Immediately after the exalted experience of hearing His Father’s approval voiced from heaven, Jesus went into the desert to confront His greatest enemy – at stake were the souls of men and the kingdom of God. The struggle involved two very real persons. One is the pure, sinless human nature of Jesus Christ, God incarnate. The other is Satan, the head and ruler of a dark kingdom of evil. And so, on the heels of spiritual ecstasy Jesus was plunged into a spiritual struggle against sin!

Temptation is not new to man. Ever since Adam, men and women, boys and girls have faced temptations to do evil. It is not a sin to be tempted, but it is a sin to yield to temptation. The songwriter accurately counseled: “Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin.”

As a true man, Jesus had to experience temptation just as His human brothers and sisters. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 4:15 that “Christ was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” He experienced the same kinds of temptations that you and I do. Consequently, He knows our struggles against sin and He sympathizes with our conflict against evil. Because He endured the same testing, He is able to lead us compassionately through our temptations.

Want to hear other exciting messages by Dr. Clifton Black? Listen to more here.