Temptation & The Holy Spirit

Debbie at the Flying Cow Tavern was asking about Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, and Matthew's assertion that the Spirit led him out there to be tempted.  (He borrows the assertion from Mark, an earlier gospel, but embroiders it considerably from other sources.)

My reply:

Don't try to answer this question without attending to the author's perspective on the gospel and the specific audience he's trying to reach, and when and why.

In other words, stop reading theologically and read "dialogically," with an eye on what he's trying to say to somebody who needs to hear it exactly as he says it.

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