BIBLE STUDY BOOKLET

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	THE TEMPTATIONS OF THE LORD By Theo Todman INTRODUCTION

This booklet has been given the title The Temptations of the Lord. Often this conjures up in the mind simply the 'temptation in the wilderness'. However, the intention is to take the subject in as broad a span as is consistent with the size of a booklet, not even restricting ourselves to the temptations of the Lord Jesus Christ in the days of His flesh, but also considering the various passages in the Old and New Testaments where God, when not incarnate, is said to have been 'tempted'. I have felt it particularly important to consider what is meant by the word 'tempt' in its various contexts, and so have devoted a good deal of space to explaining the exact meaning and use of words in such passages as James 1: 13-15.

An attempt has been made to expound all the 'temptation' passages, to find out what the intention of the various tempters was on each occasion and to demonstrate what these incidents teach us about the Lord. Particular attention has been given (especially in the general passages of Hebrews 2:18 and 4:15) to discover the limits to which the Lord Jesus was tempted and how this word should be understood when applied to Him. The view that the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted to sin, as we are, by internal compulsion (even though He successfully struggled against such temptations so that no sinful act issued) is rejected for reasons explained in the text.

In brief, the two main aims of this booklet are as follows: firstly to demonstrate how the conduct of the Lord Jesus Christ in the testing situations that confronted Him expressly declares Him to be that High Priest Who is 'holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners' (Hebrews 7:26 AV) and the 'Lamb without blemish and without spot' (1 Peter 1:19, AV). Secondly, to remind ourselves in some measure, of what it cost the Lord Jesus to :-

In many instances a hard and fast dogmatic conclusion has not been reached, though the author's opinion has always been supplied. As Peter said of Paul's letters, Scripture contains 'some things hard to be understood', not least in this area of the Lord's person. There are mysteries here that we must approach with humility and reserve, aware of our finiteness and of His greatness.