Jesus was tempted

[MatthewG]

Just as we can overcome, but few even want to in this day and age, they love what evil keeps them in bondage..

We can only overcome so far. We still are tempted daily, however we know Jesus was too, and because of what he done we should choose to abide in him, he is the perfection, not ourselves or our flesh, and that was what Jesus came to show. Because he was tempted in every way a man was, but he fulfilled the Torah, by loving Yahavah first and loving his neighbor as himself. That is how in Yeshua and the spirit of Christ we can forgive, let go of what people have done wrong to us, to show mercy and kindness, and extend the spirit to them, by these virtues.

 

[MatthewG]

To all of you,

We must remember Jesus was in a fleshly body, he had temptation, just as we do. He had a mind, will, emotions just as we do. However without him, we can not do anything that is of the heavenly. It’s all credited upon him and what he does through us. It’s never ourselves. It’s all him, when we choose to abide in him, and the spirit of Christ given to us by and through faith in the death, burial and resurrection.

 

[TheHC]

Jesus was God made flesh.

You are contradicting Scripture: John 1:18, “No one has ever seen God.” And 1 John 4:12, “No one has seen God at any time.” (Thousands saw Jesus.)

 

[Wrangler]

Jesus in his flesh must be some type of robot to some people... it just doesn't make any sense to me.

Hence, the argument. The Bible repeatedly and explictly says Jesus was a man. That's good enough for me. IDOLATRY is why it is not good enough for others, who prefer extreme eisegesis, read trinitarian dogma into unitarian text, the more ambigious it is, the more they doctrinally invest in it while ignoring the explict text to the contrary.

That a man resisted temptation imbued with the power of God's spirit gives us all hope. A god doing supernatural things has no theoligical significance at all.

 

[pepper]

You are contradicting Scripture: John 1:18, “No one has ever seen God.” And 1 John 4:12, “No one has seen God at any time.” (Thousands saw Jesus.)

You're saying those Scriptures contradict Scriptures.

 

[Heart2Soul]

Many people may not realize that Jesus had his own will. This would allow him his very own thoughts. Which is interesting in itself.



If Jesus had his own will, he probably enjoyed spending time with his friends, and the people he loved while in his day and age. He probably had memories just like we did, thinking of things which happened previously perhaps the goodness of people being with him, who encouraged him, ate with him, partied a little bit, and that is something to think about. Perhaps this is what he knew he was gonna miss his friends, and rather than his own will prevailing he desires his Fathers will to while in prayer to him.

He was very much like us in the human side. He also experienced emotions the same as us. EXAMPLE: turning over all the tables at the temple, crying when He heard Lazarus was dead, showing great amount of compassion for the prostitute who was about to be stoned to death, sweating drops of blood when praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, and feeling immense pain when being beating and crucified
His human body had the same needs as ours: Air, food, water, shelter, clothing. AND that same human body, the flesh, could have desires if not kept in check, Jesus was able to keep His flesh in submission to His spirit, plus He prayed and meditated everyday..

 

[Heart2Soul]

Please correct your understanding, as our views on the Scriptures and their interpretation differ.

Do you really believe that Jesus was "tempted" within Himself?

Jesus' Humanity and Temptation
As a man, Jesus experienced temptation, but because He was sinless, He did not succumb to it.

The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus was tempted externally by the devil and others, rather than being tempted "within Himself" in a sinful or disordered way. In other words, while He experienced external temptation, His internal disposition was always perfectly aligned with the will of the Father.

Scripture References:

Matthew 4:1-11 (The Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness):
Jesus is tempted by Satan in various ways (to turn stones into bread, to throw Himself down from the temple, and to worship Satan for worldly authority).

These temptations come from outside, and Jesus responds by quoting scripture, showing His steadfast resistance to sin.

Hebrews 4:15:
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."

This passage emphasizes that Jesus experienced temptation just as we do, yet He was without sin.
The external nature of the temptation is highlighted, but His inner purity allowed Him to resist.

James 1:13 (Temptation and God):
"Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one."

This shows that, as God, Jesus was not subject to sinful internal desires that would make Him tempted "within Himself." However, He could be tempted externally because of His humanity.

2. Theological Perspective:
Internal Temptation: For humanity, temptation often arises from internal desires-desires that are disordered due to the fall (e.g., lust, greed, pride).

Jesus, being sinless, did not experience temptation in the same way as fallen humans, whose internal desires often lead to sin.

External Temptation: While Jesus faced external temptations-particularly from Satan, as seen in the wilderness-He did not face inner turmoil or sinful desires.

His perfect obedience to the Father made His resistance to temptation a demonstration of His sinlessness and His divine nature.

Please read the Scriptures and pray for wisdom and understanding and think before you post.

J.

I disagree with you, how can Jesus claim to have defeated sin for us if he didn't have to wrestle with sin or rather the temptation to sin.
And here are the scriptures that records His time of temptation in the wilderness..

