One of the many reasons we have four accounts of Jesus' life on Earth is that each of the writers; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were writing to different audiences.
Mark is written mainly to Gentiles, Luke to a possible defense lawyer named Theophilus, and John to second generation believers. But Matthew is tailor made for Jewish listeners. There are several aspects of that gospel account that present Jesus of Nazareth as the prophesied Messiah that the Jews were so longing for.
I want to look at just one of those "Jewish" parts of Matthew, and it's one we can contrast with how Luke presents the same material.
Look at Luke chapter 4:1-13. This is the temptation of Jesus and Luke puts the temptations in this order: stone to bread, all the kingdoms of the world if He bowed to Satan, throw yourself down and angels will save you. As far as Luke goes, I believe that he started telling the temptations in the wilderness and proceeded to the Temple of Jerusalem itself as a small illustration of Jesus' life and where His ministry would eventually lead him.
But, when we read Matthew, the temptations are in a different order: stone to bread, throw yourself down, and then all the kingdoms of the world. Now that's a subtle difference and, to a Gentile, it might not matter at all. I want to try to show you why a Jew would look at this as significant.
Let's take Matthew's order one at a time:
Chapter 4: 3-4 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Chapter 4: 5-7 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angles concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "It is also written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Chapter 4:8-10 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
Now that order, specifically Jesus' answers are paraphrased as this: "God's word is bread, God is not subject to our whim but is our Lord and Master, and God is to be worshiped alone."
It bears a striking resemblance to the Shema found in Deuteronomy chapter 6:5. "Hear O Israel! The Lord (is) our God. The Lord is One (The Lord alone)." Let me try to make this argument as follows:
Hear O Israel! This statement is a command for Israel to not only give God attention, but to give God the primary place, to give God's words that followed such reverence that they would become more important than air or water or BREAD! Jesus, I believe, calls the devil's attention to the command of God that man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. That is to truly hear!
The Lord (is) our God. To put it bluntly: God is not here for us but we are here for Him. To throw yourself off a wall and demand that God save you is not only arrogance it is dangerously close to blasphemy. God loves us and cares for us enough to send His only Son, but He is God and we are not. God is not to be put to our tests. Sometimes He tells us to try Him as in Malachi 3:10, but those times are purely by His grace, not the normal attitude we should have. The attitude Jesus had was that God's sovereignty should not be put to the test, but God should be honored in all things.
The Lord is One (The Lord alone). The Hebrew here is a warning against idolatry. The Lord is our God and no one else. This is obviously what Jesus is referring to when He rebukes Satan's attempt for his own praise with the words from the same scroll page as the Shema: Deut 6:13 "Fear the Lord your God, serve him only.."
A Jew reading the temptations of Jesus would see One who could keep the entire Shema. They would see a man who loved His God with all His heart, with all His soul, and with all His might. They would see the Messiah.
I hope that you see Him too. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Justin
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