There is a familiar passage in Matthew chapter 4, where Jesus is tempted by Satan for forty days and nights. I've read those verses many times before, but the very first verse stuck out to me in a way that it hadn't before. "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." The Holy Spirit led Him there! In Mark, it says "The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness."
And Jesus went. Luke tells us that Jesus was "full of the Holy Spirit." He was willingly led into the wilderness, even though He knew He would be tempted. Forty days and nights of temptation, and no food and water! I found myself wondering, perhaps for the very first time, why Jesus had to be led into the wilderness to face off with the devil.
A few verses fluttered in the back of mind. The Holy Spirit reminded me of some verses in Hebrews: "For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus was tempted too, and so He understands what its like for us. He sympathizes with us in our weaknesses. The even greater truth here is that Jesus was tempted in every way possible, but He did not sin.
In the fourth grade, one of the Sunday School teachers had all of us memorize I Corinthians 10:13. It says, "No temptation has overtaken you, but such that is common to man.God is faithful, and will not let you be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it." Temptation is common; it is part of humanity. The special thing isn't that Jesus was tempted, but that He did not sin! He did not succumb to sin like the rest of mankind because Jesus is God! Because He did not sin, He became the perfect, blameless sacrifice for our sin. Our High Priest faced temptation in the face and defeated it. And, because of Him, we are provided a way of escape, so we can endure like Jesus did.
You see, the verse God led me to in Hebrews is only part of a thought. That thought is finished in verse 16. "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Because we have a High Priest who was tempted too, yet without sin, we can draw near to God for help in our time of need. We can receive mercy instead of judgement for our sin. That brings a hope to my soul that anchors me no matter what comes my way.
