What Jesus did #2: he was tempted

Jesus was fully human.

It’s hard for us to get our heads around that, isn’t it?

How can someone be fully divine and fully human at the same time? How does that work?

I don’t know. But’s focus on this today. Jesus was fully human.

He had fun and he got sad. He was hungry. He cried when his friend died. He had to get away on his own sometimes. He got exasperated and angry. He loved and his heart went out to people.

And he was tempted. ‘Tempted in every way, just as we are’ according to Hebrews 4.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Hebrews 4:15

Jesus understands because he’s been there. He knows what it’s like because he’s been through it. He led a normal human life (OK, a pretty extraordinary human life) with human needs and human temptations. His preparation for his ministry – the role that he was born to take on – was to go away alone into the wilderness and there face himself and his humanity full on.

 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. Mark 1:12-13

That’s the short version. Matthew and Luke both go into more detail about what Jesus actually had to face out there int he wilderness. Although if Jesus was completely alone, how did they know? Who told them what went on out there? There’s no record of Jesus talking to anyone about it. However, that’s just one of those questions we’ll never get a clear answer to. I trust that this account is here for a reason and we can learn plenty from it.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Luke 4:1-13

This time of testing becomes a battle for Jesus about what it looks like to be fully human and fully divine at the same time. The devil in this account tempts Jesus to misuse his divine power to work miracles. He’s hungry and has the power at his disposal to meet that need immediately and turn the stones into bread. That’s a huge temptation right there. He can use his divine power to meet his human need. He has to take this time alone to work out how he is going to live and move in the world, how he’s going to use his divine power and identity in the right way at the right time.

The devil offers Jesus authority over all the kingdoms of the world. That’s a massive deal. That’s what Jesus has come to do – to bring all the kingdoms of the earth under God’s rule again as they were at the beginning of time, as they were always meant to be. He longs to change the world. He’s been sent to spread God’s message. It would save him a lot of time and energy and suffering to accept this offer. All he has to do is worship the devil – it’s the original ‘selling your soul to the devil’ story.

The devil also encourages Jesus to test God, to see how much he actually cares about Jesus in human form. He sows the seeds of doubt about what God is up to in sending Jesus to earth as a vulnerable human being.

Jesus passes this series of tests, these compromises with evil. He is now ready to face whatever temptations come his way. And there will be more. There will always be more.

So what can we learn from this about how to deal with temptation in our own lives?

1. Be prepared. Jesus went into the wilderness full of the Holy Spirit. He had been living his life as God intended life to be lived. He’d been making the right choices. He’d been nurturing his connection with God. So when he entered this difficult time, he was as prepared as he was ever going to be. The more our lives are grounded in our relationship with God, the more chance we have of standing firm when the going gets tough.
2. It is not God who tempts us. The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness, not into temptation. The temptation is the by product of the time in the wilderness. The devil seizes this opportunity when Jesus is physically weak to have a go.
3. The wilderness is a tough place to find yourself. The wilderness is where you find yourself all alone. You’re not understood. You don’t feel supported. Your needs are not being met. You’re out on a limb. Exposed. Exiled maybe. And that’s when you’re the most vulnerable to temptation. ‘Braving the wilderness’ by Brene Brown is an excellent read, because sometimes the wilderness is exactly the right place to be…
4. Sometimes life is uncomfortable. Sometimes we’re tired or hungry or thirsty and it makes us cranky, less able to think straight. Our judgement is affected, our ability to deal with temptation compromised. Where possible, meeting our basic human needs will make us stronger and more able to cope with temptation – that’s what wellbeing is all about. And if our basic human needs aren’t being met for some reason, then we have to recognise that standing up to temptation will be a whole lot harder – but not impossible.
5. Everyone is tempted. Temptation is a fact of human life. It’s part of what makes us human. Temptation is clever though – it’s targeted at each individual. What is a temptation for me may not be for you at all. Temptation targets our needs and weaknesses and desires and can teach us a lot about who we are and what matters to us.
6. Beware of the easy way. The easy way is not usually the right way. The easy way involves compromises. Cutting corners…a quick fix…the easy shortcut…there’s usually a cost involved along the way. Doing it right, doing it God’s way, takes effort.
7. Trust God. The temptation is to test God to make sure He knows what He’s doing. We start to doubt that His way is best and look for some reassurance. Trust is an act of will. It has to become a way of life.
8. Rely on the truths you know. When you’re tempted, your mind goes blank. The voices in your head telling you to do it drown out any reason. Finding a way to remind yourself of the truths you already know – maybe have them written down somewhere – gives you a fighting chance of resisting temptation. Temptation is all about the moment – you’re consumed by it. Trying to take a step back and seeing this moment as part of a bigger picture can help enormously.
9. There will always be temptation. We can pray from God to ‘lead us not into temptation’, but temptation will always be a part of the human experience. Temptation waits for the opportune time to strike when you’re least expecting it, when your defences are down, when you’re feeling weak and disillusioned and alone and discontented. So don’t be surprised. Rise to the challenge!