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4. The Temptation of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:12-13)
MARK 1:12-13
12 Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals; and the angels were serving him.
Satan knew a little about God. He recognized something of his plan, and observed with fear the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Christ. He knew it was the decisive hour in human history, for the Son of God had begun his reconciliation of men to his Father. Therefore, the tempter decided to subject the Lamb of God to many tests, and seek to trap him that he might impair his worthiness of sacrificial service.
However, the Holy Spirit himself had led Christ immediately after baptism to the battle in the wilderness. The Son of God does not fear Satan, since the least saint is stronger than the greatest devil, for God dwells in his children.
Christ stood up fearlessly in the midst of these satanic temptations, which swooped down upon him like destroying thunderbolts. He did not listen or incline to devilish insinuation, but chose the way of poverty, humility, and meekness. He did not doubt the love of his Father, nor did he renounce to his own Sonship, but he intended to continue his way to the cross. He did not agree at all to any compromise, knowing that the world would not be reformed or redeemed except through the sacrifice of his body.
Christ triumphed over all the wiles of Satan’s temptations, and the wild beasts in the wilderness could not harm him. He was consistent with the will of God, and chose the way of the meek lamb, the way of bearing darkness, and forgiving the sins of the world. In his death, he proved that God is love, and that he who continues in love continues in God and God in him.
At the end of this spiritual wrestling, he was ministered to by angels who longed to see the development of this struggle, and rejoiced when Christ stripped the enemy of God of his power.
Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. The number 40 is significant and indicates the long years of the wandering of his people in the wilderness, and the days that Moses spent before God on Mount Sinai. The first wrestling between the Good One and the evil one lasted forty days in the beginning of Christ’s ministry.
PRAYER: We worship you who are born of the Spirit of love, for you overcame Satan at the beginning of your ministry, and did not succumb to his temptations. We thank you because you refused money, power, fame, and murder; and chose the way of goodness, holiness, and humility. Forgive us our pride and impurity, and fill us with the power of your kindness that we may follow you in the way of the Lamb of God.
QUESTION:
- Why did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus first into the wilderness that he might be tempted by Satan?