Study to shew thyself approved unto God . . . 2 Timothy 2:15

Introduction

The Question Raised

A question which has been debated for centuries is: “Could Christ have sinned but did not, or was it impossible for Him to sin?”  Many saints who seek only the glorification of the Lord are deeply divided on this issue.  Sadly, some have thought the opposing saints are less spiritual.  This is not the intent here, neither is it the ignoring of the difficulties each viewpoint raises.  Many of the difficulties are due to our deficiency in understanding and comprehension.

Each of these is a belief, and a belief is based on that which one has been taught and understood as the truth, the qualifications of the instructor and the personal understanding of data presented.  Therefore, when spiritual individuals honestly believe the Lord could have sinned and did not, or He could not sin, is a matter for careful consideration.  When we consider the Lord, there can be no room for error, nor for personal thoughts or rationale. Our coming to an understanding and believing must be based on the scriptures.  “Could Christ have sinned but did not, or was it impossible for Him to sin?”   

Qualifications For To Be Tempted

Before there can be a temptation there must be a consciousness of a moral God which only man and angels have. No animal has a God consciousness as is evidenced by the fact that no animal builds as altar, prays to a deity or has a special ceremony upon death.  Man has a God consciousness, but the more suppressed it becomes the more like an animal man becomes.   This is the experience Nebuchadnezzar had when he “ate grass like oxen” and was with the “wild asses” (Dan. 5:21).  Therefore, temptation demands a God consciousness.

Furthermore, for the Lord to be a qualified High Priest He had to be truly man, truly tempted, and never use His deity to assist in any trial or temptation.  We know temptation is not always a momentary thing, but can be a prolonged experience under which we all have succumbed.  There are many times, when despite the sin being obnoxious to an individual or diametrically opposed to that which they believe and know to be right, they have fallen.  Many have known the temptation to recant in the face of extreme torture and fallen.  Could this ever have happened to the Lord?  This we shall consider?

More Questions Raised

There are some questions in which the answer can be misconstrued to mean something other than the truth.  I could be asked: “Have you stopped stealing?”  If I say “Yes”, does that mean that at one time I did steal but no longer do?  If I answer “No”, does it indicate I am going to continue stealing?”  When we ask: “Could the Lord have sinned?”, if we say “yes”, do we impugn His deity and if we say “no”, do we deny His “humanity”?  The same is true with the question of the impeccability of our Lord. 

To answer “No” would accommodate the argument that the temptations were real and the man Jesus was tempted but refused to sin.  It is vital to note the words “the man”, for it is ever a work of Satan to separate the deity of our Lord from His humanity.  There are those who teach that being God, the Lord could not sin, but as man He could.  This is error for the Lord cannot be divided.  He is deity and humanity in one person.  In a very faint way we are the same in that we have been made “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4), and yet we are truly human.   

A Possible Viewpoint

In my opinion, there seems to be another possibility.  Simply put, the Lord did not have in Him the propensity to sin, or the indwelling inherent sin nature,⃰ consequently would not sin because He could not due to His own essential holiness and the value He put on His fellowship with the Father. 
  ⃰  While it is generally understood by the term “Sin nature”, nowhere is what we have inherited from Adam so called.  It is called: “The law of sin” (Rom. 7:23); “The law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2).  It indicates a principle of domination which sin has over us until salvation and then we are told, “Let not sin have dominion over you” (Rom. 6.14).  This law was never in Christ, and being holy, He never had to have this injunction spoken to him.

The Unshakeable Christ

Adam had no indwelling law of sin nor propensity to do evil, yet when the opportunity came, he chose to sin.  The major difference between Adam and the Lord is that the Lord’s will and holiness made Him unshakable against it.  A very faint illustration of His resolute immovability is a place called the “Mussendem Temple” in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.  This domed, circular building of about 15 meters in diameter was built on the edge of a 120 foot cliff.  It faces the North Atlantic Ocean, completely exposed to the winter storms and howling winds.  It was built in 1785 and for these 200 plus years, it has stood unshaken.  The storms were fierce and the winds were strong, but it stood unmovable.  It is not that it would not shake and move, but because it could not.  That is the way the Lord was with sin.  Irrespective of the intensity, multiplicity, fierceness and continued pressure of the temptations, He by choice would not sin because He could not.  He could not be swayed and would not move for His devotion, zeal and love for the Father was infinite and His delight was to do His will. He was tempted, yet without sin, that is no matter how painful the results or prolonged the temptation, or the extremity of pressure put upon Him, sin was never committed nor contemplated by Him.

What Is Sin?

A Definition

A definition of sin would be, any variation from the moral characteristics of God, or the failing to give Him the glory He is worthy of.  Sometimes when our Lord healed, He would speak of the individual being made whole, signifying a correlation between physical and spiritual sickness.  As one needs physical health they also need spiritual health.

In the scriptures the Holy Spirit uses twenty-seven words to describe sin.  We can sin unwittingly but it is never described as an accident, nor something that happens us from time to time.  An accident is something which could have been avoided had there been foresight, i.e.; as when one has a car accident.  Sin is an offence (Rom 5:15) against God.⃰   Not only could the Lord not sin but He was totally different from every other human being in His essential holiness, being born uncontaminated with sin.
 ⃰ Sin is also a failure to use an opportunity (Jam. 4:17); disobedience (Rom. 5:19); a transgression (1 Jn. 3:4); unbelieving (Rom. 14:23); foolish thoughts (Prov. 24:9); vain talk (Prov. 10:19); lawlessness (1 Jn. 3:4); unrighteousness (1 Jn. 5:17).   It is from the devil (1 Jn. 3:8); an unregenerate heart (Matt. 15:19) and sin is a principle of corruption in man that rules as a king (Rom. 6:12).

Concerning the Holy One, the answer is an absolute “no”.  The Lord would never have sinned by free choice for His will was to do the will of God, to glorify Him and to finish the work He had given Him to do (Heb 10:9; Jn. 17:4).  Furthermore, He could never have sinned unwittingly by being deceived by Satan or from inward corruption.

The Universal Ramifications Of Adam’s Sin 

Sin Permeates Every Part Of The Human Body:

The reality is that every individual in the entire world is deformed by the law of sin and thus responds to temptation as a nail to a magnet.  Could this ever have happened to Christ?  If not why not?    Was Christ a man just like Adam or us?
 
Christ Was A Real Man

Christ The Man

The finishing question in the last paragraph was: “Was He not a man just like Adam or us?”.  The answer is a distinct “No”!  Christ was not just like Adam or us.  

Adam was created and he was holy in the same way angels are holy, separated for the service of God.  “The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works” (Psa. 145:17).  He was created to be dependent on his creator, a man distinct from God, but being in the image of God he was like God, being free to make decisions.

He was a real man, for man is a tripart being having spirit, soul and body.  Christ had a spirit (Lk. 23:46), a soul (Jn. 12:27) and a body (Heb. 10:5).  Being a human being He was God conscious, speaking of His coming from God and going to God, and this apart from His references to God as His Father.

Man has a human ancestry for we all came from Adam and Eve.  Christ also had a human ancestry, indeed He is the only Jew who can, in detail, trace His ancestry back to David, to Abraham and to Adam.  If He were not a real man then He would never have been the King of Israel, our High Priest (Jn. 1: 49; Heb 2:17), nor our Kinsman Redeemer (Ruth 3:12 & 4:10).  Being a human being the Lord grew from infancy to childhood, to a young man, to an adult of about 30 years of age and then for three years lived in the Jewish communities.  He had the normal features of a human.  He was born hungered, thirsted, wept, slept, was weary, wrote, had compassion, was angry, forgave, passed judgment, suffered and died.  One of the distinct manifestations of humanity is sorrow, for the scriptures record: “Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7), and Christ truly was a man who knew the sorrows of life.  

