People (Ex. 4:22 , Ws. 18:13 ), to individual Israelites (Dt. 14:1, Ho.
2:1, cf. Mt. 5:9,48, etc.), to their leaders (Ps. 82:6). Were therefore it is
attributed to the royal Messiah (1 Ch. 17:13, Ps. 2:7, 89:26) it does not
necessarily imply that he is more than man; nor need we suppose that it has any
deeper significance when used by Satan (Mt. 4:3,6) or by the possessed (Mk.
3:11, 5:7, Lk. 4:41), still less when used by the centurion (Mk. 15:39, cf. Lk.
23:47). By itself the sentence at baptism (Mt. 3:17) and at the transfiguration
(17:5) suggests no more than the divine predilection for the Messiah-servant,
and all probability the High priest’s question (26:63) concerns messiahship
only. Nevertheless the title ‘Son of God’ can bear a further, more profound
meaning of sonship in the full sense of the word. Jesus clearly insinuated this
meaning when he spoke of himself as ‘the Son’ (2:37 ), ranked above the angels (24:36), having God for his
‘Father’ in a way others had not (Jn. 20:17
and cf. ‘my Father’ in Mt. 7:21 ,
etc.), enjoying with the Father an altogether singular relationship of
knowledge and love (Mt. 11:27 ).
These assertions, coupled with others that speak of the Messiah’s divine rank
(22:42-46), of the heavenly origin of the ‘son of man’ (8:20+), assertions finally confirmed by
the triumph of the resurrection, have endowed the expression ‘son of God’ with
the strictly divine significance which will later be found, e.g. in Paul (Rm.
9:5+). During the lifetime of Christ, it is true his disciples had no clear
conception of his divinity – the texts of Mt. 14:33 and 16:16 which add the
title ‘Son of God’ to the more primitive text of Mk reflect, in all
probability, a later stage in the faith’s development. But it is equally true
that Jesus expressed with his own lips and with as much clarity as his audience
could support, his own consciousness of being Son of the Father in the fullest
sense. On these historical utterances the faith of the disciples rested, a
faith that reached its perfection after the resurrection with the help of the
Holy Spirit.
2.
Mk 1:12-13 - Immediately afterwards the Spirit
drove him out into the wilderness (v. 12),and he remained there for forty days,
and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and the angels looked
after him.
Verses 1, 2,
and 3 say: Filled with the holy Spirit,b
Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness; being tempted
there by the devil for forty days. During this time he ate nothing, and at the
end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell
this stone to turn into a loaf’. Footnote b says “.Luke’s
interest in the Holy Spirit is evident not only from his first two chapters,
1:15,35,41,67,80; 225,26,27; but also from the remainder of the gospel in
which, on several occasion, he adds a mention of the Spirit to the other
synoptic passages, 4:1,14,18; 10:21; 11:13. In Ac also Lk very frequently
speaks of the Spirit, Ac 1:8+”
Parallel text for verse 1 is Lk
10:21 that says: It was then that filled
with joy by the Holy Spirit, he said, “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing
them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do.
Verse 4 and 5 say: But Jesus
replied, ‘Scripture says: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’ Then leading him
to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the
world.
Parallel text
of verse 4 is Dt 8:3 that says: He humbled you, he made you feel hungry, he
fed you with manna which neither you nor your fathers had known, to make you
understand that man does not live on bread alone but that man lives on
everything that comes from the mouth of Yahweh.a Footnote a
says “Yahweh makes all things by his word
and so gives life to Israel by means of the commandments (miswah) that issue
(mosa) from his mouth. On this text, cited in Mt 4:40, see Am 8:11; Ne 9:29; Pr
9:1-5; Ws16:26; Si 24:19-21; Jn 6:30-36,68+.”
Verse 6 says: and said to him, ‘I shall give to you all
the power and their glory of these kingdoms; for it has been committed to me
and I give it to anyone I choose.c Footnote c says “The
devil’s dominion over the world is one of the key ideas of Jn (12:31; 14:30;
16:11; 1 Jn 3:8+; Rv 13:2,4). See also Mt 8:29+.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jr 27:5 - I by my great power and outstretched
arm made the earth, man and animals that are on earth. And I can give it to
whom I please.
