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We all know about the time Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, but the sermon yesterday morning made me realize Jesus was probably tempted at plenty of other times. The Bible says Jesus was tempted or tested in all points like we are (Hebrews 4:15).

In the sermon yesterday we saw Jesus in John 6 when the people wanted to make Him their king, and they were pretty serious about it (John 6:15, “by force”). When you think about it, wouldn’t that be a temptation for many of us? If a bunch of people want to make you the person in charge, and if on top of that you were actually qualified, wouldn’t you at least think about it? Jesus was totally able to fulfill that kind of responsibility. In fact Jesus was already the King, and here were some people who actually wanted Him to be a king. But then was not the time, it was not the place, and that was not the way. So Jesus immediately left, maybe even ran to get away from it all (John 6:15, leaving and going to a mountain by Himself).

When faced with temptation, sometimes you can and should explain why you should or should not do something, and sometimes the wisest course is to just walk away. Jesus has done both, and made the perfectly correct choice each time. If Jesus the Son of God can say yes to the right and no to the wrong, He can certainly help us when we’re faced with these temptations.