Every human being that has ever lived has at some point faced temptations to sin and all except One have caved at one point or another. Adam and Eve were given one command in the Garden of Eden and they disobeyed. The first man, Adam, fell into sin and thus the whole world descended into sin (see Rom. 5:12). Even Israel, God’s chosen people, consistently fell into sin. On the edge of the promised land, in disbelief, they refused to go in and God made them pay for their disbelief through 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.
Then comes the Messiah, the perfect man, who faces 40 days of temptation in the wilderness at the hands of the devil. Unlike Adam, He resists the tempter. Unlike Israel, He passes the test. His divine identity (the Beloved Son, with whom the Father is well pleased) that was just affirmed at His baptism is now questioned. The tempter comes and says three times, “If you are the Son of God…”
He challenges the very core of Christ’s identity as the unique Son. He challenges Him with incredibly justifiable natural desires, suggesting bread after 40 days of hunger. He challenges Him to test the Father and abuse His grace, and he challenges Him to worship another god, himself. Every test put forth Christ passed. Using Scripture as His weapon, He countered the devil’s temptations and with this His public ministry begins as He then calls disciples and begins to work miracles.
In the scope of salvation history, the significance of Christ’s perfect obedience cannot be overstated. He had to pass the test. He had to overcome sin and temptation. He had to live in perfect obedience, for if He failed, He couldn’t have been the perfect sacrifice on behalf of our sins. But the good news is that He didn’t fail! He obeyed, perfectly, in everything. He obeyed in the midst of temptation. He obeyed throughout His ministry, and finally His life culminated with Him becoming, “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8).
As a result, just as Adam’s sin brought condemnation for all men and made many sinners, “so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19, ESV). Christ was sinless, He was the perfect and spotless lamb. He was the only One who passed the tests of temptation in this life and lived without any sin, fault, or blame. This One, who was without sin, the Scripture says became sin for us.
His perfect obedience culminating with humble obedience to the most egregious death imaginable, is credited to our account as it were by a free gift of grace received through faith. The Christ, the Messiah, the God-man, Jesus Christ denied every temptation, lived sinlessly for 33 ½ years in order to receive the death penalty for sins He never committed so that we could be pardoned. His triumph began in one sense in the wilderness, where He triumphed over temptation. It continued throughout His life, through His death, resulting in His resurrection and His triumph over the grave and ascension to the Father’s right hand. What an awesome Savior we have!
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