It is said that certain items are "rust-proof." (They tell me my new Toyota Camry is. We’ll see how right they are after it’s been through four or five New England winters!)

Other things are billed as either "dust-proof" or "spill-proof" or "bullet-proof" or "child-proof" or "scratch-proof."

But here’s something which no human being ever has been or ever will be: "temptation-proof."

And that includes Jesus Christ! The fact that he was a divine person with a divine nature did not prevent him from experiencing temptation—real, intense, powerful temptation! That’s because he also had a human nature, which he took to himself when he was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Blessed Mother. As the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity who had existed from all eternity, Jesus was most definitely temptation-proof (there is, after all, no temptation in heaven!); but from the moment of his conception until the moment when he said, "It is finished," on the Cross, our Lord was subject to all the temptations that we’re subject to.

And I mean ALL of them! Was Jesus tempted sexually? Yes, he was. (I hope that doesn’t scandalize anyone, because it’s the clear teaching of Sacred Scripture!) Was Jesus tempted to steal? Yes, he was. Was he tempted to say bad words? Yes, he was. Was he tempted to commit every single one of the seven deadly sins? Yes, he was. Today’s Gospel reading from Luke 4 records the 3 temptations Satan threw at him after he had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. But those were not the only 3 he experienced during his years on this earth.

Which brings up an interesting question: What was the last one? What was "the last temptation of Christ?"

Well, I hate to disappoint the people who made a movie on this subject a few years ago, but I’m quite certain that Lord’s final temptation had nothing to do with Mary Magdalene! It had to do with his Father in heaven. Let me now demonstrate that to you. . . .

The 3 temptations we heard about today (which occurred at the very beginning of our Lord’s ministry) were all temptations to give up the mission the heavenly Father had given him. Satan was saying, "Jesus, you know what the Father wants you to do—he wants you to suffer and die for the sins of the world! What are you, crazy? You’ve been fasting now for 40 days, and you’re hungry. Change these stones into bread and satisfy your hunger—fulfill that desire. Then, become a self-help guru and teach other people how to fulfill their desires! They’ll love you, Jesus! You’ll never have to deny yourself again! And, best of all, you’ll never have to face that terrible Cross! Or get yourself into politics if you really want to help people. I rule all these kingdoms, and I will gladly give you power over them—if you’ll just worship me. Bend your knee to me, and you’ll have all the political clout you’ll ever need. Just forget that Cross! Or become an entertainer. Jump off buildings and let the angels catch you; then people will listen to you; then you can tell them whatever you want. Just don’t be the suffering Messiah your Father wants you to be. Give it up!"

And wasn’t that, in effect, what the enemies of Jesus were shouting to him as they stood below his Cross on Good Friday?— "If you are the Son of God, come down! You saved others, now save yourself." In other words, "Give it up Jesus! Forget this crucifixion stuff! Show us your power! Come down from that Cross; then we’ll follow you; then we’ll believe!" That was the last temptation of Christ; it was the same as the first. And let’s face it, as he hung there in the most excruciating pain imaginable, carrying the guilt of your sins and mine, the idea of coming down and ending the agony must have been very, very tempting! But he stayed there, out of love for you and out of love for me.

Jesus—like us—was not temptation-proof; but—unlike us—he was sin-proof! Hebrews 4: 15 says it perfectly: "We do not have a high priest (i.e., Jesus) who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet never sinned."

Why didn’t Jesus ever sin? Simply because he never consented to any of the temptations which came his way, regardless of how strong they might have been. For example, when he was tempted sexually, he never, ever entertained any impure thoughts—to do so would have involved some level of consent on his part. They passed through his mind as quickly as they entered; you could say they rolled off him like rainwater off the back of a duck.

Normally, we fallen human beings don’t fare so well, do we? Because the human nature we possess has been wounded by original sin, we often consent (at least partially) to sinful thoughts as they pass through our minds—be they sexual thoughts or angry thoughts, or evil thoughts of some other kind. Subconsciously, at least, we say, "Wouldn’t it be nice to do that?—wouldn’t it be nice to tell that person off?; wouldn’t it be nice to get even with that guy?; wouldn’t it be nice to cheat on my taxes and have more money in my pocket after April 15^th?; wouldn’t it be nice to engage in this or that sexual activity with that person?" This, of course, is one of the biggest reasons why we have trouble understanding Jesus. We think of ourselves, and how we often respond to temptations, and we judge Jesus by that standard! Wrong! Jesus immediately said "No" every time he was tempted—that’s the standard! And that’s the goal we should be striving for in our own lives.

Can we attain this goal by our own power? Absolutely not! But it is possible to say "No" to temptation (as Jesus did) by the power of his grace operating within us! As St. Paul said, "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me."

But this will not happen magically. To share in Jesus’ victory over temptation, we must make the effort to imitate him to the extent that we can.

For example, by his own fasting, Jesus shows us in this Gospel story how important it is for us to fast and deny ourselves as a preparation for facing the temptations of life. These practices (which are not just for Lent!) help us to see the relative value of the things of this world; they teach us to discipline our appetites, and motivate us to trust more completely in God.

Jesus reminds us also in this scene that we must pray daily if we want to successfully overcome our temptations. Here he prays for 40 days and 40 nights in complete solitude and silence. True, we may not be able to break away for a 40 day silent retreat every year, but we can certainly give God some quality time each day, and make a Holy Hour at least once a week in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Remember, if we’re serious about saying "No" to temptation, a strong commitment to daily prayer is not an option!

Another lesson Jesus gives us here is that we must make every effort to avoid putting ourselves in situations where we know we will be severely tempted. (Please hear this, contestants on "Temptation Island!") It’s commonly called "avoiding the near occasion of sin!" Notice—St. Luke tells us that Jesus was led "by the Spirit." That’s an important fact! Jesus was not led into the desert by his curiosity, or by his hormones, or by a false sense of confidence (you know what I mean—the false confidence which leads a person to say, "I can go to that party, I’ll resist the temptation to drink;" "I can watch that movie, it won’t cloud my thoughts.") Jesus didn’t go looking for trouble! That’s very clear from this Gospel story. Neither must we, if we want to resist temptation as well as he did.

And finally, Jesus shows us here that there’s a direct connection between our knowledge of God’s word and our ability to overcome temptation! That’s not a connection we normally make, is it? But notice how Jesus opposed Satan—he quoted the Bible to him! He was able to quote God’s word because he knew God’s word! You can’t quote what you don’t know! So, if you’re having trouble with a certain temptation in your life right now, the cure may be as simple as reading the Bible more frequently, believing what you read, and committing some key passages to memory so that you can quote them to yourself when you need to!

None of us will ever be sin-proof in the same sense Jesus was. That’s the bad news. But we can all make improvements in how we deal with our daily temptations, if we follow the example Jesus gives us in this Gospel, and seek his help each and every day. That’s the good news.