It ought to be a constant source of wonder and worship how close the Lord came to us.  So completely did Christ become a man that He shared the trials of life for me.  This makes necessary His being tempted, sometimes sorely by Satan.

Can it be true, the things they say of You?
You walked this earth, sharing with friends You knew
All that they had the work, the joy, the pain,
That we might find the way to heaven again.

 (This is a chorus from “Youth Praise” 1966)

Bishop Beverage (1637-1708) wrote: “If Jesus were God only, and not man, He could not suffer anything whereby to satisfy Divine Justice.  If man only, and not God, He could not satisfy Divine Justice, even though He suffered.  If man only, His satisfaction could not be sufficient for God.  If God only, it would not be suitable for man. Therefore, to be capable of suffering for men and able to satisfy God, He Himself must be both God and man."

Christ Contrasted and Compared

Some Similarities Between Christ and Israel

Some Similarities Between Christ’s Baptism and the Inauguration of the Priest

Some Similarities Between Christ and Adam

While our Lord was a real man, He was not just a man.  Matthew and Dr. Luke will be caused, by the Holy Spirit, to make it clear that the Lord was a real human being, but He was more than that.  He was God manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16), the Word that became flesh (Jn. 1:14), yet we shall see there are similarities and contrasts to Adam and us.

At the time of the proposal by Eve, Adam became aware of the seeming opportunity of making self the centre of life rather than God.  Like a rebellious child moving out of the fathers home to do his own thing, Adam morally moved out of fellowship with God to do his own thing.  This single act was the result of dissatisfaction with that which God had given.  It was an act of lawlessness and a refusal to bow to the rights of God.  Such an act of transgression could not be overlooked and had to be dealt with.  In this, Adam and the Lord are in sharp contrast (Rom 5:12-19).

The Lord Is Contrasted With Adam and His Temptation as the Following Table and References Show

Christ Was Distinctly Different From Adam By Biblical References⃰  

Christ Was Distinctly Different From Adam By Inference:

Contrasts Between Christ and All Humanity Since The Fall

Temptations In General

Who Can Be Tempted?

Since these references clearly teach that each member of the Godhead being tempted, it is evident that being tempted is not a sin.  If it were a sin, then there is not a member of the Godhead who has not sinned.  Such a thought is blasphemy!

Where Do Temptations Originate?

Temptations From Various Voices

There was the voice of acceptable behaviour when it is the normal thing to go to visit a loved one when sick, and if they die, go to the funeral.  Yet the Lord does neither.  This is where His moral glory shines.  He will, as in the temptation to bow down and receive from Satan all the kingdoms of the world, wait God’s time.  Human evaluations and being judged by others and concern about “What would others say” meant nothing to him, all He desires is the approval of God. 

He Was Never Tempted By One Particular Voice That He Heard

The voice of God was never to tempt Christ but always to convey His delight in Him.  God had spoken to the Lord prior to His being led into the wilderness, it is never heard in the wilderness.  The Lord heard the voice of God on several occasions and each one displayed His glory in its own way.

Various Sorts Of Temptations

Such was the integrity of the Lord irrespective of where the temptation came from.  This warfare was too important for even the highest of the satanic government.  Satan personally attempted to get the Lord to sin.  The defeat was a dreadful humiliation for his satanic majesty.  Not only was he rebuked, but he left more defeated than ever.  Despite the best Satan could do, Christ stood not only without sin, but completely untainted by sin or defiled by the temptation.  To his dismay, Satan found nothing in Him that would respond to the temptation.

Christ and The Three “Wilderness” Temptations

John’s Omission of The Temptations

Matthew, Mark and Luke all mention the temptations but John never does.  Why would that be?  Is it because John presents the Lord as God and God cannot be tempted with evil.  While the temptations are not in John, there is the corresponding contrasts in John.  In the first temptation it is to “make these stones bread” (Matt. 4:3), in John 6 the Lord provides bread for 5000 and presents Himself as the Bread of God (Jn. 6:33).  Another temptation was “Cast thyself down” (Matt. 4:6).  This is answered in John 6 when the Lord shows His trust in God over the natural instability of water and walks on it when it is the will of God (Jn. 6:19).  The other temptation, Satan offered the Lord all the kingdoms of the world but in John the Lord says: “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand” (Jn. 3:35). 

Background to The Three Temptations

Nothing in life can be isolated therefore when considering the Lord and the temptations, there must be a consideration of the background. 

The Lord had spent about 30 years away from public life.  Apart from the fragments of His life as a baby, then as a child of approximately two years of age, then twelve years of age, all the rest is solely for God’s delight.  Few precious things are known in those intervening years.  We do know He was a carpenter, He stood while John preached, and that while his immediate family did not believe in Him, John did see there was something about Him that was distinctly different.  This is evident by that which John said when the Lord came for baptism, “I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?”  (Matt. 3:14) 

When the Lord was coming out of the Jordan at His baptism, the heavens were opened and all the attention of Heaven was on earth.  It is a reality that one always looks from the lesser to the greater, yet here, Heaven is occupied with a man on earth.  It is wonderful to observe that we never read of the heavens ever being closed upon Him.  When He was transfigured it does not say the heavens were opened, nor when He ascended.  He lived in the consciousness of an open heaven and a life lived in unbroken fellowship with God. 

Not only were the heavens opened to reveal the thoughts of God, but the Holy Spirit came upon Him.  Christ was about to begin priestly ministry but not a priest officially.  What glorious experiences and now He is led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 

The Spirit Led The Lord To Be Tempted

In this experience there is manifested the wonder of divine grace.  Profound are the words: “The Lord was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” (Matt. 4:1).  This was an experience He had to undergo to qualify Him as a High priest.  He knew the brilliance of the enemy intellectually but now He experienced it personally.  Therefore, having this experience, He taught the disciples to pray: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13), and later on He would pray: “That Thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (Jn. 17:15).  He knew the fierceness of the battle and our inability to overcome the evil one and not being a match for his subtlety, while depending on our own strength and understanding.  To the Thessalonians saints Paul writes: “The Lord is faithful who shall stablish you and keep you from evil” (2 Thess. 3:3). 

In the gospel narratives there is a change in the wording.  Matthew states, He was “Led up by the spirit” (Matt. 4:1), or brought up by the Spirit.   Luke records, He was “Led by the spirit” (Lk. 4:1), leaving out the word “up”.  Mark writes He was “driven by the Spirit" ⃰  (Mk. 1:12).  If in the first two we are made to observe the yielding of Christ to the Holy Spirit, in Mark it is the holy reluctance of the Lord to even come in the same environment as the evil one.  This was not a reluctance due to personal weakness, but due to His obnoxiousness for all that is evil, either in person or principle.
    ⃰  E. Cycle taught that Zoroastrian priests seized the Lord and abandoned Him in the wilderness, intending Him to be devoured by the wild beasts.  Of course this man was a tool of Satan who also taught that Jesus knew He would be the Saviour of the world when he fell in Eden!

