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Recently a question was brought to my attention from the Frances and Friends Forum regarding the kinds of temptation that Christ suffered while here on earth. This person was concerned as they were being taught to believe that Christ was tempted in ALL things including fornication and homosexual acts. They recognized this as false teaching but were unsure of how to defend their position.
So, what does the Bible really say? Was Christ tempted to lie, steal, cheat, commit adultery, and so on? No! While our Lord was most certainly tempted, He was not tempted to do these types of things but was tempted to step outside the revealed will of God. The account given in Mathew clearly tells us the type of temptation that Christ suffered and if we understand this as we should, it is the temptation we all suffer.
From the Expositor’s Study Bible
“THEN (immediately after the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him) was Jesus led up (urgently led) of the Spirit (Holy Spirit) into the wilderness (probably close to Jericho) to be tempted of the Devil (as the Last Adam, He would be tempted in all points like as we are [Heb. 4:15; I Cor. 15:21-22, 45, 47]).
“And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward hungry (other than Christ, three men in the Bible fasted forty days and forty nights: Moses [Deut. 9:9, 18, 25; 10:10], Joshua [Ex. 24:13-18; 32:15-17], and Elijah [I Ki. 19:7-8]).
“And when the tempter (Satan) came to Him, he said, If You be the Son of God (since You are the Son of God), command that these stones be made bread (Christ was tempted to use His Power for His Own benefit, which He was to never do).
“But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the Mouth of God ([Deut. 8:3]; man is a spiritual being as well as a physical being; therefore, dependent on God).
“Then the Devil took Him up (a powerful force) into the Holy City (Jerusalem), and set Him on a pinnacle of the Temple (its highest point, which Josephus stated, was about 700 feet from the ravine below),
“And said unto Him, If You be the Son of God (since You are the Son of God), cast Yourself down (literally spoken): for it is written, He shall give His Angels charge concerning You: and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest at any time You dash Your foot against a stone (derived from Psalms 91:11-12).
“Jesus said unto him, It is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God ([Deut. 6:16]; to tempt God is to question His Word, which casts doubt on His ability to do what He has promised).
“Again (the third temptation), the Devil took Him up into an exceeding high mountain (not definitely known, but probably Nebo), and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them (showed them to Him, not in a physical sense, but rather in a spiritual sense);
“And said unto Him, All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me (the temptation was that Christ abrogate the Cross, through which He would regain all things).
“Then said Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan (presents Christ for the first time Personally addressing Satan): for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve (Satan desires that mankind worship and serve him; we are to worship and serve the Lord Alone).
“Then the Devil left Him (“departed from Him for a season,” ministered, we aren’t told)”. (Mat. 4:1-11) meaning that there would be other temptations [Lk. 4:13]), and, behold, Angels came and ministered unto Him (in what manner they ministered, we aren’t told)”. (Mat. 4:1-11)
Temptation Common to Man
It is obvious from the text that Jesus did nothing but the Father’s will. This is where Satan’s temptations centered upon in regards to Christ. It was to endeavor to get Him to step outside of the revealed Will of God, and to use His power for His own benefit, or to do things not sanctioned by the Father. That was His temptation!
This was actually the first temptation recorded in the Word of God. When we look at the temptation leveled against Eve in the Garden of Eden, it was not the fruit that was the temptation, but rather to step outside of the revealed Will of God! Even though Adam was not directly tempted, he still disobeyed the Word of the Lord and stepped outside the will of God. In fact, every single temptation that man has experienced began with this temptation, which is to ignore the Word of God, or to register unbelief as it regards the Word of God.
When the Bible tells us that Jesus faced temptation that was common to all man, it means we are all universally tempted to step outside of the prescribed will of God. In other words, we are tempted to contradict the Word, to violate the Word, or to ignore the Word. Every temptation whether it is lying, stealing, cheating or adultery, begins when one is tempted to step outside of the will of God. Satan’s primary purpose will always be to tempt us to disobey the Word of God.
The temptation of Christ was to disobey the Word, i.e., “disobey His Father.” However, although He was tempted he never sinned. When we look at the temptation we see that the ingredients were all there. He had fasted for 40 days and he was hungry! Why not turn the stones to bread? The stones were there and he had the power to do it. However, to use his power for his own personal gain would have been wrong and the Father had told him not to do such a thing. It would have been sin because He would have been stepping outside the prescribed will of the Father. In this regard Jesus faced what we all face. Every sin starts with being tempted to step outside of God’s will.
So was Jesus tempted to commit adultery and fornication and homosexual acts? NO! However He WAS tempted to step outside of the will of His Father even as those who commit the acts above are tempted to step outside of the will of the Father. The only difference is that Jesus was tempted and did not sin.
For all of the unbelievers. Even if He was tempted in those things, the two questions which must be asked are: If He was tempted in those things, did he succumb to or commit the acts in anyway thought or deed? Answer: NO! and then: Why if He was tempted, did He not commit the acts? Answer: Because they were WRONG! And because we must follow the example of Christ, then that makes all acts of sexual immorality or anything else WRONG!
It is obvious from the text that Jesus did nothing but the Father’s will. This is where Satan’s temptations centered upon in regards to Christ. It was to endeavor to get Him to step outside of the revealed Will of God, and to use His power for His own benefit, or to do things not sanctioned by the Father. That was His temptation!
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Thank so much France and Every one that has talk and is talking about the Cross and What jesus did for us at the cross. Thank you so Much. Keep up the the good work Frances. I live in Indiana. It is heard to find a church here in Greenfield Indiana that talks about the cross. I know every time i tell people about the cross they kind get mad at me. But That find with me I'm stal going to have my faith in what jesus did for me at the cross.
Can I ask you some thing and every one elso.. I have been praying for the Holy Spirit but have not yet resce it. hOW Long well it take I'm steal bliving for it.
dwayne
Thanks, for the blog. I think the word people get hung up on is "all", that Jesus was tempted in all things. What I think is that for someone to be tempted to be homosexual that they would have already opened the door to sin in their lives.
It seems more of confusion over what "temptation" is. The object presented to an individual or the desire to attain the object. I believe Christ had every object of temptation paraded before His eyes that each of us has. We stumble from our inward desire . He never even flinched because the same seed of temptation as covetous desire was not in Him.
I think perhaps the confusion could simply be a misunderstanding of word definition. We often think of being tempted as meaning that we have a weakness in that area, but that is not the true definition. The first definition of tempt in the Websters dictionary is: to entice to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain. A temptation is initiated by the tempter. It is a temptation regardless of whether or not the person being tempted has a proclivity toward, or weakness in this area.
Jesus was and is Fully God and Fully Man.(the Visible of the Invisible God) ..therefore even though tempted in all things, He resisted and overcame with Triumph. Jesus was an example for us....let us learn more of Him, through His Word, our Relationship with Him. Doing this we shall know how to resist the tempter and he will flee.