The Temptation of Christ

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The Temptation of Christ

Matthew 4:1-11

1 Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. ^{(Mk 1:12 & Lk 4:1)} 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards hungry. 3 And the tempter coming, said to him:

If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered, and said:

It is written: Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. ^{(Luke 4:4 & Deut 8:8)}

5 Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him:

If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written: That he hath given his angels charge of thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone. ^{(Ps. 90:11-12 or 91:11-12)}

7 Jesus said to him:

It is written again: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. ^{(Deut 6:16)}

8 Again the devil took him up into a very high mountain: and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, 9 and said to him:

All these will I give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me.

10 Then Jesus said to him:

Begone, Satan, for it is written: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve. ^{(Deut 6:13)}

11 Then the devil left him; and behold angels came and ministered to him.

 

Luke 4:1-13

1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan: and was led by the spirit into the desert, 2 For the space of forty days, and was tempted by the devil. ^{(Mt4:1, Mk1:12)} And he ate nothing on those days: and when they were ended he was hungry. 3 And the devil said to him:

If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

4 And Jesus answered him:

It is written: That man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word of God. ^{(Dt8:3, Mt4:4)}

5 And the devil led him into a high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time: 6 And he said to him:

To thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them: for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will I give them. 7 If thou, therefore, wilt adore before me, all shall be thine.

8 And Jesus answering, said to him:

It is written: Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. ^{(Dt6:13&10:20)}

9 And he brought him into Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to him:

If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence. 10 For it is written, that he hath given his Angels charge over thee, that they keep thee: 11 And that in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone. ^{(Ps. 90:11-12 or 91:11-12)}

12 And Jesus answering, said to him:

It is said: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord, thy God. ^{(Deut 6:16)}

