Teallaura's Baby Blog

First off being tempted isn't the same thing as sinning. Not even close - it is not a sin to be tempted. Never has been, never will be - get over it. So, yes, Jesus was tempted. No, He didn't sin.

Now that we got that straight, let's take a quick peek at the temptations. First up, bread, as in food. Not a biggie on the hit parade unless you've been fasting for 40 days. When your stomach is trying to chew up your spine bread suddenly becomes incredibly tempting.

This is, in Christian terms, a fleshly temptation. Of all the temptations you'd think Satan could come up with something more, well, tempting, to use against the Son of God. After all, Satan is correct - Jesus need only say the word and the rocks become literally sliced bread. So, is this just a warm up or was Satan bringing his B game - what?

It's his A game. Satan is well aware that Jesus is fully human as well as fully God. Tempting God is tough so the smart move starts by tempting the man. Satan understands human frailty and uses it effectively against people all the time. He is skillfully trying to get Jesus to think with His stomach - to get the flesh in the driver's seat which would make the game much easier for Satan. Jesus doesn't fall for it - but that doesn't mean He isn't tempted by it.

By the end of forty days He's hungry - really hungry. His body is now going into full on rebellion as it does what it's designed to do - try to survive. Forty days is as far as the body can be safely pushed and it knows it's in trouble. I can't say I know what it must have felt like but I can say that the human body and mind have a way of uniting against the human spirit (will) when they think the spirit is going too far. His body must have been aching for food and His brain going into overdrive trying to get Him to eat - wave a loaf in front of that and the temptation must be enormous.

Definitely Satan's A game. It's just a tiny step out of line - a natural step toward survival. But Jesus recognized what Satan really wanted - to get Jesus out of step with the things of God. He came to fast. He intentionally put Himself through that in order to get closer to God - what would it mean to then toss the whole thing for a couple loaves of pumpernickel? See, the bread isn't the issue - it's not even important. What's important is that to give in and do what Satan said was a step to the flesh and away from God.

This is why little sins aren't so little - they begin the process of walking in our own way and not God's. It's just bread - it isn't wrong to eat bread. But it is wrong to reject God's will. Had God said 'go for it' it would have been fine for Jesus to turn the whole Sinai into rye. But Satan is after the separation that comes when we listen to him and not God. There isn't enough French Toast on Earth to be worth that and Jesus knew it.

But that doesn't mean He didn't want it. He did. Christ teaches us by example that what we want and even need isn't always what is best for us. Sometimes, it's best to say no. There's a lot more to life than bread pudding and to get it we put God first and foremost always.