Jesus' Temptation Matthew 4:1-11

[Jaronm90]

Matthew 4:1-11 (KJV) describes Jesus being led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the Devil in three ways:

4:3 - "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."

4:5-6 - "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, [sup]6[/sup]And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."

4:8-9 - "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; [sup]9[/sup]And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."

If this is parable then what are the possible interpretations of it?

If this is to be taken literally, that Jesus did fast for 40 days and nights then was tempted by the devil in three ways, then why didn't Jesus/God do anything to the Devil at this time besides a stern reprimand not to tempt the Creator? This begs a greater question of why doesn't Yahweh deal with the devil at any point in time if he has the power but lets stick to this specific instance of contact between the two.

Also on the side what is the meaning of 4:11?

4:11 - "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

Did Jesus succumb to the Devil's second temptation of calling upon angels to care for him after the Devil has left? Whether parable or literal this verse calls for attention and reflection.

 

[Adstar]

Matthew 4:1-11 (KJV) describes Jesus being led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the Devil in three ways:

4:3 - "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."

4:5-6 - "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, [sup]6[/sup]And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."

4:8-9 - "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; [sup]9[/sup]And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."

If this is parable then what are the possible interpretations of it?

If this is to be taken literally, that Jesus did fast for 40 days and nights then was tempted by the devil in three ways, then why didn't Jesus/God do anything to the Devil at this time besides a stern reprimand not to tempt the Creator? This begs a greater question of why doesn't Yahweh deal with the devil at any point in time if he has the power but lets stick to this specific instance of contact between the two.

Also on the side what is the meaning of 4:11?

4:11 - "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

Did Jesus succumb to the Devil's second temptation of calling upon angels to care for him after the Devil has left? Whether parable or literal this verse calls for attention and reflection.

Firstly
Where in scriptures does it say that Jesus called for the angels to come and administer to Him? I will answer my question. No where. This is something that you have added.

So it is never stated that Jesus called upon the angels to care for Him. But even if he had it would not have been a giving into the temptation of satan because the temptation of satan regarded them intervening to save Jesus from a fall from the top of the temple. Not in administering to him after the end of the 40 days. But again There is not record of Jesus "calling upon angels to care for him" anyway

Second.
I believe Yaveh has allowed the satanic rebellion to proceed within certain restraining limitations to go on to its own conclusion ( failure) to make a clear demonstration to the Host of Heaven of the illegitimacy of satans argument and also to show Himself Justified to be the one and Only God of all existence. We His creations have free will during this time to choose whom we shall believe and embrace/support.



All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

[Jaronm90]

Firstly
Where in scriptures does it say that Jesus called for the angels to come and administer to Him? I will answer my question. No where. This is something that you have added.

Like I stated above, Matthew 4:11 - "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."
Yes, it can be argued that it doesn't explicitly say Jesus called the angels to him but, to stay away from the illogical trinity and the debate of polytheism and monolatrism, it can be inferred that either God on earth (Jesus) or God above (God the Father) caused the angels to come and 'minister' to the man Jesus.

So it is never stated that Jesus called upon the angels to care for Him. But even if he had it would not have been a giving into the temptation of satan because the temptation of satan regarded them intervening to save Jesus from a fall from the top of the temple. Not in administering to him after the end of the 40 days. But again There is not record of Jesus "calling upon angels to care for him" anyway

The temptation was that had Jesus fallen from the "pinnacle of the temple" (Matthew 4:5) he would't be able to not call angels to save him. This implies the Devil's contempt for the need of Jesus to have any kind of help while on Earth, not just in the one instance on top of "the temple". This can be extrapolated to verses surrounding Jesus' last days:

Luke 22:42-44 - "[sup]42[/sup]Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. [sup]43[/sup]And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. [sup]44[/sup]And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

Matthew 26: 52-54 - "[sup]52[/sup]Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. [sup]53[/sup]Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? [sup]54[/sup]But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?"

From this we see that both: Jesus did claim to be able to call upon angels, and there is at least one instance of God sending him help when asked.

Second.
I believe Yaveh has allowed the satanic rebellion to proceed within certain restraining limitations to go on to its own conclusion ( failure) to make a clear demonstration to the Host of Heaven of the illegitimacy of satans argument and also to show Himself Justified to be the one and Only God of all existence. We His creations have free will during this time to choose whom we shall believe and embrace/support.

