Jesus Is Adam and Israel
The Importance of Sonship in the Wilderness Temptations
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Before Jesus began his public ministry, he was tempted in the wilderness by the devil. This wasn’t an unexpected turn of events either. According to Matthew 4:1, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit” into that place and for that occasion.
Three temptations followed. The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” (Matt. 4:3), “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’” (4:6), and “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me” (4:9).
The setting was significant, the temptations were calculated, and the wording in Jesus’s responses was appropriate. Jesus quoted Scripture to the devil in the wilderness.
Wilderness temptations have biblical precedent. And a direct encounter with the Tempter has biblical precedent. Interpreters may notice ways in which Matthew 4:1–11 reminds us of Israel and yet also reminds us of Adam. But which is it: do Jesus’s temptations have Adam in the background, or should we think of Israel’s wilderness temptations?
Why not…both?