Sinclair Ferguson on Jesus’ Temptation

From “The Holy Spirit” by Sinclair Ferguson (pp. 48-49) –

It has been commonplace to interpret Jesus’ temptations as analagous to, almost a model for, the tempting of the Christian: Christ was tempted as we are, but resisted; therefore, we should resist in similar ways. But this leads to a partial and negative interpretation of his experiences. His temptations constitute an epochal event. They are not merely personal, but cosmic. They constitute the tempting of the last Adam. True, there is a common bond between his temptations and ours: he is really and personally confronted by dark powers. But the significance of the event does not lie in the ways in which his temptations are like ours, but in the particularity and uniqueness of his experiences. He was driven into the wilderness as an assault force, His testing was set in the context of a holy war in which he entered the enemy’s domain, absorbed his attacks and sent him into retreat (Mt. 4:11, and especially Lk. 4:13). In the power of the Spirit, Jesus advanced as the divine warrior, the God of battles who fights on behalf of his people and for their salvation (cf. Ex. 15:3; Ps. 98:1). His triumph demonstrated that ‘the kingdom of God is near’ and that the messianic conflict had begun.

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