Whatever word is used regarding His going into the wilderness, one thing is clear, He was led by the Spirit of God (Matt. 4:1; Mk. 1:12; Lk. 4:1).  Isaiah informs us of the attitude of the Lord when he wrote: “Morning by morning he wakeneth mine ear” (Isa. 50:4), and the man who began his days in fellowship with God will in loveliness follow the Holy Spirit as He leads.  This was no act of bravado in going to meet the enemy but He will wait until led by the Spirit.

The Lord was “driven” into the wilderness (Mk. 1:12).  The only other time we find anyone driven into the wilderness was the man who had the legion of demons, but he was driven by demons (Lk. 8:29).  Furthermore, the word translated “driven” is not the same Greek word, but the concept is the same.

Where Did the Temptations of The Lord Take Place?

Many saints have the mistaken understanding that all the temptations took place in the wilderness.  That is not so.  Indeed, it is possible that only two took place there, the temptation to make stones bread and to bow in worship to Satan.  The others took place in the holy city and the pinnacle of the temple.

From these two references there is the indication the wilderness is the region of the demonic world.  This being so, the Lord was brought into the offensive⃰  role in the satanic realm.  It was in the wilderness that John went to preach, and taking the offensive, went into the very arena of satanic powers and defeated them by people repenting and being baptized.  The demonic world was also in the place of death, for the tombs were the place the demonic were, and into their very realm the Son of God came.  “He went forth to land”, that is the Lord was taking the initiative (Lk. 8:27).  This leads to the important observation that the life of the Lord was marked by being on the offensive and defensive, and the same with Satan.  When the Lord goes into Satan’s territory then Satan, who will never back down from a confrontation, will go to meet Him.  When Satan goes into the Lord’s realm, then the Lord will not evade a confrontation with him on his activities.  Since the Lord was in this world He was in the Satanic arena, so Satan treated the Lord not just as an intruder, but as one who was intent on destroying him.  To his Satanic Majesty this could not be tolerated, Christ must be nullified, and if necessary, killed.
  ⃰  Some might object to the terms offensive and confrontational but this was war.

The Duration of The Temptations

The temptations are soon to begin, for the Lord was tempted for forty days and the three recorded ones were at the end of the forty days (Matt 4:2).  Those forty days and nights were going to be a hard physical and spiritual warfare, but before it God speaks, giving His public acknowledgement of the perfection of His Son.  A faint likeness to this is found when Melchisedec came to meet Abraham before the King of Sodom. There was strengthening before the battle.  God spoke:

“This is my beloved Son is whom I am well pleased.”

How glorious this is.  It does not say, “through” whom I am well pleased, or “by” whom I am well pleased, but “in” whom I am well pleased.  This was more than God looking at his outward behaviour, listening to His talk and observing His attiitudes and reactions.  It is God’s commentary after looking into the depths of His very being.  This was a man in whom every response was right, every word was right, never had an action to be apologized for, wrong attitude confessed to and never the slightest iota of pride or indifference to God.  Praying with Him was never a mere formality.  Thirty years had passed and not the slightest shadow of sin or defilement because He would not sin, and that because He could not sin.

God said: “I am well pleased”.  Robertson, in his “New Testament Word Pictures” writes: “The good pleasure of the Father is expressed by a tense that indicates timeless". ⃰   This was not just a momentary pleasure but was that which God found constantly in Him.  Could this have been so, had He always been susceptible to sinning?  Continually, every moment of every day, God was perpetually delighted in Christ.  He was the fulfillment of Isa. 42:1, “In whom my soul delighteth”.  With those eyes of fire which could tolerate no evil, Christ was looked upon and there was nothing in His life that was objectionable to God and needed burning up.
  ⃰  The Aorist tense is used for an undefined action which can indicate an action which occurred at a certain point to time. (The complete Word Study New Testament, S. Zodhiates).  (Also, “Syntax of the moods and tenses in New Testament Greek, E.De Witt Burton).  Timeless aorist indicates an action which began and continues.

We must not lose sight that for 40 days and nights Satan had tempted the Lord.  It was an all out assault, unrelenting in its severity.  For those many hours the Lord was exposed to every possible subtly of Satan.  After forty days and nights Satan saw himself defeated, down but not out.  The Lord was hungry, and knowing weakness from lack of food, Satan seeks to take advantage of the situation.  It is an all out war emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually.   What shame must have been his, as undoubtedly watched by his hordes, he was defeated in this conflict.  However, this was not the end for he only left the Lord "until an opportune time" (Lk. 4:13).  Satan returned throughout Christ's ministry.  Every individual possessed by a demon and every agitation by the religious leaders was an act of aggression instigated by Satan.  The unbelief and despising by His brethren, even that of his own disciples; and surely in the garden and the first three hours on the cross when they were taunting Him to come down were acts of aggression.  (Mk. 1:21-24; 2:6-7; 3:31-35; Mk. 8:31-32; Jn. 7:5; Jn. 14:30-31)

The Purpose of The Temptations

Before His fall, Satan wanted the position of supreme rulership.  Now he offers that to the Lord knowing that if he can get the Lord to yield, he will have accomplished his goal of absolute kingship.  As Lucifer, he was dissatisfied with the place God had given to him and in his heart desired to go higher saying: “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation. . .I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:13-14).  In this he miserably failed, but in the temptations he sought to get the Lord dissatisfied with the non-provision of God, and with that, rebel against God by casting himself down.  In his quest to have men worship him, he sought the Lord to do the same.

Opportunity to make the decision to do right or wrong is a manifestation of ones allegiance to someone or something.  For instance, Hezekiah had visitors, the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon.  On the lower level, it seemed to be a courteous curiosity as to his earthly accumulations.  Still, on the higher level, it was a test from God.  “Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart” (2 Chron. 32:31). 

The same was true of Israel.  “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no” (Deut. 8:2).  “Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut.13:3). 

The characteristics of both are clearly seen.  Christ in unreserved devotion to God His Father, and Satan, not now in subtlety but in blatant insolence, seeking to pervert the purpose of God through the tempting of the Lord.

Why Was The Lord Tempted?

Why was the Lord led into the wilderness?  As an example to us, for life is not always easy and temptations are more vicious when environments are hard and lonely.  Thankfully we can normally have human companionship to encourage, while the temptation goes on and on, seeming never to have an end.  Not only human companionship but a High priest to strengthen us in it, assisting us to see the end result and the cost to the Lord on Calvary.  If Peter had of had John, Matthew or any of the disciples beside him when questioned by the young woman, does anyone think he would have fallen so quickly?  He was not with the disciples, he was alone, and that made it easier to deny the Lord.  In contrast, Christ stood alone before Caiaphas, Annas, Herod and Pilate and it was before Pilate that God particularly notes that he witnessed a good confession.  (1 Tim. 3:16)

It has been said that virtue is only such when there is opportunity to do wrong and it is not done.  The virtue of the Lord was infinite especially when we consider that the weakness to yield to a temptation is a lot harder when one is in a harsh environment and alone than when with a group of saints. 

Great is the wonder that God permitted Satan, without any restrains, to tempt the Lord.  When the Lord permitted Job to be given into the hands of Satan there were boundaries he could not pass, but with the Lord, it was an open door.  Thus the Lord showed, (and He had no worries of the Lord’s failure), the fidelity of the  heart of the Lord.

Why Did Satan Tempt the Lord Knowing That It Would End In Failure?

