Temptation of Jesus

[Darryl_B]

The temptation of Jesus has three parts.

1. If you are the Son of God Stones to Bread.
2. If you are the Son of God Angels charge of you.
3. Give you kingdom just Bow down and worship.

The first two statements begin with the “If you are the Son of God”. Is the Devil testing Jesus because he is not sure whether Jesus is actually who he claims to be. Angels fallen are not omniscient. Did the Devil know for a fact that Jesus Christ was the Son of God when he asks the question “If you are the Son of God …”

The reason I ask this is Jesus did in fact produce a large amount of bread on at least two occasions but it wasn’t a sin to do this.

The reason I ask this is Jesus did in fact do the same thing when he was lead to a brow of a hill that they would throw him off it, but he passed through the midst of them and went away. It was not a sin to do this. (It is in the same chapter of Luke as the temptation).

It is like there are two questions of determining whether Jesus Christ is in fact the Son of God, and because of his answers the Devil knew he was in fact the Son of God, and then there is one actual temptation which is the similar temptation of Adam (You will have everything).

Thoughts?

 

[Ion]

CCC :475 "Similarly, at the sixth ecumenical council, Constantinople III in 681, the Church confessed that Christ possesses two wills and two natural operations, divine and human. They are not opposed to each other, but co-operate in such a way that the Word made flesh willed humanly in obedience to his Father all that he had decided divinely with the Father and the Holy Spirit for our salvation.110 Christ’s human will “does not resist or oppose but rather submits to his divine and almighty will.”
I think the devil tempted him in order to separate Jesus’s human will from the divine will. First two temptations were trying to make him to assume in his humanity the God’s nature (if you are the Son of God) (first to give up fasting for the sake of his body, second to ignore the natural law for the sake of his pride) and the third one was tempting Jesus human nature with all the worldly glory.

 

[sparkfrompoland]

Of course we know another demon actually said “We know who you are, the Holy One of God” (Mk 1:24)
God Bless
www.divinemercypopes.com

 

[petra22]

The reason I ask this is Jesus did in fact produce a large amount of bread on at least two occasions but it wasn’t a sin to do this.

The reason I ask this is Jesus did in fact do the same thing when he was lead to a brow of a hill that they would throw him off it, but he passed through the midst of them and went away. It was not a sin to do this. (It is in the same chapter of Luke as the temptation).

It is like there are two questions of determining whether Jesus Christ is in fact the Son of God, and because of his answers the Devil knew he was in fact the Son of God, and then there is one actual temptation which is the similar temptation of Adam (You will have everything).

Thoughts?

WOW! I NEVER thought of that before. Thank you for sharing.

 

[FrancisBenedict]

To give bread in compassion as an act of mercy is different from turning stones into bread to prove something.

Jesus may have been tempted more often than we know perhaps he didn’t tell us all the times.

Perhaps he shared with us that he was tempted to show temptation is not a sin and can be overcome.

Jesus never sinned at all in any way.

Pax vobiuscum+

 

[bsroufek]

The temptation of Jesus has three parts.

1. If you are the Son of God Stones to Bread.
2. If you are the Son of God Angels charge of you.
3. Give you kingdom just Bow down and worship.

Jesus was tempted for 40 days in the desert, Scripture says, “in every way”. We only know
of these specific temptations.

Regarding the temptation about Jesus’ Divinity: I’m pretty sure the Devil knew that Jesus is
the Son of God, because the demons knew. Therefore, I think the Devil was trying to get
Jesus to doubt His Divinity due to his suffering circumstance.

 

[FCEGM]

Jesus was tempted for 40 days in the desert, Scripture says, “in every way”. We only know
of these specific temptations.

Regarding the temptation about Jesus’ Divinity: I’m pretty sure the Devil knew that Jesus is
the Son of God, because the demons knew. Therefore, I think the Devil was trying to get
Jesus to doubt His Divinity due to his suffering circumstance.

Satan didn’t know Who Jesus was, though. Satan is not ominiscient. Further, in his fallen state, he is far from wisdom - his overpowering self-love blinds him to it, though he has cunning and is a deceiver. He and his demon minions apparently are aware that Jesus is the Messiah (cf. Mark 1:24), but he has no further insight into the divine nature of the Messiah. Also, he is envious, and when he sees this Man arising in the midst of those he knows are God’s Chosen People, he is on the alert to test this Man to see if he (Satan) must have concern that his power is being overthrown and that lowly man will be raised far beyond the level he himself enjoyed.

So Satan, unaware of Jesus’ full identity (i.e., God Incarnate) but most probably knowing that He is the Messiah, desires Him to sin and presume on the mercy and protection of God. Anyone with an understanding of God’s providential care is sinning through presumption if he places himself deliberately in harm’s way to see if God will respond with His care - especially through a miraculous intervention (the Fundamentalist snake handlers come to mind). Jesus is not about to dance to Satan’s tune.

 

[Darryl_B]

To give bread in compassion as an act of mercy is different from turning stones into bread to prove something.

Jesus may have been tempted more often than we know perhaps he didn’t tell us all the times.

Perhaps he shared with us that he was tempted to show temptation is not a sin and can be overcome.

Jesus never sinned at all in any way.

Pax vobiuscum+

It is my understanding that Jesus Christ could not have sinned. ie he was impeccable. Have I got this correct? The reason I ask is I don’t want to be carrying heresy up my sleeve.

 

[Darryl_B]

Jesus was tempted for 40 days in the desert, Scripture says, “in every way”. We only know
of these specific temptations.

Regarding the temptation about Jesus’ Divinity: I’m pretty sure the Devil knew that Jesus is
the Son of God, because the demons knew. Therefore, I think the Devil was trying to get
Jesus to doubt His Divinity due to his suffering circumstance.