2.
Rev 13:2,4 - I saw that the beast was like a
leopard, with paws like a bear and a mouth like the mouth of a lion; the dragon
had handed over to it his own power and his throne and his worldwide authoritya
(v. 2). They prostrated themselves in
front of the dragon because he had given the beast his authority; and they
prostrated themselves in front of the beast saying, “Who can compare
with the beast?c Who could anybody defeat him?” (v. 4).
Footnote a says “Satan,
‘prince of this world’, Jn 12:31+, can give imperial power to anybody he
chooses, cf. Lk 4:6+; and Footnote c says “A
parody of the name Michael, 12:7, which means ‘Who-can-compare-with-God?’”
Verses 7, 8 and 9 says: ‘Worship me, then, it shall
all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him, Scripture says: You must worship the
Lord, your God, and him serve him alone’. Then he led him to Jerusalem and made
him stand on the parapet of the Temple, “If you are the Son of God,’ he said to
him ‘throw yourself down from here…
Parallel text for verse 8 is Dt 6:13 that says: You must
fear Yahweh your God, you must serve
him, by his name you must swear.
Verse 10 and 11 say: for scripture says: He will put his angels in
charge of you to guard you, and again: ‘They will hold you up on their hands,
in case you hurt your foot against a stone’.
Parallel text
for verse 10 is Ps 91:11-12 that say: He will put you to his angels’ charge to
guard you wherever you go (v. 11). They shall support you on their hands in
case you hurt your foot against a stone.
Verse 12 and 13 say: But Jesus answered him, “It has been said: You must not put the
Lord your God, to the test’. Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him,d the devil left him, to return at the
appointed time. Footnote d says “Rather
than ‘finished all the temptations’.”
Parallel text for verse 12 is Dt 6:16 that says: Do not put Yahweh your God to the test as you tested
him at Massah.
Parallel texts for verse 13 are:
1.
Lk 22:3,53 - Then
Satan entered into Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the Twelve
(v. 3). When I was among you in the Temple day after day, you never moved to
lay hands on me. But this is your hour; this is the reign of darkness (v. 53).
2.
Jn 13:2,27 – They
were at supper,d and the devil had already put it into the minde
of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. (v. 2). At that instant,
after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus then said, “What you
are going to do, do quickly (v. 27). Footnote
The First Reading is from Dt 26:4-10. Verses 4 and
5 say: The priest shall then take the
pannier from your hand and lay it before the altar of Yahweh your God. Then in
the sight of Yahweh your God, you must make this pronouncement:b “My
father was a wandering Aramean. He went
down into Egypt to find refuge there, few in numbers; but there he became a
nation, great, mighty and strong. Footnote b says “this
profession of faith reminds Israel of the divine choice, of deliverance from
Egypt and of the gift of the Promised Land, see 7:6+.”
Parallel
texts are:
1. Dt
10:22 - And though your fathers numbered only seventy they went down to Egypt,
and Yahweh your God, has made you as many as the stars of heaven.
2. Ps
105:12 - There where you were easily counted, few in number, strangers to the
country,
Verses 6, 7
and 8 say: The Egyptians ill-treated us, they gave us no peace and inflicted
harsh slavery on us. But we called on Yahweh the God of our fathers. Yahweh
heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression; And Yahweh
brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great
terror, and with signs and wonders.
Parallel text
is Dt 4:34 that says: Has any god ventured to go to take to himself one nation
from the midst of another, by ordeals, signs
wonders, war, with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors
- all this that Yahweh your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?
Verse 9 and 10 say: He brought us here and gave us
this land, a land were milk and honey flow. Here then I bring the first fruits
of the produce of the soil that you, Yahweh, have given me.” You must then lay
them before Yahweh your God, and you bow
down in the sight of Yahweh your God.
The Second Reading is from Rm 10:8-13.