13 And when all temptation was ended, the devil departed from him for a time. ^{(Mt4:12, Mk1:14)}

Haydock Commentary Matthew 4:1-11

• Ver. 1. Jesus Christ was led by the Holy Ghost, immediately after his baptism, into the desert, to prepare, by fasting and prayer, for his public ministry, and to merit for us by his victory over the enemy of our salvation, force to conquer him also ourselves. By this conduct, he teaches all that were to be in future times called to his ministry, how they are to retire into solitude, in order to converse with God in prayer, and draw down the blessing of heaven upon themselves and their undertaking. What treasures of grace might we expect, if, as often as we receive any of the sacraments, we were to retire within ourselves, and shut out, for a time, the world and its cares. Then should we come prepared to withstand temptation, and should experience the divine assistance in every difficulty through life. The life of a man is a warfare on earth. It was not given us, says S. Hilary, to spend it in indolence, but to wage a continual war against our spiritual enemies. In the greatest sanctity there are often the greatest and most incessant trials; for Satan wishes nothing so much as the fall of the saints. A.—By these trials, we learn the strength we have received from above, we are preserved from self-complacency and pride in the gifts of heaven; we confirm the renunciation we made in baptism of the devil, and all his works and pomps; we become stronger, and better prepared for future attacks, and are feelingly convinced of the dignity to which we have been raised, and of which the enemy of souls endeavours all he can to deprive us. S. Chrys. hom. xiii. Both S. John the Baptist and our divine Master, by retiring into the wilderness for contemplation, prayer, fasting and suffering, have given a sanction and an example to those holy men called hermits, who have taken shelter in their sanctified retreats against the dangers of the world. B.
• Ver. 2. Jesus wished to manifest a certain corporeal weakness, arising from his continued fast, that the devil might venture to tempt him; and after a fast of 40 days and 40 nights he was hungry. A.—Christ was well acquainted with the thoughts of the wicked fiend, and his great desire of tempting or trying him. The devil had learnt that he was come into the world from the songs of the angels at his birth, and from the mouth of the shepherds and of S. John the Baptist. To fast 40 days without being hungry was certainly far above the strength of man, but to be hungry at any time is inconsistent with God; for which reason our blessed Saviour, that he might not manifestly declare his divinity, was afterwards hungry. S. Hil.—On this example, as well as that of Moses and Elias, who also fasted 40 days, the fast of Lent was instituted by the apostles, and is of necessity to be observed according to the general consent of the ancient Fathers. S. Jerome (ep. liv. ad Marcel.) says, we fast 40 days, or make one Lent in a year, according to the tradition of the apostles. S. Aug. (serm. lxix.) says, by the due observance of Lent, the wicked are separated from the good, infidels from Christians, heretics from Catholics. Our Saviour fasted 40 days, not because he stood in need of it, as we do, to subject the unruly members of the body, which lust against the spirit, but to set an example for our imitation. A.—Another reason might be, to prevent the captious remarks of the Jews, who might object that he had not yet done what the founder of their law, Moses, and after him Elias, had done. Palacius in Mat.
• Ver. 3. “And the tempter coming,” ‘O πειράζων, who looked upon this hunger as a favourable moment to tempt him, and to discover if her were truly the Son of God, as was declared at his baptism, desired Jesus to change by a miracle the stones into bread, to appease his hunger and to recover his strength. A.—By this we are taught, that amidst our greatest austerities and fasts, we are never free from temptation. But if your fasts, say S. Gregory, do not free you entirely from temptations, they will at least give you strength not to be overcome by them. S. Thos. Aquin. The tempter is supposed to have appeared in a human form, and the whole temptation to have been merely external, like that which took place with our first parents in Paradise. It would have been beneath the perfection of Christ, to have allowed the devil the power of suggesting wicked thoughts to his mind. Jan. p. 107. Had Jesus Christ converted the stones into bread, the devil, according to S. Jerome, would have thence inferred that he was God. But it was Christ’s intention to overcome the proud fiend rather by humility than power. S. Thos. Aquin. Thus, if the first Adam fell from God by pride, the second Adam has effectually taught us how to overcome the devil by humility. A.
• Ver. 4. Man liveth not by bread only. The words were spoken of the manna. Dt. 8:3. The sense in this place is, that man’s life may be supported by any thing, or in any manner, as it pleaseth God. Wi.—S. Gregory upon this passage says: if our divine Redeemer, when tempted by the devil, answered in so mild a manner, when he could have buried the wicked tempter in the bottom of hell, ought not man, when he suffers any thing from his fellow man, rather to improve it to his advantage, than to resent it to his own ruin. Man consists of soul and body; his body is supported by bread, his soul by the word of God; hence the saying, “Lex est cibus animæ.” Mat. Polus.
• Ver. 5. In the text of S. Luke this temptation is the third: but most commentators follow the order of S. Mat. In Palestine, all buildings had a flat roof, with a balustrade or a parapet. It was probably upon the parapet that the devil conveyed Jesus. The three temptations comprise the three principal sources of sin: 1. sensuality; 2. pride; and 3. concupiscence. 1 ep. John 2:16. We may hope to conquer the first by fasting and confidence in divine Providence; the second by humility; the third by despising all sublunary things, as unworthy a Christian’s solicitude. A.—the devil took him, &c. If we ask in what manner this was done, S. Gregory answers, that Christ might permit himself to be taken up, and transported in the air by the devil, he that afterwards permitted himself to be tormented, and nailed to a cross by wicked men, who are members of the devil. Others think the devil only conducted him from place to place. The text in S. Luke favours this exposition, when it is said, the devil led him to Jerusalem, to a high mountain, &c. Wi.
• Ver. 6. Heretics, says S. Augustine, quote Scriptures, as the devil does here, in a wrong and forced sense; the Church cites them, like Jesus Christ, in their true sense, and to confute their falsehood. Cont. lit. Petil. 1. ii. c. 51. It is on this account, that the Catholic Church wishes persons who come to the study of the most mysterious and difficult book ever published, should bring with them some preparation of mind and heart; convinced that the abuse of the strongest and best food may be converted into deadly poison. The promoters of Bible societies have published in Ireland a tract to encourage the universal perusal of the Scriptures, as the sol rule of faith. In this they give not only a mutilated and corrupt version of the letter of his late Holiness Pius VI, to the now archbishop of Florence, (to be seen at the head of this edition of the Bible) but certain letters from German Jansenists, who are described as being good Catholics. A.
• Ver. 8. Shewed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; and as S. Luke says, in a moment of time. We cannot comprehend how this could be done from any mountain, or seen with human eyes. Therefore many think it was by some kind of representation; or that the devil shewing a part, by words set forth the rest. Wi.—He shewed him the different climates in which each country was situated. S. Chrys. A.
• Ver. 9. All these will I give thee. The father of lies here promised what was not his to give. For though he be called the prince of this world, (Jo. xii. 31) meaning of the wicked, who wilfully make themselves his slaves; yet so restrained is the devil’s power, that he could not go into the swine till Christ permitted it. Mt 8:31. Wi.—What arrogance! What pride! The devil promises earthly kingdoms, whilst Jesus promises a heavenly kingdom to his followers. S. Remigius. Behold the pride of his heart; as he formerly wished to make himself God, so now he wishes to assume to himself divine honours. Aquin.
• Ver. 10. Jesus Christ does not here cite the words, but the substance of the text. Dt 5:7&9; 6:13;10:20.—It is remarkable that our Lord bore with the pride and insolence of the devil, till he assumed to himself the honour due to God alone. S. Chrys.
• Ver. 11. Then the devil having exhausted all his artifices, left him for a time, as S. Luke remarks; whence we are to learn, that after we have resisted with success, we are not to think ourselves secure, but avail ourselves of the truce to return thanks to God for the victory, and to prepare for fresh combats, especially by fortifying ourselves with the bread of angels in the holy communion. The temptations of Jesus Christ are to us a subject both of consolation and instruction. By example he has taught us how to fight and to conquer. The struggle may be painful; but angels, as well as God, witness our struggle, ready to crown our victory. A.

