Full Force, Full Love
Tossed, flipped, turned, flung, confusion, sand, down, up, panic--breakers, current, and tide rip and propel me, rush over me. Sand in mouth, don't know which way is up or down. Finally surface in wild Lake Michigan, try to tread toward shore. Each step forward seems two steps back, no movement forward. Strain, struggle. My little child-muscles overwhelmed. My older cousin becomes my hero and bears me to shore. I had sand in my ears and hair for days afterward.
Full force of temptations' breakers sweep over us, the current of the culture, the tides of our desires and idols. Up and down, good and evil, whys and wherefores, motives and means all become confusing, swirling, sandy, blurry. But we are not alone.
Jesus knows my temptations. Each and every one. But he does not despise me, condemn me, because he could overcome them and I cannot. Jesus has mercy on me. He knows how hard, strong, and seductive my temptations are. He knows my weakness, and knows that I am only a creature.
Full force of temptations' breakers sweep over us, the current of the culture, the tides of our desires and idols. Up and down, good and evil, whys and wherefores, motives and means all become confusing, swirling, sandy, blurry. But we are not alone.
Jesus knows my temptations. Each and every one. But he does not despise me, condemn me, because he could overcome them and I cannot. Jesus has mercy on me. He knows how hard, strong, and seductive my temptations are. He knows my weakness, and knows that I am only a creature.
Jesus is holy, pure. But he knows temptations. Do we think that because he was God, he does not know the temptation to fear, doubt? Overeat, be lazy? Numb the pain by such and such? Be unloving, impatient becuase he is tired? Put his own wants first, over God's just this once--he's been faithful, he deserves a break just this once, right? To put that pharisee in his place by just a subtle one-up comment? To get a little extra praise by just showing off a bit? To please the people, just get a few brownie points in the popularity realm? To indulge in a moment of self-pity--even foxes had holes, but he?
But no. Holy. Holy, my Lord.
One commentator writes, “As an illustration of the thoroughness of Jesus' temptations, imagine a large bolder on the seacoast. Since it does not move, it experiences the full force of every wave that beats against it. Smaller pebbles that the waves move around do not because they yield to the force of the waves. Similarly Jesus' temptations were greater than ours because He never yielded to them. Likewise a prizefighter (Jesus) who defeats the champion (Satan) endures more punishment than other contenders who throw in the towel or are knocked out before the end of the fight” (1). What strength. What power. What commitment to holiness. What love. For it was for his Father’s sake, his Father’s glory, his Father’s mission that he stood firm against all the waves and fiery darts Satan could throw at him. It was for us, for our redemption, to be our Perfect Lamb and Holy High Priest, that he took the beatings, knew weakness, suffered the temptations, and bore the cross. Full force, full love.
One commentator writes, “As an illustration of the thoroughness of Jesus' temptations, imagine a large bolder on the seacoast. Since it does not move, it experiences the full force of every wave that beats against it. Smaller pebbles that the waves move around do not because they yield to the force of the waves. Similarly Jesus' temptations were greater than ours because He never yielded to them. Likewise a prizefighter (Jesus) who defeats the champion (Satan) endures more punishment than other contenders who throw in the towel or are knocked out before the end of the fight” (1). What strength. What power. What commitment to holiness. What love. For it was for his Father’s sake, his Father’s glory, his Father’s mission that he stood firm against all the waves and fiery darts Satan could throw at him. It was for us, for our redemption, to be our Perfect Lamb and Holy High Priest, that he took the beatings, knew weakness, suffered the temptations, and bore the cross. Full force, full love.
So we praise him for his purity, his firmness of heart, his
love for the Father and for us which he held before the temptations.
It is not an ethereal doctrine. His atoning sacrifice depends on his perfection.
It is not just a subject in a systematic theology. Our access to Almighty God depends on his righteousness.
It is not a mere understanding empathy to comfort us--although it is great comfort. I love thinking he knows, he understands--but what does that really mean for us in our temptations? We need more than empathy when trying to strive against the white-capped wild waves.
It is not a mere example of steadfastness and strength--although it is that, Jesus is a model to learn from (Mat. 11:28-29; John 13:35; 1 Jn. 2:6), but he is so much more. Yet, in the breakers, we need more than an example.
All that he has done, each time he withstood, is imputed to us, to me, to you personally. His righteousness is imputed to us. Amazing. When we feel tempted to doubt, his faith is ours (and if we fail, covers ours). Tempted to self-pity, his self-giving love is ours. Wanting to give a put-down, impatient reply, or a quick word, his humble, loving patience is ours. Only he in us, his life as ours, can withstand the tide of temptation.
Furthermore, when we see him hanging on the cross, bearing our individual sins of impatience, our doubt, our self-pity, our addictions, ouir pride, our whatever... Oh, my Lord. My Savior. Impatience and doubt become not just bad things, not just sub-standard behavior, not just a transgression against a rule, but a nail in the hands of one I love so much, because he loves me so much. It is personal. It is not a little infringement, it is against the Infiite One, of infinite value. Love for him renders waves powerless.
Full love for his Father, full love for you and for me--Christ withstood the full forces hell threw at him. Resting in the fullness of his love, you and I grow more fully in love, full heart, swelling heart, deeper than the welling waves. My hero and example, but more. My empathizer, but more. My Savior. My Lover. It is not an ethereal doctrine. His atoning sacrifice depends on his perfection.
It is not just a subject in a systematic theology. Our access to Almighty God depends on his righteousness.
It is not a mere understanding empathy to comfort us--although it is great comfort. I love thinking he knows, he understands--but what does that really mean for us in our temptations? We need more than empathy when trying to strive against the white-capped wild waves.
It is not a mere example of steadfastness and strength--although it is that, Jesus is a model to learn from (Mat. 11:28-29; John 13:35; 1 Jn. 2:6), but he is so much more. Yet, in the breakers, we need more than an example.
All that he has done, each time he withstood, is imputed to us, to me, to you personally. His righteousness is imputed to us. Amazing. When we feel tempted to doubt, his faith is ours (and if we fail, covers ours). Tempted to self-pity, his self-giving love is ours. Wanting to give a put-down, impatient reply, or a quick word, his humble, loving patience is ours. Only he in us, his life as ours, can withstand the tide of temptation.
Furthermore, when we see him hanging on the cross, bearing our individual sins of impatience, our doubt, our self-pity, our addictions, ouir pride, our whatever... Oh, my Lord. My Savior. Impatience and doubt become not just bad things, not just sub-standard behavior, not just a transgression against a rule, but a nail in the hands of one I love so much, because he loves me so much. It is personal. It is not a little infringement, it is against the Infiite One, of infinite value. Love for him renders waves powerless.
(1) Thomas Constable, Notes on Hebrews, accessed January 8,
2014 from http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/hebrews.pdf.
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