222. Why Christ was tempted
222. WHY CHRIST WAS TEMPTED
The Devil must have thought to surprise and trick Christ when he tempted Him, as he surprised and tricked Adam and Eve. But Christ must have known the Devil’s plot; in fact He must have even planned and willed to be tempted. Why?
Christ wished to be tempted, first, that He might strengthen us against temptations. Hence Gregory says: It was not unworthy of our Redeemer to wish to be tempted, Who came also to be slain, in order that by His temptations He might conquer our temptations just as by His death He overcame our death.
Secondly, that we might be warned, so that none, however holy, may think himself or free from temptation. . . .
Thirdly, in order to give us an example: to teach us how to overcome the temptations of the devil. . . .
Fourthly, in order to fill us with confidence in His mercy. Hence it is written (Heb 4:15): We have not a high priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities, but one tempted in all things like as we are, without sin (III,41,1).
The meaning of life is to become a saint. This involves spiritual warfare, struggle against temptation. In our struggle, it is enormously important to know that Christ too was tempted. It’s not only that we have a more complete example to follow and to psychologically “identify with” (though it is that too), but also that Christ is actually present in us enduring our temptations, as He suffers in all our sufferings. He is not a deistic, distant God merely encouraging us to climb a mountain on our own power (though He does encourage us); nor does He merely give us some external assistance, like a more experienced mountain climber pulling us up by the hand (though He does that too); but He is actually in us and we in Him, especially because of Baptism and the Eucharist; and therefore He has come down into our very lives, in their deepest depths, even temptation to sin, which is the closest thing to sin itself. He is really present in our temptations.
Thus when Scripture says that “he made him to be sin who knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), this refers not only to His being punished for our sins (though that is true too), but this also refers to His assuming all the weaknesses of human flesh, including temptability. His temptations were not play-acting, they were real. In fact, they continue to be real in our temptations, because He is really in us and we are really in Him. He suffers in us when we suffer, He rejoices in us when we rejoice. If theologians only knew all the levels of meaning of the word “in” in the New Testament, they would understand all the mysteries of theology.
Notice that all four of the reasons St. Thomas gives are divine actions with human effects: strengthening, warning, exemplifying, and encouraging. When God gives us these things, we really have them. They change us. They actually give us new strengths, new fears, new examples, and new confidences. He really does things to us when we ask Him and trust Him. As soon as we open our souls, He fills them. The more we open the door of faith, hope, and love to Him, the more He barges in. Be careful what you ask for, because you will probably get it. Prayer is as dangerous a force as there is anywhere in the universe. It is like nuclear power.
The fact that St. Thomas almost always gives more than one reason or argument for his point does not mean that he thinks of his first reason as weak and in need of support from others. It means that he sees that God’s providential wisdom and economy are perfect in every way, and therefore in many ways; that they are like music, a harmony rather than a solo, with many resonances and overtones; or like a painting, with many shadows and colors in perfect unity.