Lent 1- Jesus is tempted by the Devil
I thought it might be interesting to consider how some of the Church Fathers looked at this. (There were Mothers, but they didn’t really write anything that we still have). Generally, The Church Father saw Scripture as having a layered interpretations. So you could read a passage literally, which means the plain meaning of the text- (we might say the surface reading). Then there was the moral sense, which was a way of applying the passage to the individual believer’s life, often this meant a moral lesson learned. And the spiritual sense is a symbolic way of reading the text that might connect with other parts of Scripture, or might express allegorical meanings that aren’t obvious on a surface reading.
First, the Devil came and said to Jesus,
"If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But [Jesus] answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
In this temptation the Church Fathers saw the lure of prioritizing physical pleasure over spiritual needs. This would be the moral interpretation. We might rather sit on the couch eating potato chips, than spend time in prayer. There is something immediately gratifying about eating chips and being entertained. If we are honest, we don’t always feel like prayer has a similar immediate gratification. It isn’t like it never happens when we are praying, but it’s not the same kind of immediate gratification that you get from chips and watching your favourite show.
But the gratification from eating chips is very short lived, and if we eat too many, we might end up not feeling well. If we watch too much TV, we can end up feeling pretty gross too. So, there is a gratification in the immediate moment, but when the chips are gone and we turn off the TV, the gratification is gone too. … While we might not always feel the immediate gratification of our spiritual practices, the full fruit of our spiritual practices will be felt cumulatively over a lifetime and into eternity.
Here, we learn a lesson about self-control and the mastery over bodily appetites. The practice of fasting disciplines the body against the desires of the flesh, and teaches us to focus on God over the ‘noise’ of our fleshly desires.
In this temptation, the Church Fathers also saw Jesus’ refusal to misuse his divine power for his own personal gain. Instead, he practiced self-restraint and trust in his Heavenly Father’s provision. This would be more of a literal interpretation.
St. John Chrysostom saw this temptation as mirroring the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden. They too were tempted by Satan with food. Jesus’ overcoming of this temptation overcomes that temptation in the Garden. This would be a spiritual interpretation. St. John says,
“In this way the devil begins his temptation with the necessity of the belly. Mark well the craft of that wicked demon. Note at what precise point he begins his assault and how well he remembers what he does best. For it was by this same means that he cast out the first man and then encompassed him with thousands of other evils. Now by the same means here he again weaves his deceit: the temptation to indulge the belly.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 13.3)
For the second temptation, we read, “the devil took [Jesus] to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you,” and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’”
So, the temptation here is for Jesus to publicly throw himself off the top of the Temple and trust that angels will catch him. This will show to the Temple elite that Jesus is the Messiah.
In this temptation the Church Fathers see a warning against spiritual pride, vanity, and presumption. Ego can influence the spiritual life. We can use spiritual practices like public prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to inflate our ego, using these holy practices to show off and impress others, which Jesus warns us about in Matthew 6. Practices meant to soften and reshape our soul can be taken over by our ego and used to inflate our sense of self-importance.
This also stands as a warning against demanding God’s miraculous protection while putting ourselves in recklessly dangerous situations. It is a presumptuous demand that uses God like a personal bodyguard who can be commanded to act on our behalf. On the contrary, we are called to a humble and steadfast faithfulness to God. We trust God to act when and how He sees fit. We are His servants. He isn’t our servant.
In the first two temptations the Devil says, “If you are the son of God…”. Part of the temptation here is for Jesus to prove who he is. But Jesus refuses to use his power that way. That would be vanity- it would be self-glorification. His divine power is not meant for his own personal validation.
St. John Chrysostom sees another echo of the temptation of Adam and Eve. When the Devil tempted Adam and Eve he used food, just as he tempted Jesus with food. The Devil also tempted Adam and Eve by causing them to doubt God; when he Tempted Jesus, he tried to make him doubt the voice he recently heard at his baptism that said, “this is my beloved Son”. He is trying to provoke doubt about what God said about who Jesus is.
Chrysostom says,
“What can the reason be that with each temptation the devil adds, ‘if you are the Son of God’? He is acting just like he did in the case of Adam, when he disparaged God by saying, ‘in the day you eat, your eyes will be opened.’ So he does in this case, intending thereby to signify that our first parents had been beguiled and outsmarted and had received no benefit. So even in the temptation of Jesus he insinuates the same thing, saying, ‘in vain God has called you Son and has beguiled you by this gift. For, if this is not so, give us some clear proof that you are from that power.’ …” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 13.4)The devil’s repeated phrase “If you are the Son of God” is not curiosity - it is accusation, provocation, and an attempt to reproduce the fall of Adam by undermining trust in the one Jesus calls “Father”.
In the third temptation we read,
“Again, the devil took [Jesus] to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”’”In this temptation the Church Fathers saw the temptation of power and earthly glory. Jesus doesn’t prioritize worldly power. Jesus says that his kingdom is not of this world, and the saints who follow him will show a pattern of renouncing worldly power and possessions in order to gain spiritual riches. In a sense, they lose their earthly life, so that they can gain spiritual and eternal life. So, spiritual welfare is always to be prioritized over worldly gain.
I would like to read something from St. Gregory the Great where he relates these temptations to the temptation of Adam in the garden. It is a bit lengthy, but he has an interesting summary of these temptations. He says,
“If we look at the progression of his temptation, we see how great the struggle was that set us free from temptation. Our ancient enemy rose up against the first human being, our ancestor, in three temptations. He tempted him by gluttony, by vain ambition and by avarice. And he overcame [Adam] when tempted, because he subjugated him through consent. He tempted him by gluttony when he showed him the forbidden food of the tree and told him, “Taste it.” He tempted him by vain ambition when he said, “you will be like gods.” He tempted him by adding avarice when he said, “knowing good and evil.” Avarice [greed] is concerned not only with money but also with high position. We rightly call it avarice when we seek high position beyond measure. … The devil drew our ancestor to pride by enticing him with an avaricious longing for exaltation.I hope this didn’t feel too scattered. My hope was to give a taste of how the Early Church looked at this reading.
“But the means by which he overcame the first man were the same ones that caused him to yield when he tempted the second Adam [that is Jesus]. The devil tempted him by gluttony when he said, “tell these stones to become bread.” He tempted him by vain ambition when he said, “if you are the son of God, cast yourself down.” He tempted him by an avaricious desire for high position when “he showed him all the kingdoms of the world, saying, ‘I will give you all these if you will fall down and worship me.’” But the devil is overcome by the second man [Jesus] in the same way as he boasted of overcoming the first man [Adam]. He exits our heart at the same juncture where he first made his earliest inroads.” (Forty Gospel Homilies 16.2-3)
Temptation often comes disguised as something good- food- the confirmation of our identity- and the power to influence and change society. But the temptation invites us to seek these good things outside of God’s loving plan. … Christ’s victory in the wilderness shows us the faithful way through temptation by returning again and again to faithfulness to God. … Lent is not about willpower alone; it is about faithfulness. It is about learning to grow in our trust in God. Lent is an opportunity to face our temptations and, through the grace of God, to grow as we battle with them. And we know that when we fall, God is eager to forgive and restore us. AMEN.
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