The Temptation in the Wilderness

Makestraightpaths.com examines the teachings of the religious group variously known as “the Family,” “The Family International,” the “Children of God,” or the “Family of Love,” and evaluates these teachings from a Christian perspective.

The Temptation in the Wilderness

The story of Jesus’ temptation is quite well-known: After his baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days where he was tempted by the Devil. There were three separate temptations, and the Devil’s aim appears to have been the destruction of Jesus’ ministry before it even began. Jesus successfully resisted temptation by quoting Scriptures to the Devil and returned from the experience strong in the Spirit.

For the most part, the Family’s understanding of this story centres on the method Jesus used to defeat the Devil, that is, by boldly quoting relevant Scriptures. Family teaching on this story usually explains that the Word of God has mighty power, and that when Christians are likewise tempted, they should do as Jesus did, and fight back using God’s Word as a spiritual weapon.

However, a close examination of this passage reveals not only some problems with the way the Family interprets Jesus’ use of the Scriptures, but also a number of serious warnings that are relevant to every Family member.

The texts

Matt 4:1-11

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning you’; and On their hands they will bear you up, So that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

NASU

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

9 And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; 10 for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning you to guard you,’ 11 and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, So that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

NASU

Mark 1:12-13 Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. 13 And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him. NASU

Background

Jesus’ wilderness temptation was one of a series of extremely significant, identity-defining events that occurred at the beginning of his life and ministry. It was not that these incidents actually defined who Jesus was, but rather, they demonstrated publicly that Jesus was the incarnated Son of God, the promised Messiah.

All of these events occurred at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, and all of them may be seen as serving to declare who Jesus was to the world and to the universe:

Jesus was baptised by John (Matt 3:13, Luke 3:21).
He “fulfilled all righteousness” (Matt 3:15).
John the Baptist identified Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
God declared – visibly, audibly, publicly and personally – that this was His Son (John 1:33, Matt 3:17, Luke 3:22).
The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus (Matt 3:16, Luke 3:22, John 1:32).
Jesus was tempted by the Devil.
Angels ministered to him (Matt 4:11).
Jesus declared in the synagogue that he was the fulfilment of the ancient prophecies about the coming of the Messiah (Luke 4:16-30).
He began preaching repentance (Matt 4:17).
He proclaimed that the kingdom of God was near (Matt 4:17).
He began calling his disciples (Matt 4:18-22).
He began teaching publicly (Luke 4:15).
He began healing people (Matt 4:23-24).

The purpose of all these events was to show that the promised Messiah had come. Jesus did not work his way into his ministry slowly, quietly or unobtrusively; he began in a way that could not be ignored, by declaring that Israel’s Saviour had come. This declaration of identity was made both publicly and privately, it was made by word, by deed and through personal testimony. It was made to the general population, the leaders of the nation of Israel, those who would become his disciples, John the Baptist, the Devil and the Angels. Nothing was hidden; this was a clear, definite, overt proclamation that the Messiah had come.

The temptation in the wilderness was a proclamation that was directed specifically at the Devil. Interestingly, the Bible says that it was the Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted (Matt 4:1). In other words, the incident was not so much the Devil attacking and trying to defeat Jesus before he began, but rather it was Jesus showing the Devil that his malicious plans would fail. Jesus was incorruptible, and time for the Devil’s ultimate defeat was at hand. The wilderness temptation was God’s plan, not the Devil’s, and accomplished God’s purpose.

Summary

The accounts of the temptation are very similar in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the only significant difference being the order of the temptations: Luke reverses the order of the final two. Matthew specifies that the purpose of going into the wilderness was to be tempted by the Devil, while Luke says that the temptations actually lasted for the entire forty days, which could mean that there were other temptations that Jesus endured, not recorded in the Bible. Luke does not mention the angels.

The first temptation was when the Devil told Jesus to miraculously create food from stones.

Some Bible commentators point out that the Devil’s words, “If you are the Son of God” (Matt 4:3, Luke 4:3) do not necessarily mean that the Devil was questioning who Jesus was. Rather, the word “if” can also take on the meaning “since”, in which case, the Devil was saying, “Since you’re God’s son, you have miraculous power, so why not use it on yourself?” The NET Bible notes at this point, “This is a first class condition: ‘If (and let’s assume that you are) the Son of God…’.” In other words, the Devil was probably not tempting Jesus in order to find out if he was God’s son, but rather, knowing that he was, he was trying to divert him from his ultimate purpose. Jesus refused, quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3. God’s power was not to be used for self-centred purposes, but for spreading the word of life. Again from the NET Bible, “Jesus will live by doing God’s will, and will take no shortcuts.”

One lesson that can be drawn from this incident is that although God hears every prayer and often assists Christians when they have material needs, he has not promised to give them everything they want or rescue them from all hardship.

The second temptation (according to Matthew; the third in Luke) was when the Devil took Jesus to the “pinnacle of the temple” and told him to throw himself down so that the angels would catch him. Again Jesus refused: it is wrong to attempt to manipulate God. It would have been wrong for Jesus, because he was on earth at the bidding of his Father; he had not come in order to do his own thing.

John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. NASU

This was also a temptation to do something in order to receive praise from people.

Christians should note that self-serving spiritual pride is a sin, and the temptation to indulge in self-aggrandising deeds should be resisted. It is also wrong when Christians insist that God answers their prayers in the way that they want. God always retains the right to answer in the way that he knows is best.

The third temptation (or the second in Luke) was for power over the kingdoms of man, provided that Jesus would worship Satan. Jesus refused, of course. Some commentators make much of Satan’s claim that the world’s kingdoms had been handed over to him, and that he could give them to whoever he wished (Luke 4:6). However, the Devil’s arrogant claim is weakened by two important facts:

First, it is actually God’s decision who rules the kingdoms of the world, not the Devil’s.

