Luke tells us that “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil” (Lk. 4:1-2).[1] The very idea of Jesus experiencing temptation invokes the question: Did Jesus Christ really experience genuine temptation?
Jesus’ identity as the Son of God insofar from Luke’s standpoint was confirm at the baptism (Lk. 3:21-22) and announced by the angel Gabriel to the virgin Mary, who conceived through the Holy Spirit (Lk. 1:26-38). Even the Gospel writer’s genealogy ends with Jesus being “the son of God” (Lk. 3:23-38). Jesus of Nazareth is then theanthropos, “the God-man,” incarnate deity.
The Epistle to the Hebrews states, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). This verse never intends to communicate that the Christ experienced every form of temptation that occurs in the world, but that the temptation He experienced was genuine, which makes Him very suitable to be the ultimate high priest who empathizes with our struggles. Yet, being sinless makes Christ the superior high priest to even those of the Aaronic priesthood.
The Epistle of James, on the other hand, admonishes readers, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (Jas. 1:13).
God cannot be tempted? How is it then Jesus could genuinely experience temptation? Although the biblical writers never devoted any ink to parchment on solving this riddle, they still provided enough revelation about God and the Incarnation to apprehend the way it works.
Jesus is the perfect unity of divinity and humanity. Whereas in temptation is applicable within His humanity, it is inapplicable to His divinity. Put it another way, “Through the miracle of the Incarnation God endured the pain of physical and psychological needs. As the self‐sufficient sovereign of the universe, however, God has no needs. It is thus entirely rational to say that whereas God as man can be tempted, God as God cannot.”[2] Moreover it can be pointed out that “James focuses on God as the self–sufficient sovereign of the universe. As such, he has no unmet needs. Conversely, the accounts of the temptation focus on God–Incarnate who experienced all the essential physical and psychological needs commensurate with humanity—including hunger, fatigue, and the desire for self–preservation.”[3]
From the moment the mulling over the forbidden fruit takes place we have already entered into sin. Thus, James writes, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (Jas. 1:14-15).”
The allurements of Satan are intense, and while Jesus in His humanity experiences the agony of temptation’s pull, He never succumbs to the enticements. Whereas Adam and Eve along with their progeny eventually give into temptation, Jesus never even mulls over the thought of partaking in what is forbidden.
On the question of Jesus’ being divine yet experiencing genuine temptation, Paul Copan, a Christian theologian, philosopher and apologist, points out: 1) The ability to sin does not make a person essentially human. 2) When Jesus came to earth, he voluntarily set aside access to certain things; one item of knowledge he gave up being aware of was his inability to sin. 3) Since Jesus did not know he could not sin (being God), this made temptation very real for Jesus; although his being would have prevented him from actually carrying it out, acting on the temptation seemed a possibility for Jesus.[4]
Jesus suffers through temptation well beyond the breaking point of us all. He is impeccable. We can say that “Jesus is as praiseworthy for His sinless inclinations, which He maintained through disciplined spiritual growth, as He is for His sinless behavior.”[5] Whereas Jesus in His humanity experiences genuine temptation, Jesus in His divinity is fully sufficient and without sin. This is neither a contradiction nor an unsolvable mystery.
— WGN
Notes:
[1] All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016).
[2] Adam Pelser, “Genuine Temptation and the Character of Christ,” Christian Research Journal, 30, 4 [2007]: https://www.equip.org/articles/genuine-temptation-character-christ/
[3] Hank Hanegraaff, The Complete Bible Answer Book Collector’s Edition, expanded and revised (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2008, 2016), 273-274; See https://www.equip.org/bible_answers/if-god-cannot-be-tempted-how-could-jesus-be-tempted/
[4] See Paul Copan, “That’s Your Interpretation:” Responding to Skeptics Who Challenge Your Faith (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2001),138-143.
[5] Pelser.
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