Facing that temptation
If you’re old enough to read this, you are an experienced veteran of sinful temptation, having encountered it every day of your life since you began to discern right from wrong. As an experienced veteran, you’ll surely agree that we need all the help we can get when sinful anger begins to boil, or when we find our eyes pulled toward a forbidden desire, when indulging laziness looks very appealing, or when some icy fear of death draws us in a faithless direction (more on this in a moment). The good news is that strong help is available: Jesus is a “merciful and faithful high priest” who is “able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:17–18). We could say he is mercifully eager and faithfully able to help us. But what exactly does this mean? How does Jesus’s ministry as our high priest help us in the heat of a tempting moment? How Our High Priest Helps Us The author of Hebrews addresses this question in Hebrews 2:14–18: Since . . . the children share in flesh and blood, he himse