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| If Jesus is God, how could He be tempted since it says God can not be tempted by evil. Is this not a contradiction? I said it was taken out of context. And we do know that Jesus was tempted according to the gospels, and also in Hebrews 4:15 it says that Jesus was tempted in all ways, just as we are, but He did not sin, therefore he can be our High Priest and yet still understand the struggles that we are going thru. Jesus was God, but He was also completely human. Another point is that Jesus hungered and thirsted. God does not need food or water, but Jesus did. Those were my thoughts on that question. | ||
| To "tempt" someone is to test them. That simple. The type of "test," however has to be determined from the context of the word. For example, in James, as you mention, it says plainly that God cannot be tempted with evil. That's because God is perfect holiness, and is impeccable, meaning He is INCAPABLE of sinning. He has no desire to do wrong, has never done wrong, and will never do wrong. It is completely contrary to His very nature to do wrong. It would be like asking me to fly. I can't do it. I am not a bird, do not have the nature of a bird, so I cannot, will not, ever fly. It is not my nature. God cannot be tempted with evil because it is not his nature to sin. It is a test He will never fail.
The verse goes on to say that God does not tempt us. Contextually, He does not try to get us to do wrong. He loves us, and wants us to emulate His holiness. He wants us to do right, not wrong. He will never give us a test with the purpose of our sinning. So why does He even allow us the opportunity? Why doesn't He simply remove every opportunity for sinning from us? If He allows us to be tempted, isn't it the same as Him tempting us? Cf. with this. As a teacher, I give my students tests. But what is my purpose for giving them tests? Is it to make them fail? Contrary to the opinions of some, no. When I give a test, it's for the purpose of seeing what they know, and rewarding them accordingly. I want them to succeed. I do not want them to fail. The test (temptation if you will) is for them to pass and allow me to reward them. The possibility of failure is present, but that is not my goal, and if it happens, it is not my fault. They could have studied, learned the material, and received an "A." When God allows us to be tempted, it is for the purpose of our demonstrating our obedience to His commands, and receiving His blessings for obedience. He is not tempting us to do evil, but is testing us with the purpose of our doing right. Now on to Jesus' temptation. First, realize that as God, Jesus bears all of the attributes of God, including his impeccability (inability to sin.) Thus, we know right off the bat that the purpose of Jesus' "test" was NOT to see if He would sin. He couldn't. So why have a test? A couple of reasons. First, the test PROVED He was God. Anyone could claim to be perfect, claim to be holy, claim to be sinless. How would we know if He told the truth unless there was a test to prove it? The fact that Jesus didn't give in to any of the temptations proved that He was who He claimed to be. Second, it provided an example to us. HOLD ON, TROUTMAN!!! How could this be so? Jesus was perfect, impeccable, holy God. I'm not! How could His test help me? Well, re-read the account (Mt. 4 and Luke 4). We know that He was God and could not have sinned, but exactly HOW did He overcome the temptation? Through dramatic exercise of His deity? Through banishing Satan to the nether regions? By supernaturally sapping angelic fortitude? No. He overcame temptation exactly as a man would. He obediently submitted to the Word of God through the power of the Spirit of God. THAT'S how Hebrews 4:15 comes in. He was tempted as we are, and overcame temptation as we should. Even as impeccable God, He set a pattern in His humanity that you and I can (and should) emulate.
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