Matthew 4:1-11
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The context
Immediately after his baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he fasts and is tested three times. Each temptation is met with a citation of Deuteronomy. The sequence ends with the devil leaving and angels attending him, and the Galilean ministry begins.
What it establishes
It establishes that Jesus was genuinely tested and that he resisted by appeal to scripture rather than by raw power. The three citations all come from Israel's wilderness speech, which frames the scene as a recapitulation.
What it does not establish
It does not specify how the temptations occurred. Whether the mountain and the temple pinnacle were physical locations or visionary settings is not said, and the text is not interested in the question. Nor does the passage promise that the same quotations will resolve every later temptation.
Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.
Cited in these answers
Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.