Scripture Passages

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

• Matthew 4:1-11

At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

• Mark 1:12-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you carefully;
they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

• Luke 4:1-13

Chronological Study Bible Notes

The Temptation of Jesus

“In all three Synoptics Jesus’ temptation is not that of any ordinary individual, but of the Messiah, the Spirit-anointed Servant and Son of God (Ps. 2:7; Is. 42:1), as the heavenly voice affirmed at His baptism (Matt. 3:17). The Spirit led Jesus to face the question of what kind of Messiah He would be.
“During the Intertestamental Period many Jews had come to believe that somehow Satan had wrested from God control of this earth. Thus, when Jesus emerged victorious from His test by Satan, He could announce the good news of the nearness of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:15; Matt. 4:17), the messianic age (Luke 4:14–22), or the age of the Spirit (John 4:23, 24; 7:37–39).
“The order of the three temptations is different in Matthew and Luke. Matthew’s order moves toward a more logical climax: ‘turn stones to bread’ (Matt. 4:3); ‘throw Yourself from the temple’ (4:6); ‘give You all things’ (4:9). Luke’s order, making the temple the last temptation, moves Jesus once again toward His destiny in Jerusalem: ‘turn stone to bread’ (Luke 4:3); ‘give You all things’ (4:6, 7); ‘throw Yourself from the temple’ (4:9). See ‘Jesus’ Final Journey’ at Matt. 8:18.”

• Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible

Other Commentary

Jesus’ Affirmed as God’s Messiah (Matthew 4:1-2)

The Spirit was responsible for both the encounter and the 40-day fast. The Biblical concept of “tempting” is a testing to demonstrate genuineness, faithfulness, and character (see Heb 2, Temptation). Jesus did not pretend to be tempted; his temptation was real. These temptations affirmed his qualification to be God’s Messiah and our Redeemer.

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Ann W. Bowman, Gospels and Acts contributor)

“Immediately” (Mark 1:12)

See … v. 10. Jesus’ temptation came right after His baptism. the Spirit drove Him. Compelled by the Spirit, Jesus confronted Satan and took the first step toward overthrowing his evil kingdom (cf. 1 John 3:8). Though God tempts no one (James 1:13), He sometimes sovereignly permits Satan to tempt His people (e.g., Job; Luke 22:31, 32). the wilderness. The exact location of Jesus’ encounter with Satan is unknown. It most likely would have been the same wilderness where John lived and ministered (see note on v. 4), the desolate region farther S, or the arid Arabian desert across the Jordan.

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

My Thoughts

Jesus’ Genealogy

There are two genealogies of Jesus and they are different.  In the Chronological Bible, they list Luke’s genealogy between the baptism of Jesus and the temptation of Jesus due to its location in the book of Luke and the words to the effect that Jesus’ ministry has started.

But the Matthew genealogy starts with Abraham and ends with Joseph.  This is a kingly line, and it is said to be the genealogy through Joseph.  Joseph, husband of Mary, did not fertilize the egg that grew to become the baby Jesus, but he acted as the father of Jesus, a kingly line.

The Luke genealogy is said to be the genealogy of Mary, thus Mary’s father.  It starts with Mary’s father and goes back to Nathan, son of David.  Nathan was a son of Bathsheba, just as Solomon had been.  Luke’s genealogy goes back to Adam, son of God.

Some people argue whether Adam and Eve were saved.  They obviously passed down the blood sacrifice requirements to Cain and Abel, but I heard a pastor argue that Luke would not have said “Adam, son of God,” if Adam was not saved.

Jesus is Tempted

The three synoptic gospels all speak of the temptation in the wilderness.  Where this wilderness was is unknown.  The forty days corresponds to the forty years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness.

Jesus was guided by the Holy Spirit.  He was very hungry when “the tempter”, the “devil”, or Satan made three attempts to lure Jesus into sin.

Mark gives no details.  If you only read the Mark and Luke accounts, you might think Jesus was tempted by Satan for the entire 40 days.  But Matthew makes it seem that Satan only appeared once that Jesus was hungry, thus His human side would be weaker.

There could have been a lot of temptations.  Satan could have tempted the entire time.  Or these might have been a representative sample of the temptations.  There are three temptations recorded and there might have been many more, but these are significant due to their symbolism.

Jesus is offered stones that could become bread to eat.  Esau sold his birthright due to being hungry and his stomach was more important than the birthright at that moment.  We can have such lusts of the flesh, anything that satisfies the urges and sensations of the body.

Jesus was tempted with jumping from the temple so that the angels would attend Him.  We are tempted in many ways to bolster our pride or to sin due to the sin of envy or jealousy when someone else is lifted up and we are not.

Jesus was promised the world would bow down to Him if He bowed to Satan.  We are tempted with Power, Fame, Status.  Have you heard a child say that he got a gold star while you only got a red one?  We notice such things and are tempted to use them as power over others.

In each case, Jesus quoted Scripture.

And what caused Satan to leave Jesus alone?  Mark does not say.  Luke says that Satan left to find a more opportune time.  And Matthew says that Jesus told Satan to leave.  But Mark says nothing about what Jesus said and Luke could have left out that detail.  These are not contradictions, just a different way of telling the same story.

Matthew and Mark speak of the angels coming to attend Jesus, but not in Luke.  The temptations were over – for that more opportune moment – so maybe in Luke’s point of view, the angels attending Jesus were not part of the temptation story.

As for John, he does not mention the temptation.  He next goes to the calling of some of the disciples.  That will be in the next installment.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.