What Tempted Jesus?

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. —Hebrews 4:15

We know that Jesus was sinless, even as a human. We also know that He was tempted. So, if Jesus was “tempted in every way as we are,” what tempted Him? What tempting thoughts did He have, and how did He deal with them?

One way of understanding this centers on the phrase “yet without sin.” Because Jesus didn’t harbor lust or other sinful desires, perhaps His was more a matter of feeling the weight of our human weakness of spirit, of sometimes wanting to act out in sinful ways. He personally didn’t want to “go there,” but He understood how and why sin pulls at us. There was no sin in Him that would accommodate temptation, yet there was a compassionate understanding of its allure.

To Jesus, temptation was as unwelcome as the cross, the nails, and the crown of thorns. Nothing He wanted, and certainly nothing He deserved. But He received the pain on our behalf.

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Incomparable: 50 Days with Jesus © 2024 by Revived Hearts Foundation

Scripture taken from The CSB