Hebrews 2:18
19 January 2025
For because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
So we have in verse 18 a very simple verse to follow in terms of what is being communicated. It is about Jesus, as we've consistently seen, verse after verse. And it says, “For because He, [Jesus] Himself, (has) suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” So Jesus was tempted and He suffered when being tempted. And because He has been tempted, He can help us when we are tempted. This is what we're dealing with as we work our way through this final verse here in Hebrews chapter two.
Now, just for a moment, let's just recap a couple of key points regarding the overarching framework of this chapter and where we've been so far in Hebrews, because it is important even with the subject matter of this verse. If we remember, chapters one and two have been to draw out one of the first big arguments in the book of Hebrews, namely Christ's superiority to the angels and the crux or the crescendo of this argument from verse 5 to verse 18 of chapter 2 has been to give such an in-depth and rich teaching about the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So we've dealt with the subject of the Incarnation, and this has been the grounds to understand that He, the Lord Jesus Christ, is therefore the Captain of our salvation, the faithful, glorious High Priest, the One who makes propitiation for the sins of the people. This is our Lord and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
And then we come to this last point. It's not an exhortation, it is very much an encouragement. But the first thing that it deals with is a subject matter that might leave us scratching our heads somewhat, and that is with regards to the subject of temptation and how such a thing could relate to Jesus, who is God.
So before we work through the specifics of this verse, we need to establish a few biblical black and whites on the subject of temptation, dealing with definitions and how such a word can relate to God. Now, the first thing we might say is, well, God isn't tempted, full stop. Well, that's not entirely the case. Numbers 14:22, you can note it down or you can quickly get to that. “None of the men who have seen My glory and My signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put Me to the test these 10 times and have not obeyed My voice.” Now, the ESV uses the word test, but more literally it is the word tempt. So they have put Me to temptation, Tempt, if you like, these 10 times and have not obeyed My voice. And in this context, in Numbers 14:22, it means that God was provoked by sinful man because God's patience and longsuffering had been tested. So the patience and longsuffering of God had been tested.
But then we might be wondering, well, hang on a second. Isn't the subject of tempting and testing something that is not associated with God? We've seen that somewhere in Scripture or, well, yes, James 1:13, this may be more familiar to some. It says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one.” Now, this verse is not giving us a blanket 'God is not tempted.' And it establishes a crucial distinction that we need to have in our minds as we begin working through this subject in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Temptation with evil, which is what James 1:13 says, is to be enticed to do something against God's will and purpose. Let me say this again. Temptation with evil, James 1:13, is to be enticed to do something against God's will and purpose. And the Bible is clear that God does not tempt anyone to go against His will and purpose. Now I'll say this again, going very slowly at the beginning so that we're clear about these points. God does not tempt anyone to go against His will and purpose. That's what James 1:13 is dealing with.
And also dealing with the Bible, making clear that God cannot be tempted to go against His will and purpose, namely evil. That's what James 1:13 is saying. The Bible does make it clear that God tests or the word tempts us, but not to entice us to evil, but to produce and bring God-honouring fruit in our lives. So if you're going through being tempted, a testing, a trial of some sort, this is of God, but it is not to entice you to do something against His will and purpose. Now, this is going to be very important to clarify as we begin when we get to the subject of Jesus being tempted, because unfortunately, it gets more complicated when it comes to Jesus being tempted.
Now, dealing with this subject itself, why this is more challenging is because this word here, being tempted, is actually in the context of with evil. Now, we're not dealing with a contradiction in the Bible. We just said God cannot be tempted with evil. We also know in Scripture that Jesus is God. And yet what we find is that this is what Jesus faces when He comes to this earth. And this is the big challenge that we need to spend quite a bit of time with. How can Jesus be tempted in the way that James 1:13 says that God cannot because He's God. And yet at the same time we see that Jesus faced temptation.
Well, the reason why both of these things, both of these statements can be and are true is because and again, please be careful in noting this. When Jesus faces on this earth temptation, this does not in any way come from an internal enticement or desire. So let me repeat this. When Jesus is tempted, this does not come from an internal enticement or desire because He is divine and He is without sin. So what Jesus faces when it comes to temptation is an external enticement, namely from Satan.
