"Impeccability" and flesh and blood

In Sunday School this past week, we talked about Jesus' "impeccability"; that is, his *inability* to sin. I think I had heard it before, but never really contemplated it. But the more I thought about it, the more I found it edifying and rich with meaning; for example, considering that Jesus did not need to demonstrate "overcoming temptation" in order to be the Christ.

So when we read the accounts of Jesus' life, is it about a man who was commended at the end of a righteous and upright life? Perhaps it's similar to Job, who was a good man who faced great trial late in his life? 

Or perhaps we can look at Moses as a parallel story, who led his people out of bondage, but only after learning humility for decades in the desert? 

In short, was Jesus "special" at the beginning of his life, or only at the end? Did he BECOME the Messiah, or was he BORN the Messiah? Or perhaps he was merely PROMISED to be Messiah early in life, and needed to be prepared for it?

No, of course Jesus was Messiah -- fully Messiah -- from birth... and even before birth, in the announcement to Mary. Is this confirmed in his childhood? Yes, of course, even as a youth he called the temple "my Father's house". 

Now, there is the passage in Hebrews which speaks of Jesus "being tempted in every way yet without sin", which some have taken to mean that Jesus was subject to the *internal* temptation of sinful desires. But rather, the context of Hebrews is about Jesus becoming man, to be a "fitting High Priest" whose sacrifice saves us. What kind of "temptation" is this, then? Jesus is described as "suffering when tempted", experiencing the weaknesses of having flesh and blood, reminding us of the temptation in the wilderness, when Jesus experienced bodily pain and hunger. Jesus experienced all these things just like us, and so can sympathize with us and "help those who are being tempted."

It also reminds us that this kind of "temptation through physical suffering" comes up over and over in the scripture. Consider Job, whose PEAK suffering and temptation came AFTER his family members died, when his body was racked with disease. Consider Paul and his "thorn in the flesh". Consider Israel in the wilderness, provoked to sin through hunger and thirst. 

Sure, the immediate doctrine tells us important things about Jesus and his character and his person. But it's also an invitation to consider the nature of "temptation", to consider those who are experiencing physical pain and suffering, doing what we can to ease those burdens, consider the moral temptations that such sufferings bring, reminding us to exhort and encourage those suffering in this way, to hold fast to the Lord and to Jesus, to hope for that resurrected body that will no longer experience pain and hunger. Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!