Matthew 4

v1

I'm not sure why this takes place in the desert. My imagination is that it's this big confrontation between two powerful people, and so it needs to take place in the middle of nowhere to save people from all the explosions.

v2

It's funny, but to me the preparation for facing a big challenge would not be to fast, it would be to do the opposite and make sure I was well fed and energised. But fasting is one of those things that people have oft used to focus themselves. I'm not sure exactly what kind of fasting it was they did back then. Thinking of it as 'no food or water' is not helpful, because it's rarely that (I think the thing the Jews wanting to kill Paul do is like that, but it's more a vow than a fast). But it does say "40 days and 40 nights", which discounts the sort of Ramadan fasting of only during the day.

The point is that Jesus is hungry. A pretty normal human emotion after fasting for 40 days.

v3

This first temptation seems to be related to questioning whether Jesus is really the son of God. How many people have said to me over the years, "If God is real, he should just prove it to me right now by doing X"? I hadn't realised till now that this is pretty much the exact same question that "the tempter" puts to Jesus here. It's also related to food, because as is stated before, Jesus is hungry.

v4

And I think the answer is actually the same now as it was then. It's not that bread isn't important, and it's not that proof isn't important too - Jesus does plenty of miracles, and actually becomes transfigured in front of the Three - but the important thing is what God says. God says Jesus is his son. That's what you should pay attention to. Yes, I know there are trust issues there for modern people that aren't there for the devil(he knows), but there is in my opinion more than sufficient evidence for the reliability and trustworthiness of the scriptures to scaffold a faith in God and his word. Rarely is someone's objection purely logical.

v5

I have often wondered if anyone saw Jesus standing on the top of the temple and they were like, "He's gunna jump!" I don't know. This could have all happened in Jesus' head for all I know.

v6

What is the temptation here? It's very similar. The question is once again "If you're the son of God". But now instead of relying on his own power to do things, it's relying on God's power to do things. Instead of, "If you're the son of God, do this," it's, "If you're the son of God, God will do this for you."

The way the devil twists the words of scripture is quite informative. For one, there's a big difference from doing something that needs to be done and being kept safe, and doing something unnecessarily reckless and being kept safe. The fact is that Jesus does throw himself off a metaphorical temple roof - he puts himself in the hands of God's enemies and is crucified and dies. And God does rescue him from that by raising him from the dead.

v7

There's also the obvious element of testing, which Jesus refers to here. If the only purpose of jumping off the temple is to see if God will fulfill his promise, then that's not really faithful. What kind of messiah wouldn't have faith in God to save him when he really needs it?

v8

This is what makes me think that it's in Jesus' head, because I'm pretty sure there is no mountain where you can see all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. The argument about whether the devil showed Jesus in his mind or on big TV screens on the top of a mountain, or if they both used their superpowers, is pretty moot anyway I would hope.

v9

It's kind of strange that the devil offers this to Jesus. Firstly, can he even do this? I think the answer is yeah, kinda. After all, he is the ruler of the power of the air. I often get focused on comparing Satan's power to God's, which of course makes Satan look pretty pants. But he is still by no means powerless. He has been given authority over some things, so earthly kingdoms is a thing he could put Jesus in charge of. I think this is appealing to a human desire (who doesn't want to be lauded as royalty?), but also there is a godly desire here too: God really wants all the kingdoms of the earth to bow before him.

v10

But therein lies the rub: Satan's job is not to be bowed to. God alone is the one to be worshipped and served. This is most probably the most common temptation that we face today, and it's disturbing how often we all fail. But then, that's what Jesus came for.

v11

Satan is hence defeated by Jesus in their preliminary bout. Funnily enough, angels do come and attend him just as Satan promised in verse 6. God does have a sense of humour.