Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Luke: Chapter 4].
1:12f. So then here is a specimen of the Logia of Jesus (Q), a
non-Markan portion of Matthew and Luke, the earliest document
about Christ. The narrative could come ultimately only from
Christ himself. It is noteworthy that it bears all the marks of
the high conception of Jesus as the Son of God found in the
Gospel of John and in Paul and Hebrews, the rest of the New
Testament in fact, for Mark, Matthew, Luke, Acts, Peter, and Jude
follow in this same strain. The point is that modern criticism
has revealed the Messianic consciousness of Jesus as God's Son at
his Baptism and in his Temptations at the very beginning of his
ministry and in the oldest known documents about Christ (The
Logia, Mark's Gospel). {He did eat nothing} (\ouk ephagen
ouden\). Second aorist (constative) active indicative of the
defective verb \esthi•\. Mark does not give the fast. Mt 4:2
has the aorist active participle \n•steusas\ which usually means
a religious fast for purposes of devotion. That idea is not
excluded by Luke's words. The entrance of Jesus upon his
Messianic ministry was a fit time for this solemn and intense
consecration. This mental and spiritual strain would naturally
take away the appetite and there was probably nothing at hand to
eat. The weakness from the absence of food gave the devil his
special opportunity to tempt Jesus which he promptly seized.
{When they were completed} (\suntelestheis•n aut•n\). Genitive
absolute with the first aorist passive participle feminine plural
because \hemer•n\ (days) is feminine. According to Luke the
hunger (\epeinasen\, became hungry, ingressive aorist active
indicative) came at the close of the forty days as in Mt 4:2.
4:3 {The Son of God} (\huios tou theou\). No article as in Mt
4:3. So refers to the relationship as Son of God rather than to
the office of Messiah. Manifest reference to the words of the
Father in Lu 3:22. Condition of the first class as in Matthew.
The devil assumes that Jesus is Son of God. {This stone} (\t•i
lith•i tout•i\). Perhaps pointing to a particular round stone
that looked in shape and size like a loaf of bread. Stanley
(_Sinai and Palestine_, p. 154) on Mt. Carmel found
crystallizations of stones called "Elijah's melons." The hunger
of Jesus opened the way for the diabolic suggestion designed to
inspire doubt in Jesus toward his Father. Matthew has "these
stones." {Bread} (\artos\). Better "loaf." For discussion of this
first temptation see on ¯Mt 4:3f. Jesus felt the force of each
of the temptations without yielding at all to the sin involved.
See discussion on Matthew also for reality of the devil and the
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