Verse 8 says: On the positive side, it says: The word, that is the faith we
proclaim, is very near to you, it is on your lips and in your heart.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Ps 107:26 -Flung to the sky, then plunged to the
depths, they lost their nerve in the ordeal...
2. 1
P 3:19 - And in the spirit, he went to the spirits in prison.h Footnote
h says “Probably alludes to the descent of Christ to Hades, cf. Mt. 16:18+,
between his death and resurrection, Mt. 12:40; Ac. 2:24.31; Rm. 10:7; Ep. 4:9;
Heb. 13:20. He went there ‘in spirit’, cf. Lk. 23:46, or (better) ‘according to
the spirit’, Rm. 1:4+, his ‘flesh’ being dead on the cross, Rm. 8:3f. The
‘spirits in prison’ to whom he ‘preached’ (or proclaimed) salvation are
identified by some writers are the chained demons mentioned in the Book of
Enoch (some texts are corrected so as to make Enoch, and not Christ, preach to
them). This spirits have thus been put under the authority of Christ as Kyrios
v. 22, cf. Ep. 1:21f; Ph. 2:8-10; and this subjection to him is to be confirmed
later on, 1 Co. 15:24f. Other writers suggest these the spirits of people who were
drowned in the Flood as a punishment but who are now summoned by God’s
‘patience’ to eternal life’, cf. 4:6. Mt. 27:52f is a similar episode of
liberation by Christ between his death and resurrection, only here it is the
saints, the holy ones who were waiting for him, that are liberated, cf. Heb.
11:39f, 12:23; and are given the freedom of the holy (the heavenly) city. The
descent of Christ to Hades is one of the articles in the Apostle’s Creed.”
3. Dt
30:14 - No, the Wordb is very
near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance. Footnote
b says “The theology of the
Word of God has its roots in this personification; it ripens in the wisdom
books, cf. Pr 8:22+ and Ws 7:22+, and comes to maturity in the prologue of the fourth
gospel, cf. Jm 1:1+. St Paul applies this text to ‘the word of faith’, Rm
10:6-8.”
Verse 9 says: If your lips
confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead,e then you will be saved. Footnote e says
“Profession of faith, such as is made at
baptism, is the outward expression of the inward commitment of the ‘heart’.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Ac 2:36 - For this reason the whole House of
Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord
and Christ.
2.
1 Co 12:3 -It is for that reason that I want
you to understand that on the one hand no one can be speaking under the
influence of the Holy Spirit and say, ‘Curse Jesus’, and on the other hand, no
one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy
Spirit.
Verse 10 says: By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by
confessing with your lips you are saved.
Parallel text
is Rm 1:4 that says: It is about Jesus Christ our Lord who is
the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that is in him, was proclaimedc
Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead.d
Footnote c note “Vulg. ‘predestined’”; and Footnote d
says “For Paul Christ rose only because
God raised him, 1 Th. 1:10; 1 Co. 6:14; 15:15; 2 Co. 4:14; Ga. 1:1; Rm. 4:24;
10:9; Ac. 2:24+; cf. 1 P. 1:21, thus displaying his ‘power’, 2 Cor. 13:4; Rm.
6:4; Ph. 3:10; Col. 2:12; Ep. 1:19f; Heb. 7:16;
and because God raised him to life through the Holy Spirit, Rm. 8:11.
Christ is established in glory as Kyrios, Ph 2:9-11+; Ac 2:36; Rm 14:9,
deserving anew, this time in virtue of his messianic work, the name he had from
eternity, ‘son of God’, Ac 13:33, Heb 1:5; %:5. Cf. Rm 8:11+; 9:5+.”
Verse 11 says: When the
scripture says: those who believes in
him will have no cause for shame,
Parallel text is Is 28:16 that says: That is why the
Lord Yahweh says this: See how I lay in Zion a stone of witness, a precious
cornerstone, a foundation stone: The
believer shall not stumble.
