Matthew 4:11

Saturday, 21 September 2024

Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. Matthew 4:11

“Then the Traducer, he leaves Him. And behold! Messengers, they came, and they ministered to Him” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus told Satan to withdraw from Him, noting that only the Lord God was to be worshiped. Having said that, it next says, “Then the Traducer, he leaves Him.”

Luke’s narrative leaves out the fact that Jesus commanded Satan’s departure and adds in another thought –

“And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘It has been said, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”’
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”

There is no contradiction in this. Jesus commanded Satan to depart, and he did, but he also would look for an opportunity to frustrate Jesus’ ministry. At one point, he will try to do it through Peter –

“From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’
23 But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’” Matthew 16:21-23

The Traducer was on the lookout for a suitable opportunity to vex the work of the Messiah. For now, however, Jesus proved His ability to overcome the temptations placed before Him. He also proved His authority over Satan by telling him to withdraw. Once gone, it next says, “And behold! Messengers, they came, and they ministered to Him.”

This is the first use of the verb diakoneó in the Bible. It signifies to be an attendant and thus serving. The word is connected to the cognate noun, diakonos, an attendant. That comes from dia (through or thoroughly) and konis, dust. Hence, it is one who scurries through the dust, kicking it up as he attends to others. It is where our modern word deacon is derived from.

As such, these messengers came and served the Lord, meeting His needs, certainly including the food He hungered for in verse 2. Who these messengers are is not stated. A strong possibility, however, is that they are those referred to in Zechariah 4 –

“Then I answered and said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?’ 12 And I further answered and said to him, ‘What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?’
13 Then he answered me and said, ‘Do you not know what these are?’
And I said, ‘No, my lord.’
14 So he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.’” Zechariah 4:11-14

In that passage, those who stand beside the Lord (Heb: ha’omdim – the standing) are those who serve the Lord. The same term is used elsewhere in the Old Testament to indicate this. These two, then, have been designated to serve the Lord in a particular fashion. As the same terminology (olive trees and lampstands) is used in Revelation 11:4, it is likely they will be the two witnesses noted in Revelation 11.

As such, these are probably not angels who are attending to Jesus in Matthew 4 but rather these two (even though no number of messengers is stated). These two have been selected to serve the Lord (stand beside Him). There being only two people who reasonably fit this description, Enoch and Elijah, it is a good possibility it is them.

Both were taken in Old Testament times and so they qualify for being those in Zechariah 4. They will die in Revelation 11, thus qualifying as humans, not angels (see Luke 20:36). As such, it would explain why these two men were singled out thousands of years ago to serve the Lord, not dying before being carried to be with the Lord.

Of course, this is all speculation, but it fits well with such passages that are seen in many places in Scripture.

Life application: In Albert Barnes’ Commentary on this passage, as he often does, he gives several logical points concerning temptation and how it applies to our lives. The first point contains an error that must be addressed. He says, “That no one is so holy as to be free from temptation, for even the Son of God was sorely tempted.”

This is incorrect. Jesus is so holy that He did not succumb to temptation, but he is not “so holy as to be free from temptation.” In this we must be careful to accurately define what has happened. In His humanity, Jesus could be tempted, but He did not fall prey to its effects. It may seem like semantics, but it is an important point.

We too, through the knowledge of Christ, may be tempted, but we can avoid falling prey to its effects. It takes active consideration and a total alliance on our understanding of who Jesus is to avoid its effects, but it can be done.

As we learn the word, given through God’s Spirit, we can apply it to our lives. Jesus, being the focus of the word, is the One we are to emulate. However, in our fallen human selves, we are also bound to fail from time to time. When we do, we just need to redirect and gather ourselves together for the continued march to glory.

Jesus is with us because He has gone before us. We have the word that testifies to His victory, and so let us press on in His strength. Onward in Christ! Eyes on Jesus!

Lord God, it is often a difficult life filled with many trials and temptations, but we know that even in our human weakness and failings, we can and will ultimately prevail through our faith in Jesus. Thank You for doing what we could not do. Thank You for the glory You have revealed in the giving of Your Son. Amen.