Immediately after being anointed for ministry, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness. We don’t often think about what he was doing for these six weeks, but I would venture to say that reading (or recalling to memory) portions of Deuteronomy was on his daily “To do” list. I say this because when the tempter approaches Jesus with questions about his identity and vocation, Jesus replies to him with three verses all taken from Deuteronomy chapters 6-8.
Whole books can (and probably have) been written on the temptation narrative, but allow me to narrow the focus by asking, What do these scriptural responses tell us about Jesus’s reading and interpretation of Israel’s Bible?
- Firstly, Jesus obviously viewed Deuteronomy not only as a word addressed to the children of Israel, but a word addressed to him in the present time. The “you shall” that once represented a command to the Israelites now represents a command to Jesus. He has stepped into his ancestors’ shoes, and what was commanded of them by YHWH is now commanded of Jesus - Trust YHWH, do not test YHWH, and worship YHWH.
Of course this begs the question, How much of Deuteronomy was normative for Jesus? Was he adamant in avoiding food with no fins or scales? Or when Jesus quotes from the Law, was he highlighting the “spirit” of the law (trust and worship) while downplaying what we might see as the “letter” (the copious food laws etc)? Did he read Torah as an external rule book making demands on his life, or did he have a different way of reading what we call “law”? So many questions, so few answers.
- Secondly, Jesus’s reading of Scripture is covenantal at its core. Perhaps this goes some way toward answering some of the above questions. The temptations push him towards autonomy, but Jesus relates everything back to YHWH’s gracious initiative towards Israel, and Israel’s vocation to be YHWH’s people. Where the satan stresses independence, Jesus stresses relatedness to YHWH, which from man’s side looks like trust and worship.
Is it thus correct to say that Jesus both trusted and worshipped YHWH? If so, what does that do to our understanding of the term “Son of God”? (More generally, what does that do to our theology/christology?) Through his reading of Scripture Jesus seems to have turned the title “son of god” on its head, seeing sonship not as the chance to exert domineering authority but as a call to trust and obey.
- It is dangerous business quoting imperatives to someone without the power to live by them. As a human being, Jesus was fully reliant on the spirit of God to empower him to trust and obedience. He read Scripture not only knowing the words, but the power of God that lay behind the words (or perhaps in the words, as suggested by his quotation of Dt. 8:3).
Though Jesus identified himself with those to whom Deuteronomy was originally addressed, there were notable differences between the two readers. The chief difference was that where the Israelites were unable to live by the words, Jesus was able. The Law was written on his heart. It was no burden to be carried, but rather it was his meat and drink. Nothing gave Jesus greater pleasure than pleasing the one he called “Father”.
I mentioned that Jesus read Scripture with “covenant” in mind. The question now becomes, which covenant?
- There is also a case to be made for Jesus reading Deuteronomy as a script, or a scene in a drama which was being re-enacted in his own life. It is surely no coincidence that Deuteronomy 8 mentions Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness as a time of testing, and its words are addressed to them just before they move from wilderness to promised land. No doubt this is where Jesus saw himself as standing. His experience of scarcity and solitude in the wilderness was temporary. He would not turn stones into bread for his own selfish gain, but he would wait until his period of testing was over before finally turning the five loaves of bread into enough food to feed thousands.
Jesus knew in some way that the kingdom of god was at hand through his own ministry, which was a kingdom where Israel “would eat bread without scarcity” (Deut. 8:9). But, lots of bread aside, what would that kingdom look like, and how would it be inaugurated? Jesus’s reading of Isaiah 61 (mentioned immediately after the wilderness account in Luke 4) might just have the answers.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” - Deut. 8:3
“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” - Deut. 6:16
“You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” - Deut. 6:13
Whole books can (and probably have) been written on the temptation narrative, but allow me to narrow the focus by asking, What do these scriptural responses tell us about Jesus’s reading and interpretation of Israel’s Bible?
- Firstly, Jesus obviously viewed Deuteronomy not only as a word addressed to the children of Israel, but a word addressed to him in the present time. The “you shall” that once represented a command to the Israelites now represents a command to Jesus. He has stepped into his ancestors’ shoes, and what was commanded of them by YHWH is now commanded of Jesus - Trust YHWH, do not test YHWH, and worship YHWH.
Of course this begs the question, How much of Deuteronomy was normative for Jesus? Was he adamant in avoiding food with no fins or scales? Or when Jesus quotes from the Law, was he highlighting the “spirit” of the law (trust and worship) while downplaying what we might see as the “letter” (the copious food laws etc)? Did he read Torah as an external rule book making demands on his life, or did he have a different way of reading what we call “law”? So many questions, so few answers.
- Secondly, Jesus’s reading of Scripture is covenantal at its core. Perhaps this goes some way toward answering some of the above questions. The temptations push him towards autonomy, but Jesus relates everything back to YHWH’s gracious initiative towards Israel, and Israel’s vocation to be YHWH’s people. Where the satan stresses independence, Jesus stresses relatedness to YHWH, which from man’s side looks like trust and worship.
Is it thus correct to say that Jesus both trusted and worshipped YHWH? If so, what does that do to our understanding of the term “Son of God”? (More generally, what does that do to our theology/christology?) Through his reading of Scripture Jesus seems to have turned the title “son of god” on its head, seeing sonship not as the chance to exert domineering authority but as a call to trust and obey.
- It is dangerous business quoting imperatives to someone without the power to live by them. As a human being, Jesus was fully reliant on the spirit of God to empower him to trust and obedience. He read Scripture not only knowing the words, but the power of God that lay behind the words (or perhaps in the words, as suggested by his quotation of Dt. 8:3).
Though Jesus identified himself with those to whom Deuteronomy was originally addressed, there were notable differences between the two readers. The chief difference was that where the Israelites were unable to live by the words, Jesus was able. The Law was written on his heart. It was no burden to be carried, but rather it was his meat and drink. Nothing gave Jesus greater pleasure than pleasing the one he called “Father”.
I mentioned that Jesus read Scripture with “covenant” in mind. The question now becomes, which covenant?
- There is also a case to be made for Jesus reading Deuteronomy as a script, or a scene in a drama which was being re-enacted in his own life. It is surely no coincidence that Deuteronomy 8 mentions Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness as a time of testing, and its words are addressed to them just before they move from wilderness to promised land. No doubt this is where Jesus saw himself as standing. His experience of scarcity and solitude in the wilderness was temporary. He would not turn stones into bread for his own selfish gain, but he would wait until his period of testing was over before finally turning the five loaves of bread into enough food to feed thousands.
Jesus knew in some way that the kingdom of god was at hand through his own ministry, which was a kingdom where Israel “would eat bread without scarcity” (Deut. 8:9). But, lots of bread aside, what would that kingdom look like, and how would it be inaugurated? Jesus’s reading of Isaiah 61 (mentioned immediately after the wilderness account in Luke 4) might just have the answers.
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