And this is something that we can actually see happen in the Garden of Eden. One of the big questions people may have when it comes to the first few chapters of the Book of Genesis, how can man be tempted if man was made perfect in God's image? Well, this is because we have an external temptation. There was not the enticement in the heart of Adam and Eve. No, this came from the fallen angel, and this was what brought the temptation. And in that instance, in Genesis chapter three, man fell in sin. There was definitely temptation, and man fell. Now we come to the One who is the better Adam, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. And we know that He faced temptation. And praise be to God, He stood firm. And this is what we come to remember and why this final verse is so significant in the context of Hebrews chapter two. Because all that we've seen of who Christ is, all that we've already seen of what Christ came to do should already give us enough of a biblical foundation to then grasp He is the One who did face this. And yet we see that He stood, He overcame.
So it says here in verse 18, “For because He Himself has suffered when tempted,” we have in mind that when He was facing this temptation, this does not mean that He was falling in any sin. He is the perfect and sinless One.
Now, in order to deal with the first part of Hebrews 2:18, we're going to go to a specific passage in Scripture to help us to grasp with even more clarity what temptation looked like for the Lord Jesus. And that's with the account at Gethsemane in Matthew chapter 26. So please turn with me to Matthew 26, just remembering again, when we deal with the subject of temptation, there was no internal enticement or desire. But this passage, the time at Gethsemane, is quite unique because this was certainly, arguably the greatest temptation that the Lord Jesus faced. And that is because of what He was being tempted with, because of what He was to face.
So this is quite a complicated one. And it's complicated because what Jesus is preparing to face is something that we in our sinful flesh cannot properly relate to. So let's just deal with this text. Let me read the first few verses just to get a bit of a context of this passage. Matthew 26:36, “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples, ‘Sit here while I go there and pray.’ And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and troubled.” So there's the suffering, verse 38, “Then He said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with Me.’ And going a little farther, He fell on His face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'”
Now, as we look at this passage, likely we are relatively familiar with the time, situation, what Jesus is about to face, what He is about to do on the cross. He is dealing with the subject matter of your sin. My sin, that's the issue at hand. It's not His sin. So when we think of temptation, we're dealing with our sin, our desire to do something lustful, our desire to do something greedy, our desire to do something idolatrous. Jesus is not facing any internal sinful desires in this instance. At no point was that the case with the perfect sinless One. But what He is facing is what He is going to bear of our sin at Calvary. And this is going to be the means by which there is temptation here in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Just notice briefly, this isn't going to be the main focus for us this evening, but it is worth just noticing this language of being sorrowful, troubled. Verse 38, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to the point of death.” This is Jesus suffering to such a great extent, the grief and the anguish is beyond what we could possibly grapple with.
Now, why is that the case? Well, let's imagine that you are wearing some really fancy clothing. You're nice and clean, fresh, just showered and all the rest of it. And then someone throws a bucket of filth over you and how disgusting you feel, especially in the context of having been so clean. Now, we're just dealing with imaginative, hypothetical situations here. Picture with me for a moment the Lord Jesus Christ, who hasn't needed to clean Himself up so that He's righteous for a night. No, He is the sinless One. He is the absolute expression of perfection.
So literally, the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth, He does not at any point lust. He does not at any point covet. He does not at any point strive or crave for anything sinful. So all the sinful things that can tempt us, they do not in any way tempt or entice Christ. And in fact, it is the opposite with Christ. Given who He is, it's not simply a case of He's not tempted with sin. It's also about who He is by definition of His very being as God. He is One who strives for holiness. He is One who strives with perfection, with the intimacy He has with God. He is the One who desires nothing sinful and everything that is godly, rich and perfect. This is how He is driven in His being, character and nature.
So when we considered in Hebrews chapter two that the Lord Jesus Christ took on our physical condition, He is like us in every respect, absolutely. But this is dealing with His moral condition. And the chasm is something that we cannot grasp tonight. We cannot this side of eternity fully in any way grasp what it is for the Lord Jesus Christ to be tempted. Because the very nature of this temptation is the exact opposite to how we are tempted. Because what is it that the Lord Jesus is wrestling with here? What is it that He prays to the Father in verse 39? He's praying for something in this temptation, if it's possible. What? “Let this cup pass from Me.” That's the temptation.
