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"Mount of Temptation"

West Bank city of Jericho.

Tuesday, ‎December ‎24, ‎2013

Fourth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem

My Holy Land Trip

"Mount of Temptation" 

West Bank city of Jericho.

The temptation of Christ is detailed in the Gospels of Matthew Mark, and Luke.According to these texts, after being baptized, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the Judaean Desert. During this time, Satan appeared to Jesus and tempted him. Jesus having refused each temptation, Satan departed and angels came and brought nourishment to Jesus

Mark's account is very brief, merely noting the event. Matthew and Luke describe the temptations by recounting the details of the conversations between Jesus and Satan. Since the elements that are in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark are mostly pairs of quotations rather than detailed narration, many scholars believe these extra details originate in the Q Document. Notably, this story is not found in the Gospel of John.

Way to The Mount of Temptation is said to be the hill in the Judean Desert where Jesus was tempted by the devil (Matthew 48), West Bank town of Jericho:

Discussion of the literary genre includes whether what is represented is a history, a parable, a myth, or compound of various genres. This relates to the "reality" of the encounter. Sometimes the temptation narrative is taken as a parable, reading that Jesus in his ministry told this narrative to audiences relating his inner experience in the form of a parable. Or it is autobiographical, regarding what sort of Messiah Jesus intended to be. Writers including William Barclay have pointed to the fact that there is "no mountain high enough in the entire world to see the whole world" as indication of the non-literal nature of the event, and that the narrative portrays what was going on inside Jesus' mind, and the possibility of a non-literal devil. The debate on the literality of the temptations goes back at least to the discussion of George Benson (d.1762) and Hugh Farmer.

Way to The Mount of Temptation, West Bank town of Jericho:

The account of Matthew uses language from the Old Testament. The imagery of a conflict between an earlier "Jesus" and "the devil" would be familiar to Matthew's contemporary readers, recalling the vision of a conflict between Satan and the Angel of the Lord. In the Septuagint Greek version of Zechariah 3 the name Iesous and term diabolos are identical to the Greek terms of Matthew 4. Additionally Matthew presents the three scriptural passages cited by Jesus not in their order in the book of Deuteronomy, but in the sequence of the trials of Israel as they wandered in the desert, as recorded in the book of Exodus. Luke's account is similar, though his inversion of the second and third temptations "represents a more natural geographic movement, from the wilderness to the temple". Luke's closing statement that the devil "departed from him until an opportune time" may provide a narrative link to the immediately following attempt at Nazareth to throw Jesus down from a high place, or may anticipate a role for Satan in the Passion (cf. Luke 22:3)

Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13 In Luke's and Matthew's accounts, the order of the three temptations and the timing (within or at the end of the 40 days) differs. Matthew, Luke and Mark make clear that the Spirit has led Jesus into the desert. Mark does not provide details, but in Matthew and Luke the devil tempts Jesus to:

Make bread out of stones to relieve his own hunger

Free him from a pinnacle by jumping and relying on angels to break his fall. The narrative of both Luke and Matthew has the devil quote Psalm 91:11-12 to show that God had promised this assistance, although the devil implies that the passage may be used to justify presumptuous acts, while the Psalm only promises that God will deliver those who trust and abide in Him.

Worship the devil in return for all the kingdoms of the world. Luke has the devil explicitly claim this authority had previously been handed to him, the devil.

Way to The Mount of Temptation, West Bank town of Jericho:

Fasting traditionally presaged a great spiritual struggle. Elijah and Moses in the Old Testament fasted 40 days and nights, and so Jesus doing the same invites comparison to these events. At the time, 40 were less a specific number and more a general expression for any large figure. Fasting may not mean a complete abstinence from food; consequently, Jesus may have been surviving on the sparse food that could be obtained in the desert. Each temptation takes place in a different setting.

Way to The Mount of Temptation, West Bank town of Jericho:

The temptation of making bread out of stones occurs in the same desert setting where Jesus had been fasting. Alexander Jones reports that the wilderness mentioned here has since the fifth century been believed to be the rocky and uninhabited area between Jerusalem and Jericho, with a spot on Mount Quarantania traditionally being considered the exact location. The desert was seen as outside the bounds of society and as the home of demons such as Azazel (Leviticus 16:10). Some have read this reference to the wilderness as a comparison to Adam in the Garden of Eden, implying that Jesus was a new Adam (cf Book of Romans 5). 

Way to The Mount of Temptation, West Bank town of Jericho:

However scholars like Gundry reject this idea, stating that nowhere does Matthew's text imply such a comparison, but rather the desert is more likely an allusion to the wilderness through which the Israelites wandered during the Exodus, and more specifically to Moses. Jesus replies, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

Way to The Mount of Temptation, West Bank town of Jericho:

Most Christians consider that holy city refers unquestionably to Jerusalem and the temple to which the pinnacle belongs is thus identified as the Temple in Jerusalem. Gospel of Matthew refers to "the temple" 17 times without ever adding "in Jerusalem". That Luke's version of the story clearly identifies the location as Jerusalem may be due to Theophilus's unfamiliarity with Judaism.

Way to The Mount of Temptation, West Bank town of Jericho:

What is meant by the word traditionally translated as pinnacle is not entirely clear since the Greek diminutive form pterugion ("little wing") is not extant in other architectural contexts. Though the form pterux ("large wing") is used for the point of a building by Pollianus, Schweizer feels that little tower or parapet would be more accurate, and the New Jerusalem Bible does use the translation "parapet". The only surviving Jewish parallel to the temptation uses the standard word šbyt "roof" not "wing": "Our Rabbis related that in the hour when the Messiah shall be revealed he shall come and stand on the roof (šbyt) of the temple." (Peshiqta Rabbati 62 c-d) The term is preserved as "wing" in Syriac translations of the Greek.

The Mount of Temptation, West Bank town of Jericho:

Once the temptations are over, the narrative has the devil depart and Jesus being looked after by angels. In the original Greek of Matthew, "devil left him" was in the historic present tense, indicating a lack of permanence, i.e. that the devil would later return to further tempt Jesus (which Luke spells out explicitly). While both Mark and Matthew mention the angels, Luke does not, and Matthew seems once again here to be making parallels with Elijah, who was fed by ravens. 

Near to The Mount of Temptation, West Bank town of Jericho:

The word minister/ served is often interpreted as the angels feeding Jesus, and traditionally artists have depicted the scene as Jesus being presented with a feast, a detailed description of it even appearing in Paradise Regained. This ending to the temptation narrative may be a common literary device of using a feast scene to emphasize a happy ending, or it may be proof that Jesus never lost his faith in God during the temptations.

The valley of The Mount of Temptation, West Bank town of Jericho:

In the War Scroll found at Qumran, angels are described as forming an army to battle evil, which is somewhat at odds with most interpretations of the portrayal of angels here, but it could indicate that the angels in the passage should instead be interpreted as ministering to Jesus by driving off the devil. After forty days and nights of no food, Jesus needed sustenance and once the temptations had ceased, miraculous aid was at hand. God kept his promise to take care of Jesus.

In the valley of The Mount of Temptation, West Bank town of Jericho:

Exactly what the devil was trying to achieve by these temptations has been open to debate. The traditional view is that the devil on each occasion is trying to make Jesus commit a particular sin — avarice by offering power over the kingdoms of the world, gluttony by suggesting a way to relieve Jesus' hunger, and hubris by suggesting that Jesus jump and rely on angels to break his fall. But Jones argues that labeling someone a glutton after a fast because of the temptation of food is a hyperbole.

The Mount of Temptation is in the view, said to be the hill in the Judean Desert where Jesus was tempted by the devil (Matthew 48), West Bank town of Jericho:

Another view popular for a time (for example, see Dostoyevsky's The Grand Inquisitor in The Brothers Karamazov) was that the devil wasn't so much tempting Jesus as presenting him with the different options he could take to be a Messiah, and making him choose one. Evangelicals point to the word usually translated as tempt as being more accurately translated as test, i.e. that the devil was testing Jesus' understanding of his role rather than trying to lure him to sin. Rejected options under this interpretation are:

Someone who alleviates physical hardships, as manifested by miraculously feeding himself when hungry

A magician and miracle worker who wins converts by spectacular acts, as manifested by surviving a jump from a high pinnacle. That the devil places Jesus in a very public location, rather than the numerous high pinnacles in the desert, gives credence to this view.

A political liberator from the oppression of the Romans, as manifested by having power over the kingdoms of the world

The Mount of Temptation is just behind the orange farm:

Another view, popularized by the book The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder, suggests that the three temptations of Jesus foreshadow the three points in his ministry where political temptations were the greatest:

Right after the miracle of the loaves and fish was performed, when the hungry crowds wanted to make him king;

When he cleansed the Temple, at which time he had already secured enough political and moral support from the crowds to start a political movement; and

The night at Gethsemane when he played with the idea of calling on twelve legions of angels to stop his arrest - he could have initiated a holy war had he chosen to.

Steps to The Mount of Temptation:

There remains the question of the validity of the temptations offered to Jesus. As the Son of God, he would be able to attain any of these desires without the aid of the Devil. He was, in essence, being tempted with offers that he already had in his hand. However, Hebrews 4:15 states that Jesus is one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are. The author of the book of Hebrews clearly purports that Jesus was tempted in the same way as other men (i.e., without supernatural powers). Granted this scriptural passage, it only makes sense that Jesus was required to pass these tests before God without relying on powers that other men do not have.

