Temptation
James 1:12–15
Temptation
temptation, generally an enticement to do evil, the term is used in the Bible to convey two somewhat different ideas. The first is that of ‘testing’ or ‘proving by testing,’ to determine the depth and integrity of one’s commitment to God (see, e.g., God’s command to Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice in Gen. 22:1-19; also the testing of Job in Job 1-2). In the NT, some of the writers thought of persecution as a ‘testing’ in this manner (e.g., 1 Pet. 1:3-9). The intent of this testing is ultimately to strengthen the person’s faith and devotion to God.
The second nuance of temptation is more in line with modern popular understandings of the term, namely, an enticement toward sin leading to a deliberate act of evil against God or one’s neighbor. The biblical writers are careful, however, to make it clear that God does not ‘tempt’ humans to do evil (e.g., James 1:12-15) and in fact makes available the resources necessary to resist temptation (e.g., 1 Cor. 10:13). The familiar petition in the Lord’s Prayer dealing with temptation probably should be understood as ‘Do not allow us to go into temptation’ (Matt. 6:13a), as the original Aramaic likely would have read. It is quite possible, moreover, that the reference is to ‘testing’ rather than to ‘temptation’ as this is popularly understood.
A quite different aspect of ‘temptation’ or ‘testing’ in the biblical writings is that of human beings attempting to put God to a test, usually for the purpose of testing God’s plans or purposes (e.g., Judg. 6; cf. Matt. 12:39) or, even more, to determine whether they can manipulate God (e.g., Ps. 95:8-11; cf. Matt. 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-12). Such activities stem from a lack of trust in God and his promises. This understanding seems to be involved in the most famous of all temptation accounts, the temptation of Jesus by Satan (Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13).
All of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) have accounts of Jesus’ temptation, although only Matthew and Luke give any details (John’s Gospel has no such account). In each Gospel, the temptation takes place immediately after Jesus’ baptism, which is interpreted as his commissioning for the messianic ministry, a ministry to be characterized by servant-hood (Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; cf., e.g., Mark 10:45). The temptation is not for Jesus to prove his divine Sonship to himself. Such Sonship is never questioned in the NT. Rather, the temptation or ‘testing’ is implicitly presented as Jesus’ struggle over whether to obey God’s call to be a servant-messiah or to interpret messiahship in the traditional terms of power, strength, and conquest. Such a struggle can be detected throughout the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry, where it is made clear that the disciples never really understood Jesus’ commitment to a servant ministry.
In the biblical writings, therefore, temptation or testing has these two nuances: the strong inclination of humankind toward evil when it is known that God wills good and testing situations that may demonstrate one’s commitment to God and God’s ways and even strengthen one’s faith. In each, if people overcome temptation, i.e., pass the test, their faith has been enhanced and their character strengthened (e.g., Rom. 5:3-5). J.M.E.
Achtemeier, Paul J., Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature. Harper’s Bible dictionary 1985 : 1032–1033. Print.
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