Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil (Luke 4:1, 2a).
Jesus was tempted just like you and me. He knows what we go through daily in this crazy world. This is hard for us to believe. How can the sinless Son of God really know what we experience? How can he know and understand our struggles? How can he know what we feel?
He knows because he became flesh. As Paul wrote to the Philippians, he "was made in human likeness," and "was found in appearance as a man." The writer of Hebrews wrote that Jesus was "fully human in every way" (Hebrews 2:17). And for forty days this Jesus, the human Jesus, was tempted by our enemy in the wilderness.
When Satan tempted Jesus, he held nothing back. He unleashed his full arsenal. Jesus felt the full weight of Satan's temptations. You and haven't experienced the full force of Satan's guile and deceit like Jesus did those forty days. Whatever we face was amplified exponentially for Jesus.
Don't miss the profound implications of the story of Jesus' temptations as far as your reality is concerned. Hebrews makes the point clear: Jesus "has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin" (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus empathizes with you. He does know what you are going through and how you feel.
Here is the good news. Jesus, "because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" (Hebrews 2:18). And that means you.
Jesus understands what you go through each and every day of your life. He's been there, he knows. In your time of trial and temptation, who better to rely on that Jesus? In your time of need, look to Him!
In Him,
Bob Christopher