To Satan⃰  this was necessary, for despite knowing he could not defeat the Lord, he was determined to do his utmost.  There could be no doubt he knew the truth of the parable the Lord spoke concerning going to war and counting the cost (Lk. 14:31), but he will give it his best try.
  ⃰  It is interesting that while I write this today, 2010 09 01, the Satanists in Oklahoma are wanting to use the Civic Center for a parody on a Roman Catholic exorcism.  At the same time, on “The View”, a television program in the United States, part of the debate is whether there is such a person as Satan.  At least one said they do not believe there is such a person and they spoke of him having a pitchfork and being red with horns.  Apparently, from what I understood to be said, only one percent of young adults in the United States accept the Bible as the truth regarding God and Satan, etc.  He has done a stupendous job of deception.  Satan is still alive and working very well on this earth, for it still lies in the arms of the wicked one.

The temptations demonstrated that Satan had nothing on Him and could get nothing on Him.  Magnificent Person!

It is important to note that the things Satan tempted the Lord with were all to be done instantly, right away.

Did Satan Misquote The Scriptures?

Principles For Interpreting Biblical Quotations

Did The Lord Also Misquote?

It is by these principles that the Lord gives His answers.  He is not misquoting but giving the fuller meaning of the passages by emphasizing a specific point by omission or addition.  In them we see His perfection.  Being the author, He can add to the scriptures giving a deeper meaning, which is something we cannot do.  Eve added to that which God had said and thus began the steps of failure.  God had said: “Thou shalt not eat of it” (Gen. 2:17), Eve added: “neither shall ye touch it” (Gen. 3:3).   She modified the words of God for He had said: “In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen. 2:17).  Eve changed that to: “lest ye die” (Gen. 3:3). 

A Table on The Temptations
 

The Temptations Were Confrontations

The Confrontation in The Temptation to Make the Stones Bread. Matt. 4:2-4

Temptation is also harder to resist when one is in need.  For instance, the Lord was hungry but Adam had an unlimited supply of food.  It is a lot easier to covet and fall when one has been deprived than when one has lots. The opportunity to steal is a greater affliction when the individual is hungry than when they are full.  Thus, the Lord being hungry was an ideal opportunity for Satan to tempt Him to ease His hunger.

The Confrontation In The Temptation For The Lord To Cast Himself Down (Matt.4: 5-7)

Satan now takes the Lord to the holy city and to the pinnacle of the temple.  This was ideally a city and in the purposes of God, the Holy City.  Just as fashion and romance is a characteristic of Paris and beautiful mountains and surf characterize Vancouver B.C., so holiness was ideally the characteristic of Jerusalem.  The Lord was then accompanied to the pinnacle which apparently was referred to as Herod’s royal portico, a lookout having a sheer drop of 450 feet. 

It is also interesting that Satan took Him to this place (Matt. 4:5).   Herein is a truth beyond comprehension, God allowed the Lord to be at the disposal of the evil one for these temptations.

Humanity has the yearning to be recognized for that which they do.  Some are known for great exploits, and without them, their names would never have been known.  Without great victories, who would ever have heard of Lord Nelson, Alexander the Great, Columbus or Magellan?  This was not the only time Satan tried this tactic, for later he will have the brethren say: “Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that Thou doest.  For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly.  If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world” (Jn. 7:3-4).  Again: “Whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country” (Lk. 4:23).

The Lord had responded to the first temptation with: “It is written”.  Satan took that expression and used it saying: “For it is written”, so using the scriptures to support his suggestion.  

The Confrontation in the Temptation to Receive the Kingdoms of the World if He Worshipped Satan (Matt 4:8-10)

There is a difference between Matthew and Luke regarding this temptation.  In Matthew the devil says: “Fall down and worship me”, but in Luke it is: “Worship before me” (Lk. 4:7).  The wording is interesting for in the Gospel where Christ is presented as King, Satan wants Him to renounce His kingship and fall down and worship him, and in Luke he wants the perfect man under God to worship before him.

Rather, he goes to the core of the issue, not mentioning when in God’s time and way that he will get possession of the world.  There is no quoting: “The Lord hath said unto me. . . Ask of me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the world for thy possession” (Psa. 2:7-8).  Nor does He remind Satan of the words of Daniel: “One like the Son of man came with the clouds of Heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days. . .and there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13-14).  The Lord does not answer, does not debate Satan on how he got control or his rights over them.  Such things are irrelevant at this time.

Man yearns for authority and the prestige that goes with it.  The Lord will later, in his ministry, put things and a purposeful human life in perspective when He says, “If he gain the whole world and lose his own soul” (Matt. 16:26, Mk. 8:36).   In that context the soul is the life, fulfilling the purpose for which God made man.

Other Confrontations Between Christ and Satanic Activities  

A List of Some of The Confrontational Temptations

The Confrontation in Seeking to Humiliate The Disciples in Their Inability To Cast Out The Demon (Matt 17:16)

The conversation between Moses and Elijah was concerning His decease at Jerusalem (Lk. 9:31).  It was a magnificent time, but like life, there had to be a coming down from the mountain.  The next day was a sharp contrast with a man beseeching the Lord to look upon his demonic son.  (Lk. 9:37-38)

A multitude had gathered around, undoubtedly a confused group of men.  They had cast out demons before but this one had stood against them.  They were defeated and the father was in utter grief.  By all appearances Satan had the victory, as is seen by the words of the father and disciples.  The father said: “I brought him to thy disciples and they could not cure Him” (Matt. 17:16).  The disciples said: “Why could not we cast him out?” (Matt. 17:19)

Seeing the Lord he comes to Him.  With what evil anticipation the demonic world must have watched, and yet with a certain fear of defeat.

What a lesson for the saints of God, and in particular, for those who profess to be the servants of God, either in full time service or pastoral ministry.  The Lord, being the perfect Servant, was there to serve the people in fulness of fellowship with Heaven yet so accessible to the needy on earth.  The saints of God are not there to serve the pastor or full time persons, they have been placed there to serve the saints.  Yet, there have been times one hears of those who have made demands of the saints for food and even financial payment for taking a funeral, etc.  This is contrary, not only to the whole life of the Lord, but also this passage.

This demonic power sent the individual into times of overwhelming personal weakness so that body and mind were beyond his control.  This was a contest of powers.  Has the man Jesus the power to deliver such a one?  Of course He had, but had He done that which the others were not able to do, would there be the danger of pride, “Look what I can do”?  In Christ there was no pride from the experience He just had, nor in the ability to cast out the demons.
 

The Offices and Works of The Lord That Were Dependent On His Sinlessness

There are several “offices” and “works” of the Lord that are directly related to the temptations.  Among which are, His declaring God’s Name, revealing the Father, Giving to the disciples God’s word, His work as Redeemer,  Kingship, High Priesthood and Advocacy.  Had the Lord sinned, none of these could have been performed by Him.  In each of these we must be aware of our need before we can appreciate the Lord and these works.  For example, being that before we were saved, the Lord as the Saviour meant little until there was a realisation of personal need. 

Of these we will only consider His qualifications for Kingship

To Qualify The Lord To Be King.

