Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 1. The evangelists were thoroughly convinced of its reality. 2. The other references to it in the New Testament point in the same direction (Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews 2:18). 3. Assuming the existence of Satan he is not likely to have engaged our Lord in any unreal way. What is meant when it is said it was impossible for Christ to have sinned? Certainly not that it was a physical impossibility, as when we say that it is impossible for a man of luxury to feel the temptation a starving man feels to steal. It was a moral impossibility; He would not elect to yield. We are certain of Christ's immovable loyalty to righteousness. Temptation is not in itself an admission of moral imperfection, so was not inconsistent with the holy character of our Lord. All Christ's temptations came to Him from without, not from within Him. An inward bias to evil is not essential to temptation; temptation may appeal to what is best within us, to satisfy lawful appetites by unlawful means. Thus the reality of Christ's temptations remain unbroken. Parallel Verses KJV: Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.WEB: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. |
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