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READ: Mark 1:12
CHALLENGE: Navigate the Spiritual Wilderness
V12-13 – At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
At once! Jesus immediately goes from a beautiful baptism and God the Father’s words of affirmation to facing testing in the wilderness. The ministry of Christ is about to begin and the very first place that God sends Jesus is into a very trying situation for the human side of Jesus. There’s a lot to contemplate.
Immediately it’s out to the wilderness with you. As soon as the Spirit got behind the wheel, He sent Him into the desert. This would be like – the first thing you do should you buy a jeep is to take it mudding. The first thing that I did upon test driving the used truck I just bought was to put my foot into it to see what kind of acceleration it had and I was not disappointed! It’s a truck but I’m a guy!
He was sent into a wilderness for 40 days where he was tempted by Satan and surrounded by wild animals. The angels were also there and we can all stand a few more angels in life. What a picture of life in the wilderness where there’s a mixture of good and bad.
All of these forces at play are outside of Jesus and His control. The Spirit is working and the devil is working as well. It’s not like Satan schedules temptation sessions – you don’t control that. We see there are wild animals but there are also angels … at the SAME time. And this creates a mixture in life. There are positive forces and negative forces. There is good and there is evil and we encounter both and must be prepared for that.
Our story includes wilderness journeys too. Not all the time but the wilderness never falls out of existence. Neither does Satan. Neither do predators. Neither do angels. So, awareness of these things may be a life saver when our times of testing come along.
- THE SPIRIT FACTOR
Jesus was sent into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. Jesus had not wandered there by accident like some lost sheep. It was deliberate. The Spirit also directs us into the places He wants us to be without our awareness at times. You’re suddenly on an unexpected path but the next thing you know, you’re also talking to someone about spiritual things and what God is up to. Or you’re helping someone.
The Spirit sent him there. What does the word “sent” mean? It means to “cast out or drive out”! Same word is used of pitching out demons or driving money changers out of the temple. It’s an incredibly strong word! This is like me with the cat at times – I cast it out of the house. Jeri will catch snakes or spiders and pitch them out into the yard. The Holy Spirit is moving on Jesus to the point that he drives Jesus deeper into the wilderness. It’s hard to know why exactly but for some reason it was necessary for Jesus to accomplish the mission. There’s a purpose. Some wilderness journeys exist to test us, to strengthen us, and to shape us into who we will ultimately become. Not everything of divine origin is peaches and cream. This certainly isn’t!
Fascinating – the Holy Spirit descends calmly like a dove but that should not cause us to question his power! This dove is mighty! Perhaps unpredictable. Clearly not a force that we control.
“The Spirit does not induce a state of inner tranquility but drives Jesus deeper into the desolate desert, where wild beasts prowl, and into the clutches of Satan”. “The desert was also knows as God’s proving grounds for the people”. Zondervan IBBC
Since the term seems a bit negative, we’ll not look at the 40 days of seclusion as solely a positive per se. I want to go wherever the Spirit wants me to be understanding he will give me the strength to manage it. Walk with God in the good days and the bad and all will be well.
- THE WILDERNESS FACTOR
And when He was in the wilderness it sounds dreadful. Lonely. Perilous. He goes from the high of the baptism to the low of temptation. Always fascinating how a spiritual high can be followed by a spiritual low.
The word, “wilderness”, “refers to a lonely deserted place, a waterless and therefore uninhabited region. It denotes places that are dangerous, inhospitable, and hostile”. Sounds like a great vacation destination, right?
We’ll pick up the danger factor later but for now, let’s focus on fact that it’s a lonely place! Jesus did not go into the wilderness with a bunch of his friends. Let’s recall that none of the disciples were following Jesus yet.
He’s by Himself. Now some of you would beg God to send you into the wilderness where you didn’t have to see anyone at all. You don’t think of it as the wilderness, it’s Montana. Everyone I’ve ever known who wanted to escape the world tends to think of Montana as the epitome of beauty without people. And you may think, I definitely want to live there.
