Matthew 4:1-11.       

Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is a fascinating story in a variety of ways. It reminds us that the Holy Spirit sometimes leads us to places we’d rather not go (v. 1). What we often notice in the story is that Jesus quotes Scripture to counter against each of devil’s temptations.

Jesus isn’t the only character in the story who quoted Scripture, however. The devil did as well (v. 6). The difference was that the devil distorted the meaning of the text to make it mean something it never could have meant.

A quote I’ve seen attributed to several different New Testament scholars is that a text without its context is a pretext for a proof text. That is, we can’t make Scripture say whatever we want it to say but must interpret it properly and in context. To live in harmony with Scripture, we must be able to read and interpret it correctly.

Scripture is the greatest tool we have for Christian living. Read correctly in context, it tells us everything we need to know for faith and practice.

Author: Joe Foltz