And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. (Mark 1.13)

Do we think of Jesus as being able to be tempted? Could the everlasting Holy One truly succumb to such base manipulated desires? Surely the glorious Creator could not be felled by such demonic arrogance. But we do not serve a God who is transcendent and aloof. Jesus emptied Himself and stepped down into His creation as a helpless baby. He grew up with the same casing of human flesh, the same heart and desires as all His creation. Jesus lived like His beloved creation, in the midst of our fallen and broken world.

There is a magnificent beauty in seeing our Lord like this. In the wilderness. In hunger. Solitude. Temptation. The One who is fully God and fully man pressed Himself beyond the flesh, fasting 40 days, and then engaged the enemy. In his physically weakened state, surrounded by the wild animals of the desolate lands, He came face to face with the great temptations. And in all of this, Jesus prevailed. Jesus the tempted refused to mar His holiness, the holiness of the Father and Spirit.

Jesus the tempted sets a model for us, for surely we will walk through the desolate plain of temptation again. We will climb by the dangerous crags where wild beasts are ready to prey on us as our souls search for significance. And in the moments of temptation He calls our eyes to look upon Him in the wilderness, to remember His enduring for His holiness and for ours. If we can just hold on through the struggle He will send angels to our side.

Jesus, thank you for setting yourself as my enduring example. I will fix my eyes on you in the dark nights of my soul and strive for holiness.