88. Jesus could be “tempted as we are, yet without sinning” (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus could be “tempted as we are, yet without sinning” (Hebrews 4:15).

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 88

Ave Maria series

88  Why was Jesus led into temptation?  Could he really be tempted at all?

Jesus was truly human and as part of that he was truly susceptible to temptation.  In Jesus Christ we do not have the sort of redeemer “who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning” (Hebrews 4:15).  [538-540, 566]






Book illustration: .....16th century master illuminator Simon Bening's depiction of the devil tempting Jesus to turn a stone into bread. ....88

“Every day…Christians must face a struggle, like the one that Christ underwent in the desert of Judea, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. It is a spiritual battle waged against sin and, finally, against Satan.  It is a struggle that involves the whole of the person and demands attentive and constant watchfulness.”  Pope Benedict XVI, March 1, 2006

[538-540, 566]

Jesus' temptations

538 The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert immediately after his baptism by John. Driven by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus remains there for forty days without eating; he lives among wild beasts, and angels minister to him (compare Mark 1:12-13) .²⁴² At the end of this time Satan tempts him three times, seeking to compromise his filial attitude toward God. Jesus rebuffs these attacks, which recapitulate the temptations of Adam in Paradise and of Israel in the desert, and the devil leaves him "until an opportune time (Luke 4:13)".²⁴² --Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

539 The evangelists indicate the salvific meaning of this mysterious event: Jesus is the new Adam who remained faithful just where the first Adam had given in to temptation. Jesus fulfills Israel's vocation perfectly: in contrast to those who had once provoked God during forty years in the desert, Christ reveals himself as God's Servant, totally obedient to the divine will. In this, Jesus is the devil's conqueror: he "binds the strong man" to take back his plunder (compare Psalm 95:10; Mark 3:27).²⁴³ Jesus' victory over the tempter in the desert anticipates victory at the Passion, the supreme act of obedience of his filial love for the Father. --CCC

540 Jesus' temptation reveals the way in which the Son of God is Messiah, contrary to the way Satan proposes to him and the way men wish to attribute to him (compare Matthew 16:21-23).²⁴⁴ This is why Christ vanquished the Tempter for us: "For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sinning (Hebrews 4:15)."²⁴⁵ By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert. --CCC

IN BRIEF

566 The temptation in the desert shows Jesus, the humble Messiah, who triumphs over Satan by his total adherence to the plan of salvation willed by the Father. --CCC