The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him. [Mark 1.12-13]
It is not a casual fact that the Holy Spirit compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness.
In further development of the discussion from yesterday (Love Through Forgiveness), and, understanding that the Holy Spirit manifests God's love through forgiveness, today we see Jesus make a bold move at the compulsion of the Holy Spirit. It was an act of love through forgiveness for Jesus to avail Himself to Satan's temptations.
How does that work?
It wasn't enough for God to simply be born as a human because humanity's problem was not in being human but instead, in being "fallen." In order to effectively deal with the "fallen" problem, Jesus knew He must establish Himself as a man, but not as a "fallen" man. Why?
Why indeed!
To forgive a human for something you yourself as a human are guilty of, is not actual forgiveness, but instead empathy. In today's society empathy is widespread and flagrantly on display in the highly erroneous statement, "You must forgive yourself." Empathy has no legal precedence in the court of our Holy God if the advocate himself benefits from his advocacy. For this reason, Jesus' forgiveness of others had to necessarily be from the position of perfection.
The love of God sent His Son into the world to forgive, not to empathize! Empathy, while a commendable emotion, cannot save the world. Only forgiveness can save the world and so only forgiveness is driven by true love.
When Jesus overcame temptation in the wilderness He established His legal precedence as Forgiver.
There is so much more that could be discussed here... but the main point is this: mankind doesn't need empathy, but instead, needs forgiveness. That is always the work of the Holy Spirit.
Father, help me to recognize and yield to the work of Your Holy Spirit in my life. May I be found forgiving always.
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