The Beginning of the Lord’s Ministry
At Jesus’ baptism the Holy Spirit came upon him, along with heavenly confirmation as God’s Son.1 Immediately afterwards he was conducted into the wilderness (presumably in the Jordan Valley district),2 where he spent the next forty days facing the devil’s temptations (Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13).
Luke reports that Jesus was “led” [ἄγω], Matthew says he was “led up” [ἀνάγω], from the low-lying Jordan River to a higher elevation, whereas Mark gives a more intense description of Jesus being “driven out [ἐκβάλλω] into,” implying a compelling force that is identified by all three Synoptics as τό πνεῦμα (“the spirit”). Most English translations have interpreted the expression as “the Spirit” (capital ‘S’) in reference to the Holy Spirit, albeit without conclusive specification in the original Greek texts.3
Word Analysis
Whenever the noun πνεῦμα is qualified in the NT with the genitival ἁγίου (“holy”) or τοῦ θεοῦ (“of God”), it almost certainly refers to the divine personage of the Holy Spirit of God.4 However, without these qualifiers the same expression can apply to one’s own internal “spirit,”5 or to a nonhuman (evil) “spirit.”6 Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not employ modifiers here, so was Jesus driven out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, by his own convicted spirit, or by the devil?
Contextual Analysis
Contextually the Holy Spirit is most likely in view. Matthew reports that at Jesus’ baptism “the Spirit of God” (Matt. 3:16) descended upon him as a dove, identified by Luke as “the Holy Spirit” (Luke 3:22). In Mark’s parallel account this was simply “the Spirit,” then immediately “the S/spirit” drove Jesus out into the wilderness (Mark 1:10, 12). Moreover, Luke prefaces the allusion to the leading of “the S/spirit” (Luke 4:1b) with Christ “full of [the] Holy Spirit” (v. 1a),7 while later “Jesus returned in the power of the S/spirit to Galilee” and then applied the scripture to himself, “[The] Spirit of [the] Lord [is] upon me …” (vv. 14, 18).
Interpreting these references as consistently applicable to the Holy Spirit allows for a smoother and more natural reading (cp. Luke 2:25-27), although the engagement of Jesus’ own internal spirit cannot be totally discounted. He resisted the devil’s attacks by quoting scriptures (Deut. 6:13, 16; 8:3) indicative of his deliberate submission to the Father’s will.
During the Lord’s Ministry
Following his baptism Jesus was not only “led up” [ἀνήχθη – aorist passive indicative –completed past action] “into” [εἰς] the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:1), he was “being led” [ἤγετο – imperfect middle or passive indicative – progressive action in the past] “in” [ἐν] the wilderness (Luke 4:1), “being tempted” [πειραζόμενος – present passive participle – continual action] during the entire forty-day period (Luke 4:2a; Mark 1:13). He successfully withstood, and “the devil departed from him until [ἄχρι] an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). The testing thus continued throughout his entire earthly life (cf. Heb. 2:18; 4:15; 5:7), and he persistently withdrew into the wilderness to pray (Luke 5:16).
The End of the Lord’s Ministry
The temptation narrative at the beginning of Christ’s ministry is parallel to a comparable episode near the end of his ministry (Matt. 26:36-44; Mark 14:32-39; Luke 22:39-46). Prior to his tortuous trials and brutal execution, as Jesus falls to the ground in earnest prayer, the inspired writers vividly describe his volatile mental and emotional state as intense “grieving” [λυπέω], “distressing” [ἀδημονέω], “very sorrowful” [περίλυπος], and “sorely dismayed” [ἐκθαμβέομαι], “even to death” (Matt. 26:37-38; Mark 14:33-34). Luke’s account, albeit beset with textual issues,8 includes “agony” [ἀγωνία], “and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground” (Luke 22:44), symptomatic of extreme psychological distress.9
As recounted in all three Synoptics, from the depths of his anguished “soul” [ψυχή] Jesus repeatedly makes the fervent plea: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will but as you [will] …. My Father, if this is not able to pass unless I drink it, your will be done” (Matt. 26:39-44); “he was praying that if it is possible the hour might pass from him, and he was saying, ‘Father, Father, all things are possible for you; take this cup from me, but not what I will but what you [will]’” (Mark 14:35-39); “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; nevertheless, not my will but your [will] be done” (Luke 22:41).
Irrespective of whatever may have been available to assist Jesus through such a trying ordeal, his own volition was clearly not overridden. The same is true of his disciples. In the midst of these ardent prayers, as the ones closest to him struggled with fatigue and worrisome “grief” [λύπη] (Luke 22:45), Jesus admonishes them to be attentive and to pray not to enter into temptation [πειρασμός], “indeed the spirit [τὸ πνεῦμα] is willing but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41; Mark 14:38; Luke 22:40, 46).
Bringing It All Together
A key tenet of the Christian faith is the incarnate humanness of Jesus,10 having become one of us “in all things” [κατά πάντα] (Heb. 2:17), including being tempted “in all things” [κατά πάντα] as we are (Heb. 4:15). Subject to human weakness,11 he became the supreme example of how to live the human life in complete submission to the Father’s will.12
In preparation for his public ministry Jesus was led (driven) in the wilderness to face a nearly six-weeks’ onslaught of the devil’s temptations that did not cease during his time on earth. Near the end of his ministry, as he prayed, “take this cup from me,” he was essentially asking the Father to not carry him into an approaching ordeal that would put his resolve to the severest of tests, but with the caveat, “your will be done.” Knowing first-hand what it is like to face the all-out attacks of the tempter, he also instructed his followers to pray likewise, seeing that “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Jesus was a man of endless trials and unrelenting prayer, providing a model for how and for what to pray, including the appeal, “bring us not into temptation.”
