Lessons from the Desert

Scripture passage: Matthew 4:1-11

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

Commentary

Led by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus was alone and He fasted for forty days. Jesus seemed vulnerable and Satan came to tempt Him.

Point (1) The devil tempts us when we are physically, mentally and spiritually weak and vulnerable.

Satan’s objective was to thwart God’s plan of salvation which Jesus, the Son, intended to carry out; this plan will ultimately lead to Jesus’ suffering and death on the Cross, and to His Resurrection. One key element of this plan of salvation was the obedience of the Son to the Father’s will: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.”(cf. Matthew 26:39).

Therefore, Satan tried to undermine this obedience. Jesus repudiated the attacks of Satan, and Satan left Him until an opportune time. Later on, Satan would use Simon Peter to tempt Jesus in giving up God’s plan of salvation, but Jesus would rebuke Satan again, saying: “Get behind me, Satan!” (cf. Matthew 16:23).

Point (2) The devil tries to tempt us again and again. 

The temptation of Christ vis-à-vis the temptation of Adam and Eve

  • The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes and desirable for gaining wisdom; so, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Gen 3:6)
  • Adam and Eve gave in to temptation because of what they thought to gain in addition to everything that God had already given them. In the case of Jesus, He was hungry but He still rebuked Satan and said, “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

Point (3) The devil tempts us to want more than what God has already given us.

  • The woman said to the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’ But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.” (Gen 3:2-5)
  • Adam and Eve put God to the test by doubting what God had told them and by disobeying God. When we think that there are no consequences each time we disobey God’s commandments, we put God to the test.  We presume that God will look the other way or that we will be forgiven anyway. Jesus rebuked Satan and said, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” (Matthew 4:7)

Point (4) The devil tempts us to doubt God and to think that there are no consequences to committing sin.

  • Adam and Eve thought that they will become like God. They sought to be “wise” but ended up knowing that they were “naked.” They sought to proudly stand up to God, but in their nakedness, they ended up humiliated before God. Jesus rebuked Satan and said, “The Lord, your God, shall you worship and Him alone shall you serve.” (Matthew 4:10)

Point (5) The devil tempts us to think that we know what’s good for us, just as much as God does, or even that we know more than God. 

Church teaching  

The catechism points out that Jesus, by remaining obedient to the Father, is the new Adam; in contrast to Adam in Genesis, who had given in to temptation and disobeyed God.  Jesus’ victory over the tempter in the desert anticipates His victory over His suffering and death, which is the supreme act of obedience and love for the Father. (CCC 539)

Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil (cf. Matthew 4:1). When we pray the Our Father and say, “Do not lead us into temptation,” what does that mean? The catechism tells us that it means both “do not allow us to enter into temptation” and “do not let us yield to temptation.” By praying “lead us not into temptation,” we ask God not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. God does not force us to be good or to do good, but He wants us to choose freely. (CCC 2846-2847) Given this gift of freedom, it is up to us to choose to serve God or someone else; this someone else could be something like money, power or prestige, or even ourselves. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24). 

Questions for reflection 

  1. In what ways can we be obedient to God? 
  2. In what ways can we avoid or overcome temptation?  
  3. In what ways can we serve God?