David had been king over Israel for forty years and his days were fast ending.   Reading the last recorded words of this man, who was so wonderfully used of God, as he looks over his long life what words does he say?  Possibly Psa. 23, as he taught of the days of delight when he knew the Lord as His Shepherd.  However, God tells us plainly: “Now these be the last words of David. . . .he that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God” (2 Sam. 23:1-3).  Psa. 72:1-2 is debatable, whether it is a prayer for Solomon or a prayer of Solomon, either way is irrelevant.  What is said is key to this study of righteous kingship.  “Give the King they judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.  He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment”.  Adding the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, a King shall reign in righteousness” (Isa. 32:1).  Finally, “And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins” (Isa. 11:5).  If the Lord is going to rule in righteousness and in the fear of God, then he must live that life, and that is shown in the temptations.  He, the man Jesus, will be shown to be “King of Righteousness” (Heb. 7:2).  Like Abraham, he passed this major test with flying colours and Satan could find no unrighteousness in His judgements.

To Display His Personal Perfections

While it is easy to be taken up with the temptations, we can miss the fact that all the miracles of the Lord are backdrops for the display of His excellencies and glories.  Each questioning of the Lord and each activity is the background on which His glories shine.  God never tempts any man, but if left like this, it would raise a question which Satan would utilise.  “What if He, incapable of using His deity, (for neither Adam or we can use deity), had been tempted in the most dire circumstances by the greatest military strategist the world knows.  How would he have fared?

We are also given a sight into heaven when God permits Job to be tempted by Satan (Job chs. 1-2) and the character of Job was seen.  The temptations of our Lord were an intensification of that conflict, for the Lord was the Promised Bruiser of Satan’s head and this was a conflict in which Satan had to do all he could to win!  Furthermore, both the Lord and Job were on the enemies ground, but despite the temptations, displayed their virtues.  One other major observation is made.  While Job ended by acknowledging his sinfulness, the Lord was so perfect Satan could not find a flaw in Him (Job 40:4; Jn. 14:30).  This was a spiritual conflict of a spirit filled man against the powers of darkness, and in particular, the arch enemy of God.

In this conflict the Lord shows His glorious resoluteness and holy perfections for He did not have an archangel to help Him, neither did He have legions of angels assisting.  He had the Holy Spirit whom every believer has.  He fought this fight as a man and was the mighty Victor and Overcomer.⃰    For the Lord to have yielded to the suggestions of Satan and sinned, would have been the greatest insult to the Holy Spirit, indicating His inability to strengthen.  Had He even contemplated fulfilling the promptings, he would have grieved the Holy Spirit.  Had He sinned, He would have quenched the Holy Spirit.  Such activities would have resulted in the work God gave Him of declaring His name would never, and could never have been fulfilled.  The power of God through Him would have been curtailed.  In the temptations, He begins the process of entering the strong man’s house, destroying his weaponry and breaking the enemy in pieces.  (Mk. 3:27; Psa. 2:9)
  ⃰   This aspect of the Lord will be dealt with later in the study.

All this time God was silent, no commendation after this.  What an encouragement it would have been if only God had opened the heavens, commending Him after the temptation, but God was silent.

The Timing of the Temptations

 In Gen. 3:1 it is recorded: “The serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field”, and Gen. 49:17 confirms this characteristic: “An adder that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward”.  When the rider thought he was safe, that is when the danger struck.  Another characteristic of Satan is he will come to tempt after great activities for God or after commendation from God.  Abraham had won a great victory over the kings and the King of Sodom came to meet him and offered Abraham all the goods (Gen. 14:17-23).  Why offer these?  It is because up to this point Abraham had been interested in goods, herds of cattle, etc., but God was teaching him that people were more important than goods.  Having learned this truth Abraham was able to reject the overtures of the King of Sodom and did not fall.  It was after the great overcoming that the King of Sodom came.

Since our meditation is on the moral perfections of the Lord in the temptations, we must consider His perfections in the offensive and defensive.  He must be perfect in each area for if He failed in one iota, then he could never have offered Himself a sacrifice, bearing sin’s penalty.

We often hear that when we are being tempted all one has to do is quote scripture, Satan will be rebuked, and the temptation goes away!  It is lovely idealism but not realism, neither is it biblical correct.  Satan did not go away after the first, second or even third temptation.  It was only when the Lord dismissed Him, and then it was only for a while.  The honest heart knows that temptations do not stop or go away with a quotation from the scriptures.  We shall discover that more is needed.

In this temptation, it would appear that it was not a “once for all” temptation, but a pressuring repeated one.  In Luke, Satan says: “Command this stone”, and in Matthew: “Command that these stones”.  Satan does not give up after one attempt.  He will keep pressuring until we gain the victory or fall.

There are several incidents in the Old Testament that recount parallel situations to that which are recorded in the temptations.  One of which is: David had made Solomon King, much to the dismay of Adonijah.  In that which seemed a simple request, Adonijah asked his mother to ask Solomon if he could have Abishag as his wife (1 Kgs. 2:17).  However, Solomon was no fool and he saw deeper than a request to have a certain woman for his wife.  Abishag had been the wife of David and to have a man’s wife meant having his position.  This is what Solomon saw.  It was a veiled attempt to get the throne (1 Kgs. 2:22) and Solomon, the king of God’s appointment, cast out.

There are several similarities between this incident and the temptations.  God had appointed Christ to be King and Satan is opposed to that.  Therefore, he comes to the Lord with veiled “suggestions”, which in themselves may seem rational and with possibilities, but the Lord saw deeper.  He saw the wicked attempts of Satan to overthrow the purposes of God, split the fellowship of the Godhead, and have ultimate rulership of all that was God’s. 

Could Christ Have Sinned?

The following lists show that it was utterly impossible for the Lord to have ever sinned, or even contemplated it in any way.

Christ Could Not Sin Because He is God

Jesus of Nazareth was not God humanized, nor was He humanity deified.  He was the one in whom all fulness dwelt (Col. 2:9), the eternal Word (Jn. 1:1), equal and eternal with the Father (Jn. 1:1-2).  He had a body prepared but He was the uncreated God.  He condescended but was never degraded.

Phil. 2:7 records that the Lord, “Made Himself of no reputation”, “emptied Himself”, RSV, DBY, ASV.  The question is: “What did the Lord then divest Himself of when he became a man?”  The wording in Phil. 2 makes it clear that He could not divest Himself of His deity.  To be our sacrifice, High Priest and Advocate, the Lord had to live with self imposed limitations.  He was uninterruptedly and unchangeably God, but limited Himself to the limitations of a human being and His own sovereignty.  He must never use not His divine attributes to diminish the power of a temptation, nor desensitize himself from the sufferings and feelings of humanity.  

The Lord is the Son of man, that is, He is the ideal man, a man morally perfect before God, with God being all in all, this living life as God intended man to live.  God was the source of all He did, the sustainer of all He did, the goal for which He did all, and He did it all in love.

Note, these were all non moral issues, but when it comes to moral matters, for instance lying, Jesus could not lie.

Being Sinless Meant:

How could the one who is the wisdom of God be induced to foolishness?  Being perfect He saw sin for what it was, and His Holy soul and mind utterly recoiled from it, for He loved righteousness.  For Christ to have sinned would have meant He had to find sin attractive, dissatisfaction with that which God had given, and have a fleshly perception of being curtailed by God and not being free to do what He wanted to do irrespective of God’ s will.

Christ the Overcomer

It is perhaps hard for us to grasp this statement by the Lord: “I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33).  A world that apparently would soon defeat him, but he was going to defeat the prince of this world who had the power of death rising triumphantly from the grave, ⃰  to live forever in the power of an endless life (Heb. 2:14; Heb. 7:16).
  ⃰    If Christ is not risen from the dead, He has provided no salvation so there is no justification; Theologically there will be no fulfillment of the purposes of God; Christologically, there is no glorification of Christ and for us, living for God has no eternal blessing.

