Jamin Bradley

Most translations of Matthew 16:1 read, “And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.” However, I wonder if “test” is the best translation of the Greek “peirazō.” As the Lexham Theological Wordbook notes, “A use of the word in a negative sense denotes the act of enticement to sin.”

In this light, perhaps Jesus was being tempted more than tested. Indeed, this would be the English translation of the Greek elsewhere in Matthew. After Jesus received the Holy Spirit in Matthew 4:1 so that he could walk in the same kind of miraculous empowerment as his prophetic predecessors, the first thing the Spirit did to him was lead him into the wilderness to be tempted (peirazō) by the devil. How would he use the supernatural power he had been given?

Among the three temptations that Jesus experienced that we have on record was a temptation toward signs and wonders. Satan took him to the roof of the most important religious center in the most important religious city and told him to jump off and let the angels catch him.

Such a temptation might seem so unusual and over-the-top that it doesn’t even strike us as a real temptation, but take a moment to really think about it. If Jesus used supernatural power to win the world over, his entire life and ministry would have been different. If Jesus used raw power to win people over, there would be no one to hang him on a cross, and thus, no salvation. If Jesus created converts through displays of power rather than through mysterious parables that transformed the hearts and minds of his hearers, his new converts would be an empowered version of everything he preached against. If Jesus were open to using the supernatural for his own benefit, he would have called angels down from Heaven to save him from the cross, just as his mockers encouraged him to do. If Jesus embraced supernatural power in the same way that his disciples deemed acceptable, he would be calling down fire from Heaven to burn people up for petty things.

The disciples thought such a show of power was acceptable because their hero, Elijah, had done the same. But Jesus “rebuked” them for the idea. It wasn’t acceptable when Elijah misused his power back then, and it wasn’t acceptable then. Jesus typically rebuked demons, but here he was rebuking the demonic thinking and Satanic temptation in his own disciples. This wasn’t the only time he did so. When Jesus told his disciples he was going to die and Peter tried to talk him out of it, he rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Satan’s old temptation to inherit the world through power rather than through the self-sacrificial love and suffering of the cross was spilling out of Peter’s mouth. Jesus’ reaction was strong because the temptation was real.

Jesus was given the Spirit without measure because he had proven to be trustworthy in the face of temptation. He could have abused his supernatural strength, but he didn’t. He partnered with the Holy Spirit to do only what he saw his Father doing. He behaved with character. He discerned the rules of what was an acceptable partnership with his Father and behaved in such ways. He used his power to heal people to his own detriment, as it created crowds that crushed him, burned him out, and forced him to leave towns. He used his power to cast out demons, which got him demonized by religious leaders and kicked out of a town. He supernaturally fed thousands of people in a time when he needed to be alone and grieve the loss of his cousin. He performed a compassionate sign-and-wonder to help his mom and her friends out at a wedding, even though he didn’t want to put the fact that he had power on people’s radars yet.

The gospel accounts are so full of the miraculous that it might catch us off guard to be told that “Jesus was holding back.” But he was. Jesus was given the power to do anything he wanted. He could have given in to the temptation of the Pharisees and Sadducees and done a sign and wonder to win them over. The Pharisees were huge supporters of the idea of resurrection, making them suckers for a supernatural sign and wonder. The Sadducees were hardly supernaturalists at all, so showing them something they couldn’t explain would have been a slap in the face.

But Jesus didn’t cave to their temptation. He saw right through them. If they really wanted a sign and wonder from Jesus, there were already so many acceptable displays of power right in front of them to choose from. It’s not like they weren’t being given anything. If those displays weren’t enough, then perhaps nothing ever would be. And if they wanted to be won over by a different kind of display, then the problem was in them, not in Jesus.

Many of us have prayed a prayer that goes something like, “Jesus, would you do this supernatural thing for someone so that everyone can testify to your existence.” A look back at the way Jesus did things might cause us to rethink such prayers. Likewise, a look at how Jesus operated in supernatural ministry might prompt some critique today for those of us who believe in and operate in supernatural ministries. Just because we can do something doesn’t always mean that we should. Let’s make sure our eyes are always on Jesus so that all of our ministries, supernatural or natural, are partnered with him.