1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”
Jesus, who taught us to pray “Our Father, who art in heaven … lead us not into temptation” (Matt 6:11, 13) was Himself led into temptation. This experience provides background to Heb 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” He is, therefore, “able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (Heb 2:18b).
Because Christ knows temptation well, three things work in our favor. First, He makes sure any temptation we encounter is within our ability to resist. That’s the promise of 1 Cor 10:13. Second, He provides supernatural help when we are faced with temptation. Third, all we need to do is ask for that help!
But was this a real temptation or just a facade? Some suggest He couldn’t have really been tempted because, after all, He was God, and God cannot be tempted nor could God ever sin (James 1:13). Others think Christ was very much capable of sinning, otherwise it would have been no temptation. The word “tempt” used here, however, can also mean “to examine, to test, to learn the true nature or character.” Jesus was subjected to microscopic scrutiny. The experience shows His true character while being subjected to Satan’s best shot! While Satan meant it for evil, the Spirit meant it for good (compare Genesis 50:20). Jesus was proved incapable of sinning!
The Tempter has three challenges for the Son of God. But first we note the Greek grammatical construction which renders Satan’s terms of engagement: “If you are the Son of God, and we will, for the sake of argument, assume that to be true …” Satan isn’t arguing the nature of who Christ is, he acknowledges it. What he challenges is whether or not Jesus would use divine abilities to satisfy His own human needs. If so, Jesus would distance Himself from human experience and disqualify Himself as an example of depending upon His Father. Additionally, would He follow the lead of Satan rather than the Spirit’s lead, which was so prominent in His having been led into this wilderness experience to start with?!
Father, as Your Son taught me to pray, please do not lead me into temptation as Your Spirit led Him into temptation. You know what I can handle, so help me to trust You and not my own efforts.
excellent points i had never considered-
1) jesus’ prayer (“when you pray, pray like this”) to not be led into temptation, but voila, there He is!
2) love the definition of “tempt”. makes me want to evaluate tough situations to see if they might fit.
3) never made the connection of hebrews 2:18 with this passage- what a comfort.