There have been many glorious battles that cross the pages of biblical history but none compares with that of the Lord.  He defeated Satan, being able to say: “The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me”.  (Jn. 14:30)

The Major Passages Used To Teach That The Lord Could Have Sinned

Hebrews 2

Several Observations

The word translated “trials” or “temptations”, while in both cases is the same Greek word, it is the context and origin of the trial or temptation that makes the difference.

Comments on Hebrews 2 

There are several expressions in this passage which can cause concern.  In verse ten it says: “To make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings”.  The concern is this, since the Lord was always perfect, then how could He be made perfect?  This has nothing to do with what He was morally but what He was in His qualifications for priestly ministry.  A priest had to be a man (Heb. 5:1), and Christ was that, but more, was needed.  Being God in Heaven He never knew what it was to be despised, spat upon, hated, tortured, enter death, hungry or tired, to work at the bench, be one of a family of unbelieving peers, be the breadwinner of a family, attend a funeral, weep and to be tempted.  These were all experiences of daily life which He learned and so made perfect for coming to our aid.

Also, there are two mentions of suffering, v. 9, and v.18 but the context is not the same.  The suffering in v. 9 is the vicarious sufferings for sin which the Lord experienced in the three hours of darkness, whereas those of v. 18 were the non sacrificial sufferings for sins, the sufferings of daily life.  An instance of the latter is Mk. 9:19, “How long shall I suffer you”?

Note also the words, “him the nature of” and “him” (ch. 2:16), is italicized thus indicating it was inserted by the translators without any Greek text.  So the passage ought to read: “For verily He took not on angels, but took on the seed of Abraham”.  But, who are they?

The seed of Abraham are those who are the children of faith (Gal. 3:29).  It is a spiritual relationship not a physical one as the Pharisees surmised (Jn. 8:33, 37).

To those who are believers, the Lord takes hold of them, taking them by the hand.  To an Israelite this would remind him of by gone days when God in taking Israel out of Egypt, He “took them by the hand” (Jer. 31:32).   In that great foreshadow of deliverance from the bondage of fear (Heb 2:15), He brought them into the wilderness and there bare them on “eagles wings” (Ex. 19:4); “The Lord thy God bare thee” (Deut. 1:31); “He carried them all the days of old” (Isa. 63:9).  In this dispensation of grace He seeks us to grow, so while strengthening us He “takes us by the hand”.

There were many pitfalls and murmurings in the desert.  Twenty-four thousand were slain (Num. 25:9) because they joined themselves unto “Baal-Peor” who was the god “Chemosh!  Then there were those who died in the wilderness because they refused to go into the promised land (Num. 14:29).  The question naturally would come, what if we fall as they did or do not enter our inheritance? (Eph. 1:11)  Or, what if God ever got so angry at us that the experience of Israel would be repeated upon us when He told Jeremiah: “Pray not thou for this people. . .neither make intercession to me, for I will not hear thee” (Jer. 7:16), or “Pray not thou for this people. . . For I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me” (Jer. 11:14); and similar words in ch. 14:11, until in ch.15:1 God said: “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me. . .  Cast them out of my sight”.

How weak they were and failing; if only they had one to walk with them in the pathway of obedience to God, someone to succour (help) (Matt. 15:25), (to run at a call or cry for help⃰ ) them.  Thank God we have, and He has walked the path of obedience before us, experienced every trial we go through in that pathway to our heavenly inheritance, experiencing it more deeply than we ever can (Heb. 2:10, the captain, pioneer of our salvation) and He will “save to the uttermost” (to save in perpetuity, “to the very end”, Young’s Lit. Trs.).  He will never lose patience with us for he is such a High Priest who can have compassion on the ignorant and them that are out of the way.  (Heb. 5:2)
  ⃰   Robertson’s Word Pictures.

What Are His Qualifications?

With God being perfect, the sacrifice and priest had to “become Him”, that is, it had to harmonize and correspond with His own character.  Nothing inferior would have been befitting to God, therefore Christ must be perfectly qualified to be “becoming to Him” (Heb. 2:10).   What does it mean “becoming to Him”?   It means God is the God of perfection and any office being fulfilled, any work given to do, must be suitable to Him according to His character, not dishonoring His name”.  Christ to be that as High Priest must walk the path of devotion to God without a stain or falter.

As he lived in this world, it was not an easy life, sorrows abundant were upon Him, the pathway was strewn with harassment, each day saw new burdens brought to Him and ultimately it led to Gethsemane, Gabbatha and Golgotha.  He walked the storm tossed sea, faced the elements they faced but without a cover.  He has faced what we face and had no High Priest to succour Him, and glory of glories, He never failed or fell.   How beautiful are the words:

I have a Friend, whose faithful love
Is more than all the world to me:
'Tis higher than the heights above,
And deeper than the soundless sea;
    So old, so new,
    So strong, so true;
Before the earth received its frame,
He loved me—Blessed be His name! 

He held the highest place above,
Adored by all the sons of flame,
Yet such His self-denying love,
He laid aside His crown and came
    To seek the lost,
    And at the cost
Of heavenly rank and earthly fame
He sought me—Blessed be His name!

It was a lonely path He trod,
From every human soul apart;
Known only to Himself and God
Was all the grief that filled His heart,
    Yet from the track
    He turned not back,
Till where I lay in want and shame,
He found me—Blessed be His name!

Then dawned at last that day of dread,
When desolate, yet undismayed,
With wearied frame and thorn-crowned head,
He, God-forsaken, man-betrayed,
    Was then made sin
    On Calvary,
And, dying there in grief and shame,
He saved me—Blessed be His name!

. . . .C A Tendon.

Did He know what it was to be tempted?  Yea and more, He knew what it was to suffer being tempted.  He did not suffer in the flesh as we do, due to sin (1 Pet. 4:1), but the pressure to let go just a little bit was affliction beyond understanding.  Undoubtedly, the torments of the mind as Satan and his infernal hordes sought to turn Him aside, the taunting of who He was, Christ was tempted beyond our comprehension but never faltered or failed.

 Hebrews 4

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.  For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:14-16)

The major statement in v. 15 is: “Yet without sin”.  This is the “yet” of astonishment and pronouncement.  It is the same as Isa. 53:9 & 10: “Because (although) He had done no violence, neither was any deceit found in His mouth, YET it pleased (was the will of God) to bruise Him”.

Despite everything that Satan tried to tempt the Lord with, it was evident that there was no latent sin in Christ, as a lion lying in wait to destroy.  He had human bodily functions, thirst, hunger, weariness and sleeping, but in none of these did He sin. His hunger never degraded into greed; His weariness never degraded into apathy; His sleepiness never degraded into sloth.  Had this been, then these natural blessings would have resulted in sin. 

Satan can take a trial from God and use it as a temptation as he did with Job when Job got angry.  Moses went through a trial for some 40 years and eventually lost his temper with the people of God.  He broke under the trial   and sinned.  The Lord never did.  He knew what it was to hunger and Satan took advantage of it but Christ never faltered.  We can be working for the Lord and it can be very severe, then Satan cause us to glory in the work we do.

