Temptation of Christ
The temptation of Christ is a biblical narrative detailed in the gospels of Matthew,[1] Mark,[2] and Luke.[3] After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus was tempted by the devil after 40 days and nights of fasting in the Judaean Desert. At the time, Satan came to Jesus and tried to tempt him. Jesus having refused each temptation, Satan then departed and Jesus returned to Galilee to begin his ministry. During this entire time of spiritual battle, Jesus was fasting.
Not to be confused with The Last Temptation of Christ.
The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews also refers to Jesus having been tempted "in every way that we are, except without sin."[4]
Mark's account is very brief, merely noting the event. Matthew and Luke describe the temptations by recounting the details of the conversations between Jesus and Satan. Since the elements that are in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark are mostly pairs of quotations rather than detailed narration, many scholars believe these extra details originate in the theoretical Q Document.[5] The temptation of Christ is not explicitly mentioned in the Gospel of John but in this gospel Jesus does refer to the Devil, "the prince of this world", having no power over him.[6]
In church calendars of many Christian denominations, Jesus' forty days of fasting in the Judaean Desert is remembered during the season of Lent, in which many Christians fast, pray and give alms to the poor.[7]
Literary genre[edit]
Discussion of status as a parable[edit]
Discussion of the literary genre includes whether what is represented is a history, a parable, a myth, or compound of various genres. This relates to the reality of the encounter.[8] Sometimes the temptation narrative is taken as a parable, reading that Jesus in his ministry told this narrative to audiences relating his inner experience in the form of a parable.[9] Or it is autobiographical,[10] regarding what sort of Messiah Jesus intended to be.[11] Writers including William Barclay have pointed to the fact that there is "no mountain high enough in all the world to see the whole world" as indication of the non-literal nature of the event, and that the narrative portrays what was going on inside Jesus' mind.[12] Dominican theologian Thomas Aquinas explained, "In regard to the words, 'He showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them,' we are not to understand that He saw the very kingdoms, with the cities and inhabitants, their gold and silver: but that the devil pointed out the quarters in which each kingdom or city lay, and set forth to Him in words their glory and estate."[13]
The debate on the literality of the temptations goes back at least to the 18th-century discussion of George Benson and Hugh Farmer.[14]
The Catholic understanding is that the temptation of Christ was a literal and physical event. "Despite the difficulties urged, …against the historical character of the three temptations of Jesus, as recorded by St. Matthew and St. Luke, it is plain that these sacred writers intended to describe an actual and visible approach of Satan, to chronicle an actual shifting of places, etc., and that the traditional view, which maintains the objective nature of Christ's temptations, is the only one meeting all the requirements of the Gospel narrative."[15]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
In Luke's (Luke 4:1–13) and Matthew's (Matthew 4:1–11) accounts, the order of the three temptations differ; no explanation as to why the order differs has been generally accepted. Matthew, Luke and Mark make clear that the Spirit has led Jesus into the desert.
Fasting traditionally presaged a great spiritual struggle.[26] Elijah and Moses in the Old Testament fasted 40 days and nights, and thus Jesus doing the same invites comparison to these events. In Judaism, "the practice of fasting connected the body and its physical needs with less tangible values, such as self-denial and repentance."[27] At the time, 40 was less a specific number and more a general expression for any large figure.[28] Fasting may not mean a complete abstinence from food; consequently, Jesus may have been surviving on the sparse food that could be obtained in the desert. [29][30] On the other hand, the synoptic gospel of Luke specifies that "He ate nothing" which, based on the plain reading of the text, suggests complete abstinance of food.
Mark does not provide details, but in Matthew and Luke "the tempter" (Greek: ὁ πειράζων, ho peirazōn)[31] or "the devil" (Greek: ὁ διάβολος, ho diabolos) tempts Jesus to:
The Temptations[edit]
Stones to bread[edit]
The temptation of bread out of stones occurs in the same desert setting where Jesus had been fasting, ' with a spot on Mount Quarantania traditionally being considered the exact location. The desert was seen as outside the bounds of society and as the home of demons such as Azazel (Leviticus 16:10). Robert H. Gundry states that the desert is likely an allusion to the wilderness through which the Israelites wandered during the Exodus, and more specifically to Moses Jesus' struggle against hunger in the face of Satan points to his representative role of the Israelites, but he does not fail God in his urge for hunger.[32] This temptation may have been Jesus' last, aiming towards his hunger.[33]
In response to Satan's suggestion, Jesus replies, "It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (a reference to Deuteronomy 8:3).[34][35] Only in Matthew's gospel is this entire sentence written.
Pinnacle of the temple[edit]
This is the second temptation mentioned in Matthew and the third temptation listed in Luke.
Most Christians consider that holy city refers undoubtedly to Jerusalem and the temple to which the pinnacle belongs is thus identified as the Temple in Jerusalem. Gospel of Matthew refers to "the temple" 17 times without ever adding "in Jerusalem". That Luke's version of the story clearly identifies the location as Jerusalem may be due to Theophilus' unfamiliarity with Judaism.[36]
Gospel of Mark[edit]
The Mark (1:12–13) account is very brief. Most of the Mark account is found also in the Matthew and Luke versions, with the exception of the statement that Jesus was "with the wild animals." Despite the lack of actual text shared among the three texts, the language and interpretations Mark uses draw comparison among the three Gospels. The Greek verb Mark uses in the text is synonymous with driving out demons, and the wilderness at times represents a place of struggle.[52] The two verses in Mark used to describe Jesus' Temptation quickly progress him into his career as a preacher.
Thomas Aquinas argued that Jesus allowed himself to be tempted as both an example and a warning. He cites Sirach 2: "Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation." Following this, he cites Hebrews 4:15: "We have not a high-priest, who cannot have compassion on our infirmities, but one tempted in all things like as we are, without sin."[53]
The temptation of Christ is not found in the Gospel of John. However, some readers have identified parallels inside John which indicate that the author of John may have been familiar with the Temptation narratives in some form.[54]