Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Steven A. Cramer (LDS) on the Reality of Jesus' Temptations and His Being Tempted

  

Were His Temptations Real?

 

It was not only in the depth and breadth of his suffering that Christ descended below the level of our experiences, but also in his temptations. How vital it is that we understand this truth.

 

Immediately following his baptism by John, Jesus went into the wilderness to be alone with God as he made final preparations for his ministry. It is common knowledge that Jesus was tempted three times by Satan during those forty days in the wilderness. (See Matt. 4:1-11.) It is sometimes assumed that those three encounters were the end of his temptations, but this is not true. Such a brief encounter with temptation could never have given Christ the great compassion that he manifests for our weaknesses and sins; a compassion that proves his comprehension of the battles of “real life.”

 

The scripture records that at the end of those wilderness temptations the devil only “departed from Him for a reason” (Luke 4:13). We know that the Savior’s temptations continued throughout the entire three years of his ministry because it was at the Last Supper that he said to his Twelve Apostles, “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations” (Luke 22:28). Since none of them were with him in the wilderness temptations, this statement can only refer to the temptations which occurred during his three-year ministry. Far more important, however, than the length of time Jesus was tempted, is the fact that he personally had to confront and overcome every possible temptation known to man.

 

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched (Greek translation: unable to sympathize with our frailties and imperfections) with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb. 4:15-16.)

 

Think about the wonderful implications of that remarkable statement. Paul is presenting the reality of Christ’s temptations as the very reason we can have confidence and even boldness, in approaching God for mercy, help, and grace.

 

Was Jesus so holy that it was easy for him to resist these temptations? Was his exposure to temptation “in all points” merely an academic overview, or was it a real encounter like (or even worse than) ours? The answer from the scriptures is that the residence to his constant temptations was a major part of his “sufferings.” Many of the scriptural references to the Savior’s temptations include the word, “suffer,” in their descriptions. Consider three examples:

 

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind . . . (Alma 7:11).

 

He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them (D&C 20:22).

 

(And He) suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation . . . (Mosiah 15:5).

 

How would it be possible for the Son of God to “suffer” in his resistance to temptation unless they were real and genuine encounters? How could he suffer unless he was truly tempted? We cannot comprehend the intensity and determination with which Satan would have marshalled his evil forces against the Lord, but we can be certain that he urgently tried to destroy Jesus Christ more than any other person who has ever lived. Perhaps we can glimpse the terrible struggle Christ endured because of his temptations when we read Pau’s statement concerning him as our High Priest, “who in the days of his flesh . . . offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears . . .” (Heb. 5:7).

 

It was not by avoiding and escaping the realities of life’s sins that the Savior’s holiness was perfected. No man ever walked the earth more conscious of sin than Jesus Christ. His holiness and purity came, as should ours, by the resistance and conquest of sin. The more we resist, the holier we are. (See James 1:12.) The greater our victory, the more Christlike we will be. No wonder the Saviour is so hesitant to condemn. No wonder he is so anxious to forgive. He knows better than any other the price required for victory over temptation. Let us remember that if Jesus, who was totally innocent of sin, was actually tempted to the point of suffering, then it is no sin for us to be tempted—it is a part of mortality.

 

For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. (Heb. 2:18).
. . . the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted (D&C 62:1). (Steven A. Cramer, Great Shall Be Your Joy: Receiving the Power of our Savior’s Love [Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Incorporated, 1983], 27-29, italics in original)