For some of us, being alone would mean that we are bored out of our minds. I don’t prefer it because I’ve never really been a loner. I grew up with a twin bro and two other bros. When I hit college, I was constantly with friends. When I met Jeri, I made sure that I had steady doses of her. Any day with her was typically a good day!
However, you may be alone in a situation because you’re thrust into it. You took a stand and now you’re a pariah. It could be a health issue or a busy stretch and you feel alone. Perhaps you’re under supported, or in a plight you don’t want to talk about. Loneliness is clearly a factor in the spiritual wilderness. However, God was always with Jesus even there. He never leaves us either.
The wilderness is also a place of lack as it is not a land of abundance. We learn from other passages that Jesus was fasting for 40 days and this was a great place for that because there wasn’t much, if any, food. The wilderness is the opposite of abundance and perhaps you’ve had some lean times in your life. There’s no surplus. No extra. There’s paycheck to paycheck and you hope there’s not more going out than coming in. It’s a struggle and the wilderness would be indicative of struggle.
These situations are not without advantages. Times alone and times of want and struggle allow us to hyper focus on God! The wilderness terrain forces you to lean on the Lord! I know that on my hardest days I’ve been driven to my knees. And that’s OK because God is in the wilderness too. You don’t know what God can do apart from hard times. You don’t know what you can do apart from difficulties either.
You gain more confidence navigating tough days than you do the great days. I have learned what I can endure and became stronger. Adversity can be one of the best things. We shouldn’t expect that all of life is going to be easy because it’s not. Part of the wilderness is a lack of plenty.
And when you’ve already been through struggle, you know you’ll make it when you hit other lonely times that lack abundance. The wilderness can build your character like nothing else can.
- THE TIME FACTOR
He was there for 40 days. It probably feels long when you’re in that situation, but it wasn’t forever. It was just for a season.
It rained in the days of Noah for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses was up on the mountain getting the law for 40 days. It’s a period of time but not forever. When we do our period of lent, it’s also for 40 days following this pattern. It feels long sometimes but it’s not.
I’ve had difficult times drive me to my knees and a few times, I’ve dedicated myself to 40 days of prayer. I grew an itchy beard for 40 days and God answered my prayers. It’s not fun to be in that situation but you also see God working in powerful ways. And you learn this, those days don’t last forever. Be patient, don’t throw in the towel.
As I told someone recently. The battle you’re in is not going to be won or lost today. We’re not winning today. We’re not losing today. It’s just a moment we’re passing through. But too many times it’s easy to weight everything by what’s happening at this moment.
Take the long view. God takes you through the valley, not to the valley and that’s important to remember. You’re going to make it.
And let’s remember that Jesus is fasting and fasting is typically designed to bring us closer to God. We’re seeking for God to do something great. Take advantage of the wilderness. The alone moments. The times that aren’t as abundant. These are certainly growth opportunities. There is a spiritual component to hard times.
- THE TEMPTATION FACTOR
Here Jesus is in the wilderness for 40 days and fasted for those 40 days. He is focusing on God and doing what God wanted him to do and what happens next? Satan shows up and tries to throw a monkey wrench into God’s work. He tried to derail the work of God by tripping Jesus up.
So here you are trying to do something spiritual and then you face grueling temptation. Or some bad thought comes to your mind. You mean you can be praying and Satan tempt you? While you’re doing something holy? Like worshiping even? Even after you’ve spent all kinds of time reading the Bible? Apparently that can happen.
You can get into a fight on the way to church so yes – even when you’re trying to do something good, there can be temptation. Jesus was tempted by Satan as he was fasting! He was pouring out his heart to God and it’s here that Satan shows up.
The Spirit leading Jesus into a place where the devil can tempt Jesus is remarkable. But the Spirit also knows Jesus can handle it as well. God’s not going to lead us into a place where we will fail. That’s not how it works.
The human side of Jesus was tempted. He would have felt it just like we do except it would not be blended with a sinful nature. He didn’t have that same internal impulse to do evil. One of the temptations is that Satan invited Jesus to prove he was the Son of God by turning bread into stone.
