“get away Satan!”
First Temptation of Jesus
Why did Satan tempt him to change some stones to loaves of bread? Why would this prove Jesus was the Son of God? By performing this miracle, Jesus would have shown Satan that he has divine power by fulfilling an ordinary means (his hunger) by performing a miraculous mean (changing the stone into bread).
Why doesn’t Jesus change the stones into bread? The main reason why Jesus refrains from changing the stones to bread is to follow only the will of the Father. By him changing the stones to bread he would be following not only his own will of the flesh, but also obeying Satan and not his Father. He shows us that although it is fine to satisfy ordinary needs with ordinary means, but it does no good to fulfill them with miraculous means. “Jesus does not fulfill his mission by providing for basic physical necessities, but by proclaiming the word that is life.” [1] As St. Jose Maria Escriva said, “How generous Our Lord is in humbling himself and fully accepting his human condition! He does not use his divine power to escape from difficulties or avoid effort.” [2]
This first temptation in today’s Gospel teaches us too be extra watchful over ourselves and over those whom we have a close relationship with, and those that we have an obligation to help in their moments of weakness and tiredness: to be alert when we ourselves are going through a bad patch. It is at those moments that the devil chooses to tempt us more fiercely, so that we may turn our lives away from God’s will and follow a different path. [3]
What does Jesus mean by “One does not live on bread alone”? This quote is from Deuteronomy which reads, “He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and the fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that come forth from the mouth of the Lord.” [4] Jesus is teaching us while our bodies live off of bread; it is the Bread of Life from God that gives us eternal life. It should be no surprise this is a precursor to his Bread of Life discourse in which Jesus tells us that “I am the Bread of Life”. [5] “Man’s life is far more dependent on the will of God than on material food. If we are convinced of this truth, we shall have the courage to submit to privations, trusting in divine Providence for our sustenance.” [6]
Second Temptation of Jesus
What is a parapet? It is a low, protective part of the wall along the edge of a roof, bridge, or balcony. Looking at the temple in Christ’s time, we do not have a certain position as to where he may have stood. The best guess would be on the SE corner of the temple. [7]
Why did he choose the temple? Probably because the temple was in the heart of Jerusalem. Thousands of people could have witness the miracle of him jumping off, but not killing himself.
Why did Satan want Jesus to throw himself off the temple? Satan is very cunning when he proposes this to Jesus. If Jesus refuses, then he shows he does not trust God completely; on the flip side if he accepts, then it proves that God is with Jesus. [8] It is good to note here that again of how although Satan is smart and cunning, he lacks all knowledge because if Jesus were to have thrown himself off the ledge, he would not have needed angels to catch him, he could control himself under his own power.
Where did Satan get his verse? The verse used by Satan is from the Psalms “No evil shall befall you, nor shall affliction come near your tent, for to his angels he has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways.” [9] As mentioned before, Satan is extremely smart, and is able to recite scripture in order to try and confuse us. Although Satan quotes scripture, he is the father of lies and does not quote scripture in full, but only half, half-truths. Psalm 91, which is the scripture that Satan quotes to Jesus, is prayed each Sunday night in the Liturgy of the Hours during Night Prayer. Satan quotes the following, “Upon you no evil shall fall, no plague approach where you dwell. For you has he commanded his angels, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you upon their hands lest you strike your foot against a stone.” Satan stops here and rightly so, because the next line prophecies Christ’s ultimate victory. “On the lion and the viper you will tread and trample the young lion and the dragon.” Satan is described by Saint Peter as “a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” [10] He is described as the viper in the garden, a viper which will have his head crushed by the seed of the woman. [11] He is described in Revelation as the dragon who “was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring.” [12] We must always be cautious of those who, like Satan, quote a portion of scripture, especially in the service of their own agenda.
Why did Jesus rebuttal with his verse? Again, Jesus uses Deuteronomy to rebuke Satan, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah.” [13] Jesus reminds us it is a sin to try and test the will of God. To explicitly be tempting God outright in order to do something, for example an atheist demanding if their is a God to strike him or her dead in five minutes, is always a grave sin. [14]
Why did Jesus not jump? “Such a miracle would have aroused the admiration and enthusiasm of the people, but Jesus knew that His Father had chosen an entirely different way for Him - the way of humiliations rather than of triumphs, the way of the Cross ‘where our Lord will hear a similar proposition, with an almost identical text, at the end of his life on earth: He is the king of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. [15]’ [16] and of death. Because He had no desire to escape from this way, He resolutely rejected the suggestion to pride.” [17] The best way to conquer temptations of pride and vanity is to choose exactly the opposite, which is humility. We must trust in what God reveals to us in our everyday lives, which is sufficient.
Third Temptation of Jesus
Why does Satan tempt Jesus with the world? Why would this be enticing? This would be a “short cut” if you will for Jesus. This would be like taking the chance card on Monopoly and getting “go straight to go and collect $200”. His mission is to save all mankind, and to have His kingdom reign over us. Satan is the ruler of the world has that power to make all this happen if Jesus submitted to him.
Why would Satan ask Jesus to worship him? By ordering Jesus to worship him, Satan shows his power and destroys God’s plan again as he did with Adam and Eve. However, Jesus is God made flesh, and cannot be deceived nor corrupted by Satan. Thus not only he rebukes him, Jesus had the power to send Satan away.
