We cannot talk about desire and temptation without looking at Jesus’ experience of temptation. We can see this exemplified in the temptation he experienced in the wilderness from Satan and secondly in the Garden of Gethsemane. Remember that Jesus’ experience of temptation is different to ours, he was without sin and so his nature was not fallen. The temptation is external, he is not in any sense tested by a corrupted nature. However, the tempter does interact with his desires.
In the wilderness, the tempter seeks to attack Jesus at a weak point when he is hungry after fasting. He immediately seeks to push on that need, to appeal to Jesus’ hunger. In Gethsemane, we know that the disciples were tired, so no doubt Jesus was too but there also that moment of suffering that is coming up.
We might see too that the devil leans into three specific longings or desires: the desire for identity, comfort and security. In terms of identity, this is seen both in Jesus’ identity “if you are the son of God” being questioned and in the way in which the devil offers him kingdoms and power. He is offered the comfort and satisfaction of food to remove his hunger. Security is offered by way of protection from falling.
We might also notice the themes of identity, security and comfort in Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer. Identity in terms of his relationship to his Father, comfort and security in terms of a desired preference for an alternative to the cup of judgement he is about to drink.
It is important therefore to recognise that those desires in and of themselves are not bad things. It is not sinful for Jesus to desire identity, security and comfort. The problem comes when those desires are distorted and become idolatrous. The tempter’s aims are to get Jesus to prioritise one or more of these root desires over other things so that he will seek to fulfil them in the wrong way and at the wrong time. The right desire for comfort and its consequent desire for food is distorted into a desire for instant gratification. The desire for security is distorted into the need to test and prove the offered protection of an other and so to behave recklessly.
Now, in the concupiscence debate, much ink seems to have been spilt on when exactly a desire moves to becoming a sin as it is distorted. However, I wonder if we would do better to look at Jesus response to temptation. Scripture seems less concerned with those kinds of hair splitting discussions. Rather, the big point is that Jesus doesn’t mess about, doesn’t allow time for something to develop. He is on it straight away. He shuts down the temptation by sayin no to the tempter and by going obediently to God’s Word.
Pastorally, I’m less interested in trying to work out when x or y desire becomes a sin and more concerned with making sure that I and encouraging that others are on it straight away in saying no to temptation. This means that we go to the Gospel to discover how those right desires for identity, comfort and security are properly met in Christ alone.
Faithroots 