I read this yesterday and it’s been ruminating ever since:
Because he [Jesus] himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews 2:18
The thing that hit me was how I (and maybe you) often under appreciate the fact that Jesus was tempted while on earth.
After I read that verse, I jumped to Matthew 4:1-11 and re-read the passage where Jesus was led in to the desert to be tempted by Satan.
Quite honestly, I think I often read this passage rather quickly; knowing, in my mind, the end of the story and not fully appreciating what He went through, the weakened condition He was in when He was tempted (as a man, mind you), and most importantly, His familiarity with what we go through. [Again, maybe you can identify with me here.]
While Matthew 4 is the documented “temptation” of Jesus, think about it: He was constantly in situations – public and private – where He could have skimped, cheated, stretched, winked, held back, “oh well” or “who’ll care”-ed it — you know, all the things that we can so often, easily and matter-of-factly do.
He literally or at their “root cause” faced all we are faced with and did not sin.
Sure, He was fully God and fully man; but don’t miss that word “suffered” – He knew how easy, hard, convenient, “justified”, etc. one could feel about things, people, and situations.
He knew, chose rightly, and now longs to help us do the same.