But, when he is given his vision of God, he says: “Woe is me. . . I am a man of unclean lips. . . for mine eyes have seen the King” (Isa. 6:5).  Job was righteous and God acknowledged that yet when he begins to see the glory of God, his words are: “Behold I am vile” (Job 40:4).  No one lived in close fellowship with God as Christ did, and yet there was never the slightest conscience of sin or distortion due to sin.

The marvel of it is that He had no high priest to turn to for aid, for it was a path uncheered by earthly smiles, misunderstood in every way and yet He never retaliated or responded in a way that was contrary to the character of God.

The temptation spoken of in Hebrews is that of leaving the pathway of faith through suffering, deprivation and humiliation, the stupendous pressure to turn aside, and this could not be done, not even for a split second.  There must be no mild interest in pondering the excitement of sin, in seeing any situation distortedly.
 

What If Christ Had Sinned?

The Agitation To Get the Lord To Respond When He Hung On The Cross (Mk. 15:29-32)

That which must never be lost sight of is the fact that in these agitations, Satan was seeking to humiliate the Lord to the uttermost.  His was the hope that there would come a point when the Lord would lose His temper, get so agitated to prove what He said was right, that He would come down from the cross.  There is nothing worse than being mocked by those who distort words, or are dependent on one even if unconscious of that fact. 

One can feel the sarcasm in the expression: “If he will have him for he said I am the Son of God”.

The Agitating To Get Him To Respond By Their Viciousness

These words all indicate maliciousness, for “ravening” means “to rend in pieces” (Gen. 37:33); to “tear” (Psa 7:2). The word is used of wolves (Ezek. 22:27) and a lion tearing (Na. 2:12).  When a lion roars it is declaring territory and seeking to intimidate.  When this is lifted to the Lord, it is recognised that the Lord was an intrusion from the day of His birth.  Herod wanted to find the baby to destroy him (Matt. 2:13).  The religious leaders were the same, seeking a way to put him to death (Jn. 11:53; Matt. 26:59).  Now their hour had come and they were ready for it.

They “compassed” Him, that is, they surrounded Him.  This is the word used when the men of Sodom surrounded the house of Lot where the angels were staying (Gen. 19:4), and when the children of Israel encircled ⃰  the city of Jericho (Josh. 6:4).  Thus, at the cross, the Lord was in a constant state of being encircled by those who hated him.
  ⃰  In Josh. 6:3-4, the word “compass” is not the same in both verses.  In v. 3 it is “naqaph” and in v. 4 it is “Sabab”.  From these two verses it seems that sabab means to surround, but “naqaph” indicates to circumnavigate.

He was enclosed, and the Hebrew word is translated “kill” in the clause, “Woe to Ariel. . .the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices” (Isa. 29:1).  When Job says: “After my skin worms destroy this body” (Job 19:26), the word destroy is the same Hebrew word.  It also means to surround with intent to conquer, as Israel with Jericho (Josh. 6:3), or the King of Syria when he came against Dothan to capture Elisha (2 Kgs.6:14).  Within the context of Psalm 22 and kindred verses, the thought seems to be to surround with intent to kill and destroy and so enclosing so that none can escape and none can help.  How graphic the portrayal is, wild animals intent on slaughter, surrounding, encircling, enclosing so that the Lord could not escape, even if He came down and of those who loved Him, none could help.  One can understand the deep significance of the expression: “There is none to help” (Psa. 22:11), and in that dire situation His cry rises: “be not far from me” (Psa. 22:11).

This was not the hardness of being used to the sight, sounds and situation; but this was that hardness of intense callousness intensified by Satan.

The Lord stands in contrast to them.  They reviled, but He sympathized with the women en route to Calvary and now He prays for them.  They spoke words of distain, but He spoke words of compassion.  They stood united as a satanically blasphemous crowd, but He stood alone in silence and composed. 

The Temptations Can Be Times of Deepest Communion

Yet for us, though not with Christ, it is in times like these when the deepest communications from God are granted.  Some may have heard of Geoffrey T. Bull, a saint who was taken captive by the Chinese communists in Tibet.  This man of God was held in captivity for three years where there was constant attempts to brain wash him.  It was in those times the seeds of His book, “God hold the key”, were unveiled.  

We cannot know the depth of communion there was between our Lord and His Father for these are matters too sacred to be unveiled.  Neither can we know the infinite pleasure the Father had as He watched the perfect unveiling of His own character being shown so beautifully in Christ.  Haughty men stood blaspheming in cold indifference to the grief they were venting on the Son of His love (Col. 1:13 DBY). 

The passers by that fateful day
Unmoved by Christ’s affliction,
All shook their heads and turned away
While mocking His prediction. 

From every angle mocking scorn
Fell like a torrent o’re Him,
The priests and elders all forsworn
Poured out their venom on Him.

 If it is true, God’s Son Thou art
That bond shall never sever,
Come down now from the rugged cross
We will be thine forever.

The Beauty of His Reactions  

He Reviled Not Again

Despite the repeated jeers from the callous crew of soldiers, the mocking of the religious authorities, the heckling of the passers by and the deriding of the thieves, He reviled not again.

The ancient prophet Jeremiah, who was a mighty man of God, prayed: “O Lord of Hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance upon them” (Jer. 11:20).  In contrast, The Lord desired God to manifest all that He claimed to be for His justification (1 Tim. 3:16).  He had declared Himself to be the Son of God, and that is why He was being crucified.  The core of their jesting was when He was on the cross. He wanted God to show that He was not a deceiver but was the Son of God.   In the case of Jeremiah, there was no thought of forgiveness, but unflinching righteous judgment on the evil doers!

Furthermore, when the Lord asked for their forgiveness, He knew the only way that could be accomplished was if the judgment for sins was executed on Him.  We need to recognize that God never just forgives sins, there must be the execution of judgment for the wrongs done and only then can forgiveness be offered.

Despite their persistent denouncing, He reviled (imperfect active for repeated incidents ⃰ ).  He threatened, again no matter how loud, how many or how long they cried, there were no responses to them.
  ⃰  Robertson's New Testament Word Pictures

Yet, He was always perfect, but this temptation was more severe.  Using the words of our text: “He was tempted in all things, yet without sin”, the undefiled Christ. 

He Was Silent Before His Shearers

He Knew They Were Blinded By Satan And Sin, Totally Unaware Of Their Need For Deliverance And To Be Greatly Pitied 

The Lord is a realist and so in praying for their forgiveness, does not deny their deservingness of judgment. Neither does He pray: “Father be merciful or gracious, but forgive”.  The word means “to hold back”, because “They know not what they do”.

The Lord knew that they understood they were crucifying the man Jesus, but they did not understand the seriousness of this.  They were “treasuring up wrath agains the day of wrath” (Rom. 2:5), they failed to see they were crucifying the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8), the “Prince of Life” (Acts 3:15) and their Messiah (Dan. 9:26).  The Lord saw them as those who were totally blinded by Satan, and loving them, He prayed for their forgiveness. His whole attitude was one of beauty and the ultimate manifestation of the love of God.

Interestingly, in the midst of their blasphemy and hatred, they unwittingly gave the Lord the greatest compliment: “He trusted in God”.  They, His enemies who hated Him, knew whom He trusted in and now acknowledge it.

