To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

 

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

 

It was nearly time for Jesus’ ministry to begin.  But first, He was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil.  What on earth for?  Why should the Son of God have to be tempted?  That is a question that has been asked again and again, and the answer centers around who He is and what kind of Messiah He is.  The Jews were looking for the conquering King, overlooking the suffering servant depicted in over 100 of the prophecies about the incarnation of the Son of God on earth.  So it may have been that He was to be tempted in order to show the Jews just who He was.  He would not use His supernatural powers to accomplish his mission, like Satan tried to tempt Him to do in Matthew 4:3-4 NIV.  He wouldn’t entice people to follow Him by using magic or miracles, as Satan tempted Him to do in Matthew 4:5-7 NIV.  And He would not bow down to Satan and make him the god he’d wanted to be since the beginning as in Matthew 4:8-10 NIV. 

 

Could Jesus be tempted?  No.  Not in the way that you and I are.  There is nothing within Jesus that would make Him even want to sin, much less commit the sins themselves.  As He says several times in Matthew 5, even thinking about sinning is a sin!  Jesus was God Incarnate, and as God, He did not sin in any way – not by His actions, or by what He said, or by any inner desire to sin.  2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  Hebrews 7:26 (NIV) says, “Such a high priest meets our need - one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”  1 Peter 2:22 (NIV) says, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”  And 1 John 3:5 (NIV) says, “But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.” 

 

So was Jesus really tempted, or was His temptation merely symbolic?  It was VERY real, and there was no symbolism connected with Jesus’ temptation.  Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.”  Jesus was confronted by Satan with very real opportunities to sin, but He did not give in to temptation.

 

It’s interesting to note how He combated the temptation of the devil… He could have used His supernatural powers and just booted Satan out of the way.  But He didn’t.  Instead, as in all things with His ministry, He demonstrated for us how to combat temptation, using a weapon that is readily available to you and me – the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17 ), which is the Word of God!  He withstood the temptation.  He remained sinless.  He kept Himself perfect in order to be the perfect sacrifice for you and me.

 

Like Jesus, you and I are tempted - daily.  Satan’s favorite game is to lay temptation in front of us, giving us the opportunity to sin over and over again every day of our lives.  The stronger our faith and the more influential our witness, the more powerful the temptations are that he lays before us.  Satan knows our weak spots, and he digs at them constantly, laying trap after deadly trap in front of us, just hoping we’ll step in.

 

Why does God allow this to happen?  Why doesn’t He make the road before us smooth, with no traps to fall into?  Because He wants our faith in Him to grow, and He wants to show us where our strength lies – in HIM and His Word, not in ourselves.  And there’s another reason…  Remember the children of Israel ?  Deuteronomy 8:2 (NIV) says, "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands."  Like the children of Israel , God wants us to prove that we will obey Him.  And we can’t learn to obey without obstacles.

 

God wants our faith and our love and our obedience.  It is through these things that we glorify His name here on earth.  The next time you’re faced with temptation, remember whose child you are.  Remember that you have a powerful weapon that’s easily within your reach, so don’t let it gather dust.  And remember that it is just a test. 

 

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”  Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV