Essay On Jesus Allusion

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” So begins Matthew chapter 6, the biblical book containing the story of Jesus Christ’s temptation. After his baptism Jesus is said to be led by the Holy Spirit into the wild, for forty days and forty nights of spiritual meditation, in preparation for his ministry. He fasted for the entirety of this time, fed only through prayer communication with the heavens. After this time had passed he was faced by the devil who, noticing his emaciated state, demanded that “If thou shall be the son of God, command that these stone be made bread.” But Jesus denied this request, stating that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God.” Frustrated

by this failure, the Devil next took Jesus to the top of the temple in the holy city, beckoning him to jump into the crowd below. Satan reasoned this by quoting scripture, that the heavens would bend and angels fly to protect him from harm. Not only that, but the feat would confirm on a mass scale the validity of Jesus’s claims as the son of God. However Jesus once again refused the temptation. Finally Satan took Jesus to the highest mountain, overlooking all the kingdoms and lands. To this the devil promised Jesus, if only he would bow and worship him. Jesus refused temptation a third and final time, stating that “…it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Upon hearing this the devil flees and Christ, passing his tests of temptation, goes on to preach his gospel.

Seeing the vast importance of this story in literature, many authors attempt to replicate or make reference to it. So how can you recognize it in a novel? The temptation of Christ allusion has four basic components. The first is a clear conflict of good versus evil. In the biblical story this was the two characters, Jesus and the Devil. The second trait is that the representation of good needs to be in a weakened state. Whether this is physically, emotionally, or psychologically, this allows the character to be more fluid in their judgments and therefore more open to temptation. Next the allusion needs to have the promise of earthy desires. The devil wasn’t simply offering food, miracles, and land, but human necessitates, fame through recognition, and material desires. Many temptations presented in literature today can fall into these three basic categories. Next the allusion needs dark consequences in responses to those desires. This was the fine print of the Devil’s deals, the promise of all the earth, if and only if Christ bowed to him.

These traits go back to the main lesson of the story.

The temptation of Christ allusion is, at its base, a commentary on the lengths we are willing to go to get what we want, and the thin line stopping us from giving into temptation. Just as falling from the temple only to land unscathed would give Jesus an undeniable following and end all questions of his righteous, doing so would mean giving into the whims of evil, violating the very base of his moral standing.
Now knowing the traits and meaning behind this allusion, its easy to spot due to its popularity. The most recognizable of these would be Simon in Lord of the Flies, during his conversation with the pigs head. Weakened by the circumstances on the island, as well as the brutality of his peers Simon stumbles across the pigs head, the representation of the Devil in this allusion. There the pig tells him that he needs to embrace this darkness within him, causing Simon to faint. Another example of this allusion in pop culture is in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Lost and alone in the snow, Edmund, the Christ figure in this allusion, stumbles across the White Witch, symbolizing the devil. Realizing the threat he meant for her reign, she tempted the boy with sweets, and the promise of making him a prince, in exchange for him bring his siblings to her. Not noticing the danger this presented, Edmund agreed. These temptations directly correlate to the first and third presented by the Devil in the

bible, the promise of food and power. Some other examples of this allusion can be found in The Deathly Hallows, Lord of the Rings, and even Brave New World
I hope it’s clear by know that the Temptation of Christ allusion goes further than simply a biblical story. It’s a dissection of the human psyche, the lengths we go to acquire what we want, and the frailty of our very moral fiber.