God’s Word and Temptation

Luke 4:1–13 is not the only place in Scripture that gives us a detailed account of the temptation of Jesus; Matthew 4:1–11 tells us about Satan’s testing of our Lord as well. The two records do not present the temptations as occurring in the same order, but this is not an issue when we consider the conventions of ancient historians. Writers of history in the ancient world would seek to pre­sent events in chronological order, but sometimes they would deviate from an exact chronology to make a particular point. This was a commonly accepted practice, so we should not be surprised that the four Evangelists—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—sometimes do not tell the story of Jesus in strict chronological fashion. For a variety of reasons, many commentators believe that Matthew’s order represents the historical chronology of our Lord’s temptations and that Luke has changed it to make a particular point, closing with a temptation in Jerusalem as a pointer that Jesus’ whole course of ministry would reach a climax in the City of David.

Satan’s temptation in today’s passage involves taking Jesus to the pinnacle of the Jerusalem temple and telling Him to cast Himself down, for God promises to guard His people with His angels and so He would certainly protect Jesus, His very own Son, from harm (Luke 4:9–11). The devil even quotes Scripture to bolster his argument, citing Psalm 91:11–12. Yet it is one thing to know that the Lord watches out for His people but quite another to endanger oneself purposefully to see if He will keep His words. It is actually an act of unbelief to put God to the test in such ways, for those who trust the Lord rest in His protection and do not actively demand that He prove Himself. They take Him at His word, and so the promises in His Word are enough. Jesus refuted Satan, and so he left (Luke 4:12–13).

Today’s passage warns us that Satan will twist Scripture, reading it in a superficial way so that we miss its full significance. Promises of God’s protection exist to give us assurance, not so that we will test Him, and the devil perverted the Lord’s promises to test Jesus. Our Lord, however, knew Scripture truly and did not want to twist God’s Word, so He saw right through Satan’s ruse, giving us a model to follow. John Calvin comments, “The Son of God, who is the universal model of all the godly, chose to undergo this contest in his own person, that all may be industriously on their guard against being led, by a false application of Scripture, into the snares of Satan.”