Matthew 4 (KJV)
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
¹ Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
² And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
³ And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
⁴ But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
⁵ Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
⁶ And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
⁷ Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
⁸ Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
⁹ And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
¹⁰ Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
¹¹ Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

 

[pepper]

I disagree with you, how can Jesus claim to have defeated sin for us if he didn't have to wrestle with sin or rather the temptation to sin.
And here are the scriptures that records His time of temptation in the wilderness..

Matthew 4 (KJV)
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
¹ Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
² And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
³ And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
⁴ But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
⁵ Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
⁶ And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
⁷ Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
⁸ Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
⁹ And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
¹⁰ Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
¹¹ Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

In the Old testament God showed emotions. Anger,wrath,regret.
Human emotions. We are created in God's image and like ess after all.

Was God able to sin too?

 

[Verily]

Jesus was tempted.

The same is shown Psalm 95:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.

He was tempted to sin.

Yes, the tempter/satan was tempting him to sin

He just never did.

Ofcourse not, " Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth"

 

[Verily]

External, NOT internal.

J.

Some people believe that at "every point" as we are means that Jesus was tempted with drugs, alcohol, strippers gambling, rather than his being "shown the kingdoms of the world", told to command these stones to bread, and to tempt God on the pinacle of the temple in casting himself down..

Satan tempting him even through these points

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

 

[Heart2Soul]

In the Old testament God showed emotions. Anger,wrath,regret.
Human emotions. We are created in God's image and like ess after all.

Was God able to sin too?

@pepper I appreciate your input, however, what you have posted is completely irrelevant to the role Jesus had to take here on earth. God has never been a man as Jesus became. So there is no argument here because they are too different in nature to compare.

 

[Johann]

I disagree with you, how can Jesus claim to have defeated sin for us if he didn't have to wrestle with sin or rather the temptation to sin.
And here are the scriptures that records His time of temptation in the wilderness..

Matthew 4 (KJV)
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
¹ Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
² And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
³ And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
⁴ But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
⁵ Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
⁶ And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
⁷ Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
⁸ Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
⁹ And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
¹⁰ Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
¹¹ Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

You won't find any verse in context where Jesus experienced temptation inwardly like we do—because the Messiah is sinless.

And you added words that'd not appropriate nor in the text @Heart2Soul

Read the context carefully again.

J.

 

[MatthewG]

Jesus wasn't soul-less. He had a mind/will/emotions.

Your Soul Is God-Given (Bible Study)

Hello, Your very soul is God-given. As God had made Adam (mankind) from the dust of the earth he breathed into him, and he became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul...

www.christianityboard.com

He had the same nature as Adam, and because he was born with Spirit and Flesh, he was the second Adam, whom didn't experience spiritual death.


All of our thoughts, and our will to do something, and our emotions, come from the heart.

Strong's Greek: 2588. καρδία (kardia) -- Heart

Usage: In the New Testament, "kardia" is used metaphorically to refer to the inner self, encompassing the mind, will, emotions, and moral center of a person. It is not limited to the physical organ but represents the core of human identity and spiritual life. The heart is seen as the seat of thought, emotion, and decision-making, reflecting one's true character and intentions.

Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Greek culture, the heart was considered the center of physical and spiritual life. This understanding was carried into the Jewish and early Christian contexts, where the heart was seen as the locus of moral and spiritual activity. The heart was believed to be the place where God communicates with humans, and where faith and understanding reside.

 

[Johann]

Some people believe that at "every point" as we are means that Jesus was tempted with drugs, alcohol, strippers gambling, rather than his being "shown the kingdoms of the world", told to command these stones to bread, and to tempt God on the pinacle of the temple in casting himself down..

Satan tempting him even through these points

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Externally, Not internally-let me clarify.

Jesus experienced external temptations (e.g., in the wilderness with Satan, Matthew 4:1-11) and internal struggles, like hunger, thirst, and physical weariness (e.g., Matthew 4:2), but He did not succumb to sin. The text suggests He faced real temptation, but His sinless nature meant He did not give in to those temptations.

While Jesus did undergo intense trials and suffering, including the inward struggle, He did not experience temptation in the same fallen, sinful way we do, since He was fully divine and sinless.

His experience of temptation was a test of His obedience and faithfulness to God, but without sinning.

So, while He experienced real internal struggle (e.g., hunger in the wilderness), the nature of His temptation was distinct from ours, as He was sinless and untainted by the fallen human nature we inherit.
The Greek Text (Textus Receptus):
Hebrews 4:15
οὐ γὰρ ἔχομεν ἀρχιερέα μὴ δυνάμενον συμπαθῆσαι ταῖς ἀσθενείαις ἡμῶν, πεπειραμένον δὲ κατὰ πάντα καθ’ ὁμοιότητα χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας.

