Luke 4:1-13 (1st Sunday of Lent, February 14, 2016)

Gospel:

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does not live on bread alone.” 

Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.”

Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” 

When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

Gospel Trivia:

The temptation of Jesus also appears in the gospels of Mark and Matthew (but not in the gospel of John).  You can read the Gospel Trivia for Mark here and for Matthew here. 

Each gospel writer has a different intention for his version, which is why each version is different.  What makes Luke's different?

- Only Luke emphasizes that Jesus was "filled with the Holy Spirit".  Also, in Luke, the Holy Spirit accompanies Jesus through the desert, and not just prompts Jesus to go there.  For Luke, it is as Son of God filled the Holy Spirit that Jesus begins his public ministry.

- Secondly, in Luke, the sequence of the second and third temptation is reversed compared to that of Matthew's version.  (Mark does not enumerate the temptations).  Luke's third temptation refers to Jesus in a temple in Jerusalem. For Luke, Jerusalem is where the strongest temptation happens.  Indeed, Jesus' conviction as a criminal will happen in Jerusalem.

The Holy Spirit accompanies us and enables us to confront the temptation towards glorifying self, accumulating wealth, and compromising principles.

Other Trivia:

- 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).

Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Manila: St. Paul Publications, 1988), p.300-301.