Jesus resisted temptation, we can too

KIMBERLIE ZAKARIAN

Do you ever struggle with secret temptations? We all do. Often, we

try to hide these thoughts or habits from our Lord, even though we

understand that he knows all and sees all.

Jesus empathizes with our temptations because he himself was

tempted. The book of Matthew depicts our Lord’s temptation in three

areas: an appeal to his flesh (hunger), an appeal to presumption (a

careless attitude toward grace), and an appeal to idolatry (pursuit

of something greater than Christ’s life).

Jesus had been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights when Satan came

to tempt him. Matthew 4:3 says, “If you are the Son of God, tell

those stones to become bread.”

In this passage, Satan was not doubting that Jesus is the son of

God; he was tempting Jesus to use his divine powers. Since Jesus felt

all the things that we ourselves feel in the flesh, he was starving.

Yet did he not succumb. This is a model for us all.

Matthew 4:6 relates the next temptation our Lord endured: “If you

are the Son of God,” Satan said, “throw yourself down. For it is

written ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will

lift you up in their hands ... ‘“

Here the tempter is trying to get Jesus to have a careless

attitude toward God’s grace. He is basically saying, “Give in, God

will cover it.”

When we ourselves enter into sin, do we ever think: I’ll just do

it this once. God will forgive me? Jesus did not. He was fully human

and fully divine. His resistance proves that we also can resist.

Finally, our Lord was tempted by these words: “All this I will

give you if you bow down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9).

Satan was trying to get Jesus to pursue something thought to be

greater than Christ’s life.

Thankfully it did not work.

Our Lord sustained against this temptation as well -- and

fulfilled God’s divine plan by being crucified for our sins.

When you face temptation, remember, God always gives us a way out.

It is our choice whether to sin. Do we stomp on the sacrifice made

for our sins? We must not have a careless attitude toward grace.

Our savior didn’t.

* THE REV. KIMBERLIE ZAKARIAN’S column runs alternating Fridays.

Reach her by e-mail at holyhouse9@aol.com or by mail at Holy House

Ministries c/o the Rev. Kimberlie Zakarian, 9641 Tujunga Canyon Blvd., Tujunga, Ca., 91042.