“The New Testament is full of quotes and allusions that show that the two Testaments are intimately connected. Indeed, it is clear that Jesus, the apostles, and the early church regarded the Old Testament itself as Christian Scripture. In addition to the general historical continuity, the heart of this unity of the Testaments is the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth. He is not only the central character and principal concern of the New Testament, but he is also regarded by the New Testament as the fulfillment of , and even the reason for, the Old Testament. In a very important way, Jesus is regarded as what the Old Testament is about (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39-46).” (Goldsworthy, 21-22)
I want to make the case to you in this blog that it is not coincidental that there were three specific temptations for Eve and Adam in Genesis 3:6, three specific temptation for Jesus (the Second Adam) in Matthew 4, and that these were also articulated precisely by John in 1 John 2:15-17. I would make the case that Jesus' three roles as Prophet, Priest and King were also connected to these three temptations, and can link each of the ten commandments to these three temptations and three roles. Finally, I want you to see that Israel, although a real nation from which came the real King Jesus, also serves as a picture of all humanity in how she interacted with God both in worship and sin. There are archetypes in Scripture that point to Jesus, but every single human (except Jesus Himself) in their depravity serve as an antitype of Jesus. I want to look at those three passages, and then show you how connected they are. In doing this, we not only develop a theology about temptation and sin, we also see how linked the beginning, middle and end of the Bible really are and why every part of Scripture is necessary in our spiritual formation.
Temptations for Eve and Adam
We begin with Genesis 3:1–7:
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God actually say, "You shall not eat of any tree in the garden"?' And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die".' But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths."
Temptation 1 for Eve and Adam: Good for food.
This was a temptation to partake in what feels good.
Temptation 2 for Eve and Adam: Delight to the Eyes.
This was a temptation to partake in what looks good.
Temptation 3 for Eve and Adam: the desire for wisdom.
This was a temptation to take part in what makes a person look good (pride).
Temptations For Jesus
We continue with Jesus' temptation in Matthew 4:1–11:
"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.' But he answered, 'It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God".' Then the devil took him to the holy city 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 command his angels concerning you," and “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone".' Jesus said to him, 'Again it is written, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”.' Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, 'All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve".' Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him."
What I want you to see here is that Adam was the antitype of Jesus Christ, and Christ re-walked Adam’s path of temptation with victory.
Temptation 1 for Eve and Adam: Good for food.
Temptation 1 for Jesus: Hunger for food.
Jesus informed his feelings of truth from Scripture, quoting Deut. 8:3 about manna which should ring with significance to our ears as manna foreshadowed the provision of Jesus as the bread of life.
Temptation 2 for Eve and Adam: Delight to the Eyes
Temptation 3 for Jesus: The kingdoms of the earth
Jesus set his eyes on things above by quoting Deut. 6:13 about worshipping false gods.
Temptation 3 for Eve and Adam: the desire for wisdom.
Temptation 2 for Jesus: Proving God's favor and goodness
Jesus rehearsed God’s sovereignty by quoting Deut. 6:13 about proper fear of God.
Adam was the antitype of Jesus Christ, and Christ re-walked Adam’s path of temptation with victory.
Temptations For Us
Finally, 1 John 2:15–17 says this to us:
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
The Apostle John drew out the theology of Jesus Christ’s defeat of sin and the pattern for our lives. We do not have to be an antitype. We can address our sin with the strength of Christ’s Spirit! This is the study of hamartiology. The Greek word hamartia means to “miss the mark” or to be “tragically flawed”. The only real positive in sin is that at some point, Lord willing, we come to a realization that we are hopeless without Jesus. If we want to defeat sin in our lives, we must focus our attention not on our own ability or inability to do right, but on Christ’s pattern of defeating sin for us and offering us his victorious strength to defeat sin in our lives, too. Putting everything together, we can make the following connections with temptation and Christ’s mediatorial roles:
Temptation 1 for Eve and Adam: Good for food.
Temptation 1 for Jesus: Hunger for food.
John's Description: Desire of the Flesh.
The Role of Christ Fulfilled: Priestly Office connected to bread/show bread within temple worship. Christ for Israel: the manna provided, Jesus provided as the only bread of life. The 10 commandments obeyed (4: He rested in the Lord's provision; 5: He honored his father's will; 10: He did not covet.)
Temptation 2 for Eve and Adam: Delight to the Eyes.
Temptation 3 for Jesus: The kingdoms of the earth.
John's Description: Desire of the eyes.
The Role of Christ Fulfilled: Kingly office yielded to God's purposes and not man's purposes. Christ for Israel: the True and Glorious King of David's covenant seed. The 10 commandments obeyed (1: He did not worship Satan as kingly authority over God; 2: He did not idolize satan or his own authority; 7: Jesus did not pursue His own passion like His forefather David; 8: He did not steal His Father's authority for selfish gain, but remained a servant to his father's will (Phil. 2).)
Temptation 3 for Eve and Adam: the desire for wisdom.
Temptation 2 for Jesus: Proving God's favor and goodness.
John's Description: the Pride of Life.
The Role of Christ Fulfilled: Prophetic office held to preaching Scripture instead of proving His own worth and authority. Christ for Israel: a better prophet than Moses in His meekness and obedience. The Commandments obeyed (3: He held God's name and authority in honor, not abusing them to prove a point; 6: He did not cast His own life down to prove a point, knowing that He would later surrender His life in obedience on God's terms; 9: He did not bear false witness agains His Father by assuming God would surrender and yield to the Son's will and authority).
No Condemnation
Paul made every one of these connection in his teaching on law and the Gospel. Let’s close by reflecting together on these encouraging truths. Read Romans 7:12–25:
So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin."
And finally, we close with Romans 8:1–4:
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
References
Graeme Goldsworthy, The Son of God and the New Creation
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