While it is not a title of the Lord, the term can most certainly be applied to Him.  He is the Victorious Lord.  The glory of this truth is the theme of the heavenly courts.  With heartfelt praise and adoration the song will rise: “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation:  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:9-10).  Our Victorious Lord, He has defeated the enemy and his armies, has secured an eternal salvation and glorified the Most High God.  He is the glorious One who has bruised the serpents head and quenched forever any further uprisings against God.  In contrast to the Prince who shall come, being the man of sin under Satan’s empowerment, the “Mighty One of Jacob”, the “Prince of Life” (Acts 3:15), shall arise as the “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6), the Prince of Princes (Dan. 8:25) and ultimately the “Prince of the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5).

There are few things more beautiful than the rays of the sun as it begins its upward journey through the heavens.  That beauty is intensified as it is set in contrast to the blackness of the night which at times feels like a thick gloominess permeating the air.  So also with Christ, the rays of the glory of His devotion to God in deprivation of food, the urging to misuse the Scriptures and refuse to await God’s time shine in their brightness against the arrogance and self manifestation of Satan, and the barren death fraught wilderness the Lord was in

He Prayed For Them

In the midst of the jeering, spite and hatred against Him, He prayed for their forgiveness.  However, His prayer for their forgiveness was different from Stephen, for He could pray but never suffer the price to be paid for their forgiveness.  The Lord knew that for His prayer to be answered, he was going to have to pay the price for that forgiveness.  Colossians catches the glory of this. “You, that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled” (Col. 1:21), and in that reconciliation, sinful man can have “forgiveness of sins through His Blood” (Col. 1:14), “In the body of His flesh through death” (Col. 1:22).  This forgiveness was based on justice being executed and He personally bearing the penalty for their sins.  Isaiah spoke of this when he said: “He made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:12).  This was the measurement of His love, and that love was what caused Him to repeatedly pray: “Father forgive them”.  How beautifully did He exemplify His teachings: “Love your enemies. . .do good to those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44).   He does not ask them to forgive them but to pray for them.

The Temptations of Satan, God and Us  

The Temptation of Satan

The temptations were the epitome of the brazen character of Satan, but they also make manifest the perfect beauties of the Lord.  The Lord said: “I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34), and He wielded it against all satanic opposition.  When the Lord took the offensive, Satan took the defensive, but He was always the defeated one.  When Satan took the offensive the Lord took the defensive, but He was always victorious.

The Temptations and God

The Temptations And Us 

Endnotes

The Words Translated “Prove”, “Test”, “Try”, “Examine”, “Tempt”, “Temptation”

When used referring to the Lord, but only “perismos” (Lk. 4:13) “peirazō” (Matt. 4:1) are, it was giving Him the experience of what it would be like for us to be faithful to God with severe opposition in the spirit, with Satan attempting to make Him sin and God searching into His innermost being and ultimately not finding a flaw within.

If Christ, Being God Could Have Sinned, Does This Mean God Could Sin?

One of the greatest acts of deliberate sinning recorded in the scriptures is that of Belshazzar.  This evil man took the sacred cups, and in a drunken display of bravado and blasphemy, used them to praise the gods of gold and silver.  Judgment came on Him exceedingly quickly (Dan. 5).  This blasphemous attitude pales into the mists when one dares to ask: “Could God sin?”  Using the words of Paul: “God forbid”.  The intensity of divine holiness is marked on the pages of Holy writ.   It is an indisputable fact, God could not sin. 

Surely, to say that this God could sin is blasphemy beyond degree.  If ⃰  Jesus is God manifest in flesh then it is blasphemy to say that He could have sinned.
  ⃰   This is not an “if” of questioning its truth but of argument, could be translated “since” but “if” suits the question better.

The Argument That Christ Had a Fallen Nature

Edward Irving taught that when our Lord added humanity to His deity, He took a fallen nature with all its distortions.  By a gradual process of practising righteousness, He perfected the fallen nature.  He also said: “I shall maintain until death that the flesh of Christ was as rebellious as ours, as fallen as ours.  Human nature was corrupt to the core and black as hell and this is the human nature Christ clothed himself with.  I say: “This is blasphemy”.

The Overshadowing Of Mary

While the Lord was made of a woman and from her received a human frame of spirit, soul and body; YET the spirit of the Lord was never dead in trespasses and sins, he was never under condemnation and the sentence of death was never upon Him as it is on all others (Rom. 5:12); He never needed justification as we do (Rom. 5:16); He was never born a sinner as we were (Rom. 5:19) but was made in the likeness of sinful flesh.

It must be clear that the Lord was not born holy because He was born of a virgin, for the effects of the original sin had contaminated Mary.  Had the Lord been born of Mary as a virgin but without the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, He would have been a child of Adam, (as she was) born under the headship of Adam, under condemnation, having a relationship to the old man.

What did the overshadowing do?  It prevented the law of sin being passed on to that Holy body so that He was born holy and death having no claims upon Him.

The Meaning Of “Immaculate Conception”

While there are many teachings of the Roman Catholic church, Protestants misunderstand one of the most prevalent.  It is the “Immaculate conception”.  Protestants think it refers to the Lord, but in Roman Catholic theology, it refers to Mary herself being born immaculate.

The Apparent Contradictions Of God Tempting Man

As in our normal life, a word can be used and its meaning depends on the context.  For instance, “Johnny broke the school record for the high jump” and “Susan Boyle will soon record a Christmas CD”.  The word “record” is the same, both with two different meanings.  Thus, the word translated “tried” and “tempt”, is the same word but the context and the tenure of scripture determines the meaning.

God will try man but never tempt man to do evil.  Did He not tell the disciples to pray: “Lead us not into temptation”?  At first glance this seems to indicate that God does lead us into temptation but the better paraphrase is: “Do not allow us to be led into temptation” ⃰.  When God tries us it is for spiritual development, but when Satan and his associates tempt, it is always to do evil.  God tries us to see what is in our hearts (Deut. 8:2).  God is forever refining us for praise, honor and glory at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:7).
  ⃰   Robertsons N T Word Pictures

Satan tempts us to do evil and shows what we are in ourselves.  Satan is totally opposed to God therefore temptation is any activity which causes an individual, angelic or human, to respond in a way, by defaming God’s Person, or acting contrary to His purposes and decrees. ⃰
  ⃰   Sin does not always have to be proffered, it can be the natural response of a fallen nature, even if the object itself is ignorant of their being a channel for Satan or the flesh.  For instance, I have a very sweet tooth, and I see a Black Forest cake, all chocolatey with cream and cherries, it looks so delicious. The problem is that I have just had a very sufficient and satisfying meal. My flesh, in its greed and gluttony, wants a big piece of that cake.  Is greed and gluttony a sin?  Did the cake of itself do any proffering?

The Teaching That The Lord Complained
 

This is now a real conundrum.  God is giving the Lord a work to do and then give Him the words to complain! This would mean that the Father and Holy Spirit led Him to complain, to verbalize a natural fleshly attitude to and against God.
 

A most important point is that the Lord never said the above quoted verses, that which He did say was the first clause, and only the first clause of verse one!  Brethren in their prayers, preaching, etc., will often times indicate the Lord saying the rest of the verses, but that is an unbiblical unwarranted assumption.  It is, in fact, putting words in the mouth of the Lord, words that we have no scripture for.
 

It nullifies the truth of His sinless life and thus makes all the expressions in the Old Testament, concerning His being without blemish and without spot, empty statements.

Since we are told to follow in his steps, it then gives us the right to complain when we find God treating us differently from others.
 

 
May God grant us good understanding as He, by His Holy Spirit, deigns to guide us into all truth.
John 16:13

Copyright © 2010 by Rowan Jennings, Abbotsford, British Columbia