Facing temptation

“Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” Hebrews 2:18
We can read about how Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, and think, ‘That’s fine for Him – He was God. Of course He could resist temptation!’ But actually, this is not entirely true. We read elsewhere in the book of Hebrews, “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” (Heb. 4:15). In an earlier post on this verse, we saw how when Jesus became a man, He became fully man. He was subject to the same temptations that we face – and it didn’t stop with the three temptations we read about in the wilderness. Think about the things we are tempted with: to take the easy way out, to take revenge on someone, to take something that’s not ours. Then we think of sexual temptation – this verse would suggest that Jesus faced these kinds of things also – and overcame them as a man, by the power of God.
This should be of great comfort and encouragement to us. Whatever we are facing, Jesus knows what it is like – because He has been there. In resisting the temptations, He suffered. And because of this, He is able to help us face our temptations today.