Matthew 4:3-4 – The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”
Great answer by Jesus Christ! If you are the son of God! We’re not sure – prove yourself. Now Satan tempts him to use his power to ignore God and satisfy his own hunger. But that’s not what God asked Jesus to do. God asked him to fast. And the entire notion of proving yourself is still part of temptation. And even to fulfill your own desires for let’s say, love or acceptance or physical gratification.
Prove you love me by doing this. Prove you’re cool by doing this. Prove you’re one of us by doing this. Prove you’re attractive by doing this. When you’re tempted to stray, ignore it because you’ve got nothing to prove. And if you need to do something wrong in order to prove yourself, you’re impressing the wrong person. Jesus wasn’t in the wilderness to impress Satan!
Jesus combats the temptations with the truth of God’s word. What’s the truth? What’s the right thing? That’s what we need to focus on.
Evil can keep you spinning with issue after issue. Let’s focus on where we’re supposed to be and let the rest of the things go. Don’t worry about what everyone else says or thinks or what everyone else is doing. What is God calling you to do? Stick to the path and just follow.
Jesus knew his mission and he knew the word and that helped him to thwart so many things the devil wanted him to do.
The one temptation was to bow to Satan in order to gain the kingdoms of the world! If you have to kiss Satan’s feet in order to gain, you’re bowing to the wrong person! Jesus said you worship God and God only. Please also note that Jesus uses the Bible to combat temptation.
Temptation is certainly a part of our earthly experiences in this life. I wonder if Satan waits until we’re weak and tries to disrupt us then? And whether it’s the devil or some base temptation that we have. It’s there.
Know this, God will help you to overcome. 1 Corinthians 10:13 – No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
As we’re told in the Bible, resist the devil and he will flee from you.
- THE WILD ANIMAL FACTOR
What is the significance of saying, “wild animals”. There has to be a reason that Mark would mention it. There was danger in that wilderness, but God protected Him. There were panthers, lions, and jackals roaming in that same wilderness. Physical dangers were present along with the spiritual dangers.
When Adam was tempted, it was in paradise. When Jesus was tempted, it was in a wilderness. It’s a picture of what we’ve done to the world. It’s become a dangerous place as there are plenty of animals out there.
New York City has seen attacks on corporate leaders. Many were wounded in a knife attack in Michigan. A couple was severely beat in Cincinnati as other stood and recorded it on their phones. One couple was murdered while hiking in Arkansas. And then there’s Satan pitching flaming arrows at us according to Ephesians 6. Dangers within and dangers without.
Martin Luther penned these words, “And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God has willed his truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him.”
We live in a great country and I’m not afraid, but I also realize that we still need God’s protection so let’s never live like we don’t. I think of Daniel being thrown into the lion’s den but the angels shut the mouth of the lions. Daniel was a prayerful man committed to God’s will and God protected him from the dangers around him. In similar fashion, let’s be prayerful people who rely on God.
God doesn’t like it when we rely on everything else but Him. There is danger and the unpredictable mayhem in this world. So many unknown factors! This tension should keep you connected with God. From spiritual enemies and a host of other things.
- THE ANGELIC FACTOR
The angels attended him. Do angels exist? Just think about your own childhood – how did you survive it? We were not smart in some of the stunts that we pulled and I truly believe that God protected us along the way. And not from wild animals because we were the feral children marauding in the neighborhood. We needed protected and the world needed protected from us as well.
Just like there is evil in that wilderness, there was good as well. Jesus resisted the evil but was attended and strengthened by the angels. They ministered to Jesus and that’s an incredibly awesome picture.
God brings good into our lives and sometimes that’s through the awesome people who surround us.
I appreciate God’s agents for good. Sometimes the most angelic thing we need is the kindness of fellow believers. That’s what gets us through the difficult times. I’ve certainly been blessed and don’t know what I would do without the many great people who surround me.
I do believe God provides and I deeply appreciate the great people that God sends our way!
So, the wilderness times come about. We have the Spirit and God’s provision. We also have dangers and it all brings us closer to the Lord. There’s nothing that brings you closer to people than when you are in a situation where you have to lean on each other.