Perspective: WK6 - TUE
Temptation
Hebrews 4:15
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.
Matthew 4:1
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
During his time in Potiphar’s house, Joseph was hounded by daily temptation. Jesus, too, suffered under the pressure of temptation. It may be hard to imagine that it was difficult for Jesus, since He successfully resisted. He was perfect, right? But when you consider the wilderness temptations in Matthew 4 or His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22, you are left with the impression that He was pushed to the very edge of sanity, exhausted to the limits of consciousness, and that He needed the assistance of angels to recover. Hebrews says Jesus was “tempted in every way.”
Joseph’s resistance was noble, but it was short-term and incomplete. Jesus perfectly resisted throughout His life. If you feel that disqualifies Him as our example, quite the opposite is true. It is because He successfully resisted that we can follow Him. Jesus’ life is the true north that guides us. Hebrews 2:18 says, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
More than just an example, His perfect resistance to temptation makes His grace and forgiveness available. Jesus needed to face what we face in every way while remaining sinless, so He could offer His life as a substitute for ours. He paid the price for our sins and now offers forgiveness in exchange. Jesus risked failure and loss to step into the gap, suffer, and die so that we could be reconciled, forgiven, and free. Because of His sacrifice, we can live.
“He committed no sin… He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:22, 24)
Today, right now, don’t hesitate. Confess your need for a savior. Admit how often you have fallen to temptation. Accept the grace of Jesus. Live clean and free.
Hebrews 4:15
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.
Matthew 4:1
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
During his time in Potiphar’s house, Joseph was hounded by daily temptation. Jesus, too, suffered under the pressure of temptation. It may be hard to imagine that it was difficult for Jesus, since He successfully resisted. He was perfect, right? But when you consider the wilderness temptations in Matthew 4 or His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22, you are left with the impression that He was pushed to the very edge of sanity, exhausted to the limits of consciousness, and that He needed the assistance of angels to recover. Hebrews says Jesus was “tempted in every way.”
Joseph’s resistance was noble, but it was short-term and incomplete. Jesus perfectly resisted throughout His life. If you feel that disqualifies Him as our example, quite the opposite is true. It is because He successfully resisted that we can follow Him. Jesus’ life is the true north that guides us. Hebrews 2:18 says, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
More than just an example, His perfect resistance to temptation makes His grace and forgiveness available. Jesus needed to face what we face in every way while remaining sinless, so He could offer His life as a substitute for ours. He paid the price for our sins and now offers forgiveness in exchange. Jesus risked failure and loss to step into the gap, suffer, and die so that we could be reconciled, forgiven, and free. Because of His sacrifice, we can live.
“He committed no sin… He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:22, 24)
Today, right now, don’t hesitate. Confess your need for a savior. Admit how often you have fallen to temptation. Accept the grace of Jesus. Live clean and free.
- Recall a time when you broke something. What was it? Was it able to be fixed? How?
- Is there someone you know you should forgive? What is stopping you? What would you like to say to Jesus about it?
- What do you need to confess to Jesus right now? Claim His forgiveness and His grace.
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