Daniel 4:17 This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers and the decision is a command of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the lowliest of men. NASU

Second, the Devil is not truthful. We cannot assume that he was telling the truth, either in his description of his own authority or in his promise to hand over power to Jesus.

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. NASU

Jesus’ response was simple and direct. God alone is to be worshipped and served. No power, whether promised or actual, may supplant true worship of God alone. No rule, no matter how much ‘good’ may be done, may ever be allowed to take the place of service to God alone.

In the Family

The account of the temptation in the wilderness has particular relevance for the Family. This next section lists several areas of serious concern for the Family: for the organisation as a whole, for its current leadership, for its rank and file members, and also for former members. Naturally, not every Family member is guilty of each of the following items, but these sins have been, and in many cases still are, systemically present in the Family.

The first temptation was for Jesus to depart from the will of God for the sake of physical sustenance. Two notable areas in which the Family has pursued a physical or material agenda at the sacrifice of obedience to the will of God are its sexual practices and its methods of ‘provisioning’.

The sexual practices of the Family, instigated and propagated by the founder of the Family, have affected every Family member without exception, either through active participation or passive acceptance. As Jesus demonstrated, the desires of the flesh have no relevance to one’s obedience to God. Christians are not allow themselves to be ruled by physical pleasures, for in so doing they will almost invariably stray from obedience to the word of God. Or, as Jesus put it, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matt 4:4 NIV).

The scriptures that the Family uses to justify the sin of adultery are examined in great detail here.

Further, the Family has a long history of flexibility with the truth when it comes to procuring material donations for their own use, often called ‘provisioning.’ Family members long ago learned how to present themselves in such a way as to capitalise on the generosity of business owners, often without clearly identifying their links with the Family organisation and therefore with its questionable teachings and practices.

The second temptation (in Matthew) was to use spirituality for self-aggrandisement. “Show me how spiritual you are,” said the Devil, “by risking your life for the word of God. Impress me!” There are also a number of ways that the Family – under direction from its current and past leadership – have indulged in a self-serving spirituality. Most notably, the doctrine of the ‘Keys of the Kingdom’, examined here, encourages Family members to pursue the miraculous through mystical, supernatural means. In fact, even setting the doctrine of the Keys aside, the way that the Family treats the word of God often borders on the mystical. Family members are taught to use Bible texts as weapons against the Devil, or as means to get what they need. However, using spiritual methods to affect one’s physical circumstances – even if those methods involve the things of God – is condemned in the Bible as witchcraft. The Bible is not to be used for magic. When a Family member ‘stands on’ a Bible Scripture (or worse, a quote from a Family ‘prophet’) in order to procure a miracle, he or she is not exhibiting great faith in God, as is commonly thought in the Family. Great faith prays, and then expects God to do something about the needy situation. Great faith knows that God himself will take the initiative to act. However, faith in a mystical power within a Bible text is not faith in God. At best, it is a desperate attempt to convince God that your needs are extremely important. Worse, it can be a sinful attempt to manipulate God into doing what you want. Again, faith in the power of a Bible text is not the same as faith in God.

The third temptation Jesus faced (in Matthew) was for worldly power. Unfortunately, it is clear that the Family has succumbed to temptation in this area also. The founder of the Family, Berg/ Dad, and his successor, Zerby/ Maria, are particularly guilty, both having proclaimed that the words they have written are the words of God. Both have claimed for themselves the status of a biblical prophet, ruling over their people with absolute authority, silencing objections and punishing dissenters.

Repentance

In order to return to the Lord, a number of actions are necessary, both for individual Family members and for leadership.

First, there needs to be a total and immediate repentance of the sin of adultery and a forsaking of all teachings that promote any form of sexual activity outside of marriage. All writings on the matter should be removed, officially and practically, publicly and internally. Each and every Family member should repent of his or her participation in and acceptance of this sin.

Second, there should be an honest examination of Family practices regarding relations with the outside world. Leadership should take responsibility for the unscrupulous methods used by Family members to procure the things they need and all such practices immediately terminated.

Third, the unbiblical doctrine of the ‘Keys of the Kingdom’ should be forsaken, together with the desire for spiritual power that it fosters.

Fourth, the pseudo-spiritual attribution of power to individual Bible texts should also be forsaken, together with other questionable practices that approximate witchcraft.

Fifth, current Family leadership should repent of and publicly forsake the notion that Family writings are also God’s word.

Conclusion

The temptation in the wilderness is a story that is well-known in the Family, but little understood. The most common Family ‘lesson’ that is taught from this incident – that of resisting the Devil by using the Word of God as a spiritual weapon – is not specifically mentioned in the account. Jesus resisted temptation, not by attacking the Devil with the Scriptures but through obedience to the will of his Father. He had come to do his Father’s will, but performing miracles would have meant that he was doing his own will, not his Father’s. Jesus was obedient to his Father’s wishes not to put him to the test, and not to worship any other god, regardless of how much fame or authority he might gain as a result.

The Family has much to learn, not about spiritual warfare, but about resisting sin through obedience to the word of God. Unfortunately, it seems that in many areas, the Family has succumbed to temptation and fallen into sin.

See also

The Keys of the Kingdom

Studies on the Law of Love

The Word of God

Further study

The Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11) by Allen Ross

The Temptation of Jesus, Part I by Bob Deffinbaugh

The Second Temptation by: Bob Deffinbaugh

The Third Temptation of Jesus Matthew 4:8-10 by: Hugh T. Blevins, Jr.

The Temptation in the Wilderness by Scott Grant, Peninsula Bible Church

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