Scriptures That Shaped Their Author
What are the passages of the Bible that are closest to your heart, that you draw upon in your moments of greatest need? In the midst of temptation and suffering, being able to recall verses from memory is an extraordinary comfort. St. Paul tells us that Scripture is the only weapon we have against our true enemy; he instructs us to "take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Jesus models this response to temptationfor us during His time in the wilderness. He is tempted three times by Satan, and after each temptation, He responds with the sword of the Spirit - a quotation from Scripture. Last week, when tempted to turn stones into bread, Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3 stating, "man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." This week, in Matthew 4:5-7, Satan brings a different, but related temptation. He takes Jesus to Jerusalem, to the pinnacle of the Temple itself, and says, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down." Then Satan does something extraordinary; he quotes Psalm 91, saying "it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"
Do Not Put the LORD Your God to the Test
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Satan is familiar with Scripture; even in the Garden of Eden, He twisted God's words to tempt Adam and Eve into disobedience (see Genesis 3:1-5). Yet we are powerfully reminded that we need more than a passing familiarity with the Bible to contend with our spiritual enemy. We need to understand the overarching messages that run throughout Scripture so that we can read and interpret individual verses in context.
Satan's temptation is more than a misunderstanding of Scripture; it strikes to the heart of Jesus' identity as the Messiah. Will Jesus follow the path set out by His Father that leads to the cross, or instead skip ahead to the "coming on the clouds" conclusion? This decision is fundamental to His entire ministry, and extremely relevant in our context today. Too often we want to be Christians on a different path than Christ. While he chose the difficult journey that led to the cross, we would prefer a safer road with less suffering. We are always trying to be Christians without the cross, but no one knew this temptation like Jesus Himself. Yet He chose not to overwhelm the entire Jewish people with an extraordinary event (as God did in the Exodus) but instead to let the message, rather than the miracles, drive His ministry.
Jesus' response is from Deuteronomy 6:16-25. He says, "again it is written, 'do not put the LORD your God to the test.'" In it's context in Deuteronomy, Moses is reminding the people of the time they demanded a miracle from God and threatened to return to Egypt if He would not perform it. The temptation to put God to the test, to demand yet another miracle, is common to us today. Jesus reminds us that God is not subject to our rules or expectations, nor can we "box Him in" with our theology or reading of Scripture. Instead, we are called to submit our wills to His. Where are you inclined to put God to the test? What would it mean to submit to His plan, rather than submit Him to yours?
Extras
The passage that Moses refers to is found in Exodus 17:1-7. This is only two chapters after the parting of the Red Sea and the victory over the Egyptians. It is extraordinary that after such an amazing sign, the Israelites so quickly turn on God and demand another!
This is perhaps part of the reason that Jesus chooses a different pattern in His ministry; while performing many signs and miracles, Jesus does not produce wonders on the same scale as those that occurred during the Exodus. People often remark that God doesn't seem to do miracles anymore, and that if God did do something amazing, perhaps it would be easier for people to believe. Our history, however, tells us differently. Abraham believed God before ever seeing a miracle; the Israelites saw all the wonders of the Exodus and days later threatened to reject God. Perhaps there is more than we know to Jesus' response to Thomas, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." (John 20:29).