Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind – James 4:7-8
Now that we have entered the Lenten season, we are immediately confronted in the liturgy and lectionary with our own wretchedness and need for the Lord’s grace and mercy. The time of Lent should be for us one of trial, but also one of transformation. In the lectionary tradition of the Church, the first Sunday of Lent is paired with the Gospel reading of Jesus’ temptation in the desert by Satan. Shortly after His Baptism in the Jordan by St. John the Baptist, at the start of His public ministry, Jesus is led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Mt 4:1). The artwork featured for this week is thus “Jesus Carried up to a Pinnacle of the Temple” by James Tissot (1886-1894).
Set against an intricate landscape of ancient Judean civilisation, a semi-opaque Satan holds Jesus above the scenery. Tissot excels in creating a sense of fear in his grand and haunting Satanic figure, as he appears to whisper into Christ’s ear his best temptations; literally promising Jesus the world (but nothing more). Jesus appears still and calm in the devil’s grip, with His eyes closed and His hands joined, no doubt in fervent prayer to His Father. This reminds us of an essential truth to temptation, that if Jesus was tempted, then we all, no matter how holy, will experience temptation also. But, just as Jesus is shown to maintain His strength in prayer, we too, in moments of temptation, and even in moments not in temptation, must always pray to our Father that He may give us strength to fight or flee from moments of temptation and sin.
The painting depicts the second of Jesus’ temptations (or the third if you are reading Luke’s Gospel), as Matthew describes:
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 give his angels charge of you,’ [Ps 91:11a] and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ [Ps 91:12]” (Mt 4:5-6)
Satan in this scene not only tempts, but tests Jesus, seeing if He really is Who He says He is. Jesus rebukes him, quoting from Deuteronomy when He says Again it is written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ [Dt 6:16, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.] Throughout His temptations, Jesus expresses a strong familiarity with the Scriptures, over and above the devil, who tries appealing to the Bible. We too must be familiar with Scripture if we want to succeed in the spiritual life, not that we will be called upon to quote Scripture to defeat the devil’s suggestions, but rather to seek in the Bible a guide for the spiritual life. Scripture, especially the New Testament epistles, speak of the Word of God as being a sword, which can cut us free from spiritual trials, and convict others of their spiritual needs as well. Nowhere is this clearer than in St. Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians:
Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand…take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. (Ep 6:11-13, 17-18)
Despite the devil’s apparent grandeur in Tissot’s image, his transparency contrasted against Christ’s brilliantly white clothes, reminds us that he is little less than a passing shadow, which the Light of Christ can quickly dispel away (Ps 18:26, Jn 8:12).
The night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light… put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires – Romans 13:12, 14
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