A submissive servant
We are thinking about Jesus’ temptations as they are recorded for us in the fourth chapter of Luke’s Gospel. Last week we began to consider some preliminary thoughts on Jesus’ temptation. Jesus came to succeed where Adam had failed. He would not give in to the temptations of the serpent. Adam failed to protect and care for his bride (Eve), but Christ will succeed and care for his bride (the church). This is comfort for all God’s people.
After thinking about Adam, we can see further that Jesus came to succeed where Israel had failed. After Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden, graciously God begins his plan of salvation. We learn in Genesis that this plan includes Abraham and his line. That line would develop, over time, into the nation of Israel. Israel was to be a blessing to the nations around them and they were to be faithful in serving God. We could turn to several Old Testament passages that show us how Israel failed time and time again. This is particularly significant since, as we will see, in answer to the temptations Jesus cites Scriptures that Israel was to hold close as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. What the history of Israel shows us is that they did not hold these passages close. In fact, when they were tempted with doubting God after leaving Egypt – after seeing the Red Sea parted and God’s provision for their safety – they easily begin to doubt God’s care and provision despite what he had done for them.
We could go through all the other lines and examples as well: Abraham doubts God’s protection of his wife, Sarah, and lies about her. He doubts God’s promise of an heir and so takes his servant and produces the child Ishmael. Moses is barred from the Promised Land because, while he did so much to shepherd the people, in his anger he disobeys God’s directions. The priesthood is riddled with so many evil priests that by the time of the prophet Hosea, God declares that they have rejected God and so he rejects them. King David allows himself to give in to the temptation of adultery and so many kings after him wallowed in idolatry.
It is clear that all the hopes of Israel would require someone who could resist temptation. The Old Testament called for holiness and this tension builds because no one is able to be perfectly holy. This would only be possible by Isaiah’s true Servant, the eternal Son of God. That this takes place in the wilderness identifies Christ even closer with Israel, who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years due to their disobedience.
Jesus’ temptations also served to prove that he was the rightful Son of God. Israel was called God’s son (Exodus 4:23) and in resisting temptation, Jesus proves that he is the true Son of God that Luke has just shown through the genealogy. As the eternal Son of God, Jesus has the authority over Satan. So, why does he not simply command Satan to leave immediately? Why go through the whole temptation experience? The answer to this question is wrapped up with the question of why the Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness for temptation.
Jesus faced temptation to show that he had taken up humanity and would be submissive to his heavenly Father. Unlike you and me, Jesus does not run headlong into sin through temptation but he submits to His Father’s plan. That plan includes fully experiencing humanity, including its weaknesses. Other passages will comment on this episode. In Hebrews 2:18 we read, “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” And in Hebrews 4:15, “For 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.” This temptation was crucial to Christ’s role as redeemer, for it is not only his passive obedience (in death) that is imputed to believers in their justification, but also his active obedience such that when God looks upon a person who is in Christ, a believer, he sees Christ’s perfect life and accepts you because of Christ’s life and death. Jesus’ faithfulness to all that God commanded is crucial to understanding the hope that we have. He is the faithful servant and son who succeeds where all other failed, including you and me.
Pastor Everett Henes, the pastor of the Hillsdale Orthodox Presbyterian Church, can be reached at pastorhenes@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Opinion