 

Haydock Commentary Luke 4:1-13

• Ver. 2. In collating the present narrative with that of S. Mat. it appears that Jesus Christ was not tempted till the expiration of forty days. V.—Many reasons may be assigned why Christ permitted himself to be tempted. 1^st. To merit for man the grace of overcoming temptations. 2^nd. To encourage us under temptations. 3^rd. To teach us not to be cast down with temptations, however grievous they may be, since even Jesus Christ submitted to them. 4thly. To point out to us the manner in which we ought to behave in time of temptation. D. Dion.
• Ver. 3. The tempter here appears to endeavour to discover by stratagem whether Christ was the Son of God. He does not say, if thou be the Son of God, “pray” that these stones be made bread, which he might have said to any man; but “command,” effect by thine own authority, that this come to pass. If Christ had done this, the tempter would have instantly concluded, that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, since only God could effect such a miracle. D. Dion.
• Ver. 10. We have the devil here again citing Scripture, (Ps. xc. v. 11) [Read what is given on this subject in note on v. 6, c. iv. of S. Matthews gospel] which shews how very dangerous a thing it is to put the Scripture, in the first instance, indiscriminately into every, even the most illiterate person’s hands, without any previous disposition of the mind and heart, by study and prayer. How much more satisfactory must it be to be guided by the Church of God, which Christ has promised to secure against all error, and which he commands all to obey! How much more rational to begin with distributing elementary catechisms, approved by the Catholic Church as conformable to the word of God, and then only opening to them the sacred mystic book, when their minds are hearts are better prepared to avail themselves of the inestimable treasure, and of justly appreciating and exploring the golden lore. If humility be a virtue that renders us most pleasing to God, it is a virtue particularly necessary for the proper understanding of Holy Writ. This will teach us to submit (whenever the Scripture is either silent or obscure in points of faith) our own private and unassisted judgment to the judgment and comments of the Church. This was the sentiment of a great philosopher of this nation, who, when charged with skepticism and a love of novelty by his contemporaries, replied: “However fanciful I may be esteemed in matter of philosophy, in religious concerns I like to go the beaten road. Where the Scripture is silent, the Church is my text. Where that speaks, it is but the comment; and I never refer any thing to the arbitration of my own judgment but in the silence of them both.”
• Ver. 13. For a time, viz. until his Passion, in which he again most grievously tempted him, by the hands of impious persecutors, whom he could not overcome with sensuality, covetousness, or vanity. The devil now deals with men in the same manner. He tempts them, and, being overcome, leaves them for a time, to prompt them to rest in a fatal security; that indulging indolence, they may at some future period be attacked, with greater certainty of success, when unprepared. Knowing, therefore, the trick and design of our infernal enemy, how much does it behove us to be on our guard; and having overcome in one temptation, prepare ourselves for another; never resting in the presumptuous though, that we are sufficiently strong in virtue to resist the enemy, without fresh preparation. D. Dion.—This history of the various temptations to which our Saviour subjects himself, as related by S. Luke, is exactly the same as that given by S. Matt. with this only difference, that the order in which the temptations took place is not the same in both evangelists: but it does not matter what order is observed, where all the circumstances are related. S. Austin.

Daily Bible Readings Commentary October 13 Saturday 27th Week Ordinary Time Catholic Church

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October 13 2007 Saturday 27^th Week Ordinary Time.

