The Temptation of the Church: A Study of Matt. 4:1-11

Authors

Jaroslav J. Pelikan Jr., Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

Publication Date

4-1-1951

Document Type

Article

Keywords

temptation, church, ministry, jew, kerygmatic, tempter, devil

Submission Type

Bible Study; Lecture; Sermon Prep

Abstract

This brief essay purposes to examine the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, not so much the problems1which this narrative poses for the area of dogmatics we call Christology (though these are considerable), but the way the story highlights some of the most profound temptations to which the Church and its ministers are subject. For in the three questions which the devil put to Jesus, as Dostoevsky observed, "the whole subsequent history of mankind is, as it were, brought together into one whole, and in them are united all the unresolved historical contradictions of human nature."

Disciplines

Biblical Studies

Scripture References in this Resource (separated by semi-colons)

Matthew 4:1-11;

Submission Cost

Free

Submission Audience

Laity; Ministers; Scholars

Recommended Citation

Pelikan, Jaroslav J. Jr. (1951) "The Temptation of the Church: A Study of Matt. 4:1-11," Concordia Theological Monthly: Vol. 22, Article 22.
Available at: https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm/vol22/iss1/22