Monday, February 3, 2020

Neil L. Anderson on Christ Being Sinless Notwithstanding Being (Genuinely) Tempted



His Sinless Life

We know that if Jesus had not lived a sinless life and completed His infinite Atonement, there would have been no Resurrection and our spirits would have been subject to the devil (see 2 Nephi 9:7-9). Because of our sins, we are subjected to the full demands of the law of justice (See Alma 34:16). Because He was without sin, justice had no claim on Him, giving Him the ability to make payment for our sins. We can be redeemed only because of His righteousness. His payment and punishment for our sin can satisfy the demands of justice for our sins (See Alma 34:15-16). However good we are, we will always be “unprofitable servants” (Mosiah 2:21), as we can never repay God for what He has given us.

How incomprehensible but wondrous that Christ never yielded to any temptation pressed upon Him by Satan (See 2 Corinthians 5:21; JST Hebrews 7:25-26; 1 Peter 2:21-24). The author of Hebrews referred to Christ as our High Priest, and wrote, “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” (Hebrews 4:15). King Benjamin taught us that “he shall suffer temptations” (Mosiah 3:7). The Savior Himself said that “he descended below all things in that he comprehended all things” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:6) . . . Shortly after Christ’s baptism, as He prepared for His mortal ministry, Satan directly confronted the Savior with temptations so common to us all: physical appetite, pride, and power and wealth (See Matthew 4:3-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-12. Note this was not the end of Satan’s efforts to tempt Christ). What character He showed as the adversary offered Him “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them” (Matthew 4:8). He refused all the enticements of Satan from His birth to His death. How remarkable the goodness and integrity of Jesus Christ! He lived majestically that He might come to our rescue. (Neil L. Andersen, The Divine Gift of Forgiveness [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019], 88-89. Note how Andersen does not say that Paul necessarily wrote Hebrews, instead, he simply refers to “the author of Hebrews”)