Ok... to say that the Creator is allowing the part of his creation that rebelled to run its course just to prove a point is absurd. Justification/legitimacy for the title of "one and Only God of all existence" could have been had without the corruption of the other part of his creation, humanity, and the sinful existence that followed. And to invoke that its all apart of God's mysterious, unknowable plan for the course he sees fit to play out in the universe is worse than absurd.

 

[whirlwind]

Matthew 4:1-11 (KJV) describes Jesus being led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the Devil in three ways:


If this is to be taken literally, that Jesus did fast for 40 days and nights then was tempted by the devil in three ways, then why didn't Jesus/God do anything to the Devil at this time besides a stern reprimand not to tempt the Creator? This begs a greater question of why doesn't Yahweh deal with the devil at any point in time if he has the power but lets stick to this specific instance of contact between the two.

1 Corinthians 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

That verse refers to Adam and then Christ but I believe it also demonstrates the order of events. The natural, the literal event, happened as a shadow or type for the spiritual event. It happened as a lesson for us. God doesn't reprimand Satan as Satan is doing his job. We are to be proven and he is the one that tests us.​

Deuteronomy 13:3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Also on the side what is the meaning of 4:11?

4:11 - "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

Did Jesus succumb to the Devil's second temptation of calling upon angels to care for him after the Devil has left? Whether parable or literal this verse calls for attention and reflection.

No...He did not succumb and I agree with Adstar in that what you are suggesting...wasn't written. I will add that the numbers 4 & 1, as in 4:11, are many times signs...signs of or to or about the elect.

 

[Adstar]

Like I stated above, Matthew 4:11 - "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."
Yes, it can be argued that it doesn't explicitly say Jesus called the angels to him but, to stay away from the illogical trinity and the debate of polytheism and monolatrism, it can be inferred that either God on earth (Jesus) or God above (God the Father) caused the angels to come and 'minister' to the man Jesus.

No it cannot be inferred. What the scripture states the scripture states. And the Angels have free will. satan was an angel with free will and he rebelled. So the angels could have come to Jesus on their own initiative. Irrespective of what prompted them to come. No where in the scriptures does it say Jesus called on the to come. That is just adding to the Word of God.

The temptation was that had Jesus fallen from the "pinnacle of the temple" (Matthew 4:5) he would't be able to not call angels to save him. This implies the Devil's contempt for the need of Jesus to have any kind of help while on Earth, not just in the one instance on top of "the temple". This can be extrapolated to verses surrounding Jesus' last days:

No. The temptation was to temp Jesus to force an intervention from God.

Luke 22:42-44 - "[sup]42[/sup]Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. [sup]43[/sup]And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. [sup]44[/sup]And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

Matthew 26: 52-54 - "[sup]52[/sup]Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. [sup]53[/sup]Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? [sup]54[/sup]But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?"

From this we see that both: Jesus did claim to be able to call upon angels, and there is at least one instance of God sending him help when asked.

So? Yes Jesus could call upon Angels. Once again the scripture in question did not say He did. And even if He did it would not be a case that He had given into satans temptation. That claim is an evil claim.

Ok... to say that the Creator is allowing the part of his creation that rebelled to run its course just to prove a point is absurd. Justification/legitimacy for the title of "one and Only God of all existence" could have been had without the corruption of the other part of his creation, humanity, and the sinful existence that followed. And to invoke that its all apart of God's mysterious, unknowable plan for the course he sees fit to play out in the universe is worse than absurd.

No it is not. If God is looking for ones to follow Him as God willingly with free will. He must allow free will and in that free will is the freedom to reject Him. An alternative to God must then exist and satan has lead that alternative. God could have stopped satan at any time by His absolute power But then He would be God by His Power only a brutal dictator, God does not want people to follow Him because they do not have the power to overthrow Him. God wants free willed beings to follow Him because He is justifiably the rightful God of all existence. God will defeat satan using His absolute power and might but only after His eternal plan has run its course and He has established His position by His absolute Wisdom.



All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

[farouk]

The Lord Jesus is God, He is sinless; the New Testament says 'he knew no sin' (2 Corinthians 5.21); 'he did no sin' (1 Peter 2.22); 'in him is no sin' (1 John 3.5).

 

[Foreigner]

Of course it is literal.

Of what possible value could this be if it was just a parable.

It would call into question what Jesus went through to actually be prepared to conduct His ministry here on earth.

As far as the other questions, Jesus as a man was perfect. The only man in history to ever be.

What exactly is the purpose of benefit of this conversation?