i came back with thoughts at the end of this post, so if you've already read it, you could skip to that. ;)
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Jesus went in the wilderness and was tempted by the devil. luke records this too and in both accounts, i'm looking for explanation. in luke it says He was "led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days being tempted by the devil" (4:2). every time i've ever heard anyone talk or preach about this, they've said it was so He could understand what we endure. what mankind endures when tempted. i don't know. i'm rethinking this. i'm not sure. james 1:13 says "let no one say when he is tempted, 'i am being tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil and He Himself does not tempt anyone. but each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust."
it seems to me that the devil plays on our "own lust." and Jesus didn't/doesn't have any.
james says "God cannot be tempted by evil." and Jesus is God.
when we read the bible, we can't make stuff up about what we think it means or why it happened.
so why did He go in the wilderness? and as luke writes, why was He led there by the Holy Spirit and why was He "being tempted by the devil"? the devil tempted, but He wasn't tempted. what was the point? why was He there? i'm not sure we'll know for sure (all the reasons) til we get to heaven and we can ask specifics like this.
but i do know that there is a teaching point here. and...
maybe it was for this!...for the record of it in matthew and luke. that Jesus spoke the Word of God in response to the devil. in all three of the recorded conversations (who knows how many crazy questions the devil asked). and it silenced him. end of conversation. end of temptation.
i want to be encouraged in my heart and in my days (and for me, mornings) to eat His Word. to breathe it and to know it. because it's my defense and my response to temptation. i don't respond to the inner conflicts and temptations that i endure with His Word in every incidence...but what a perfect reminder this morning to......
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after i wrote this, scott and i talked. he always helps me think through what i think. and he knows a bit more about the bible. theology that he's learned sticks with him. he's so smart and never forgets whats he's already studied and kind of filed away concerning what he believes about the bible. soooo we talked about this idea. about why Christ was "tempted." He was tempted but wasn't tempted. but maybe there is a measure of God in flesh experiencing the seemingly constant barrage of satan that man endures in this life. soooo i wanted to come back and say that...i didn't want to take away the comfort that you feel that He understands. in isaiah 40, it says "His understanding no one can fathom." He knows us and is compassionate toward us. let me leave you with this from psalms 103:8-15 (which speaks of His affection. His lovingkindness toward us. and His response to us when we do fall to temptation. and it speaks of His understanding. He gets that we are like dust. grass. He knows our temporary frame. He knows our weakness, and His lovingkindness is toward those who fear Him...who look to Him as sovereign...as the One who has never fallen to temptation but loves us, though we have.)
the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. for He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. as for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
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and one other thought really quick. i'm kind of laughing at myself, because in the blog, it sounds like i'm having a lightbulb moment and that i'm the only one who's ever thought about the responding to temptation with scripture idea. *blush* just wanted to clarify that my intent was definitely to emphasize that reason for Christ's time in the wilderness and the record of it for us and what we can learn (but didn't mean for it to sound like it was a new idea...lol just a good one.) ;)
so as i edit this post today, it's real to me that Jesus understands me and knows not only what i will endure in this life...every day of my life, but then, how brief it is for me. and He expresses Himself toward me with these comforts and the promise that He will remove my transgression as i look to Him. (because of His understanding and sovereignty, He is my rescue from sin and from satan and from my failures. His forgiveness covers me.) sooooo grateful for the psalm 103 passage and His lovingkindness. what a wonderful wonderful word. toward me. (and toward you, dear friend. <3)
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