Resisting temptation the Jesus way

By Fergus Ong

"I can resist anything but temptation" - Oscar Wilde

"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" - Hebrews 2:18

When you read the account of Jesus being tempted in the desert, what image of Jesus do you get? For me, he always comes out looking very unscathed. He retorts the devil with scripture and thrice puts him in his place. He's so calm and steady and brave. So assured of who he is.

Which is why Hebrews 2:18 feels so jarring. It's strange to now be told that Jesus suffered when he was tempted. Did he? The gospel writers sure didn't put it that way. But think about it: how couldn't he?

The image of a self-assured (or God-assured, which in Jesus' case exclusively means the same thing!) tempted Jesus and a suffering tempted Jesus don't really jive. At first, I thought that I liked the self-assured Jesus better. More man. More steady. Makes me feel more safe. And then, I changed my mind - I prefer the suffering Jesus of Hebrews. Easier to relate to. More real. But they still don't jive. They are so dissimilar, the only thing they seem to share is that neither Jesus looks like the tempted Oscar Wilde!

And then, I thought - maybe this is what resisting temptation really looks like. Assurance + Suffering. In equal parts. Suffering without assurance is doomed to failure - it's like pain without purpose; there's no point, so eventually you'll cave in. Assurance without suffering is dilute - how legitimate is the temptation if resisting it doesn't cause you pain?

Assurance and suffering - both must assault you when you truly resist a true temptation.

I'm glad I've read the Hebrews take on Jesus' temptation. It's naive to go on thinking that the temptations didn't make him suffer. The rest of Hebrews 2 speaks about how much Jesus is like one of us. How much we can lean on him because he has been there and done the seemingly impossible - resist. The suffering part I understand. Now what about the assurance?