Resisting temptation

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” Hebrews 4:15
I find this verse encouaraging, but it also gives us insights into Jesus’ life while He was on this planet in human form. There is the theological aspect: Jesus succeeded where Adam failed. He resisted the temptations of Satan in the wilderness (which tested him on the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16)), whereas Adam and Eve fell in the garden (she saw the fruit was good to eat (for the flesh), pleasing to the eye, and desirable for gaining wisdom, Gen. 3:6).
But there is another aspect as well. These weren’t the only temptations that Jesus faced. We read that after Satan couldn’t make Him sin in the desert, “he left Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). All the things that we struggle with, He also faced, and overcame. It is not the tempting thought that is a sin, because Jesus had these. Sin comes when we dwell too long on that thought (instead of taking it captive, 2 Cor. 10:5) or worse, act upon it.
Another point to note is that Jesus resisted all these temptations in the power of a man. He laid aside His Deity when He came to earth. His life shows us what a man filled and led by the Holy Spirit can do. This means that we too can resist every temptation that comes our way, in the power of the Spirit. And because Jesus knows what we face, as our high priest He is compassionate and willing to forgive.