Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 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.
(verses 1-2)
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“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” (Hebrews 4:15)
“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).
I imagine the author of the book of Hebrews, writing these statements about Jesus, was well aware of the temptation scenario recorded by Luke in this present chapter. It’s not the full extent of Jesus’ temptation experience – Luke concludes the episode by telling us the devil “left him until an opportune time” (verse 13) – there was more to come. But enough is said to convince us that Jesus’ experience was as intense and real as our own.
What he experienced was physical. He was tempted to satisfy an intense hunger that had built up over forty days of fasting. I know how my own appetites (whether for food, drink, rest, sleep, sex, or other pleasure) can present themselves in contexts that would make it wrong to indulge. Yet the temptation is so often overpowering.
What Jesus experienced was emotionally compelling. He was tempted to fulfill his own deep-seated purpose by taking an illicit shortcut. He’d come to rescue and redeem, knowing it would require full sacrifice – but now the devil was offering him a shortcut to the possession of the kingdoms of the world. My own temptations to take the easy way out (in work, relationships, life goals, church ministry, or wherever) are but an infinitesimal taste of his own.
What Jesus experienced tapped into issues of significance and value. “Throw yourself down and prove you are supported by angels, valued by Almighty God.” This was the devil’s enticement. How often do my own insecurities, arising from these very issues, entice me to think and speak and act in ways aimed solely at spotlighting my worth, or indeed stretching beyond?
These, of course, were but some of Jesus’ temptations. Even in this passage we’re told he was tempted “for forty days” – we only get shown a few instances, a mere sampling of his experience. And who knows when the next “opportune time” arose for the devil’s attack. And the next, and the next. But Jesus turned them all aside, being “tempted in every way, just as we are – yet … without sin.”
I’ve heard it said that we so often know the pressing power of temptation, and then give in, cutting short its full intensity. But Jesus lived through each temptation to the end, weathering the full brunt.
Therefore, he is fully able to “sympathize with our weaknesses.” He knows. He has experienced it all.
And he endured.
With hope, then, I turn eyes to my Saviour again. He has paid the price for my stumbles and sins, my failures and rebellions, my weakness and vulnerability. But he also knows the way through what’s coming next, and next, and next.
Oh, may I turn eyes on him for each step of the journey.
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Lord Jesus, praise you that you have endured the battle, set aside the tempter’s wiles, and overcome. Thank you that you have entered into my experience fully, being tempted in every way, yet without succumbing. Strengthen me – live your life in me – teach me your ways. To your glory. Amen.
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Reflect:
What temptations are you likely to encounter in the week ahead? Reflect that Jesus has been tempted in each of those ways himself. How does this change your perspective?
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Photo by Robert Murray on Unsplash
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