Can Jesus Really Understand My Temptations?
00:00:00.000 | [Music]
00:00:04.300 | This is a question from Justin who asks a really sharp one.
00:00:08.300 | "Pastor John, we are told Jesus was tempted and that he can sympathize with our temptations as a result.
00:00:14.300 | But doesn't it seem like the point of commonality between my temptations and Jesus's temptations is external?
00:00:21.300 | That is, the devil offered him the kingdoms, someone could walk up to me and offer me stolen money.
00:00:27.800 | Both of these are external temptations, even if they don't personally draw us into evil.
00:00:32.800 | But with a Christian, temptations seem deeper on account of indwelling sin, which of course Jesus never had.
00:00:40.800 | So can Jesus really identify with me when he doesn't know the experience of indwelling sin, raging war against the Spirit?
00:00:49.800 | Aren't our temptations more powerful than those faced by Christ on earth?"
00:00:55.800 | Wow. Oh my, is that a good question. That is a good and hard question.
00:01:02.800 | So I'm going to give the answer, the answer as I see it anyway, in a sentence,
00:01:07.800 | and then I'm going to dig in and try to explain where it came from.
00:01:11.800 | Jesus identifies with us to the greatest degree possible that is good for us.
00:01:20.800 | If he went beyond that, he would not be helpful or loving.
00:01:26.800 | If Jesus identified with you or me by sharing in my indwelling sin, he would cease to be a great high priest.
00:01:39.800 | He would be like me and you and other high priests who had to offer sacrifices for their own sins and for the sins of others,
00:01:49.800 | and he cannot save.
00:01:52.800 | He would have to cease being a savior if he shared in my indwelling sin, if he joined me in my sinfulness.
00:02:04.800 | The only good he would be good for me would be to feel with me, arm around me, guilty as I am, sad,
00:02:15.800 | and both of us fall into hell together.
00:02:19.800 | That's not good news, even if it sounds good to start with that,
00:02:23.800 | "Oh, it would be nice to have somebody who could be a sinner with us and thus identify with our sin as a sinner."
00:02:32.800 | If Jesus joins me in my sin, he could sympathize as a share of indwelling sin,
00:02:38.800 | and he would not be God, he would not be a high priest, and he would not be a savior.
00:02:43.800 | So, he does not identify with indwelling sin, and he does not identify with the deeds of sin.
00:02:52.800 | He never did one, and he never had any indwelling sin.
00:02:56.800 | And that's why we need to go to the text and see what it actually says.
00:03:00.800 | Hebrews 4.15, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
00:03:07.800 | but one who in every respect was tempted as we are yet without sin."
00:03:17.800 | Now, those last two words, "without sin," are addressed directly to Justin's question.
00:03:23.800 | "Without sin" means, "No, he does not and cannot join us in our indwelling sin."
00:03:30.800 | So, anything he said in that verse can't be taken to mean that he does,
00:03:35.800 | which means that we should not absolutize the word "every" and the word "as"
00:03:42.800 | when it says, "who in every respect has been tempted as we are."
00:03:49.800 | Behind that phrase, "every respect," which is, I think, what he's stumbling over.
00:03:54.800 | I mean, is it "every"?
00:03:56.800 | Is the Greek phrase "kata panta," "according to all things" or "according to everything,"
00:04:03.800 | that occurs one other time in Hebrews, interestingly.
00:04:07.800 | Chapter 2, verse 17, where it says this, "He had to be made like his brothers,"
00:04:14.800 | "kata panta," "in every respect,"
00:04:18.800 | "so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God
00:04:22.800 | to make propitiation for the sins of the people."
00:04:26.800 | In other words, that "every," "in every respect," cannot mean sinfulness
00:04:31.800 | because Hebrews 7, 27 says, "He had no need like those high priests to offer sacrifices daily,"
00:04:37.800 | "first for his own sins," because he didn't have any.
00:04:40.800 | And so even chapter 2, verse 17 tells us, "Don't go there."