Now, what, brothers and sisters, is this cup? It's the cup of God's wrath that we thought of last Sunday when we dealt with the subject of propitiation, when we dealt with God's righteous anger being appeased at Calvary. Right now, the Lord Jesus Christ is confronting the reality of what it will mean to face this, to become our sin bearer. And this is the temptation. This is when the devil comes. Because if there is one thing that the devil seeks to succeed with, it's to pull Christ away from the cross. And this is the moment, this is the hour. This is the temptation. It's not the temptation to do something sinful. The temptation here is because He is facing something sinful that is not of Himself, it is of us. That's the problem. Everything that you've done, all of the wretched, wicked thoughts, all of the times that you lost your temper, all of the things that you've watched that you know you shouldn't have watched, all of the vile things that you have participated in, all of the wicked actions that have been done in history by those for whom Christ came to die for. It is those sins that Christ is going to bear. The murderers, the rapists, the thieves, the adulterers, the vile, the wretched, the wicked sinners. For Christ, who is perfect to be thinking and contemplating bearing that which is so utterly and entirely against the very nature of who He is, this is a horror like no other. And this is where Jesus suffered when being tempted at Gethsemane.
So, yes, Jesus is tempted, tempted with this external evil of the way in which the devil is prodding. But it is more here at this point. It is also because it is the battle with Jesus being God who can have nothing to do with sin. He's God. And yet at the same time, this is why He is here. He has come to bear our sin, to deal with our sin, to put away our sin, to save us from our sin. And that's the challenge. And this is where it is so incredible to behold that as the Lord Jesus says in verse 39, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” What does He then say? “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
May it be the will of the Father, as has been decreed by the living God, that the Father would send the Son for this very purpose. Isaiah 53:10, “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief.” Jesus has been put to grief. He has bore our sins at Calvary. He has faced the anguish of not only life in this earth, but temptation too. This very dark hour of the temptation of the cup being passed, the sins of His people being what Christ would face. And brothers and sisters, we're sitting here this evening because we know Christ faced them. We're sitting here tonight as born-again believers, looking to the sinless Saviour, King Jesus, because Christ faced them.
Nobody, nothing, the devil, you, me, anyone, could even remotely take the purposes of the living God and the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ for you off its intended saving course. This is the assurance of our salvation, because this is the Lord and Saviour of our salvation.
Now just going back to Hebrews chapter two, verse 18, it says, “For because He Himself has suffered when tempted,” we then read, “He is able to help those who are being tempted.” So we go from looking directly at what Christ has faced to now considering what Christ has faced and how this can be of such a practical impact and blessing to us. And in order to do this, we're going to go to probably the other most recognised passage regarding the suffering and temptation that Jesus faced, and that is the temptation in the wilderness.
So again, if you can turn back to the Gospel of Matthew and to chapter four. So the second half of Hebrews chapter two, verse 18 is saying “He is able to help those who are being tempted.” Now, the temptations that Jesus faces here in Matthew chapter four are a lot more the sort of thing that we can in some ways relate to. Jesus faced this too, what He faced in Gethsemane. On the fundamental level, we cannot relate to it because we don't crave for holy, righteous things, every ounce of our being, every moment of our waking breath. No, we crave for sinful, lustful things.
Here Jesus is still consistently, always is, always will be, the perfect sinless One. But the way in which the temptations are framed here can help us to see how, because Jesus has faced them and overcome them, this can be and is a way by which Jesus helps us. Now, because we're obviously short in terms of time, we're just going to be dealing with these three temptations in brief, just giving a very quick summary of what's going on, and then we're going to deal with how these can have applications in our lives.
So let's just quickly deal with verses 1 and 2 of Matthew 4. It says, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry.”
Now, just quickly on the context here, and just to be clear in case we're under any illusions about how the devil operates when he comes in to seek, to attack, to strike, to devour, he will certainly, at many moments, many opportunities, find you at your weakest point. So for the Lord Jesus, He's been fasting for 40 days and nights, He's hungry, and He's going to be in a wilderness territory. So this is as good a condition as that the devil can come to try to strike. So bear this in mind, brothers and sisters, when it comes to your late nights and when you're on that phone or the Internet, bear this in mind.
When you are beginning to boil up and you're maybe ready to lose your temper, bear this in mind in the company that you are with in these moments, the devil comes in to push you over that edge.
So let's look at the first one and we're going to draw that out a bit more here. The tempter came, verse three, and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
Now, let's just stop for a moment. It is very reasonable for someone who is physically hungry to get food. Jesus needs bread. So Satan comes in to offer, well, this is a way to get bread. This is a pretty straightforward way to get bread. You've got the power. Command the stones to become loaves of bread.
