The Temptation of Jesus

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him" (Mark 1:12, 13 NKJV).

Have you ever thought about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness? I must confess that I don't think of it too often, and even when I do I have a tendency to shrug it off. I am quite familiar with the verse in Hebrews that states "we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15 NKJV), but I could never really understand how Jesus could really sympathize with our weaknesses. I mean - he had no sin nature - how hard could it have been for him?

These two verses in Mark speak straight to my flawed thinking. Not only was Jesus physically weakened from fasting, living also under physical threat from wild animals, but he was tempted by the Master of Evil himself. Notice that it is Lucifer, the Father of Lies, who came out to tempt Jesus, not some average, run-of-the-mill demon (if there is such a thing).

I used to think Jesus' temptation couldn't have been to big of a deal since he did not have a fallen nature to contend with. But if I had to choose between facing the internal temptations of my own falleness or the deceptive lies of Lucifer himself - the very temptive force behind humankind's fall - I would choose my own sin nature hands down.

At least the sin nature can be manipulated, controlled, or constrained. Imagine an all out temptation attack from the most experienced deceiver/tempter the universe has ever known. Jesus didn't have to have a sin nature to be able to sympathize, he faced the temptations of Satan! My own feeble, fleshly temptations pale in comparison!

Also, it is important to remember that the intensity of a temptation is directly related to the intensity of the resistance. In other words, one usually experiences relief from temptation after one gives in. If you were to stand fast, however, the temptation will feel stronger because you are fighting/resisting it.

So what does this mean for us?

1. Jesus truly can sympathize with our weaknesses, and as such, we can "come boldly to the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:15) for his sympathy is already with us.
2. He is able to aid us in our temptations (Hebrews 2:18; 4:16). In our time of need, we can ask boldly for mercy and grace to help us with our temptations.
3. Jesus knows the struggles we go through with sin. He's been there. He had to resist against the greatest temptive force ever known! And in spite of it all, he defeated sin, and through his grace, mercy, power, and strength, so can we!