We always say things like "See, look at this passage. Jesus was tempted too". But this is such a weird way to be tempted. All three temptations come at once and in this sectioned out chapter right after His fast. Satan actually takes Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple before tempting Him--"the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple"... What does that even mean?--that the devil "took" Jesus somewhere. Why did Jesus even allow the devil to take Him somewhere? Also, verse 11, after the devil left Him, "angels came and ministered to Him". Angels came AFTER the temptation?? What? Where were they during the temptation?
And I guess for the longest time I couldn't figure out why turning stones into bread was wrong. Didn't Jesus multiply the fish and loaves of bread to feed the 5000? What's wrong with feeding himself? I mean, the fast is over. Just because man doesn't live on bread alone doesn't mean man has to go without bread.
Anyway, I have no idea why I never noticed how odd and mysterious/confusing this passage was. It's great though, to notice this. It shows just how many mysteries there are in the bible and how much we don't know. Will keep asking God to reveal these mysteries to me.
In the meantime, if any of you have ideas or things you've heard about this passage, please share!
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