About the sources used.

The readings on this site are not official for the Mass of Roman Catholic Church, but are from sources free from copyright. They are here to present the comparable readings alongside traditional Catholic commentary as published in the Haydock Bible.

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/101307.shtml – Note. The Official Liturgical readings may not match the current NAB you may have.

Joel 4:12-21 NAB or Joel 3:12-21 Most Others
Douay-Challoner Text from SacredBible.org

12 Let them arise, and let the nations come up into the valley of Josaphat: for there I will sit to judge all nations round about.
13 Put ye in the sickles, for the harvest is ripe: come and go down, for the press is full, the fats run over: for their wickedness is multiplied.
14 Nations, nations in the valley of destruction: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of destruction.
15 The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining.
16 And the Lord shall roar out of Sion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem: and the heavens and the earth shall be moved, and the Lord shall be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
17 And you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Sion, my holy mountain: and Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall pass through it no more.
18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweetness, and the hills shall flow with milk: and waters shall flow through all the rivers of Juda: and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the torrent of thorns.
19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom a wilderness destroyed: because they have done unjustly against the children of Juda, and have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 And Judea shall be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem to generation and generation.
21 And I will cleanse their blood, which I had not cleansed: and the Lord will dwell in Sion.

Haydock Commentary Joel 3:12-21

• Ver. 13. Harvest, the time of vengeance. Mat. xiii. 80. Apoc. xiv. 15. C.
• Ver. 14. Nations. Heb. hamonim, “multitudes.” H.—This alludes to the place Amona, where Gog was buried. Ezec. xxx. 15. 18. C.—Sept. “sounds have been heard in the vale of justice,” where sentence has been pronounced and executed. H.—The repetition of peoples and destruction, shews the crowds (H.) which shall be judged and cut in pieces like fuel for the fire. Ps. cxxviii. 4. W.
• Ver. 15. Shining. All shall be amazed at the fall of Cambyses. C. ii. 30. Ezec. xxviii. 30. A storm shall overwhelm his army. C.
• Ver. 16. Roar, in thunder. Jer. xxv. 30. Amos i. 2. H.
• Ver. 17. Nor more, for a long time. Antiochus and the Romans again profaned the temple. But the Church of Christ is always holy.
• Ver. 18. Sweetness; oil and honey. C.—Fountain, &c. viz. the fountain of grace in the Church militant, and of glory in the Church triumphant; which shall water the torrent or valley of thorns, that is, the souls that before, like barren ground, brought forth nothing but thorns, or that were afflicted with the thorns of crosses and tribulations. Ch.—Sept. have, “bands.” Heb. shittim. H.—Abundance shall ensue after the death of Cambyses, as a figure of the graces which shall be granted to Christians. Ezec. xlvii. 2.
• Ver. 19. Desolation. Cambyses laid it waste for three years, as Ochus did afterwards.—Edom. Judas and Hircan punished them for their former barbarity. Ps. cxxxvi. 7. and 2 Mac. x. 16. Ezec. xxv. 12. C.
• Ver. 20. Judea and Jerusalem. That is, the spiritual Jerusalem, viz. the Church of Christ. Ch.—Judea was unmolested for a considerable time.
• Ver. 21. Which must be supplied in Heb. The Idumeans had been spared for a long time. But they shall not escape. Chal. &c. C.—The rites of the law could not purify, as the sacraments of Christ do. S. Jerome.—God will cleanse his people, and will chastise the Ammonites, &c. who had injured them. Sept. “I will seek (or avenge) their blood, and will not pronounce innocent;” H.—Sion, in heaven, (M.) and in the tabernacles of the Catholic Church, from the beginning of the world unto eternity. H.

The Gospel According to Luke 11:27-28
Haydock New Testament

27 And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, that a certain woman, from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him:

Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck.

28 But he said:

Yea, rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.

Haydock Commentary Luke 11:27-28

• Ver. 28. Μευοũυγε, imo vero, yes indeed. Our Saviour does not here wish to deny what the woman had said, but rather to confirm it: indeed how could he deny, as Calvin impiously maintained, that his mother was blessed? By these words, he only wishes to tell his auditors what great advantages they might obtain by attending to his words. For the blessed Virgin, as S. Augustine says, was more happy in having our Saviour in her heart and affections, than in having conceived him in her womb. Tirinus.