I think the Devil became aware when the Father made a very large public declaration which was spoken at his baptism. Along with the Holy Spirit like a dove.

From then on it was fully known.

 

[FrancisBenedict]

It is my understanding that Jesus Christ could not have sinned. ie he was impeccable. Have I got this correct? The reason I ask is I don’t want to be carrying heresy up my sleeve.

In my opinion:

Jesus Christ by his Divine nature is not capable of sin,
but in his human nature sin was always possible, eg testing God, or else there would have been no temptation
But his divine nature made it impossible.

 

[FCEGM]

In my opinion:

Jesus Christ by his Divine nature is not capable of sin,
but in his human nature sin was always possible, eg testing God, or else there would have been no temptation
But his divine nature made it impossible.

Whatever Jesus did from either His human or divine natures it was God doing it: God was born; God walked the earth; God suffered and God died on the cross. To think that Jesus was capable of sinning is to imply that God Himself could choose other than the good, for it was God doing, thinking, living and loving through the human natureHe assumed.

Consider the doctrine of the Theotokos: Mary is the Mother of God because the Person born of her is Divine. IOW, she didn’t just give birth to Christ’s human nature, but gave birth to a Person. The Son, the Second Person of the Divinity, took upon Himself a human nature; joined to that human nature He is known as Jesus, but there is only one Person who is undivided in Himself while being both God and Man - and it is a person who sins or not, not a nature.

 

[FrancisBenedict]

Whatever Jesus did from either His human or divine natures it was God doing it: God was born; God walked the earth; God suffered and God died on the cross. To think that Jesus was capable of sinning is to imply that God Himself could choose other than the good, for it was God doing, thinking, living and loving through the human nature He assumed.

I fully agree Jesus was fully God.

What I meant was only that it was possible by his human nature but with Divine strength he chose not to and at the same time impossible by his divine nature.Jesus Christ could never sin.

This was a meditation on the possibility of the temptation of Christ out loud if you know what I mean. I don’t believe ever that Jesus Christ could have sinned or ever did its impossible.

 

[bsroufek]

I fully agree Jesus was fully God.

What I meant was only that it was possible by his human nature but with Divine strength he chose not to and at the same time impossible by his divine nature.Jesus Christ could never sin.

This was a meditation on the possibility of the temptation of Christ out loud if you know what I mean. I don’t believe ever that Jesus Christ could have sinned or ever did its impossible.

It’s interesting to note that Satan STILL tempted Jesus even though Satan knew that Jesus was the Son of God. So, Satan has no faith in God.

 

[Oxford_Cleric]

Full disclosure: I know next to nothing about Koine Greek, but I do know something about language and rhetoric in general, and I get the feeling that our English translation “If you are the Son of God…” is too formal. I get a picture of a sneering Satan saying something along the lines of “Oh, so you’re this (airquotes) ‘Son of God’ (airquotes), huh? Prove it!” IMO, probably the worst temptation Jesus faced on Earth was exactly the temptation to let loose his divine power and destroy in flaming fire the hypocrites who were always asking him for a sign, rather than listening to his words and observing his life.

 

[patrick457]

I’d just like to point out another observation.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he vwas hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

===

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus’ ministry is literally bookended with that challenge: “If you are the Son of God…”

 

[Darryl_B]

If you are the son of God, come down from the cross fits in nicely with the second of the two if statements.

The question though is could that be regarded as a temptation? To me temptation requires an evaluation in the head of “Should I shouldn’t I”, an entertainment of a thought long enough to discern two possibilities, one possibilities outcome being sin.

 

[PJM]

=Darryl B;10764975]The temptation of Jesus has three parts.

1. If you are the Son of God Stones to Bread.
2. If you are the Son of God Angels charge of you.
3. Give you kingdom just Bow down and worship.

The first two statements begin with the “If you are the Son of God”. Is the Devil testing Jesus because he is not sure whether Jesus is actually who he claims to be. Angels fallen are not omniscient. Did the Devil know for a fact that Jesus Christ was the Son of God when he asks the question “If you are the Son of God …”

The reason I ask this is Jesus did in fact produce a large amount of bread on at least two occasions but it wasn’t a sin to do this.

The reason I ask this is Jesus did in fact do the same thing when he was lead to a brow of a hill that they would throw him off it, but he passed through the midst of them and went away. It was not a sin to do this. (It is in the same chapter of Luke as the temptation).

It is like there are two questions of determining whether Jesus Christ is in fact the Son of God, and because of his answers the Devil knew he was in fact the Son of God, and then there is one actual temptation which is the similar temptation of Adam (You will have everything).

Thoughts?

Going from a getting old[er] memory; but didn’t Jesus say something about NOT tempting God.

And no, I don’t think at this juncture Satan was positive that it was God.

But by the third incident, it would seem something confirmed that it was.

 

[TimothyH]

The three temptations of Jesus as he spent 40 days in the desert mirror the three temptations of Isreal when they wandered the desert for 40 years. .

The devil knows exactly who Jesus is. He tempts Jesus by questioning his fillial relationship with the Father.

And you shall say to Pharaoh, `Thus says the LORD, Israel is my first-born son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me”; if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your first-born son.’" (Exodus 4:22-23)

God called the nation of Israel his firstborn son, and Israel goes on to question that relationship - whether God will give them provision, protection, and the blessing he promised. Satan questions that relationship, saying “If you really are the son of God…”

Especially in Matthew’s Gospel, the life of Jesus mirrors the life of Israel all through the Old Testament, and the temptations of Jesus as he fasts in the desert 40 days mirrors the three temptations of Israel as they wander in the desert for 40 years. Israel worships the golden calf. Satan tries the same trick, trying to get Jesus to worship him.

The point is that Jesus succeeds where Israel failed.

-Tim-