Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Someone asks, "Jesus couldn't be tempted to be selfish, could He? We don't want to make Him too human, do we?" In response we need to note several things.
To be tempted is not the same as to sin. Temptation is not sin; a thousand temptations do not equal one sin. Therefore Jesus could "in all points [be] tempted like as we are," yet never once give in to commit sin (Heb. 4:15; King James Version throughout).
Jesus did for sure become human; and we dare not limit His humanity, for John tells us that if we do, we end up being antichrist (1 John 4:1-3). He was "in all things ... made like unto His brethren" (Heb. 2:17). His name is "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matt. 1:23)--humanity combined with divinity.
Further, we must remember that the humanity which Christ became, Himself to be [or assumed], was not the sinless, unfallen humanity of Adam in Eden. He came from heaven specifically to solve the problem of sin where it dwells in fallen, sinful human nature. If He sidesteps taking that same humanity where the problem is for all of us, He opens Himself up to the charge of being unfair in the contest. Who could believe a dishonest Savior?
We must remember that temptation to indulge self was as strong for Him as it is for us--stronger in fact. Nobody could have more fervently abhorred being crucified, than was Jesus. His whole soul shrunk from the ordeal. Listen to Him pray, "O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me" (Matt. 26:39). Sweet, mild prayer? No, read on: He screamed, He shook like in an earthquake, David says He "cried out" (Psalm 22:1, 2; 69:3). He sweat actual drops of blood (Luke 22:44; Have you, ever?).
This perfect "likeness" of His nature with yours and mine, His humanity being formed with a self as is ours--a self which had to be denied if He should follow His Father's will--all this makes Jesus our perfect Savior, "able … to save them to the uttermost [perfectly] that come unto God by Him" (Heb. 7:25).
Are you having a battle with self? So did He! Have you ever given in to self? He did not! But the reason why He "ever liveth" is to give us forgiveness and victory.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 15, 2003.
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