God’s Son Passes the Test

Excerpt

Matthew emphasizes that Jesus, unlike Israel, passed his test in the wilderness. Matthew makes this biblical background clear even in simple ways like saying the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, reflecting a common biblical motif of God guiding his people in the wilderness (as in Ex 13:18, 21; Ex 15:13, Ex 15:22; Deut 8:2). we should also note that Jesus quotes three texts from Deuteronomy, all of them commandments that Israel failed to obey but that Jesus is determined to obey.

Like John, Jesus had to exit the confines of society for his supernatural encounter (see comment on Jn 3:1–12). The wilderness (translated desert in the NIV because few people lived there) was not a pleasant place: some believed the wilderness to be a special haunt of demons (see comment on Matthew 12:43; compare 1 Enoch 10:4; 4 Macc 18:8). Apart from a few rugged people like John who made the “wilderness” between the Jordan Valley and Judean hills their home, it represented a dangerous and inhospitable setting (E. Sanders 1993:113). More

Keener, Craig S. Matthew. Vol. 1. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997. Print. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series.