His Struggles and Ours
By R. Herbert
The story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is one of the most striking and memorable accounts in the New Testament (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13). Temptations to turn stones into bread, to leap from high pinnacles, and to worship at the feet of evil make for a seemingly larger than life plot – a heroic battle fought out against a canvas of cosmic significance.
Tempted …
But as we read these accounts, it is easy for us not to see the connection between such an epic struggle and our own daily lives. We know that the Son of God was “tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15), but the accounts of Jesus’ wilderness temptation often seem very distant from our own experiences – the ongoing pulls toward wrong thoughts, words or deeds as we strive to ignore images thrust at us on our computer screens, the provocations of traffic snarls, or the desire to repay an injury.
Our own struggles certainly may pale into insignificance, compared to his, yet ours seem so constant, so endless – especially if we are struggling against a recurrent temptation that we face. And Jesus' temptations might seem to have been fought out in one great showdown after which “the devil … left him until the next opportunity came” (Luke 4:13).
And, near the end of Jesus' life, the tempter did return, of course. We remember Jesus’ response to Peter when the disciple was instrumental in suggesting Jesus would not have to die (Matthew 16:23), and Jesus’ agonizing struggle with the temptation for self-preservation in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39). But these recorded instances and the initial wilderness temptation are focused into just two parts of his ministry – at its beginning and at its end.
As We Are …
How then was Jesus tempted as we are? Where do we see the continued struggle that we may perhaps experience on a day-to-day basis in our own lives? Is there some biblical evidence to tie our ongoing struggles to his? The Gospel of John may provide an answer to that question. Unlike the three synoptic Gospels, John does not recount the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, but the disciple who was closest to Jesus does record important occurrences of temptation that the other Gospels do not.
John alone records three specific temptations that beset Jesus at various points in His ministry, and there is much that we can learn from what he tells us. It is also fascinating to realize that although the incidents John records are different, they closely parallel the three temptations in the wilderness that are recorded in the other Gospels:
The temptation to be exalted: In the first instance, John records that “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (John 6:15). Matthew and Mark both tell us that Jesus went alone onto a mountain to pray, but not why. Only John points out that it was because Jesus faced the same pressure to accept authority and rulership that he had faced in the wilderness when Satan offered him kingship over the nations.
The temptation to misuse the power at his disposal: In the second of John’s three examples, he tells us that the brothers of Jesus “… asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat” (John 6:30-31). John, alone of the Gospel writers, records this incident when Jesus resisted pressure to use the power at his disposal for his own purposes. The specific temptation – a request for a sign to parallel God’s miraculous gift of the bread of manna – directly parallels his wilderness temptation to turn stones into bread.
The temptation to display his power to all: In John’s final example, the apostle tells us that “Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do’” (John 7:3). In this incident, John shows that the half-siblings of Jesus tried to urge him to make a display of his power before many more people – just as in the wilderness he had faced the temptation to throw himself from the Temple pinnacle and be saved by angels so that great crowds assembled in the courts below would see and accept him.
… Without Sin
John’s unique recorded temptations of Jesus remind us that just because a Gospel does not record other temptations, it does not mean they did not occur. Just as many of Jesus’ small acts of kindness doubtless are not recorded in the Gospel accounts, he undoubtedly also suffered many unrecorded temptations. But the intimate details John gives us of three additional struggles Jesus faced during his ministry should drastically revise any thoughts we may have of his temptations being somehow not identical to the recurrent battles we may face. Rather than the climactic battle fiercely but decisively fought, John shows us an ongoing struggle against recurrent pressures that matches our own day-to-day life experience perfectly.
In every case, Jesus met temptation with immediate, obedient, and complete rejection. And in every case he overcame it. We may never approach such perfection in our own human lives, but the simple fact that Jesus was probably tempted frequently throughout his life and ministry – tempted in many ways as we are – is a lesson of great encouragement for us all. No matter how many times he was tempted, Jesus overcame every instance by staying close to God. The lesson for us is that we have the same opportunity he did.
