Man has no greater high priest than the Lord Jesus Christ for the Lord knows what man endures. Like man, He was tempted in all points. In a basic sense, man’s temptations involve three distinct facets: “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). During the Lord’s earthly ministry, He faced and conquered temptation in each area (Matthew 4:1-11). As such, the Lord is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15). He knows what it is like to face the temptation to depart from the will of God. He knows what it is like to be tempted to sin against the Heavenly Father. Yet, He differs from man in that His temptation was without the knowledge of sin, for He was victorious in all points.
Hear God's word, keep it, and it will “bring forth fruit with patience.” Today's passage comes from a series of verses (Luke 8:11-15) wherein the Lord explained the interpretation of a parable to His disciples. The Lord's interpretation incorporates another wonderful truth concerning patience. He likens patience to planting a seed and waiting for the fruit of that seed to develop and grow. Of course, the growth and maturation process takes time. A farmer going into the field every day to look for growth shows a lack of patience and wisdom. This truth equally applies to the Christian life; growing in the Lord takes time. Expecting maturity overnight is both unwise and unfruitful. A newly born-again Christian certainly cannot expect to bear the fruit of an established believer in a short period of time. In fact, the Lord promises that fruit will be brought forth only with patience. Consider the truth taught concerning the husbandman who “waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it” (James 5:7). We must all patiently wait for the seeds of life to develop into fruit in the Lord's time.
