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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_4:1-4
1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." 4But he answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"
Mat_4:1 "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil" This is an extremely significant verse in that it shows that God's will for Jesus' life was to face temptation (Heb_5:8). This temptation experience related to how Jesus would use His Messianic powers to redeem mankind (the use of first class conditional sentences in Mat_4:3; Mat_4:6).
▣ "was led" In the Mar_1:12 parallel we find the phrase "was driven by the Spirit." This experience was necessary for Jesus (cf. Heb_5:8).
▣ "the wilderness" This referred to the uninhabited pasture land near Jericho. This would have been the kind of territory in which Moses (cf. Exo_34:28), Elijah (cf. 1Ki_19:8) and John the Baptist lived (cf. Mat_3:1).
▣ "tempted" Two terms in the Greek language describe a temptation or test. One has the connotation of "to test with a view toward strengthening" [dokimazo] and the other "to test with a view toward destruction" [peirasmo]. The term used here is the one for destruction (cf. Mat_6:13; Jas_1:13-14). God will never tempt us to destruction, but He often tests us, with a view toward strengthening us (cf. Gen_22:1; Exo_16:4; Exo_20:20; Deu_8:2; Deu_8:16; Deu_13:3; Jdg_2:22; 2Ch_32:31; 1Th_2:4; 1Pe_1:7; 1Pe_4:12-16). Satan tempts to destroy!
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▣ "the devil" In the Old Testament the title of the angelic being who gives mankind a choice is Satan (BDB 966), the accuser (cf. Mar_1:13). In the NT he becomes diabolos (following the LXX) or the devil, which meant slanderer, adversary, or tempter. In the OT he was a servant of God (cf. Job 1-2; 2Ki_22:13-20; 1Ch_21:1; Zec_3:1-2). However, by the time of the New Testament there was an intensification of evil and he has become the arch-enemy of God. One of the best books on the development of evil in the Bible is A. B. Davidson's Old Testament Theology, published by T. and T. Clark, p. 300-06. See Special Topic at Mat_4:5.
Mat_4:2 "after He had fasted" See hyperlink at Mat_6:16.
▣ "forty days and forty nights" Here again Matthew chose a motif from the OT of (1) Moses'forty days and forty nights on Mt. Sinai (cf. Exo_24:18; Exo_34:28; Deu_9:9; Deu_10:10) and (2) Israel wandering in the wilderness for forty years (cf. Num_14:26-35). Matthew saw Jesus as the New Law giver and deliverer (i.e., new exodus).
The term "forty" was used often in the Bible implying it could function both literally (40 years from Egypt to Canaan) and figuratively (the flood). The Hebrews used a lunar calendar. "Forty" implied a long, indefinite period of time longer that a lunar cycle, not exactly forty twenty-four periods.
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▣ "He then became hungry" Fasting involved the absence of food, not water. Some commentators see this as Satan waiting until the end of Jesus' fast when He was weak and tired before approaching Him. Others believe that Satan came during the entire fast. The first option fits the context best.
This also shows the full humanity of the Spirit-filled, Spirit-sent Jesus.
Mat_4:3 "and the tempter" This is a present participle used as a substantive of " to tempt" as in Mat_4:1.
▣ "came and said to Him" These temptations could have been either mental or physical. Based on the fact that Satan will take Him to a high mountain to view all of the kingdoms of the earth in a single instant (Luke parallel), this was probably a vision, but still a personal confrontation between Jesus and Satan.
▣ "If You are the Son of God" Like Mat_4:6, this is a first class conditional sentence which is assumed to be true, at least from the point of view of the author; therefore, it should be translated " since" (instead of "if") for English readers. Satan is not doubting Jesus' Messiahship (i.e., God affirmation in Mat_3:17), but was tempting Him to misuse or abuse His Messianic powers. This grammatical form colors the interpretation of this entire temptation experience (cf. James Stewart's The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ).
▣ "command that these stones become bread" Apparently these rocks in the Judean desert were shaped like loaves of baked bread used in first century Palestine. Satan was tempting Jesus to use His Messianic powers both to meet His personal needs and to win the allegiance of humans by feeding them. In the OT the Messiah was described as feeding the poor (cf. Isa_58:6-7; Isa_58:10). These temptation experiences, to some extent, continued to occur during Jesus' ministry. The feeding of the five thousand (Mat_14:13-21) and of the four thousand (Mat_15:29-33) showed how humans would, and did, abuse God's provision of physical food. This again is parallel to the problems of Israel's wilderness experience. Matthew saw a parallel between Moses and Jesus. The Jews were expecting the Messiah to perform many of the actions of Moses.
Satan's temptation functioned on two levels. The first was the Jewish expectation of the Messiah providing food like Moses (i.e., John 6). The second was the implication that if He was truly God's Son, the Messiah, let Him prove it by "speaking" His will. This obviously refers to creation by the spoken word (Genesis 1). Satan's test was
1. provide human food as Moses did
2. show your power by speaking a miraculous event (note the quote in Mat_4:4 b)
Mat_4:4 "It is written" This is a perfect passive indicative. This was the standard idiomatic way of introducing an inspired quotation from the OT (cf. Mat_4:4; Mat_4:7; Mat_4:10), in this case, from Deu_8:3 from the Septuagint (LXX). This particular quote relates to God providing manna to the children of Israel during the wilderness period:
All of Jesus' responses to Satan's temptations were quotes from Deuteronomy. This must have been one of His favorite books.
1. He quoted repeatedly from it during His temptation by Satan in the wilderness, Mat_4:1-16; Luk_4:1-13.
2. It is possibly the outline behind the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7.
3. Jesus quoted Deu_6:5 as the greatest commandment, Mat_22:34-40; Mar_12:28-34; Luk_10:25-28.
4. Jesus quoted this section of the OT (Genesis - Deuteronomy) most often because the Jews of His day considered it the most authoritative section of the canon.