97
Where did the devil take him first, to the temple, or to the mountain?
Matthew: To the temple ([iv, 5–8]).
Luke: To the mountain ([iv, 5–9]).
Concerning this discrepancy, Farrar says: “The order of the temptation is given differently by St. Matthew and St. Luke, St. Matthew placing second the scene on the pinnacle of the temple, and St. Luke the vision of the kingdoms of the world. Both orders cannot be right” (Life of Christ, p. 70).
Some of the ablest Christian scholars have refused to accept the Temptation as historical. Farrar says: “From Origen down to Schleiermacher some have regarded it as a vision or allegory—the symbolic description of a purely inward struggle; and even so literal a commentator as Calvin has embraced this view” (Ibid, p. 65).
98
Had John been cast into prison when Jesus began his ministry?
Matthew: He had.