Let's just notice the response of the Lord Jesus in verse 4. ”It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Now, a very important principle is being drawn out here, a principle that can be of great practical relevance in the face of any temptation. What's one of the ways in which we can easily be tempted? One of the ways in which we can be tempted is to short-circuit or even just ignore the teachings, the commands of the Word of God.
So Jesus is saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” He's not saying that we don't live by bread. No, we need bread. So Jesus needs bread to eat. But He is also establishing that man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Because what the devil is saying, the framework of this temptation is don't keep trusting in God's plan and timing. You take action yourself and you can do it. You've got the power to turn these stones into loaves of bread. But Jesus is saying, no, I will trust in the Word of God.
So how can we be tempted in this way? Well, we can be tempted in this way if there's a situation. Maybe it's not physical hunger, but maybe it's a situation in our work where we just need to tell a couple of lies and it's going to be so much better for us. We're presented with a situation where in maybe our family, it would be a lot easier if we took this course of action and we just ignored this portion of Scripture.
This is what the devil does. He makes us cherry-pick the parts of the Bible that we want to use to suit our not theological framework, but our idolatrous one. Jesus needs bread and the devil is coming in to say, get bread. So you might have a situation where, well, you need more money, otherwise you're going to struggle, or you need to sort/fix this relationship and the devil comes in and say, here's your answer. And that answer includes just closing your Bible, closing your theological conviction. All you need to do is just drop your biblical principles. In this one area. You're still a Christian. You're still a mature godly man. It’s just this one area.
And how many professing Christians have taken this cowardly, weak route? It happens again and again and again. And we justify it with Scripture. We're tempted by the devil in the way by which just a simple short-circuiting, a simple ignoring of this one doctrinal principle, and boom, things are a lot better for you. Circumstances are a lot better for you. Now think how many times as a professing Christian, when it's been especially a tight spot, a difficult moment because Jesus is 40 days and nights not eating. Have you been tempted or have you given in to temptation when it's been the easy option? You didn't want that confrontation.
Well, praise be to God. As weak and at times foolish as we are in the face of temptation, Jesus helps you in these temptations because we see it here in the Word of God where you are weak, where you are impotent in the face of the devil's schemes. We know that Jesus Christ has faced this and He's overcome.
Now praise God for this, because this is also the means by which we ourselves can be strengthened as the Lord helps us. If we're thinking, facing, confronting, contemplating, giving into this area, this temptation, we look to Christ and we know He has overcome. We know He is our help, we know He is our strength. So yes, Hebrews 2:18, He helps us.
Second example. And we see that the devil is the master at using the Scriptures, or so he thinks. Verse 5. Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’” Clever!
Verse 7. Jesus responds again, “It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Now this is even more subtle and whether it's more or less dangerous than the first example, it certainly is a very dangerous way in which the devil operates and that is the use of Scripture quoting the very words of God. And if we think back even to the Garden of Eden, the devil didn't simply come in with an outright anti-God message. No, he came with an acknowledgement of what God had said and just a questioning and a prodding, a pushback against it.
And even more so what we see here, the devil is using God's word to form an argument against God's word. And we know that temptation. How often have we had conversations where someone else, or maybe how often you yourself have found yourself trying to justify sin and you've used Scripture in some sort of proof-texting way to back it up. Last week we were looking at the subject of submitting to governing authorities and very much there's an exhortation to do this. But how many cowardly church leaders use Romans 13 in the absolute wrong way to justify sinful fear of government attitudes and actions?
How many times are we willing and ready to do this? But it isn't simply for the professing mature Christian. This is also something that we see unbelievers do very often, especially when it comes to the subject of testing God. Notice the Lord Jesus' response to what the enemy says. He says, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” He cuts through the use of Scripture and boils it down to, no, what you're effectively asking me to do, Satan, is to test God's strength, His power, His very being. And how many people do this? How many people say this? Well, God needs to prove Himself. If God does this right in front of me, if God can prove He exists, if He can stand in front of me here, then I will believe. Well, first of all, no, you would not. But second of all, this is what the Lord Jesus says in response to that type of attitude. “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”
The question that we need to ask, and we need to challenge those who would seek to test the Lord, is do we trust Him? Do we take God at His word? And do we take Hebrews 2 at its word when it says here in verse 18 that the Lord will, He does help us. It's so easy in our times of grief, in our times of temptation to maybe even get angry at God and demand things of God, just as Satan is saying Jesus should do here. When in reality, through such times of trial, at times of temptation, we are called to trust Him. To take Him at His word and not abuse His word to justify whatever sinful framework we may seek to lie back on. And this is how the devil seeks to operate. And again, in this second instance, the Lord Jesus Christ does not yield to this temptation.