What verse does Jesus use? Once again, for the final time Jesus uses Deuteronomy to rebuke Satan, “The Lord, your God, shall you fear; him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear.” [18] Jesus shows us that by placing our worship and adoration in worldly things rather than in God alone, we are in sin.
Why did Jesus say no? Jesus knows that while Satan controls all the temporal power, he came to bring eternal power. He did not come so that he can control the nations through political or secular power, but by Divine power. Through his refusal he demonstrates we too must keep temptation of Satan as far away as possible.
What can we do to keep temptation away? While Jesus was willed by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, we are not. We are tempted without willing it upon ourselves. In fact there is nothing we can do to stop from ever being tempted again. We will always be tempted until the day we die. What should we do? We should always have complete confidence in God. Jesus did not let himself satisfy his hunger, or perform a miracle to impress everyone, or to submit to secular power, but followed the will of his Father. Those of us who trust fully in God and rely on his Providence will receive true blessings and real happiness. [19]
What should we do when we find our self tempted to sin? When we find our self tempted to sin we should make the sign of the cross on our heart, and call on God as earnestly as we can, saying, “Lord, save me, or I perish.” [20]
Is it a sin to be tempted? No. We know that it is not a sin to be tempted because Jesus was tempted and Jesus was without sin.
Why does God allow us to be tempted? As Saint James wrote, “Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him” [21] God allows temptation to happen to us because he gives us the gift of free will. If he were to not allow temptations to come then he would constrict our free will. It also allows us to realize that we are nothing without God’s grace, and by choosing God and not the falling into temptation we will be blessed with the “crown of life”. “Temptations are very profitable to man, troublesome and grievous though they may be, for in them a man is humbled, purified and instructed.” [22] Remember the Devil is never permitted to tempt us beyond our strength. [23] We will always have enough grace to overcome the devil which, at root, means that we have the grace to pray for light to recognize the evil spirit and strength to resist his advances. [24] “He allows temptation, and uses it providentially to purify you, to make you holy, to detach you more from the things of earth, to lead you where He is and by the route he wants you to take, so as to give you maturity, understanding and effectiveness in your apostolic work with souls, and ... above all, to make you humble, very humble. [25] “To tempt is nothing other than to test or to prove. To tempt a man is to test or try his virtue.” [26] The virtue of everyone is tested, no one is exempt.
A priest once referred to temptations as a flea on a dog. [27] A flea does no harm to the dog, but it still drives the dog crazy with itching and scratching. For us temptation is like that flea or a little nat that keeps flying close to your ear. The temptation on it’s own can do no harm to your soul, but can seem unbearable to handle and be extremely annoying.
What else can we do from falling into temptation?
We must be in constant prayer. Pray without ceasing! [28] We must “Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation. [29] Prayer is an essential means to keep temptation at bay. We should always keep the petition in the Our Father on our lips in times of temptation, “lead us not into temptation” [30] We must also not be so prideful in knowing when to flee from the occasions of sin. [31]
For some of us, we fall into temptation when we are not engaged into something, or in other words being lazy. We can also fill our time with good and holy things; spend time with the family, hang out with good friends that won’t lead us into temptations, work hard at our jobs, study more on our faith, our profession, or school, and to indulge in wholesome social outings.
What if we fall into temptation? Today’s Responsorial reminds us to ask for forgiveness and mercy from God, “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.” [32] The devil loves to keep us down once we are in sin. He wants us to think we are no good to God anymore, and there is no point to repenting. These are all lies. God wants nothing more than for us to repent, confess our sins, and be reconciled with Him.
The temptations of Jesus al touch upon his Messianic mission...The temptation comes not to him but to the Church, which carries on his mission. The elaboration of the temptation story by Matthew has an ecclesial purpose. The spiritual dangers that threaten the integrity of the mission of the Church have already been met by Jesus himself; he has shown how the Church must overcome them.” [33]
[1] Jerome Biblical Commentary pg. 69
[2] J. Escriva, loc cit
[3] In Conversation with God vol. 2 5.2
[4] Dt 8:3
[5] John 6:35
[6] Divine Intimacy pg. 288
[7] Jerome Biblical Commentary pg. 69
[8] In Conversation with God vol. 2 5.2
[9] Ps 91:10-11
[10] 1 Peter 5:8-9
[11] Genesis 3:15
[12] Revelation 12:17
[13] Dt. 6:16
[14] Dictionary of the Catholic Church 534
[15] Matt 27:42
[16] In Conversation with God vol. 2 5.2
[17] Divine Intimacy pg. 288
[18] Dt. 6:13
[19] Divine Intimacy pg. 289
[20] The Penny Catechism; Question 365
[21] James 1:12
[22] Imitation of Christ; Book 1, Chapter 13 (Eighth Day of the Total Consecration )
[23] Catechism of the council of Trent pg. 375
[24] The Catholic Catechism pg. 88
[25] S. Canals, Jesus as Friend
[26] Saint Thomas Aquinas; The Catechetical Instructions; The Our Father
[27] The Magnifact vol. 12, No. 13 pg. 178
[28] 1 Thes. 5:17
[29] Matt 26:41
[30] Matthew 6:13
[31] In Conversation with God vol. 2 5.3
[32] Psalm 51
[33] Jerome Biblical Commentary pg. 69