Although God does not cause temptation, he allows it to happen and even brings us into situations where we are confronted by trials that elicit greater dependence on him and ultimately strengthen our faith.13 At the same time, we must be aware of our own human frailties and weaknesses. It is neither abnormal nor inappropriate to plead with the heavenly Father to avoid or escape circumstances that challenge and potentially disrupt our allegiance to his heavenly objective. In view of God’s abiding presence and providential care, “bring us not into temptation” is a needed and comforting plea.
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; cf. Luke 1:32, 35; Acts 10:38. Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.
2 Luke says he “returned” [ὑποστρέφω] (4:1), not to his home environment of Galilee (cf. v. 14) but to an uninhabited region where he was accustomed to withdrawing for periods of prayer. In Luke 5:16 the imperfect verb ἦν with the present participle ὑποχωρῶν indicates a customary or habitual practice, something Jesus did “often” (CSB, NASB, NKJV) or “frequently” (BSB, NET); “he continued his habit …” (ISV). Cp. Luke 22:39.
3 The rendering “the spirit” occurs in the American King James Version in Matt. 4:1 and Mark 1:12, and in the Douay-Rheims Bible in Matt. 4:1. The verbal ἀνάγω (Matt. 4:1) is never used elsewhere in the NT for an internal leading. The verbal ἐκβάλλω (Mark 1:12) typically involves an outward force, with the possible exception of Matt. 12:35 and its textual variant τῆς καρδίας (“of the heart”); cp. Luke 6:45. The verbal ἄγω (Luke 4:1) almost always refers to an external leading, although in 1 Cor. 12:2 irrational impulses and in 2 Tim. 3:6 various passions do the leading. Moreover, ἄγω was something done to Jesus by the Spirit, by the devil, and by antagonists (Luke 4:1, 9, 29). Elsewhere in the NT this is an action involving God (Rom. 2:4), Christ (Heb. 2:10), and the Spirit (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18).
4 Matt. 1:18, 20; 3:11, 16; 12:28, 31-32; 28:19; Mark 1:8; 3:29; 12:36; 13:11; Luke 1:15, 35, 41, 67; 2:25, 26; 3:16, 22; 4:1a; 10:21; 11:13; 12:10, 12; cf. also Matt. 10:20; 12:18; Luke 4:18.
5 Matt. 5:3; 26:41; 27:50; Mark 2:6; 8:12; 14:38; Luke 1:17, 47, 80; 8:55; 9:55; 23:46; cf. Luke 24:37, 39.
6 Matt. 8:16; 10:1; 12:43, 45; Mark 1:23, 26-27; 3:11, 30; 5:2, 8, 13; 6:7; 7:25; 9:17, 20, 25; Luke 4:33, 36; 6:18; 7:21; 8:2, 29; 9:39, 42; 10:18-20; 11:24, 26; cf. Luke 13:11; 24:37.
7 Compare Luke 1:15; Acts 6:3, 5; 7:55; 11:24.
8 While undisputed in the Byzantine Majority Text, the editors of UBS5 and NA28 have enclosed Luke 22:43-44 in double square brackets, considering the verses to have been absent from the original and added in the early stages of transmission. On the diverse manuscript evidence, see P. W. Comfort, A Commentary on the Text and Manuscripts of the NT 235-36; B. M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek NT (2nd ed.) 151. Unlike other textual variants, this passage does not depend on parallel accounts or provide an explanation to the narrative. In fact, angelic activity is thematic in Luke’s writings (Luke 1:11-19, 26-38; 2:9-13, 15, 21; 4:10; 9:26; 12:8-9; 15:10; 16:22; 20:36; [22:43]; 24:23; Acts 5:19; 6:15; 7:30, 35, 38, 53; 8:26; 10:3, 7, 22; 11:13; 12:7-11, 15, 23; 23:8-9; 27:23), and as a physician Luke would surely have an interest in bloody sweat. Notwithstanding the possibility of accidental omission, absence from some manuscripts (passed on to others) could be due to scribal excision as an attempt to harmonize Luke’s report with the other Gospels or to avoid the perception of Jesus’ heightened human weakness. For a fairly balanced assessment of the textual issues, see Dirk Jongkind, “Luke 22:43-44. An early addition?” Evangelical Textual Criticism (16 March 2018), <Link>.
9 Medically, hematidrosis (bloody sweat), albeit rare, is the result of capillaries hemorrhaging into the sweat glands due to extreme mental anguish. See W. D. Edwards, W. J. Gabel, F. E. Hosmer, “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ,” JAMA 255:11 (21 March 1986): 1456.
10 John 1:14; Phil. 2:5-8; 1 John 4:2; 2 John 7. See K. L. Moore, “Jesus Christ: the Son of Man,” Moore Perspective (23 July 2017), <Link>.
11 2 Cor. 13:4; cf. Isa. 53:2-12; 2 Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:5-8; 1 Pet. 3:18.
12 Luke 5:16; John 5:30; 6:38; 8:29; 12:27-28; 18:11; cf. Matt. 26:39-44; Mark 14:35-39; Luke 22:41.
13 2 Cor. 12:5-10; Heb. 11:8-40; 12:1-11; Jas. 1:2-4, 12.
Related Posts: Lead Us Not Into Temptation Part 1, Part 3
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