Reflections on Matthew 4 (but specifically, Jesus' temptations)

I've never understood this passage.

Is that a terrible thing to admit? I know this passage, I've read this passage, I've (likely) studied this passage before but it has never seemed relevant to me.

This is the passage that we've been studying this week in bsf. There were some points that were meaningful to me.

I appreciated...

• the contrast and comparison of Jesus' temptation with Adam & Eve's temptation in Genesis (this is very interesting and you should do a little study for yourself...)
• the point that Christ's temptation makes Him a merciful and faithful high priest (Hebrews 2:15-18) because he knows the suffering of temptation (italics added because I think it's an interesting adjective for temptation)
• the recognition of God's word as Christ's means to resist temptation; the fact that He looked to God rather than himself.

These points were meaningful before. Of course it is good that Jesus is merciful and faithful in context of empathizing with our temptations. Of course God's word would help us focus on Him rather than our trouble at hand. But my question was always: HOW does Jesus' experience of this relate to my experience of temptation? He was Jesus!! He would not have succumbed to the devil's wiles. He was not even tempted to do anything bad, one might argue (well, except for bowing down to the devil...) so how would he know what I'm feeling/experiencing??!

Some thoughts that Brad and I discussed really clarified this lesson for me, and made Jesus' temptation relevant to how he perceives my temptations. His temptations were different, that is He was "tempted" to do a good thing in a bad way. Jesus had power and does not come from a fallen background like I do. His temptation was not in his weakness. (This difference is what confused me regarding Jesus' experience in relation to my own.)

And even as I am tempted to laze around to relax and feel good rather than be productive doing whatever task, even as I am tempted to satisfy my physical body as it was created to be, even as I am tempted to speed so I can get to places faster, even as I am tempted to read 24 hrs (newspaper) during my commute so I don't fall asleep instead of praying...

Jesus' Temptation Was So Relevant To Mine.

Jesus was tempted to achieve God's plan in his own way rather than God's way. Just as I want to relax and feel good, satisfy myself as I was created experience good things, get to places faster, pray instead of fall asleep, the temptations against these things (that aren't bad in and of itself) is to do it in a process that was not meant to be.

Does this make sense?

So now, this passage makes so much more sense to me and I appreciate that Christ experienced temptation as He did. It is relevant to me. I can look to his experience as my example in dealing with temptation even though He did not experience temptation from the same fallen position as mine.





On a more flighty and perhaps a little mean note, here is a picture a past Catch Of The Week:



hahahahahahahahahhahahahahah