Jesus and Temptation

"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." - (Hebrews 2:18)

Martin Luther wrote on the subject of Jesus understanding our temptations. Someone argued with him that Jesus didn’t understand how it felt to be tempted like we are because He never gave in. Luther replies, "What’s harder, giving in to temptation, or resisting to give in?" Luther's point being that it's much harder to resist something our flesh desires (lusts for), which is why we need God's grace.

Let's go back to Jesus being tempted by Satan. Jesus hadn't eaten for forty days. Sometimes we can't go four hours. Satan told Jesus to turn the rocks around him into bread so as to relieve his needs, which he could have easily done. Jesus replied “Man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Was Jesus just gritting his teeth and denying his hunger! No! He knew that the bread was just bread. Satan was trying to get Jesus to satisfy his needs with something that couldn’t satisfy…bread. In essence, Satan was telling Jesus, “If you could get some bread then you would know God loves you.” Satan reasoned with Jesus that life consists in having the things that satisfy, and this is the proof of God’s favor. It sounds a lot like the prosperity gospel we hear today, especially when people are told that if God would just get them out of debt, give them a better car or a better life then they would know God loved them, as if God’s favor were wrapped up in only these things. We see this illustrated best with Israel in the desert when they cried and complained to God for something that would satisfy what they wanted, bread. They then complained that if they didn’t get it they would just die. This is eventually what caused Israel’s final rejection of God and His covenant in the desert in Numbers 14. They decided to go back to Egypt because there they had everything they wanted to live the good life (they thought). They thought that God had forsaken them after all he had done for them (deliverance from Egypt, crossing the Nile). Why, because he didn't give them bread (although he gave them something better)!

Satan here uses the same logic on Jesus. The meaning of what he was saying translates into something like, “since God has obviously forsaken you and left you hungry, then you need to do whatever you have to to get what you need instead of trusting Him to provide for you (like He always has).”

Instead of doing the easy thing and falling into temptation, Jesus does the hard thing and trusts God to take care of him. What happens next? God supplies his needs like just like He promised!

Prayer: "God forgive us for trying to fulfill our own needs and help us be more like Christ who completely trusted in you for everything all the time. In Jesus' name."