Luke 4: The temptation of Jesus.
In Greek, πειράζω is translated to temptation and test. Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tested by the devil as Adam and Eve was tested in the Garden.
The test is about: "Do you trust more in your thoughts or in the word of the Lord"? , "what is more important? Your will or the will of the Lord"?
Jesus is tested after his baptism.
Perhaps the baptism was a declaration: "I am subjected to the will of the Lord". The test was to demonstrate if this declaration was real.
We read:
9-11 For the third test the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, “If you are God’s Son, jump. It’s written, isn’t it, that ‘he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone’?”
12 “Yes,” said Jesus, “and it’s also written, ‘Don’t you dare tempt the Lord your God.’”
13 That completed the testing. The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.
The Devil used the book of Psalms to test Jesus. He begins: "If you are God’s Son,...". No one in Tanak was called "the son of God" besides the people of Israel. If Jesus is God's son, he is righteous and Psalm 91 applies to him. Is it true? The Devil reads Psalms as a lawyer reads the law. The Devil tries to make Jesus read Psalm 91 not as blessing to the righteous but a test to the Lord.
The Devil is always seeking to transform the beautiful word of the Lord into something ugly.
The temptation is about: "how much do I trust that the Lord is good?".
Friday, May 9, 2025
Luke 4: The temptation of Jesus.
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