The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.
Angels Ministering to Christ in the Wilderness, Cole Thomas, 1843.
Exactly what the devil was trying to achieve by these temptations has been open to debate. The traditional view is that the devil on each occasion is trying to make Jesus commit a particular sin - avarice by offering power over the kingdoms of the world, gluttony by suggesting a way to relieve Jesus' hunger, and hubris by suggesting that Jesus jump and rely on angels to break his fall. Most modern scholars do not accept this view, Jones for example noting that calling someone who has fasted for forty days gluttonous simply because they now desire food is really not very fair.
Another view popular for a time was that the devil wasn't so much tempting Jesus as presenting him with the different options he could take to be a Messiah, and making him choose one. Evangelicals point to the word usually translated as tempt as being more accurately translated as test, i.e. that the devil was testing Jesus' understanding of his role rather than trying to lure him to sin. Rejected options under this interpretation are:
Someone who rescues the poor and needy from their hardships, as manifested by feeding the hungry.
A magician and miracle worker who wins converts by spectacular acts, as manifested by surviving a jump from a high pinnacle. That the devil places Jesus in a very public location, rather than the numerous high pinnacles in the desert, gives credence to this view.
A political liberator from the oppression of the Romans, as manifested by having power over the kingdoms of the world.
The majority viewpoint amongst scholars is that Matthew is here presenting Jesus as a new Moses, since not only is the devil described as tempting Jesus in a manner similar to the Israelites tempting God, but Jesus is presented as responding with Moses' own words. It is worth noting that while the Israelites accepts each situation, Jesus refuses to be tempted:
The offer of power over the kingdoms of the world mirrors Moses being sent to the top of Mount Nebo, where Yahweh shows him Jericho and Canaan, and then promises them to the Israelites if the Israelites worship Yahweh.
The feeding of the hungry parallels the period of the Exodus where the Israelites wander hungry in the desert, and harass Yahweh so much by their complaints that food is eventually provided for them, by supernatural means.
The jumping from a pinnacle presents something which would test God's abilities, paralleling the Israelites behaviour in the desert where they tested God
There remains the question of the validity of the temptations offered Jesus. As the Son of God, He would able to attain any of these desires (temporal power, magics, etc) without the aid of the Devil. He was, in essense, being tempted with offers that He already had in His hand.
Another view popular for a time was that the devil wasn't so much tempting Jesus as presenting him with the different options he could take to be a Messiah, and making him choose one. Evangelicals point to the word usually translated as tempt as being more accurately translated as test, i.e. that the devil was testing Jesus' understanding of his role rather than trying to lure him to sin. Rejected options under this interpretation are:
Someone who rescues the poor and needy from their hardships, as manifested by feeding the hungry.
A magician and miracle worker who wins converts by spectacular acts, as manifested by surviving a jump from a high pinnacle. That the devil places Jesus in a very public location, rather than the numerous high pinnacles in the desert, gives credence to this view.
A political liberator from the oppression of the Romans, as manifested by having power over the kingdoms of the world.
The majority viewpoint amongst scholars is that Matthew is here presenting Jesus as a new Moses, since not only is the devil described as tempting Jesus in a manner similar to the Israelites tempting God, but Jesus is presented as responding with Moses' own words. It is worth noting that while the Israelites accepts each situation, Jesus refuses to be tempted:
The offer of power over the kingdoms of the world mirrors Moses being sent to the top of Mount Nebo, where Yahweh shows him Jericho and Canaan, and then promises them to the Israelites if the Israelites worship Yahweh.
The feeding of the hungry parallels the period of the Exodus where the Israelites wander hungry in the desert, and harass Yahweh so much by their complaints that food is eventually provided for them, by supernatural means.
The jumping from a pinnacle presents something which would test God's abilities, paralleling the Israelites behaviour in the desert where they tested God
There remains the question of the validity of the temptations offered Jesus. As the Son of God, He would able to attain any of these desires (temporal power, magics, etc) without the aid of the Devil. He was, in essense, being tempted with offers that He already had in His hand.
publié par C.R. à
10:10 PM
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