You don't get it. I guess that part, "Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. " that confuses you. I will leave it at that.
You don't get it. He really fasted for 40 days and nights, He was really tempted by the devil and the devil really did say what he is recorded as saying and Jesus really did say what He is recorded as saying. To say the whole thing is basically made up like a parable and is all symbolic is completely ridiculous.
Like you, a lot of Christians "assume" they are angelic beings "as if" that's what the actual text of the Scriptures say. But according to the "actual text" of that verse, when the Devil left, messengers came and ministered unto Him.
Who is the devil that left Him if not a real living being? How can a non-living being tempt Him and then leave Him after He tells him to go away? And who are the messengers who came and ministered to Him, if not angels? How could human beings minister to Jesus when He was the One to minister to them?
There is NOT one word there about angelic beings from heaven "despite" what the translators injected into it!
Ah, yes. Somehow, all English translators are wrong and you are right. Okay.
Comparing Scripture with Scripture, we can see clearly who the rest of the Bible says ministered to Christ, and it wasn't angelic beings! Shocking!
What are you talking about? Where does it say that anyone but angels ever ministered to Christ?
The Greek word διακονέω or [diakoneo] is mentioned approximately 36 times in the New Testament Scriptures and it always refers to human ministers, and not once is it used to refer to a heavenly angelic being! Period.
You continue to display your extreme ignorance. The Greek word translated as angels in the verse in question is angelos and it is used in this verse.
Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold,
the angel (Greek: angelos) of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
How could a human have appeared to Joseph in a dream while giving him a message about Mary? It's not possible. But, an angel could do that.
So why would we think it is used that way in Matthew chapter 4 verse 11?
It's used the way it is in many other verses, which is in reference to angels. The verse I showed above is just one example of verses which use that word in a way that can't possibly refer to human beings.
Do not interpretations belong to God through our comparing Scripture with Scripture, considering the actual words?
Yes, so why did you not reference the actual Greek word that is translated as "angels" in Matthew 4:11 while looking at how it is used in other verses? You just make claims without bothering to show any examples and expect me to take your word for it. I'd never take your word for anything.
Why would the man Jesus Christ need to be ministered to by supernatural angelic beings? What's for?
Because He was physically hungry after not having eaten for 40 days and nights and He was mentally and spiritually exhausted after dealing with Satan's temptations and his twisting of scripture. Notice how He demanded Satan to get away from Him. He couldn't stand his nonsense any longer and the human part of Him was exhausted from it all and His hunger must have been overwhelming at that point.
Was He not still fully God and fully man with all power in His hands, wasn't he?
Yes, but He did not always exercise His power because He wanted to relate to man. You are seeming to ignore the "fully man" part of Jesus here. He experienced pain, hunger, sadness, anger and so on just like we do.
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in
Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Though Jesus is God, while as a man on earth He "made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant,
and coming in the likeness of men.". So, He experienced physical weakness, mental exhaustion and things like that which all people experience. So, the angels ministered to His human side.
Isn't it more believable that the saints came and ministered to him as they had been doing before this?
What saints are you talking about and how did they minister to Him exactly?
And is this not all done as a Spiritual picture puzzle, a cryptic portrait of the trial or testing that Christ as a man was put through for our knowledge, understanding, and benefit? Hello? For example, the Devil tempts or tests Him, Christ rebukes him with Scripture, the Devil defeated thereby leaves, and the messengers minister to Him that has overcome the adversary. What part of this is of the purview, scope, business, influence, or concern of supernatural angelic beings?
What part of that is there any indication that did not literally happen? You expect me to believe that all the things that the devil is quoted as saying and all the things that Jesus is quoted as saying were not actually literally said and Jesus just made those things up to teach a moral lesson? Considering how Jesus had to constantly correct His disciples and minister to them, how do you figure that human beings are the ones who came to minister to them? Who do you say they were? His disciples? The ones who fell asleep when they were supposed to be watching out for the ones who were going to come and kill Him? They would be the ones to come and help Him recover from what He had gone through?
Matthew 4:11
- "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."
Matthew 8:14-15
- "And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.
- And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them."
Mark 15:40-41
- "There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
- (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem."
Question: What's the difference between those ministering to Christ in these three verses and the "
messenger" ministering to Him in Matthew chapter 4?
Context, man. Are those passages talking about people ministering unto Jesus after He had just been through a major ordeal like not eating for 40 days and nights and being tempted by the devil? He need a special level of ministering after that which no humans could provide.
Answer: There is no difference! This is the word messenger and the same word ministering to Him--thus there is no difference.
There is a huge difference! To act as if women being hospitable to Him is no different than ministering to Him after going through 40 days and nights of not eating and then being tempted while being hungry and exhausted is utterly ridiculous.
They were all human ministers. Just observe the context. So yes, Christ was in the wilderness, the desert place and had fasted for "forty days and forty nights," and after this of course He was hungry.
Wait a minute. Are you now saying that He literally fasted for 40 days and nights and was literally hungry afterwards? Before, you said the whole thing was symbolic. Why are you so selective in acknowledging that He literally fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and nights and was literally hungry while denying that a literal being called the devil and Satan tempted Him at that time? You are clearly twisting the text to make it fit your beliefs.
