The Nature of Jesus? Temptations and the Bible

informed them … they would all scatter. Peter did not like that and, after sulking around, he confronted Jesus and asserted, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away … Even if I must die with You, I will not deny You … Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death … All the disciples said the same thing too” (Mt 26:33,35 and Lk 22:33). Jesus was on the verge of an ordeal unparalleled in human history and unrivaled in eternity. An emergency of the first order was descending – and these companions of three plus years, were pledging unfailing faithfulness. Yet, He knew that even the brazen Peter would soon wilt under the powerful gaze of an accusing … door maiden. The other disciples didn’t even get that far.

How Jesus refrained from lashing out at some point along the way – I will never know. Loss of control for just a split second – just one errant word … or even one errant heart motivation … would have doomed us all. “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ … but I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother (without cause?) … and says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the hell of fire” (Mt 5:21-22). There is no rewind – “Let me try this again” – when it comes to sin. Even though He was God, He was God in the flesh – and being in a body in this age found Him surrounded by ignorance, overestimation of self, and stupidity of incalculable weight. I regularly fail these kinds of tests – even over inconsequential issues. I am certain Satan’s fingerprints were all over these affairs – as he did have full access to Judas. He may have stoked many such fires

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