Jesus' Story & Israel's Story
Matthew's making a point.
To this point, Matthew has already set before us a number of parallels between Jesus’ story and the story of Israel. The genealogy in chapter 1 was a direct effort to align the stories. We already noted the allusions to Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in chapter 2. In chapter 3 yesterday, Jesus’ baptism might be an allusion to Israel going through the Red Sea. But from here on, these get more obvious. And with each parallel story, while there are shared elements, Jesus leads well where Israel struggled:
Israel spent “40 years” of purification, temptation, trial, and thirst/hunger in the wilderness before taking their place as the chosen people of God. Jesus does so in the wilderness, also tempted to make food from stones and to conquer the world.
In chapters 5-7, which we’ll take a bit of time to consider, we’re told Jesus went up a mountain to teach. And so, like Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus delivers a law, wrestling with new understandings of it all.
Perhaps Matthew’s first readers would see these parallels a bit more quickly and obviously than us.
Matthew 4:1-11
Then the Spirit led Jesus up into the wilderness so that the devil might tempt him. After Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was starving. The tempter came to him and said, “Since you are God’s Son, command these stones to become bread.”
Jesus replied, “It’s written, People won’t live only by bread, but by every word spoken by God.”
After that the devil brought him into the holy city and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down; for it is written, I will command my angels concerning you, and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone.”
Jesus replied, “Again it’s written, Don’t test the Lord your God.”
Then the devil brought him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He said, “I’ll give you all these if you bow down and worship me.”
Jesus responded, “Go away, Satan, because it’s written,You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” The devil left him, and angels came and took care of him.
Prayer1
God,
Your son Jesus withstood many temptations because his love for you was greater than his earthly desires. Make our love for you so strong that we might withstand anything that threatens to stand between us and your love.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.