Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Archie T. Wright on Satan in Matthew 4:1-11

  

The Satan and the Devil in Matthew 4

 

The first encounter with the satan/devil figure in the Gospel of Matthew is found in Matthew 4:1; the section is identified as the Trial of Jesus in the Wilderness. Commentators propose the passage represents a testing to determine if Jesus exhibits the characteristics o the “Son of God.” This point is supported by the stan comments found in Matthew 4:3 and 6: “Since you are the Son of God,” in which he may be attempting to get Jesus to use his “powers” as the Son of God to work things out on his own without God. Each of the tests that Jesus is offered questions whether he will be obedient to the Father or take an opportunity to display his Messianic powers.

 

In Matthew 4:1, the author states that Jesus was led up (ανηχθη) by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tested πειρασθηναι, aor. pass. inf.) by the devil (του διαβολου). This portrayal of the devil as the one who tests individuals follows the primary function of the being in the HB (see esp. Job 1-2—we can see here that God through the Spirit has established the opportunity for testing but the actual tests are accomplished by his agent, in Job’s case the satan figure. Perhaps this might suggest the satan figure made a similar approach to God concerning Jesus, perhaps testing his willingness to be the Messiah of God. In Matthew 4:3, he is called the one who tests or tries individuals (πειραζων, pres. act. part.), further supporting one of his functions or roles in the NT. This may be a deliberate shift for Matthew to establish the reason Jesus is led out into the wilderness (Luke uses ο διαβολος). This literature of the 2TP reveal a shift in the idea of theodicy, in which actions previously attributed to God are now ascribed to the satan figure or some other heavenly being. The satan tests Jesus with Scripture, perhaps in an effort to persuade him from turning from God and a proper understanding of the Torah and the Scriptures. As we saw in the Damascus Document CD 16, if one follows Scripture properly and turns to God for their sanctuary, the Angel of Mastema must leave him. In Matthew 4:3-10, one might suggest the connection between the satan and Mastema as previously suggested in Jubilees. In 4:5, the author identifies the tester from 4:3 with ο διαβολος, the one who takes Jesus to Jerusalem to test his willingness to be the Messiah of God; again, Jesus answers with Scripture: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test!” One might ask if here Jesus is making a declaration of his divinity or simply responding with Scripture. Is he declaring to the devil, “Stop testing your God; you cannot defeat him!”? perhaps even more intriguing is the fact that he says his Father is the devil’s God!

 

Matthew 4:8- 9 offers a clear picture of the satan’s task to turn people away from God and worship another—in this case, worship the devil himself. Upon stating his resolute intention to follow God and not turn away from his Torah, we are told the devil left Jesus, perhaps again echoing the theme of CD 16 noted above. In the midst of this testing, the first instance of the term the satan appears in Matthew 4:10. In the context of Jesus rebuking him, he states, “Be gone, satan!” (voc. m.s.), and he leaves. The author then notes that the angels come and serve Jesus, thus ending the pericope. We can see in this story that the task of the devil/satan is to test Jesus to see whether he is willing and able to pass the test as the Messiah of God—the satan obviously must have doubts, since he questions if he is the “Son of God,” a title used for the Messiah in the 2TP. The term satan in this context could be best understood as “adversary” or, as the text makes clear, “one who tests,” πειραζων. (Archie T. Wright, Satan and the Problem of Evil: From the Bible to the Early Church Fathers [Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2022], 149-50)