Verse 12 says: it makes no distinction between Jew
and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his
help.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Rm 1:16, 32-34 - For I am not ashamed of the Good News; it is the power of God saving
all who have faithj - Jews first,k but Greeks as well- (v. 16). Footnote j says “Faith,
which is the response of a human being to God as truth and goodness and so the
one source of salvation, relies on the truth of God’s promises and on God’s
faithfulness to them (Rm 3:3f; 1 Th 5:24; 2 Tm 2;13; Heb 10:23; 11:11) and on
his power to implement them (Rm 4:17-21; Heb
11:19). After the long O.T.
period of preparation (Heb 11) God has spoken through his Son (Heb 1:1). We
must believe the Son (cf. Mt 8:10+; Jn 3:11+) and the kerygma or proclamation
(Rm 10:8-17; 1 Co 1:21; 15:11, 14; cf. Ac 2:22+) of the Good News (Rm 1:16; 1
Co 15:1-2; Phl: 27; Ep 1:13) made by the apostles (Rm 1:5; 1 Co 3:5; cf. Jn
17:20). The kerygma proclaims that God raised Jesus from the dead, made him
Kyrios (Rm 4:24f; 10:9; Ac 17:31; 1 P 1:21; cf. 1 Co 15:14, 17), and thorough
him offers life to all who believe in him (Rm 6:8-11; 2 Co 4:13f; Ep 1:19f; Col
2;12; 1 Th 4:14). Faith in the name, or person, of Jesus (Rm 3:26; 10:13; cf.
Jn 1:12; Ac 3:16; 1 Jn 3;23) who is the Messiah (Ga 2:16; cf. Ac 24;24; 1 jn
5:1), the Lord (Rm 10:9; 1 Co 12:3; Ph 2:11; cf. Ac 16;31) and Son of God (Ga
2:20; cf. jn 20:31; 1 jn 5:5; Ac 8;37; 9:20) is thus the necessary condition of
salvation (Rm 10:9-13; 1 Co 1:21; Ga 3:22; cf. Is 7:9+; Ac 4:12; 16:31; Heb
11:6; Jn 3:15-18). Faith is not only intellectual assent, it is to trust and
obey (Rm1:5; 6:17; 10:16; 16:26; cf. Ac 6:7) the life giving truth (2 Th
2:12f). Faith which thus unites a person with Christ (2 Co 13:5; Ga 2:16, 20;
Ep 3:17) also confers the Spirit on him (Ga 3:2,5,14;cf. Jn 7:38f; Ac 11:17),
the Spirit of the sons of God (Ga 3:26; cf. Jn 1:12). Faith is reliance on God
and not on self (Rm 3:27; Ep 2:9) and thus contrasts with the old order of the
Law (Rm 7:7+) with its vain search (Rm 10;3; Ph 3:9) for holiness by works (Rm 3;20,28; 9:31f; Ga
2:16; 3:11f): only faith can effect rue holiness, the saving holiness of God
himself (Rm 1:17+; 3:21-26), received as a free gift from him (Rm 3:24; 4:16;
5:17; Ep 2:8;cf. Ac 15:11). Faith relates to the promise made to Abraham (Rm 4;
Ga 3:6-18) and so makes salvation accessible to everyone, pagans included (Rm
1:5,16; 3:29f; 9:30; 10:11f; 16:26; Ga 3:8). It is coupled with baptism (Rm
6:4+), calls for public profession (Rm 10:10; 1 Tm 6:12), and expresses itself
in charity (Ga 5:6;cf. Jm 2:14+). Faith is obscure (2 Co 5:7; Heb 11:1; cf. Jn
20:29), and involves hope as its concomitant (Rm 5:2+). It must be allowed to grow (2 Co 10:15; 1Th 3:10; 2
Th 1:3) amid struggles and sufferings (Ph 1:29; Ep 6:16; 1 Th 3:2-8; 2 Th 1:4;
Heb 12:2; 1 P 5:9), demanding fortitude (1 Co 16:13; Col 1:23;) and tenacity 2
Tm 4:7;cf. 1:14; 1 Tm 6:20) right up to the vision and possession of God (1 Co
13:12;cf. 1Jn 3:2).”; and Footnote k says “In the actual development
of salvation history, the Jews come first; ‘salvation comes from the Jews’ (Jn.
