Jesus - Been There, Done That....

Today's Three-minute Bible Study
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Title: Jesus - Been There, Done That....------------------ Date: 12/24/1999
Keywords: "humanity" "humility" "Jesus" "suffering" "temptation"

Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation.

From December 21-26, the eXXit 3minute Bible studies will examine the biblical Christmas story from Luke, chapters 1 and 2. In these studies, we will discover keys to finding help in resisting temptation AND we will discover the sufficiency of Christ to help us when tempted.

Passage: Luke 2:1-7*

1. Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.

2. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

3. And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city.

4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

5. in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

6. And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

7. And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in
a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Questions

1. What creature comforts that we take for granted would have been absent from Joseph and Mary’s experience as they made the 3-4 day journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem?

 

2. Do you see any hardship for Jesus involved in His first night of life on planet earth?

 

Practical help

Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” That verse refers to Jesus as our high priest. In Luke 2:1-7, we see Jesus beginning to taste the sadness and hardship of life. He was tested with hardship and (as Hebrews 4:15 says) He
was tempted with sin. There is nothing about human experience with which Jesus is not familiar. That is part of the miracle of the incarnation. Jesus knows what we are experiencing.

That means that He understands sexual temptation! He never crossed the line into sin, but He was tempted “in all things.” That means that He is the best one to ask for help in resisting temptation to sin - even sexual sin. The Jesus who was born into hardship grew to be the Man who knew what it was to be tempted. Bring the understanding that Jesus understands your sexual temptations into your prayer time. Ask for His help in resisting the urge to click on to pornography.

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*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."