The Greater Israel
Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:1-11
Often our first impulse when reading a text like this is to think about how we can apply it directly to our own lives. For example, we might read about Jesus' temptations and immediately think about how we can follow Jesus’ example in dealing with temptation. We could say that we should memorize Scripture and use it against the temptations we face. We wouldn’t be wrong to see this as something we can take from this text and apply to life, but we might be missing the main point if we do that first and only.
Matthew wrote his gospel account to point people to Christ as the Savior. His original target audience was likely Jews. He wanted the Jewish people to know that Jesus is the Messiah. Like the book of Hebrews, Matthew shows that Jesus is greater than everything and everyone who came before Him. Hebrews does this more directly by flatly stating that Jesus is superior to angels, Moses, the Levitical priesthood, etc. Matthew does the same thing but in a more subtle way.
Hints are pointing us toward what Matthew is getting at in the way he presents Jesus’ temptation. Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days. His temptations had to do with hunger, identity, and a kingdom. In each case, Jesus was faithful and did not sin. Israel, on the other hand, was in the wilderness for 40 years. They were similarly tested with hunger, their identity, and how they would receive a kingdom. They failed every test they faced.
Matthew shows that Jesus succeeded where Israel failed. So, the primary point of the text is not that we should turn toward ourselves and begin another self-improvement project where we come up with three steps to overcome temptation. The primary point is that we should turn to Jesus, the One (and only One) who has defeated sin and Satan and won this victory, not only for Himself but for all who believe in Him.
