Preamble
· God is Spirit and cannot be well known by Man
· Man is sinful, on his own strength cannot elevate himself to the level of God
· God has been wronged, who else but God can pacify Him
· Man has wronged God, Man must pay but Man cannot pay
· The intermediary between these two must be one with the capacity to be God, but must also be human
· The incarnation is the point at which deity and humanity merge
· Jesus Christ was fully human and fully divine
· The Bible does not clearly teach us how these two natures unite in one person
Why is this topic necessary?
· Docetism is a heretical doctrine that denied that Jesus came in the flesh, that He was only a spirit.
· John taught the early Church that anyone who denied that Jesus came in the flesh is not of God but of the anti-Christ (1 John 4:2 – 3)
· If Jesus was human, are there are implications for our salvation, our life here on earth and His ministry of intercession for man?
· Are there any lessons to be learnt if Jesus was able to overcome His temptations by Satan even though He lived in a human body?
Biblical Evidence
· God became flesh, and lived among men (John 1:14)
· Normal conception from a woman (Luke 2:7)
· He had a real human body (1 John 1:1; Luke 24:39, 42)
· Grew up like any other child (Luke 2:40, 52)
· He had human weaknesses/limitations
Human Weaknesses & Limitations
· Was hungry when he fasted (Matthew 4:2)
· He could get thirsty (John 19:28)
· He could get tired (John 4:6; Luke 23:26)
· His body suffered and died (Luke 23:46)
Human Emotions
· His soul was troubled (John 12:27; 13:21)
· He could get sad (John 11:35)
· He could get anxious
· He could get angry (Mark 3:5)
The Temptations of Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:1-13)
· Jesus was tempted at three points
· Examine each point in the temptation and point out the following
o What was the bait/inducement/enticement in each point of temptation?
o What was the reward/benefit in each point of temptation?
o How did He overcome each point of temptation?
· How does these temptations link to His humanity?
· What human need was at the heart of each temptation?
· Why did Jesus have to overcome these temptations?
Points of Temptation
· He was tempted in every way that we can also be tempted, yet without SIN (Hebrews 4:15)
· Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life are the points of temptation for all of humanity (1 John 2:16)
· In Eve’s case, we see that “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh), and that it was pleasing to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and a tree to be desired to make wise (pride of life)…” Genesis 3:6
· Jesus overcame the Devil at all these points of temptation
o Turn stones to be bread (Matt 4:3) – Lust of the flesh
o Throw yourself down (Matt 4:6) – Lust of the eyes
o Receive the kingdoms of the world (Matt 4:8-9) – Pride of Life
Conclusion
· The ability of Jesus to overcome the temptations show that we can also overcome the temptations of the devil, unlike Eve who failed at those three points of temptation
· Because He was human, he is able to empathize with us during our moments of weakness and our struggles against sin
· Knowing that He was able to do it must also encourage us to be able to overcome it