The Mount of Temptation Monastery:

In the temptations, according to Benedict XVI, Satan seeks to draw Jesus from a messianism of self-sacrifice to a messianism of power: "in this period of "wilderness"... Jesus is exposed to danger and is assaulted by the temptation and seduction of the Evil One, who proposes a different messianic path to him, far from God's plan because it passes through power, success and domination rather than the total gift of himself on the Cross. This is the alternative: a messianism of power, of success, or a messianism of love, of the gift of self"

The Mount of Temptation Monastery:

A resulting conclusion of noting similarities of the two events, including the description of the event within Psalms 105 and 106, such as, "In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test”, the reason for Jesus' temptation was that the Lamb of God was taking on the sins of the forefathers of Israel who had rebelled against him when he led them with his Holy Spirit through the desert, and, as John the Baptist did in the desert around the same time to prepare the way for him, show everyone the path of righteousness so we all would repent and understand. He did all of this so that the "lost sheep of Israel" and later, all people, would believe in him and know him, the good Shepherd who saves from condemnation and death by laying down his life for his sheep, those who come to him to learn from him, who hear his voice and know him that they would have eternal life in him and be able to call on the Name of the Lord and have the Lord be their Righteousness and Salvation, Emmanuel forever. 

The Mount of Temptation Monastery:

The summit of the mount, about 360 metres above sea level, offers a spectacular panoramic view of the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea and the mountains of Moab and Gilead.

The Mount of Temptation is about 5km north-west of the West Bank city of Jericho. Access to the summit is by a 30-minute trek up a steep path — passing through the cliffhanging monastery on the way — or by a 5-minute cable car ride from Tel Jericho.

Unlike some Greek Orthodox monasteries, the Monastery of the Temptation allows women visitors as well as men.

The mountain is also known as Mount Quarantania and Jebel Quarantul. Both names arise from a mispronunciation of the Latin word Quarentena, meaning 40, the number of days in Christ’s fast. This period of fasting became the model for the practice of Lent in Christian churches.

The Mount of Temptation Monastery, a distant view. Cable cars moving to the mountain:

As recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (4:1-11) and Luke (4:1-13) — and fleetingly in Mark (1:12-13) — the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert. While he fasted, the devil tempted him three times to prove his divinity by demonstrating his supernatural powers.

Each time, Jesus rebuffed the tempter with a quotation from the Book of Deuteronomy. Then the devil left and angels brought food to Jesus, who was famished.

Tradition dating from the 12th century places two of the devil’s tempting on the Mount of Temptation.

The Mount of Temptation Monastery:

The temptation to turn a stone into bread is located in a grotto halfway up the mountain. The offer of all the kingdoms of the world in return for worshipping the devil is located on the summit.

Monks and hermits have inhabited the mountain since the early centuries of Christianity. They lived in natural caves, which they turned into cells, chapels and storage rooms. A sophisticated system of conduits brought rainwater from a large catchment area into five caves used as reservoirs.

The Mount of Temptation Monastery:

A 4th-century Byzantine monastery was built on the ruins of a Hasmonean-Herodian fortress. The monks abandoned the site after the Persian invasion of 614.

The present Monastery of the Temptation, reconstructed at the end of the 19th century, seems to grow out of the mountain. The northern half is cut into the almost sheer cliff, while the southern half is cantilevered into space.

In the valley of The Mount of Temptation:

TEMPTED IN THE WILDERNESS

Luke 4:1-13

Immediately Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus lived among wild beasts. He ate nothing for 40 days and 40 nights. Imagine his hunger.

The devil said to him: If you are the Son of God, command these stones become bread.

Jesus said: It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.

Then the devil led Jesus into Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him: If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, he will put his angels in charge of keeping him safe and guarding him from harm. The angels will not let you fall. They will hold you up with their hands so that you do not dash your foot against the stones.

Jesus answered: It is written you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. The devil took him to the top of a high mountain where he showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their glory in a split second.

He said to Jesus: I will give you authority over all these kingdoms and you can have their glory for yourself. These are mine to give to whomever I will. If you will fall down and worship me this will all be yours.

Jesus answered: Get away from me Satan, for it is written that you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.

After Satan was done with his temptations, he left him for a season. The angels came to minister to Jesus.

John confesses that he is not the Christ

The priests and the Levites came to the Jordan River in Bethany to ask John the Baptist who he was. John told them in no uncertain terms that he was not the Christ.

They asked: Are your Elijah?

John answered: I am not.

They asked: Are you the prophet?

John answered: No.

They asked: Then who are you?

John answered: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord.

Then they asked him: Why do you baptize if you not the Christ or Elijah?

John said: I baptize with water. In the midst of you is standing someone who you do not know. He is the one for whom I am preparing the way. I am not even worthy to untie his shoes.