{To be tempted of the devil} (peirasth(886e)ai hupo tou
diabolou). Matthew locates the temptation at a definite time,
"then" (	ote) and place, "into the wilderness" (eis t(886e)
er(886d)on), the same general region where John was preaching. It is
not surprising that Jesus was tempted by the devil immediately
after his baptism which signified the formal entrance upon the
Messianic work. That is a common experience with ministers who
step out into the open for Christ. The difficulty here is that
Matthew says that "Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the
Spirit to be tempted by the devil." Mark ( Mr 1:12 ) puts it more
strongly that the Spirit "drives" (ekballei) Christ into the
wilderness. It was a strong impulsion by the Holy Spirit that led
Jesus into the wilderness to think through the full significance
of the great step that he had now taken. That step opened the
door for the devil and involved inevitable conflict with the
slanderer (	ou diabolou). Judas has this term applied to him
( Joh 6:70 ) as it is to men ( 2Ti 3:3  Tit 2:3 ) and women (she
devils,  1Ti 3:11 ) who do the work of the arch slanderer. There
are those today who do not believe that a personal devil exists,
but they do not offer an adequate explanation of the existence
and presence of sin in the world. Certainly Jesus did not
discount or deny the reality of the devil's presence. The word
"tempt" here (peiraz(935c)) and in  4:3  means originally to test,
to try. That is its usual meaning in the ancient Greek and in the
Septuagint. Bad sense of ekpeiraz(935c) in  4:7  as in  De 6:16 .
Here it comes to mean, as often in the New Testament, to solicit
to sin. The evil sense comes from its use for an evil purpose.