Christ Suffered, Being Tempted

[Thompson, Darryl]

Christ Suffered, Being Tempted 

     For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on
him the seed of Abraham. Heb. 2:16. 

     We need not place the obedience of Christ by itself, as something
for which He was particularly adapted, by His particular divine nature,
for He stood before God as man's representative and was tempted as man's
substitute and surety. If Christ had a special power which it is not the
privilege of man to have, Satan would have made capital of this matter.
The work of Christ was to take from the claims of Satan his control of
man, and He could do this only in the way that He came--a man, tempted
as a man, rendering the obedience of a man.  

     Would that we could comprehend the significance of the words,
Christ "suffered being tempted" (Heb. 2:18). While He was free from the
taint of sin, the refined sensibilities of His holy nature rendered
contact with evil unspeakably painful to Him. Yet with human nature upon
Him, He met the arch apostate face to face, and singlehanded withstood
the foe of His throne. Not even by a thought could Christ be brought to
yield to the power of temptation.  

     Satan finds in human hearts some point where he can gain a
foothold; some sinful desire is cherished, by means of which his
temptations assert their power. But Christ declared of Himself, "The
prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me" (John 14:30). The
storms of temptation burst upon Him, but they could not cause Him to
swerve from His allegiance to God.  

     All the followers of Christ have to meet the same malignant foe
that assailed their Master. With marvelous skill he adapts his
temptations to their circumstances, their temperament, their mental and
moral bias, their strong passions. He is ever whispering in the ears of
the children of men, as he points to worldly pleasures, gains, or
honors, "All this will I give you, if you will do my bidding." We must
look to Christ; we must resist as He resisted; we must pray as He
prayed; we must agonize as He agonized, if we would conquer as He
conquered.  

>From That I May Know Him - Page 34