October 19
Jeremiah 32-33
Psalm 118:1-4
Proverbs 25:13
Hebrews 2
Like Us
“For this reason, He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted.” Hebrews 2:17-18 NIV
He became like us. God Himself became like us! He could have picked another way, but He chose to leave Heaven, come to Earth as a poor, insignificant human baby, and live a simple, ordinary life so that He could relate to us. He knew what it was like to be hungry. He knew what it was like to be cold and hot and sweaty. He experienced family difficulties, sibling rivalry, and the death of a parent. He knew what it felt like to have friends run away when the going got tough and even to be betrayed by someone who was supposed to be one of His best friends. He knew the frustration of trying to teach and prepare His followers when they did not understand what He was telling them. Any situation we face He can relate to because He chose to experience humanity. Instead of staying up in Heaven on His throne, He lowered Himself to our level. He wanted to fully understand what we were going through and what it was like to be human. Instead of exalting Himself, which would have been expected and completely right, He chose to identify with us. He made Himself one of us.
He knew what it was like to be tempted in every way, just like we are. “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 (ESV) When we think of Jesus being tempted in the desert, we may think it was easy for Him to overcome the temptation because He was God. It couldn’t have been difficult for Him to turn away from sin because He was perfect. But we have to remember that He was also fully human. When Satan came to Him, Jesus had not eaten in forty days, and He was hungry. Satan didn’t just hand Him a loaf of bread; He questioned His identity. He basically said that if Jesus was who He said He was, then why would He be hungry. If He was God, He could change the stone into bread to eat. Jesus later defied the natural laws by multiplying five loaves of bread into enough to feed 5,000 men so why would it be wrong to turn a stone into a loaf of bread for Himself? Jesus knew that His Father would provide everything He needed, and He did not need to use His powers in that way. Satan then appealed to His authority. He took Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the top of the temple. He challenged Him to throw Himself off and call on the angels to rescue Him proving that He could command the angels. Jesus did not need to prove He had authority over the angels and everything else. He knew His power and authority and did not need to prove it to anyone. Satan then appealed to His pride. Satan has been allowed to exercise his power in the world. He and his demons rule and reign over this dark world. One day he will be cast into a fiery pit and will no longer have any power, but until that day, he uses his evil influence to wreak havoc in the world around us. He offered the kingdoms of the world to Jesus to rule if Jesus would bow down and worship Him. He was telling Jesus that He didn’t have to do it the way God wanted. He didn’t have to go along with God’s plan. Instead, He could rule the Earth. He could take over and establish an earthly kingdom. Just as Satan and his demons had gone against God’s plan and been thrown out of Heaven, Jesus could go against God’s plan and rule the Earth. Jesus knew exactly what God’s plan was. He knew that it involved pain, difficulty, betrayal, a horrible, excruciating death, and then three days separated from God. Satan was offering an easier alternative. That had to have been tempting, even to Jesus. But Jesus knew that this authority was not Satan’s to offer. Satan may think he is in control, but any control he has is only because God has allowed him that power. God is the only One who has ultimate power, authority, and dominion in this world and in the Heavenly realm. Jesus chose to follow His Father’s plan. He did not succumb to the temptation.
When we face temptation, we not only have Jesus’ example to follow, but we also have Him living inside of us giving us the power to overcome the temptation. We cannot overcome temptation on our own strength and power. We aren’t supposed to. If we could overcome temptation on our own, there would not have been any reason for Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus knows that we cannot do it, so He provided us with the power in the form of the Holy Spirit to reside in us and enable us to stand firm when tempted. We have access to all the power that Jesus had to overcome temptation, because we have personal access to Jesus. He wants us to utilize His power. He wants to help us. He loves us so much that He became human so He could identify with us and relate to us better. What areas do you need to let Him help you overcome temptation?
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