Then third of all, from verse eight, “the devil then took Him to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, 'All these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan, for it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.”’”'
Now, knowing what we know of the Lord Jesus, this third one really is utterly pathetic in terms of what Satan is bringing. Because yes, the Lord's glory, His majesty, His beauty is being shielded with regards to His being a man on this earth. He has come in these humble and menial circumstances and compared to Satan with this kingdom that he has, this world that is all his, it seems rather grand and lavish and to us at certain times, we may be tempted with it. Jesus straightaway says, 'Be gone, Satan.'
But if we're offered quite a big slice of the action of this world, well then that maybe is another thing for those of us, all of us, who crave these lustful, greedy, idolatrous things. Yes, maybe there's certain areas that, yeah, I wouldn't be tempted with that. But what about that real idol that in your heart you're still not only craving, but you're hoarding? Those moments when it isn't the Scriptures that you turn to, it isn't Christ that you think about in your daily routine, no, it is this idolatry. And then Satan comes, and you can have more of it. You can live more this kind of life. You can enjoy more of this lavish lifestyle. You can enjoy more of this power and success in this context of your workplace or this area of entertainment or hobby that you're part of. You can have more of it.
And what do we see of the Lord Jesus Christ? There is only one in our hearts and lives that is to be worshipped. And it isn't Satan, it isn't our own idolatrous selves, it is the Lord Jesus Christ. And with everything that we've seen, not simply here this afternoon, but so far in the book of Hebrews, and especially in recent weeks, as we've been magnifying the glory of the incarnation, we can see who and why it is Jesus Christ that we worship.
And even as we look at a text like Matthew chapter four and see how He overcame the devil and his wily schemes with all power, with all authority, we can then magnify the fact that is declared in Hebrews chapter two, verse 14, that the devil has been defeated and his power has been destroyed. He has many weapons at his disposal, and praise be to God, the Lord Jesus Christ has not simply neutralised this, He has crushed the evil one. This is the one that we worship. This is the one who has all authority, all dominion, all power, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And this is what we need to hold on to. This is what we need to hold on to when tomorrow morning you're maybe running late and you're beginning to lose it, even with your own family. At these moments, we remember that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Saviour of our lives, and in the face of the temptation to sin with our mouths, with our actions, and in other aspects of our lives, we look to the One who helps us, who strengthens us, and we know that when He faced these temptations, He overcame.
And we pray, we long, that it would be by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Spirit in our lives, that we too, by the strength and grace of God, would not yield to temptation. But, as Jesus said in Gethsemane to the disciples, watch and pray. Be watchful for the sake of your soul. Because we know that the devil is ready to devour like a lion or sneak up when we least expect. We are to be watchful and we are to be a people who are praying. Praying that the Lord would strengthen and protect us. That we would, like the Lord Jesus modelled at Gethsemane, have that posture of submission to the will of the Father.
Because yes, at times, it is dealing with the temptation of saying and doing sinful things, but in other ways, it's the compromise on the truth of God's word, or to use God's word to do sinful things. And this is why we need to know the Bible. This is why we need to look to Christ and see He is the One who helps us. He is the One who blesses us. It's one of countless reasons as we unpack more and more even of this book in Hebrews as to why He is the One we worship and look to. He's your strength and He's your help in times of trouble, in times of affliction, in times of temptation. Because as we see in Hebrews 2, chapter two, verse 18, as we draw this glorious chapter to an end, “He Himself has suffered when tempted.”
In the wilderness, He suffered physically with the hunger that He faced. He was tempted by this external source, this is the devil, though He had no internal sinful enticing desires of His own because He is perfect and sinless. He was certainly tempted in Gethsemane, but that's because He is the sinless One. And what He was confronting was bearing our sin and facing the cup of God's wrath. But it was the will of the Father that He submitted to. So He suffered when He was tempted, but in the face of temptation, He overcame. And so He is able to help us, those who are being tempted. He is the Lord Jesus Christ, and He is the One who is greater than the angels. He is the One who came to this earth to live as a man, to die as the sacrifice for sinners, to rise victorious over the grave. Jesus Christ our Lord.