By R. Herbert
The story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is one of the most striking and memorable accounts in the New Testament (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13). Temptations to turn stones into bread, to leap from high pinnacles, and to worship at the feet of evil make for a seemingly larger than life plot – a heroic battle fought out against a canvas of cosmic significance.
Tempted …
But as we read these accounts, it is easy for us not to see the connection between such an epic struggle and our own daily lives. We know that the Son of God was “tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15), but the accounts of Jesus’ wilderness temptation often seem very distant from our own experiences – the ongoing pulls toward wrong thoughts, words or deeds as we strive to ignore images thrust at us on our computer screens, the provocations of traffic snarls, or the desire to repay an injury.
Our own struggles certainly may pale into insignificance, compared to his, yet ours seem so constant, so endless – especially if we are struggling against a recurrent temptation that we face. And Jesus' temptations might seem to have been fought out in one great showdown after which “the devil … left him until the next opportunity came” (Luke 4:13).
And, near the end of Jesus' life, the tempter did return, of course. We remember Jesus’ response to Peter when the disciple was instrumental in suggesting Jesus would not have to die (Matthew 16:23), and Jesus’ agonizing struggle with the temptation for self-preservation in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39). But these recorded instances and the initial wilderness temptation are focused into just two parts of his ministry – at its beginning and at its end.
As We Are …
How then was Jesus tempted as we are? Where do we see the continued struggle that we may perhaps experience on a day-to-day basis in our own lives? Is there some biblical evidence to tie our ongoing struggles to his? The Gospel of John may provide an answer to that question. Unlike the three synoptic Gospels, John does not recount the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, but the disciple who was closest to Jesus does record important occurrences of temptation that the other Gospels do not.
John alone records three specific temptations that beset Jesus at various points in His ministry, and there is much that we can learn from what he tells us. It is also fascinating to realize that although the incidents John records are different, they closely parallel the three temptations in the wilderness that are recorded in the other Gospels:
The temptation to be exalted: In the first instance, John records that “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (John 6:15). Matthew and Mark both tell us that Jesus went alone onto a mountain to pray, but not why. Only John points out that it was because Jesus faced the same pressure to accept authority and rulership that he had faced in the wilderness when Satan offered him kingship over the nations.
The temptation to misuse the power at his disposal: In the second of John’s three examples, he tells us that the brothers of Jesus “… asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat” (John 6:30-31). John, alone of the Gospel writers, records this incident when Jesus resisted pressure to use the power at his disposal for his own purposes. The specific temptation – a request for a sign to parallel God’s miraculous gift of the bread of manna – directly parallels his wilderness temptation to turn stones into bread.
The temptation to display his power to all: In John’s final example, the apostle tells us that “Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do’” (John 7:3). In this incident, John shows that the half-siblings of Jesus tried to urge him to make a display of his power before many more people – just as in the wilderness he had faced the temptation to throw himself from the Temple pinnacle and be saved by angels so that great crowds assembled in the courts below would see and accept him.
… Without Sin
John’s unique recorded temptations of Jesus remind us that just because a Gospel does not record other temptations, it does not mean they did not occur. Just as many of Jesus’ small acts of kindness doubtless are not recorded in the Gospel accounts, he undoubtedly also suffered many unrecorded temptations. But the intimate details John gives us of three additional struggles Jesus faced during his ministry should drastically revise any thoughts we may have of his temptations being somehow not identical to the recurrent battles we may face. Rather than the climactic battle fiercely but decisively fought, John shows us an ongoing struggle against recurrent pressures that matches our own day-to-day life experience perfectly.
In every case, Jesus met temptation with immediate, obedient, and complete rejection. And in every case he overcame it. We may never approach such perfection in our own human lives, but the simple fact that Jesus was probably tempted frequently throughout his life and ministry – tempted in many ways as we are – is a lesson of great encouragement for us all. No matter how many times he was tempted, Jesus overcame every instance by staying close to God. The lesson for us is that we have the same opportunity he did.