Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. (NIV)
A Populated Universe
The story of Jesus being tempted by the Devil is an important narrative in each Synoptic Gospels. Mark’s account is the briefest of the three, but has important elements. First, Mark tells us that the Holy Spirit, who just came upon Jesus in a Divine anointment, drove Him into the wilderness for the purpose of being tempted by Satan (Matthew and Luke say, “Devil”). Second, Mark says Jesus was with “wild beasts.” Mark’s Roman readers, who endured the fury of Nero’s Rome and faced wild beasts in an arena where many died, would read this account in a personal way. Scorpions, jackals, and wild dogs were hardly cuddly, but we are to see these implying a strong demonic presence.
The presence of the heavenly Voice, the Holy Spirit, and the angels who ministered to Jesus, over against the Devil/Satan and the demonic environment in the wilderness are clear reminders that we are, indeed, not alone in the universe. Our present culture has been obsessed with extra-terrestrial life, UFOs, and the presence of aliens. I don’t know about this, and have no reason to deny that possibility out of hand. What I do know is that the Biblical world view tells us that there is, from our viewpoint in this physical world, a vast unseen presence of spirit beings, both good and evil.(1)
In this event, Jesus battles the one He calls “the Evil One,” in His model prayer (Matthew 6:13). While it may not involve all that is in popular religious depictions, spiritual warfare is real. We should not accept the materialistic attempts to demean us for accepting the Biblical worldview. Jesus won in the wilderness, He won on the cross, and he crushed Satan in His resurrection and exaltation. Here is a quote attributed to C. S. Lewis, “On the back of Satan's neck is a nail scarred footprint.”
True Israel
Numbers and locations can be significant beyond themselves. “Forty days” and “wilderness” are prime examples. Also important, is the literary setting of the temptation account in Deuteronomy 6-8, from which Jesus three times quotes. These passages in Deuteronomy were Moses’ admonition to Israel after forty years of being tested in the wilderness. Israel failed those tests, but Jesus, true Israel personified, passed decisively. Jesus is all that the nation of Israel failed to be.
Jesus’ overcoming His testing leads to the assurance that all who become His disciples in every nation, Jew, and Gentile alike (Matthew 28:19-20), will be incorporated into true Israel. This is also suggested by the section of Matthew directly following Jesus’ being tempted, where Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee of the Gentiles (Isaiah 9:1-2).
At One with Us
The final point I want to make about this narrative is that Jesus is seen as fully human. Perhaps the author of Hebrews had this passage in mind as he wrote the passage quoted above.
Jesus is the very Son of God, but He faced temptation as fully human and having the same opportunity to sin as we have. He simply refused each opportunity. This was not a sham with a predetermined outcome. He fasted and afterward was truly famished, the temptation was real. He desired success and wanted to win the Kingdoms of the world, so the temptations were real.
Another way Matthew and Luke demonstrate Jesus’ identity with us is by telling us how the Devil tempted Him— “If you are the Son of God…” Both the Devil and Jesus know that Jesus is the Son of God, no ifs. The thrust of the Devil’s temptation is that the Son of God should never have to be hungry and therefore could play His “God card,” and eat. The Son of God could whip up an unmistakable display to wow those at the Temple. Jesus rejects both ideas. Jesus will do miraculous deeds, but never as mere displays, but to heal and do good. He didn’t do tricks! In both cases Jesus rejects the Devil’s suggestions that those with high status, and Jesus had the highest status in the universe, could avoid life’s difficulties, unlike the “simple folks.” Instead, He came to a poor family, and for the poor, prisoners, blind, and oppressed (Luke 4:18). This is from a passage that directly follows Luke’s account of the temptations.
In all of this, Jesus took His place with us. And yes, Jesus gets us—not to excuse us, but to forgive us as we often fail in the very kind of temptations He overcame. He also gets us by leading us through our temptations by His Spirit to overcome, with Him, the powers and principalities that stand against us and tempt us.
Tim Kelley
(1)This has been the major focus of the late Dr. Michael Heiser, whose popular books, including The Unseen Realm, and Super Natural, powerfully explore Scripture’s assertion that we live in the presence of hosts of spiritual beings. If you want to explore this, in addition to his books, you can view these videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QM7anD5vSI&ab_channel=LogosBibleStudyApp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxgLqXyNAjI&ab_channel=AWKNGSchoolofTheology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NABgtzST4U8&ab_channel=AWKNGSchoolofTheology