Empty Jesus

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…..And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

• In these two verses, John declares that Jesus Christ (who is the Word) is fully God.
• He also testifies to the fact that Jesus took on an earthly body and lived among us.

This is foundational information to Christianity. We (who believe in the Lord Jesus) know this. However, I stumbled upon an interesting little nugget. In Hebrews we learn that Jusus is our High Priest.

• (Hebrews 4:14-15 NKJV) Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let’s focus in on the last part of that passage. He was “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” When the Bible says “all” it means “ALL”. There is nothing that we could ever face that He didn’t already face and refuse to submit to. This leads us to His temptation in the wilderness account:

(Luke 4:1-2 NKJV) Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days, He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

• First of all, notice that Jesus is being led by the Holy Spirit, yet He ends up in a wilderness and not a green pasture.
  • We can live a life being led by the Spirit but still face a wilderness. Sometimes the wilderness is necessary to teach us, prune us, prepare us, or chastise us. So, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Even if He leads you into the wilderness.
• If you read on in Luke chapter 4, you will find the account of the three temptations of Jesus. Now back to that word “ALL”. He was out there for 40 days. I think there were probably a lot more than three temptations and Luke simply gave us the highlights. These three accounts are possibly categories of temptations that all others can in some way fit into. He said Jesus was tempted in “All” things that we are.

But as I was studying this, something occurred to me. Another scripture came to my memory.

• (James 1:13 NKJV) Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

If God cannot be tempted and Jesus is God, then how is it that He was tempted for 40 days in the wilderness? God is so good. He loves to explain things to us.

(Philippians 2:5-7 KJV) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Paul is writing to the believers in Philippi, encouraging them to be humble. He points us to Christ as our example of humility. Jesus was and is God, therefore being His equal, He had all the power and attributes of God. But He humbled Himself to become man.

• Let’s, for a moment, pay close attention to the words that Paul uses. The phrase “of no reputation” is the Greek word, “Kenoo” and it literally means “to empty”. This explains a lot.
• When He chose to come to earth as a flesh and blood man, while still fully God, Jesus CHOSE to temporarily “empty” Himself of the divine inability to be tempted.
• He chose to live His life and earthly ministry with the same level of spiritual power that the Spirit filled Christian has. This makes it possible for Him to relate to us.
• This also makes His wilderness (and life of) temptation all the more real to me. When thinking about His sinless life, sometimes we can think, “Yes, but He is God.”  However, remembering that He “emptied” Himself reminds me that this was not just magically easy for Him.
  • In fact, His temptation was probably worse than ours. Just think about this. We sometimes give in. What happens? The temptation subsides for a time. He never gave in, so He never got to have that reprieve. It must have been constant.

• • Also, how did the writer of Hebrews know that Jesus was tempted with EVERY temptation that we also face? At some point Jesus must have been very honest and open with some or all of His disciples; telling them His most intimate inner battles.

Being a follower of Christ, we too must empty ourselves. Remove anything that will stand in the way of being in communion and fellowship (Relationship) with The Lord Jesus. If our Savior can empty Himself of the Glory and splendor of Heaven, surely, we can empty ourselves of the corruption and ruin of our earthly vessels to be in relationship with Him. Empty ourselves of:

• (2 Timothy 3:2-5 NKJV) For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

But don’t remain empty. Jesus didn't. After His baptism, He was publicly filled with the Holy Spirit. Again, He is our example.

• (Ephesians 5:18-20 NKJV) And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Just as He led and empowered our Savior, Jesus Christ, He will lead and empower each one of us. I pray that we all will be emptied of self and filled with the Holy Spirit. That we walk in boldness as we share the love of Jesus with the world.

May the LORD bless you and keep you; make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.