A Good Example

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. Luke 4:1-2 KJV

The temptation of Jesus is often pointed to as an example to follow. Jesus clearly won the battle by quoting scripture and putting Satan in his place. Some are inspired by the fact that Jesus did not give in to temptation.

As for me, I'm inspired by the fact that Jesus was even tempted. By this I don't mean that He was targeted, but that there was the possibility of failure. Without this possibility, there was no temptation, and that makes Jesus even more significant than being God.

Jesus being God gives me confidence in His ability to keep His promises. His extra abilities provide me with a sense of safety. When it comes to salvation, Jesus is the person I count on.

However, when it comes to an example of how to live, being God can put the actions of Jesus out of my reach. The temptations recorded in Luke make Jesus a more realistic model.

Temptation is an interesting thing. People are not tempted to do things that do not interest them. I am not in the least tempted to join the ballet (me in tights is just not pretty). I am however, tempted to ignore the fact that the cashier gave me too much change. I am tempted to things that benefit me.

In the account of Jesus' temptations, three are listed but we can assume that throughout the 40 days there were others. There are some interesting insights in the three listed.

First, Jesus was tempted to miraculously provide food for himself. In other instances in scripture we see Jesus provide food supernaturally, so it's not an outrageous request. However, in this instance, we can conclude that food was not the issue, but self-determination. I believe that Jesus could have made bread, but if He had, he would have been using his authority over creation for selfish ends. Based on His response, He had no blanket release to use creation as He saw fit.

Second, Jesus was offered authority over all the kingdoms of the world. Some say that Satan did not have the authority to give it. I say, if he couldn't give it, then it wasn't a temptation. When my son offered me my neighbor's car, I had no inclination to accept the offer. In the same way, if Satan did not have it to give, how could Jesus have been tempted.

From this we see just how much influence Satan actually has. And from Jesus' response, where the ultimate authority lies.

Finally, Jesus was told to prove that He was God by jumping off the temple. After all, He had the authority to command all the angels to protect Him. Again, Jesus responds by pointing out that God will not submit to tests.

Key in this account is that Jesus considered what Satan had to say. How can I say this? How do I know that Jesus ever thought differently than God?

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Luke 22:41-42 KJV

Clearly the will of Jesus was different than the will of God. He said, "not my will, but thine" which let's us know, that Jesus did not want to die. Jesus had his own desires.

Jesus, the man, is the example to Christians. To say that He was God and had an advantage is to miss what the gospels show us. Scripture shows that Jesus, while on earth, operated as a simple man. He did not pull a get out of jail free card. Jesus did what He did to show what we can do.