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THE NATURE OF THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS CHRIST

Introduction

When I was pastoring in Greenbrier, Tennessee Back in 1988, Hollywood came out with a film called “The Last Temptation of Christ.” Do any of you remember the controversy surrounding that film? I don’t know all of the details because I only read reviews and did not see the film.

However, I do remember it that it suggested that Jesus had lustful thoughts about Mary Magdalene and may have had thoughts about bypassing the cross to have a relationship with her.

I do remember that there was a lot of discussion back during that time as to whether or not Jesus could have sinned.

In fact, I wrote an editorial piece to the newspaper back then stating the Biblical reasons why Jesus could not have sinned.

Today, in this passage we deal with the temptation of Jesus Christ by Satan himself that occurred right after our Lord’s baptism just as He was beginning His earthly ministry.

I want to deal first with the Temptation of Christ and then I want us to come back this evening and look at what this passage teaches us about how we can deal with temptation.

I.         WHAT IS THE NATURE OF MAN?

            A.        Man Was Created In The Image Of God.

Genesis 1:26-27–“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Genesis 2:7–“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

            B.        Man Was Created In Innocence.

Genesis 2:25–“And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”

            C.        Man Fell By Transgression.

Genesis 2:16-17–“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Genesis 3:6-7–“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

            D.        Because Of Adam And Eve’s Sin, Adam’s Sin Nature Passed To All Men That Were Born After Him In The Flesh.

Romans 5:12–“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

            E.         Man’s Propensity (i.e. His Inclination or Tendency) For Sin Comes From The Sin Nature That Has Been Passed Down To Him From Adam.

Jeremiah 17:9–“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

            WHAT IS THE NATURE OF MAN? He is a sinner by nature and a sinner by choice.

II.       WHAT IS THE NATURE OF SIN?

            A.        The Origin Of Sin.

                        1.         Sin Entered Into The Universe By Satan.

                                    (Ezekiel 28:11-19; Isaiah 14:12-15)

                        2.         Sin Entered Into The World By Man.

                                    (Genesis 2:16-17; Genesis 3:6; Romans 5:12)

            B.        The Definition Of Sin.

                        The word “sin” means “to miss a mark” or “to overstep a forbidden line.”

1 John 3:4–“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

James 2:10–“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

            C.        The Act Of Sin. (Matthew 5:17-18; 27-28)

Here Jesus indicated that the sin described in Exodus 20:14 lies deeper than the overt act. “Everyone that looketh” characterizes the man whose glance is not checked by holy restraint and who forms the impure purpose of lusting after a woman in his heart.

                        Matthew 15:19-20

Understand that the act of sin comes from the corrupt nature that men have inherited from Adam, it is not from just being encased in human flesh.

            D.        Sin’s Consequences. (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:14-15)

            WHAT IS THE NATURE OF MAN? He is a sinner by nature and a sinner by choice.

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF SIN? Sin is our transgression of God’s law. Sin is our falling short of God’s glory. Because of sin’s consequences, we needed a Saviour.

III.      WHAT IS THE NATURE OF CHRIST?

            A.        Christ Is God.

                        1.         Consider His Preexistence.

                                    a.         John The Baptist. (John 1:15, 30)

                                    b.        The Apostle John. (John 1:1-3)

1 John 1:2–“(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)”

                                    c.         The Apostle Paul.

Colossians 1:16-17–“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

                                    d.        Christ Himself. (John 6:38, 51, 61-62; 8:58; 17:5)

Isaiah 42:8–“I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”

                        2.         Consider His Deity.

Colossians 1:19–“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;”

Colossians 2:9–“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

John 10:33–“The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”

                        Christ Is God.

            B.        Christ Became Man. 

John 1:14–“And the Word was made flesh. . .”

1 John 1:1–“ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;”

Isaiah 9:6-7–“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

                        Matthew 1:18–“. . .she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”

                        Matthew 1:20–“. . .that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”

                        Luke 1:31-35

Christ was wrapped in flesh, but not sinful flesh. (Made possible by the virgin birth.) He ate, He slept, He hungered, He thirst, He got tired, He wept.

                        Isaiah 53:3ff

He is called a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He was wounded. He was bruised. He was oppressed and afflicted. He died and was buried.

            WHAT IS THE NATURE OF CHRIST? He was and is the God-Man.

IV.      WHAT IS THE NATURE OF GOD?

            I want us to look at only one aspect of the nature of God and that is this–God is Holy.

Leviticus 19:2–“Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.”

Psalms 99:9–“Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.”

            A.        Christ Did Not Sin.

                        1.         He Knew No Sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21–“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

                        2.         He Did No Sin.

                                    1 Peter 2:22–“Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:”

1 John 3:5–“And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”

                        3.         He Was Without Sin.

Hebrews 4:15–“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

            B.        Christ Could Not Have Sinned.

To suggest the capability or possibility of Christ sinning would disqualify Him as Saviour, because a Christ that is vulnerable to sin would mean a God that is vulnerable to sin.

We need to see that holiness is far more than the absence of sin; it is a positive virtue. What some would say with regard to the temptation of Christ is that He could have sinned but He did not sin.

                        To say that He could have sinned is to deny His positive holiness.

                        To deny His positive holiness is to deny the holy character of God.

                        The Bible is clear–James 1:13–“. . .God cannot be tempted with evil.”

                        Holiness is a positive virtue which has neither room for nor interest in sin.

The Lord Jesus could not have sinned because the days of His flesh meant only an addition of experience, not a variation of His character.

Holy humanity was united to Deity in one indivisible person–The impeccable Christ! He is the only 200% man to ever live–100% God and 100% Man!

                        Jesus Christ cannot have more holiness because He is already perfectly holy.

                        He cannot have less holiness because He is the unchanging Holy God.

            WHAT IS THE NATURE OF CHRIST? He is the God-Man!

            WHAT IS THE NATURE OF GOD? He is Holy!

V.        WHAT IS THE NATURE OF CHRIST’S TEMPTATION?

Some would ask the question then, “If Christ could not have sinned, then what was the purpose of the temptations in the wilderness?” I’m glad you asked, I’m going to tell you!

The answer lies in the fact that these trials were not to see if Christ would sin, but rather to prove that He would not sin!

So, what do we do with Hebrews 4:15–“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

            The phrase “in all points tempted like as we are” must be interpreted with qualification!

            The qualification given by the Holy Ghost, “yet without sin.”

That means that Christ had no propensity to sin and Christ had no possibility of sinning.

Why? Because He was the God-Man – i.e. He was God in the flesh! He was the “Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us!” (Matthew 1:23)

Conclusion

Now let’s review:

What is the nature of man? We are all sinners by nature and sinners by choice.

What is the nature of sin? Sin is the transgression of God’s law. It is falling short of God’s glory–missing the mark. And because of that, we need a Saviour to rescue us from sin!

What is the nature of Christ? He is the fullness of God who became a man that He might become the one complete eternal sacrifice for every sinner who will, by faith, trust in His finished work of atonement on the cross of Calvary as the only way of salvation.

What is the nature of God? He is Holy! Because Christ is God, He is Holy!

What is the nature of Christ’s temptation? To prove to us that He was who He said He was– i.e. God! Just like His resurrection also proved to us that He was God.

The question is, have you received this God-man as your personal Lord and Saviour?

If not, why not come receive Him as your Saviour today!

If you have, are you living for Him? Is He truly the Lord of your life?

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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!