4:22). Cf. Rm. 2:9-10, Mt. 10:5f, 15:24, Mk. 7:27, Ac. 13:5+. But abuse of this
privilege could condemn them.”
2.
Rm 9:33 - …mentioned in scriptures: See how I am lay in Zion a
stone to stumble over, a rock to trip men up – only those who believe in him will
have no cause for shame.
Verse 13 says: for everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jl 3:5 - All who call on the name of Yahweh will
be saved, for on Mount Zion there will
be some who have escaped, as Yahweh has said, and in Jerusalem some survivors
whom Yahweh will call.
2. Ac
2:21 - All who call on the name of the
Lord will be saved.m Footnote m says “The
Christians style themselves ‘those who invoke on the name of the Lord’,
9:14,21; 22:16; 1 Co 1:2; 2 Tm 2:22; the title ‘Lord’ no longer indicates
Yahweh but Jesus, cf. Ph 2:11; Ac 3:16. On Judgment day people will be received
or rejected according as they have or have not invoked this name, i.e.
acknowledged Jesus as Lord; see Ac 4:12 and Rm 10:9.”
The desert temptation of Jesus Christ mimics that
of the desert temptation of Israel during her forty years sojourn in the desert
at the time of the Exodus. This desert temptation of Israel was about the three
temptations of bread, idol and miracle.
Let us see these three temptations in a comparative illustration:
We fight the three temptations with the SHEMA (Dt. 6:5) – In Israel’s
struggle to keep the Shema, God taught them the three kinds of spirituality in
the desert. These three forms of Jewish Spirituality in keeping with the Shema
are Prayer (to fight the temptation for Miracle, in order to love God with the
whole mind in search for the truth), Fasting (to fight the temptation for bread in order to love God
with the whole strength physically) and Almsgiving (to fight the temptation for idols in
order to love God with the whole heart zealously, passionately, and enthusiastically).
Three spiritual practices required for Israel which Jesus Christ
continued and recommend to be used by us if we are to fight the devil’s three
temptations.
Three Lenten spirituality being practiced by
Christians are Fasting, Prayer and Almsgiving. It is the Christian’s way of keeping the Shema during this Lenten
Period - To love God with the whole heart, with zeal, passion, enthusiasm and obsession
through the spirituality of almsgiving with money or work in order to fight the
devil’s temptation of Idol; to love God with the whole mind or soul with the spirituality
of Prayer in order to fight the devil’s temptation of asking for miracle in not
being able to accept one’s reality; and to love God with the whole strength or
body through the spirituality of fasting in order to fight the devil’s
temptation for Bread.
Which among these three Christian spirituality is the
greatest? St. Peter Chrysologus said, “If you pray, you fast; if you fast, you
give alms.” And in 1 Co 13:13 we find: “There are three things that last,
faith, hope, and charity; and the greatest of these three is charity.”
Therefore, among the three spirituality, prayer, fasting and almsgiving, the greatest of
these is almsgiving.
The First Reading for this 1st Sunday of Lent tells us about the profession of faith required by Moses to
be said by the priest in the offering the pannier on the altar of Yahweh as
stated in in Footnote b of Dt 26:5 that says “this profession of faith reminds Israel of the divine choice, of
deliverance from Egypt and of the gift of the Promised Land, see 7:6+.” It mentions
the Exodus event in its entirety when the Shema was pronounced during Israel’s
40 years desert sojourn.
The Second Reading for this Sunday admonishes us to ask
for help “in faith”, because, according to Apostle Paul, everyone who calls for help will be saved. This
includes asking for help in the faith of Jesus Christ that made him conquer the
devil’s three desert temptations through the practice of the Shema through the
three Jewish spirituality of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
The Second Reading also mentions a profession of
faith like in Dt 26:5, the one made at baptism, as stated in Footnote e
of Rm 10: 9 that says “Profession of faith, such as is made at baptism, is the outward
expression of the inward commitment of the ‘heart’”.
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