02/20/2024
Temptation Isn’t A One Time Thing
Not Even For Jesus
In Luke’s version of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness it says, “when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Jesus until an opportune time.” Yes, Jesus faced down the tempter and was able to ward off his weaker impulses in favor of the path God had laid out for him. But it doesn’t mean that Jesus never faced serious temptation again. Old Satan decided to wait it out for a more opportune time to try again.
Commentator Tom Wright wrote: “Jesus would meet the tempter again in various guises: protesting to him, through his closest associate, that he should change his mind about going to the cross (Peter’s correction of his Master); mocking him, through the priests and bystanders, as he hung on the cross (again with the words ‘if you are God’s son’). Indeed, the last and most compelling temptation that faced Jesus was to reject a violent death on a cross and continue his ministry of healing and preaching indefinitely. The temptation to “be one of us in every way” would have included falling in love, raising a family, being a model citizen who could show by daily example what it means to love God completely, and share that love with his neighbors.
Our willingness to learn key scriptures by heart,
in order to keep them easily accessible;
Our ability to keep our eyes on God, trusting God
for both our daily needs and our unique purpose in life;
Our openness to remembering our calling to bring God’s light into the world
—these are the things that will give us the same
strength of resistance that Jesus showed.
Temptation seems to have a mind of its own and it often chooses to come at just those moments when our defenses are down, when we are exhausted and weary, when we are the most vulnerable. That is why staying close to God through prayer, scripture, and worship are so important if we are sincere about our desire to be men and women of God.
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