Tempted In Every Way — A LifeWords Devotion

At first glance, this is a comforting Bible passage. Jesus knows what we are going through. The testing times we experience, the temptations we encounter, he understands because he has endured them. And he has endured them successfully, without succumbing to temptation or failing the test.

But we might find ourselves asking if this is really true. We need to note that there are common testings and temptations that find different expressions at different times. Our specific temptations are expressions of these general temptations.

Jesus could not have been tempted to be harsh with his children since he didn’t have any, but he could be tempted to be harsh to others in general. He could not have been tempted to be unfaithful to his wife because he was unmarried, but he could be tempted to abandon his solemn promises. He could not tempted to drown himself in online pornography because it didn’t exist then, but could be tempted to misuse healthy sexuality. He was not tempted to drive too fast because cars weren’t invented then, but he could be tempted to be recklessly inconsiderate of others.

Jesus may have been what his followers call “divine”, but he was also human. He truly was tested and tempted. And so we can come to him in our times of frailty and failure and fling ourselves on his mercy. He is not some harsh and superior human being sitting in judgement on us. He understands us. He is the only one qualified to tell us he knows exactly how we feel.

Blessings,

David