We miss the point, I think, when we consider this text only from the perspective of its characterization of Jesus and his mission. It is also (and therefore) a statement about the church—a statement, moreover, with high theo-critical potential. Jesus, not without difficulty, resisted these temptations; the church, however, has rarely been able to do so. Indeed too often (and perhaps characteristically) the church has succumbed with alacrity—to the point of acting