The best way to see what is going on in the three-part narrative traditionally called “The Temptation of Jesus” is to read Deuteronomy 6 through 8—Moses’ reflections on God’s testing of Israel in the wilderness “as a man disciplines his son” (Deut 8:5). In these chapters we discover the source of all three of Jesus’ responses to the devil’s suggestions, in reverse order (Deut 8:3, not by bread alone; Deut 6:16, test not God; Deut 6:13, the Lord your God shall you worship—all responses cast in the wording of the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible). Jesus is clearly being presented as passing the tests that his ancestors failed.

As to the nature of this narrative, commentators take one of three options: (1) it is a literal record of Jesus’ experience; (2) it is Jesus’ summary of his struggles in the format of a dramatic rabbinic debate; (3) it is the post-Easter Church’s reflection (in that dialogue format) on the significance of Jesus’ public life as the reversal of Adam’s and Israel’s disobedience. Two considerations make option 3 the most likely: the schematic nature of the narrative, reflecting so carefully the account of Deuteronomy 6-8, and the dependence on the Greek version, which was more likely used by the post-Easter Church than by Aramaic-speaking Jesus.

When we take seriously the background of Deuteronomy 6-8, it becomes clear that the issue is Jesus’ obedience as contrasted with Israel’s disobedience. The tone is established early in Deuteronomy 6, where we find what eventually became Israel’s central prayer, the Shema: "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut 6:4-5). Shema is the Hebrew word translated “hear!” and it means not simply “attend to!” but also “respond! live it out!”—what we sometimes mean when we say, with some urgency in American English, “Listen up!”

Notice that this episode comes right after the voice from heaven calls Jesus “my beloved Son.” So this account of testing serves as a commentary on the meaning of “Son of God” as applied to Jesus. Matthew has already shown that Jesus is God’s Son in the profound genetic sense as one conceived by the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:21). Moreover, the evangelist has shown Jesus to be the Son of God in a way that parallels Israel as God’s son by applying to him the quotation from Hosea, “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos 11:1, at Mt 2:15). Notice that Matthew does not allow us to see Jesus’ obedience as some kind of Christian supersession of Judaism, for Jesus does what he does as son of David and son of Abraham (Mt 1:1). So he does not supersede but rather fulfills Israel’s sonship.

This Gospel reading leads inevitably to how we who worship in Jesus’ name may be challenged to obedience. “Obedience” is not a popular word in pastoral discourse today, but it is essential to New Testament faith. Paul speaks of Jesus being “obedient to death” (Phil 2:8) and describes his own mission as bringing about the “obedience of faith” (Rom 1:5). Obedience (root: ob audire—to hear responsively, as in Shema!) means more than simply carrying out orders. As in the Hebrew Shema, it means listening deeply and actively—to the commandments, and to Church teaching, of course, but also to our conscience as we try to enact the vision of faith in our daily lives.

To cite a particular example where we U.S. Catholics exhibit a hearing difficulty, take the issue of the death penalty. For at least twenty years now, our Pope and our bishops have repeatedly expressed a developing moral doctrine of our Church, namely, that when alternatives for protecting society are available, the death penalty is always a wrongful taking of life. As in the case of abortion, though our law permits this taking of life by the state, Catholic citizens are called to say that, in our time and place, this act is simply wrong. This teaching is part of the Church’s effort to forge a consistent ethic of life. At bottom this is an effort to hear Jesus. To date, indications are that, on this topic, the majority of us have not chosen to listen up.