Jesus understands temptation because He faced it fully—forty days in the wilderness—yet never gave in, showing us both compassion for our weakness and a model of faithfulness. In Luke 4, each temptation is met not with arguments or excuses, but with God’s Word: “the Scriptures say,” reminding us that we resist by anchoring our hearts in Scripture and living under the lordship of Christ rather than the “prince of this world.” We’re called to exercise our own will—refusing to simply drift with the dominant culture—and to pursue our vocation with integrity, working as if it depends on us while praying as if it depends on God. Even as we pray boldly for healing and protection, we do not test or leverage God; we submit to His wisdom and timing, trusting that He acts in ways we sometimes can’t predict. Because Christ passed this test and ultimately gave His life for us, we are forgiven, made new, and called to live faithfully—marked by integrity, truth, and wholehearted surrender to Him.
