We know that Jesus was “fully human” – in other words he was just like us. When we hear a story like Luke’s account of Jesus being tempted in the desert (Luke 4:1-13) does it help us to feel more like him, or not?
I suspect for many of us the answer is “not so much” – the temptations are so far out of our league, and the responses even more so. And the whole episode comes across more like some sort of initiation test that Jesus has to endure, but of course he passes with flying colors, and goes on to save the world. This perspective however probably says more about our fascination with superheroes than anything Luke might have been trying to tell us!
What I do find fascinating is that, however familiar a passage of Scripture may be, it can so often contain something that I never noticed before. In today’s Gospel reading it was the final phrase: “When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.” This wasn’t a one off experience that Jesus had to endure at the beginning of his ministry. It was the beginning of an ongoing battle, a battle against evil, that culminated in his death.
But the battle finished with his death, and Jesus emerged victorious – that’s the point of the Resurrection, yes! That is true but, as we so often find in our journey of faith, it’s not the whole story. The battle with evil is not over. We each of us have to fight it throughout our lives. But for Jesus the battle is over, he’s now comfortable in heaven, right?
No. Whatever else we believe about Jesus and his message, the most fundamental belief is that he is still with us. That is the central fact that his disciples came to understand after his death. That is why the Resurrection is at the core of our faith. And that is why his battle with evil is not over. He shares our battle against evil in whatever form we experience it. And because he is with us we know that we can win that battle.
The point of Luke telling us the story of Jesus’ temptation is not so we stand in awe of Jesus and his apparently superhuman ability to withstand the devil. Rather it’s to give us the confidence that since Jesus lives with us we can also withstand temptation and fight evil.