Context Mattered to Jesus, part 2

After Jesus was baptized by John, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for a showdown. Because he was hungry after a 40-day fast, Satan suggested he turn stones into bread. In the previous post in this series, we looked at the way Jesus turned back this temptation by quoting from Deuteronomy 8.

Satan then took Jesus to the top of the temple in Jerusalem and proposed a free fall. The devil quoted from Psalm 91, indicating that God had promised to protect Jesus no matter what. We have already examined this misuse of Scripture in detail, so in this article we will take a close look at Jesus’s response.

The Context of Jesus’s Response

In reply to the devil’s temptation, we read this.

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:7)

This quotation comes from Deuteronomy 6:16. The larger context is worth discussing at length. In the midst of a second giving of the law, God gave his people instructions for their new life in the promised land they would shortly enter.

You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised. (Deuteronomy 6:16–19)

Note that the primary example of Israel testing the Lord is at Massah. This narrative is found in Exodus 17:1–7.

God brought Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. He protected, provided for, and liberated his people in miraculous ways. But when they faced a water shortage at Rephidim, the people quarreled with Moses and grumbled against him. Moses feared he would be stoned (Ex 17:4)! Finally, God provided water from the rock at Horeb when Moses struck it with his staff.

It’s easy to see how Israel complained about God. How exactly did they test him? Moses tells us.

And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7)

One of the foundational aspects of the Exodus story is that God heard the cries of his oppressed people and vowed to free them. With numerous and precious promises, God told Israel that he remembered his covenant and would be their people (Ex 6:2–8). He traveled with them as a pillar of cloud and fire; they knew his awesome and mighty presence with them (Ex 13:21–22).

And yet, the people doubted their God. They thirsted and thought God was either absent or uncaring, both of which thoughts they had more than ample evidence to dismiss.

We’ve now dug down two layers—how exactly is this related to Jesus’s temptation?

A Fuller Meaning

One on level, Jesus’s meaning is clear. Satan wants Jesus to test God’s willingness to rescue him. Jesus refuses. The sort of rescue Satan proposes is artificial and boastful; God promises his protection for those who love him, not as a form of theater.

But the full context of Jesus’s reply gives even more weight to his meaning. Jesus will not forget his Father’s promises or his presence. He will not doubt God’s ability or willingness to provide exactly what is needed at the proper time. And, of course, he will need to trust the Lord for the greatest rescue of all time.

That rescue will not happen at his arrest, his imprisonment, his trial, or his execution. And it certainly will not happen at the devil’s prompting, as though it were a birthday party magic trick.

No, Jesus knows the Father’s love and the Father’s plan. He trusts God in his mission and his timing. And he looks forward to his dramatic, rumbling, stone-splitting rescue from the grave on Easter morning.

Jesus will have angelic aid at his great rescue, but to agree to the devil’s terms would be to trade a precious, valuable, family heirloom for a cheap, plastic, vending machine imitation.