The Significant Name of God (17)
What we learn from Jesus’ temptation in the desert
André H. Roosma
12 June 2020 (NL original: 17 June 2019)
Is there also something to learn in the New Testament about the glorious
Name of God, יהוה - YaHUaH? 1
Yes, there surely is! Also in the New Testament we see the great Name of God
described and we find clues about how we too should treat the glorious Name,
including the way in which our Lord, Jesus (Yeshu‘a) Himself, used the glorious Name. It is striking, for example, how
often Jesus quoted texts from the First Testament in which the glorious
Name of God appears. This is very clear in the passages about the situation
in which Jesus was tempted three times by the adversary in the desert, as
described in Matthew 4: 1-11 (see also Luke 4).
From the Biblical texts from the First Testament I adopt the use of the
glorious Name of God, because everything indicates that Jesus quoted these
texts literally from the Hebrew originals. In the High Priest’s prayer
(John 17, with quote from Psalm 22) Jesus mentions
that He has made God’s Name known to His disciples again.
1 Then Jesus was led by
the Spirit into the desert [or: wilderness] to
be tempted by the slanderer. 2 And after He had
fasted forty days and forty nights, He was finally hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God,
say that these stones become loaves of bread.” 4
But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man does not live by bread alone,
but by everything that proceeds from the mouth of YaHUaH.’”
Matthew 4: 1-4; with quote from Deuteronomy 8: 3.
5 Then the slanderer
took Him to the holy city and set Him on the edge of the roof of the temple,
6 and said to Him: “If You are God’s Son, throw
Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He shall command His angels concerning
you, and they shall bear you on their hands, lest you strike your foot
against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him: “It is
also written, ‘You shall not tempt YaHUaH your God.’”
Matthew 4: 5-7; with quotes from Psalm 91: 11-12; and
Deuteronomy 6: 16.
It is striking that the adversary does not start here at verse 9 of
Psalm 91, in which God’s Name YaHUaH is mentioned.
8 Again the slanderer
brought him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the
world and their glory, 9 and said to Him, “All
this will I give to You, if You throw Yourself to the ground and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, adversary!
After all, it is written: ‘YaHUaH, your God, you will worship (fear)
and Him only shall you serve.’” 11 Then the
slanderer left Him alone, and behold, angels came and ministered unto
Him.
Matthew 4: 8-11; with quote from Deuteronomy 6: 13-14
A number of things stand out throughout this section, these three
increasingly stronger temptations. The first is that Jesus is simply
called by His Name, but the adversary is only identified by the evil things he
did: slanderer, tempter. We do not know his name.2 At that time,
whether or not mentioning someone’s name was linked to the question whether
you knew that person personally and wanted to honor him. The Bible wants to
know and honor Jesus (Yeshu‘a), but we do not
need to know the adversary personally, and we certainly do not need to honor
him!
It is also remarkable that the adversary offers Jesus all kinds of
devious short paths to His goal, without involving God the Father, but that
Jesus certainly does not respond to this.
Furthermore, it is striking that Jesus quotes God’s Word, but that the
adversary does that too. In itself, quoting God’s Word says little about
whether or not someone is reliable. What is more significant is how they
speak about God, and whether or not they use the personal Name of God.
The adversary definitely does not use The Name. We can relate that
to the fact that he certainly did not have a good relationship with God (!),
and did not want to honor God. As said: Whether or not someone’s name was
mentioned at that time and culture was linked to the question whether you
personally knew and wanted to honor that person. Clearly, the adversary
certainly did not want to honor God.
In contrast, Jesus does use, and even in every answer, the glorious
and lovely Name YaHUaH – He did have a good personal
relationship with His and our Heavenly Father, YaHUaH, and was
constantly focused on honoring Him!
In other articles I have already indicated how the glorious Name is the
rich reflection of the powerful, active and loving presence of YaHUaH.
And so here we see that that active and loving presence of YaHUaH,
and His relationship with Him and awe of Him and His Word, was more than
enough reason for Jesus not to accept the adversaries’ temptations. He
preferred to remain obedient to His dear Heavenly Father, YaHUaH,
and His Word.
So, much can be learned from this story about the use of names. The Bible
frequently mentions the Name of Jesus, not the name of the adversary.
Jesus quoted passages from the First Testament in which the glorious Name of
God, YaHUaH, appeared, and thus He honored God the Father in heaven.
The adversary avoids mentioning God’s glorious Name. The question to us is:
whose example do we want to follow?
Hallelu YaHUaH !
Notes
| 1 |
The names in the Bible have meaning. That is why I
transliterate them carefully so that they remain recognizable. Especially
the glorious Name of God I represent here as accurately as possible from the
oldest Hebrew original, instead of replacing this grand personal Name of The
Most High by a common word, such as ‘Lord’. For more background information
see:
André H. Roosma, ‘The
wonderful and lovely Name of the God Who was there, Who is there, and Who
will be there’  , extensive Accede! / Hallelu-YaH! study, July 2009.
See also the other articles on the
significant Name of God, on the articles page here. |
| 2 |
The Greek titles used for him in the original
text are: diabolos, sometimes transformed to devil, but in fact simply
a general designation saying that he is an slanderer, someone who is divisive;
and peirazo - tempter. The First Testament mainly uses the Hebrew
designation satan - adversary or opponent. Jesus also uses this word
here in verse 10. Incidentally, these general designations are all also used
for people, and are certainly not a unique, personal designation such as a
personal name. |
|