Key Clauses and Tenses:
οὐ γὰρ ἔχομεν ἀρχιερέα (ou gar echomen archierea)

Tense/Voice/Mood: Present Active Indicative
Translation: "For we do not have a high priest"
This introduces the subject: Jesus as the High Priest, with the negation setting up His superiority over ordinary priests.
μὴ δυνάμενον συμπαθῆσαι (mē dunamenon sympathēsai)

Tense/Voice/Mood: Present Middle/Passive Participle + Aorist Active Infinitive

Translation: "who cannot sympathize"

The participle "dunamenon" emphasizes His continuous ability to sympathize, and "sympathēsai" (infinitive) describes the action of His sympathy.

ταῖς ἀσθενείαις ἡμῶν (tais astheneiais hēmōn)

Case/Function: Dative plural, indirect object

Translation: "with our weaknesses"

This identifies the human condition Jesus understands.

πεπειραμένον δὲ κατὰ πάντα (pepeiraménon de kata panta)

Tense/Voice/Mood: Perfect Passive Participle

Translation: "but [one] who has been tempted in all things"

The perfect tense indicates a completed action with ongoing results: Jesus was tempted at a specific time and remains fully aware of the human experience of temptation.

Passive voice shows He experienced this temptation externally.

καθ’ ὁμοιότητα (kath’ homoiotēta)

Case/Function: Accusative singular, adverbial phrase

Translation: "according to likeness"

This phrase emphasizes that His temptation was like ours but not identical in origin (e.g., no sinful nature).

χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας (chōris hamartias)

Case/Function: Genitive singular, adverbial phrase

Translation: "without sin"

This clarifies that while Jesus was tempted, He never sinned, maintaining His perfect holiness.

Summary of the Syntax:

"Has been tempted" (πεπειραμένον) – Perfect tense indicates past events (His earthly life) with ongoing relevance (He sympathizes with our temptations today).

"In all things" (κατὰ πάντα) – Adverbial prepositional phrase emphasizing the comprehensiveness of His temptation.

"According to likeness" (καθ’ ὁμοιότητα) – Points to His experience being truly human yet distinct from sinful nature.

"Without sin" (χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας) – A crucial qualifier that separates Jesus from fallen humanity.

Without sin (chōris hamartias). This is the outstanding difference that must never be overlooked in considering the actual humanity of Jesus.

He did not yield to sin. But more than this is true. There was no latent sin in Jesus to be stirred by temptation and no habits of sin to be overcome.

But he did have “weaknesses” (astheneiai) common to our human nature (hunger, thirst, weariness, etc.). Satan used his strongest weapons against Jesus, did it repeatedly, and failed.

Jesus remained “undefiled” (amiantos) in a world of sin (Jhn_8:46). This is our ground of hope, the sinlessness of Jesus and his real sympathy.

I don’t spend much time on American television preachers or YouTube preachers.

J.

 

[MatthewG]

Jesus was tempted... and he had to have thoughts about the sin to ever be tempted to begin with, and all thoughts start from the inner heart.

He had to think before reacting. He never sinned because he never reacted on the thoughts he had which were given to Yahavah, he had to capture his thoughts and give them to Yahavah. He probably prayed during those times of temptation, and by the help of his Father, and the holy spirit he didn't give in to those thoughts.

Usage: In the New Testament, "kardia" is used metaphorically to refer to the inner self, encompassing the mind, will, emotions, and moral center of a person. It is not limited to the physical organ but represents the core of human identity and spiritual life. The heart is seen as the seat of thought, emotion, and decision-making, reflecting one's true character and intentions.

Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Greek culture, the heart was considered the center of physical and spiritual life. This understanding was carried into the Jewish and early Christian contexts, where the heart was seen as the locus of moral and spiritual activity. The heart was believed to be the place where God communicates with humans, and where faith and understanding reside.


The reason Jesus was never committed sin, was because he Love his Father, and he love others as himself. But that doesn't mean he was never tempted just as we are... and everything starts in the heart.

 

[Johann]

Jesus was tempted... and he had to have thoughts about the sin to ever be tempted to begin with, and all thoughts start from the inner heart.

Error.

Heb 4:15 for we have not a chief priest unable to sympathise with our infirmities, but one tempted in all things in like manner—apart from sin;

J.

 

[MatthewG]

I disagree with you Johann. It doesn't matter if you think that I am wrong or not.

What does matter is our heart for Yahavah, and loving him and loving others in Christ.

I don't want to watch that video.

 

[Johann]

I disagree with you Johann. It doesn't matter if you think that I am wrong or not.

What does matter is our heart for Yahavah, and loving him and loving others in Christ.

I don't want to watch that video.

You don't disagree with me, you disagree with Scripture.

The most blasphemous video clip I've ever seen.

J.

 

[MatthewG]

Well, whatever you want to say.

I am tempted by outside forces and internally I decide to either mole it over in my mind and decide to do something about it and respond or react or not.


Its like people are tempted to come here on Christianityboard and then argue you all day with people... is that profitable or not? Idk. I am just saying in general.

Its a temptation then goes into the heart and then a decision is made to go by the flesh or the spirit.

 

[MatthewG]

Thank you for sharing your youtube video, but I don't want to watch those things man. Im watching a crime documentary, on Mysterious 7 right now.