Matthew 4:1-11 - The Temptation of Jesus (Gospel for March 9, 2013, 1st Sunday of Lent). 
*Gospel text below.

Note that this gospel passage immediately follows the account of Jesus' baptism, suggesting that with discipleship comes great temptations.  The Spirit that proclaims Jesus as the "beloved Son" during baptism is the same Spirit that leads Jesus to the desert to be tempted.

There are three temptations:

- to turn stone to bread
- to test God's power if Jesus jumps from the temple
- to worship the devil in exchange for riches

In each of them, Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy Chapters 6 to 8.  It is in Chapter 6 where the greatest commandment is written, which I quote here with additional verses to show its importance to Yahweh's people:

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!  Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.  Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.  Drill them into your children.  Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.  Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.  Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.  (Deut. 6:1-9)

It is in these same chapters that the Israelites are warned of the dangers of prosperity, and of their complacency and unfaithfulness when they become victorious, rich and powerful.

The law to love God above all else corresponds to the three temptations:

- "with all your heart" - referring to our affections and desires (corresponding to food when hungry),

- "with all your soul" - "soul" means life, even martyrdom,

- "with all your strength" - referring to wealth, property and possessions.

Matthew highlights the demands of discipleship which requires total love, fidelity and commitment to God.  Be ready therefore to face great temptations.

Other trivia:

- Jesus is addressed as the "son of God" but NOT in the Trinitarian sense; it is a phrase used to refer to the Israelites as God's chosen people. Jesus therefore now represents the "new Israel" or the Israel that is totally faithful to God.  

- The "forty days and nights" is likely not to be taken literally; "forty" is used to refer to a "long time" and connects Jesus to the forty years of Israel's journey in the desert, to the fasting of Moses on Sinai and of Elijah on Horeb.  (By the way, these are the only three people recorded in the Bible as having done a forty day fast).

Sources:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Makati: St. Paul's Publications), 141-144.
- Raymond E. Brown et al (eds), The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990), 638.

=====
*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.