00:04:44.800 | You know, don't take "every" to mean that, because it can't mean that in these two verses.
00:04:51.800 | So, "in every respect" means Jesus identifies with us to the greatest degree possible,
00:04:59.800 | and in every way possible, that is good for us.
00:05:04.800 | In fact, I think I could show—I'll go ahead and do it, try it—
00:05:09.800 | I could show this is what Hebrews 4, 15 actually means if we knew the Greek.
00:05:15.800 | And there are half a dozen people listening to this who do know Greek,
00:05:18.800 | so get out your text and see if I'm right on this.
00:05:21.800 | "He was tempted," "kata panta," "according to all things,"
00:05:24.800 | and then here's another "kata," "kata" or "kath"—
00:05:27.800 | the pronunciation doesn't matter here—
00:05:29.800 | "kath homoio teta choris homartius."
00:05:34.800 | So, literally, it's "tempted according to all the ways that accord with the likeness."
00:05:44.800 | All the ways that accord with the likeness.
00:05:46.800 | All the ways that accord with the likeness.
00:05:49.800 | And that likeness there is likeness to us only without sin,
00:05:53.800 | just like Romans 8, 3, where the Son came in the likeness of sinful flesh.
00:05:58.800 | Same word. He's flesh, but he's flesh minus sin.
00:06:02.800 | Same thing here.
00:06:03.800 | So it's "He was tempted in all the ways that accord with the likeness,"
00:06:09.800 | and the likeness excludes sin, so the "all the ways" excludes sin.
00:06:14.800 | Very complicated, but I think valid.
00:06:17.800 | So here's my final response to the question.
00:06:20.800 | Should we say to Jesus, when we experience the inner warfare of the flesh versus the spirit,
00:06:28.800 | that he didn't, should we say to Jesus, "You don't know what I'm going through"?
00:06:34.800 | That's Justin's question. "You don't know what I'm going through."
00:06:38.800 | No, we should not say that to Jesus, because Jesus could say this,
00:06:44.800 | "Given what I know of being in the flesh,
00:06:49.800 | and given what I know of being the Spirit and having the Spirit and being one with the Spirit,
00:06:58.800 | and given what I know of bearing all the sins of the world,
00:07:04.800 | even your battle in my body on the tree,
00:07:08.800 | and given what I know of seeing into the heart of every saint
00:07:13.800 | whose every battle in every day this world has existed,
00:07:19.800 | and given what I know of temptation and spiritual warfare on Maundy Thursday and Friday morning,
00:07:27.800 | I do know what you're going through.
00:07:31.800 | I know it in the very best way a Savior can know it.
00:07:36.800 | And so because I know your battle the way I know it, I can save you from it.
00:07:43.800 | And if I knew it any other way, there'd be no Savior."
00:07:47.800 | Wow. Thank you for laying all this out for us from the text, Pastor John.
00:07:51.800 | And thank you, Justin, for the exceptional question. We need your exceptional questions.
00:07:55.800 | And if you have one, please email it to us at askpastorjohn@desiringgod.org.
00:08:01.800 | Well, we return next week, and we will be welcoming to the podcast a special guest,
00:08:05.800 | a young man who has incredibly well-developed pastoral insight.
00:08:09.800 | I love learning from him. He's only 27 years old.
00:08:12.800 | His name is William Lee Barefield III, but he's much better known by his stage name, Trip Lee.
00:08:18.800 | Trip Lee will join us to talk about his own story of suffering, and we'll talk about fame.
00:08:23.800 | We'll talk about technology. We'll talk about pursuing joy in Christ
00:08:26.800 | and even enduring persecution from the world and a host of issues.
00:08:30.800 | I hope you will join us all next week, all beginning on Monday on the Ask Pastor John podcast
00:08:35.800 | with guest Trip Lee.
00:08:37.800 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke. Enjoy the weekend.
00:08:40.800 | [ Silence ]