The satanic mythos is greatly expanded in the first century by Christian writers, particularly in the gospels, where Jesus encounters Satan several times.
In Matthew 4, Jesus is said have been led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and nights, The tempter comes to Jesus and tries to get him to perform all manner of miraculous deeds in order to comfort or glorify himself. In verse 10, Jesus says to him, “Away with you, Satan!” This is the first instance of the name Satan being directly linked to the devil. Unfortunately, the word “devil,” does not appear in the Hebrew Bible, so one must glean an understanding of his character by consulting the Christian New Testament. The temptation of Christ shows a version of Satan that has been heretofore unseen. This is the first instance of him dialoguing with a human. In all other accounts, he functions more supernaturally, by inciting David or bringing ruin to Job. The temptation of Christ does have certain parallels with Job, in that Satan functions as a unique entity who is free to roam around the Earth. Interestingly, Matthew says that Jesus was led into the wilderness specifically to be tempted. The purposeful temptation could indicate that, in Matthew, Satan is beholden to God in the same way that he is in Job.
Jesus himself references Satan in Matthew 12. He casts a demon out of someone and the Pharisees claim that it is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that Jesus has the power to cast out demons. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, and in the process, relates Satan to Beelzebul. This is the first explicit reference to Satan as the ruler of the demons.
The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt 13:37-42). The devil (who we have now explicitly linked to Satan) stands in direct contrast to the Son of Man (Jesus) by spreading weeds in opposition to Jesus good seed. Jesus' interpretation of the parable seems to parallel parts of the Book of Enoch, particularly the fate of the evildoers, who are to be cast into the fire. Jesus' parable also insinuates that Satan is (at least) partly responsible for the evil actions of man, just as the fallen angels in Enoch taught humankind to sin.
Jesus further elucidates the character of the devil in Matthew 13. He tells the parable of the weeds. In the parable, a planter sows some wheat, and while he is sleeping, an enemy comes and spreads weeds all over his field. The enemy hopes that when the planter pulls up the weeds he also pulls up the wheat. Jesus then interprets the parable. He says, “
All of the instances of Satan in in Mark parallel his appearances in Matthew. Luke, however, provides us with more depth and dimension to the character of Satan. In this account, Jesus is tempted by the devil (in Greek, “he”) over the course of the forty days and nights, rather than at the end. Also, although Jesus is “full of the Spirit,” there is not indication that his sojourn into the desert was for the purpose of being tempted, in contrast to the other synoptic gospels. When Jesus is tempted, the devil shows Jesus all of the kingdoms of the Earth and says to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luke 4:5-7). Luke's version of the temptation indicates that, rather than being entirely beholden to God for any free act, Satan has an agency over the kingdoms of the world. The agency Satan ascribes to himself in this passage could contribute to the eschatological belief of many Christians today that Satan has authority over this age, until Jesus comes again.
Luke 10 and Luke 22 also offer up more detail on the character of Satan. In Luke 10, Jesus states that he, “Watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.” Jesus words here seem to lend credence to the idea that Satan is a fallen angel. In chapter 22, Satan is said to enter into Judas Iscariot before he offered to betray Jesus. In verse 31 of the same chapter, there is an interesting linguistic tick. The verse reads, “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat...” What's interesting about this, is that the word “demanded” can also be translated as “obtained permission.” It appears as if even has the agency that he claims, he still must get permission from an authority (ostensibly God) to commit his nefarious acts. Satan's impotence again reflects the description of him in Job.
The Gospel of John emphasizes Jesus' foreknowledge of Satan's acts. Early on in his ministry, in chapter 6, Jesus declares that one of his followers is “a devil.” “A devil” appears to be distinct from “the devil,” as in chapter 8, Jesus says, “You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Here, Jesus draws a distinction between one who acts like the devil (a devil), and the actual devil, or Satan, who incites men to do evil. In the passage in chapter 8, Jesus also expands on the traits of the devil, calling him a murder and a liar. With this in mind, it's possible that the devil was lying when he claimed that he had authority over all of the kingdoms of the Earth.
Satan appears one more time in the gospels in John 13. John 13:2 states that “the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas to betray him.” Again, we see an instance of Satan being responsible for mankind's sin. Later in the chapter, in verse 27, Satan enters into Judas, and Jesus, knowing this, says, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” John's emphasis on Jesus constant awareness of what Satan is doing is probably used to tell the reader more about Jesus than about Satan. Although, again, it seems to limit Satan's effectiveness and agency since Jesus (and, one assumes, God) are always aware of what he is trying to do.
Over a relatively short period of the first century, Jesus and the writers of the Gospels provide us with a more detailed picture of Satan than the entirety of Jewish scripture up to that point. The depth of knowledge by the Gospel writer about Satan seems to be unprecedented, and doesn't make a lot of sense. Therefore, we can only conclude that it is revelation.
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