Temptation, iStock by Getty Images.

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[Jesus] turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”  Matthew 16:23.

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Today’s gospel is certainly one of the most astonishing passages in all Scripture. Seconds before this outburst from Jesus, Peter had been handed the keys to the kingdom of heaven; next, Peter is called “Satan”! You might well ask, what on earth is going on? Well consider what Jesus had just said to his followers that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed….. And this was the One that Peter had seconds before acknowledged as being the Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of the Living God! Clearly, for Peter, what Jesus now said was the opposite of what Peter had declared Jesus to be! There was no way the Messiah was going to suffer and be killed! It was inconceivable! And yet Jesus himself declared that he was to suffer and be murdered. I believe the root of Jesus’ reaction and this misunderstanding and disbelief was and is, temptation. It occurs throughout Scripture and history, from the earliest moments (see the picture above) even down to the present. Consider this whole range of thought concerning temptation:

I can resist everything except temptation – Oscar Wilde

Lead us not into temptation... – the Our Father

Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in – Billy Sunday

The ordeal of virtue is to resist all temptation to evil – Thomas Malthus

Temptation, oh, temptation,
Were we, I pray, intended
To shun, what e’er our station,
Your fascinations splendid;
Or fall, whene’er we view you,
Head over heels into you?
Head over heels, Head over heels,
Head over heels into you!  –   The Yeomen of the Guard, W. S. Gilbert

So how does this connect to today’s gospel? Jesus had just been acknowledged as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Anointed of God. And that was true. Then the Anointed of God announced he was to undergo flagrant abuse and be killed in Jerusalem, the exact opposite of what, at that time, was expected of the Messiah. Having endured about 500 years of oppression and occupation by Gentile pagans, the Jewish people were expecting the Messiah to deliver them from such suffering and restore the strength and glory of the kingdom of David. Indeed at least one “messiah” did rise up years later and summoned all Jews to arms. This was when the Emperor Hadrian had decided to rename Jerusalem “Aelia Capitolina”, which prompted Simon ben Kochba to rise up in rebellion and be acclaimed the messiah by several rabbis. He led the Jewish population into battle against the Romans in 135AD. The result was his total defeat, the banishment of all Jews from Jerusalem, and the site of the Temple being dedicated to the Roman god Jupiter.

Aelia Capitolina, Carole Raddato.

So when Jesus prophesied his arrest and death in Jerusalem, it flew in the face of his disciples’ hopes and belief and indeed that of the whole of Jewish society at that time. And his overwhelming temptation was, of course, that as Son of God he could have indeed summoned legions of unbeatable warrior angels and slaughtered all the enemies of Judah in a second. However, he  foretold that he was to undergo ridicule, beating and utter humiliation at pagan Roman hands. But there was to be no revenge, just as he had rejected the temptations of the devil in the wilderness after this baptism, and the provocation of the crowds screaming “if you’re the Son of God, come down from the cross and save yourself” (Matthew 27:40-44). That explains his extraordinary response to Peter’s disbelief over what was to happen in Jerusalem. The true Messiah was one dedicated to peace, love of God and others and utter respect for human life and happiness. Anything other than that would be to betray his vocation from the Hand of God; he was not about to do anything like that, right to the bitter end. 

Now consider this focus of thought with the other readings today. Putting the second reading first, it says, “Do not conform yourselves to this age”. We have just considered the Jewish expectation of a warrior-messiah expected any day which was not to be fulfilled. The temptations of the current age are very well known. Just look at tonight’s TV newscast: money, racism, drugs – the list can be very long, and each of these alone promises satisfaction, pleasure, power and so on. Yet they are all phantasms, with no truth in them at all. They are all temptations to be resisted. Look at the first reading. Living the true life of obedience to God, according to this reading, brings a life of mockery and ridicule, derision and reproach. Yet the message we hold within, of the goodness of God, should be so strong that the temptation to evade the inevitable ridicule is impossible. 

And so, caving in to temptation brings disaster, death, corruption, pain, addiction and on and on. It always promises happiness and satisfaction; it always results in the exact opposite. Jesus was subject to the most horrendous temptation, especially as he had to power to act on any and all temptations around him for his own sake. Today’s gospel shows how he rejected all temptation absolutely, resulting in the bewilderment of his closest friends. Even they became sources of temptation, especially with Peter declaring, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” Yet Jesus knew what keeping to the vocation given him by his Father meant. This was what the true meaning of the prophecies concerning the Messiah foretold. And this is what had to happen. Keeping to the will of God rather than our own is not easy; indeed it can be stupendously challenging. Yet that is what each of us is called to achieve. But we are not alone. The Lord has been through the same thing, and will be there to strengthen and guide us whenever temptation strikes. And when it strikes, let us imitate the Lord, and cry out, “Get behind me Satan!”

Christ Tempted, Darrel Tank, GoodSalt.com.

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