Dianne E said:
I'm brand new; I browsed for this topic but couldn't find it. The topic is from Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13 - the Temptation of Jesus. Most people seem to want to automatically make everything a "WWJD" moment. Nothing wrong with that, obviously, but I feel that this story is not about how to resist temptation; there are other scriptures that deal with that. I feel that this is about who Jesus is and what kind of Messiah he will be. The Spirit led him into the wilderness after his baptism - he didn't just go there for the heck of it.
Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but I feel that we are minimizing the impact of this story by trying to make it about US. We don't use the crucifixion story to remind us to "hang in there when the going gets tough", so why do we make this story about our response to temptation instead of making it a demonstration of what God meant when he said "You are my Son..."
Thanks for any responses...
Dianne
As a human being, the Firstborn of the 'New Man' creation who came as Adam's Kinsman to be Adam's Redeemer, He had to be proved to be without spot or blemish or His sacrificial death would not have been accepted by the Presense "behind the veil" on the Day of Atonement.
He was tempted in all points as we are, the Word says, yet without sin; and the temptations we all face are in the categories of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
The lust of the flesh does not mean that Jesus had to be tempted to sexual immorality, but to the category of serving the desires of the flesh for self serving reasons. The flesh is never satisfied when it lusts, for it can never have enough.
The lust of the eyes, I think, can be the: see it; want it; grasp to possess it; mentality; and the eye is never satisfied when it lusts, for it can never have enough.
And the pride of life is the power of 'rule' over others, I think, and those with the pride of life can never be satisfied, for they grasp to rule more and more, and finally, grasp to become God, and be worshipped by all, in the end.
As a human being who came without sin, He was tempted in all points as we are and remained without sin.
He already was YHWH of hosts from eternity, the second Person of the Triune God who left His place to lower Himself to become a human being like Adamkind, and the brother of Adam, who is the "Firstborn" who will rule over all His brethren, as a human being: but He did not come into a sin cursed adamic body, but into that New Man human being body made in the likeness (human flesh) of sinful flesh, but without sin.
If He had fallen, as a human, we would be hopelessly, eternally doomed, for no 'Adam' had the power to keep himself alive, because of the curse, much less to deliver his brother. Ecclessiastes 8:8.
To be our Redeemer, Jesus had to be without spot or blemish, He had to be proved, tested -tried, as silver is tried. In all points He was tested and 'proven' to be pure. Sin had nothing in Him and it could never get anything in Him; therefore, He was the spotless, unblemished Lamb, who was our perfect substitute, who took upon Himself the our sins and tasted our spiritual death, which He tasted for us upon the cross when He cried out, "My God!" "My God!" "Why Hast Thou forsaken Me!" and bore that darkness of separation from the Father's Spirit for those three hours of darkness -and then said, "It is finished!" and physically died.
Is this a good beginning?
Yes-savedme
I don't know it all.
