Meditations

”The Spirit immediately drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And He was with the wild animals; and the angels ministered to Him.” (Mark 1:12-13)

God inspired all four of His Gospel writers to provide us with the “rest of the story” of many of the things that Jesus did during His ministries. “For instance, we know from Matthew (4:1-11) and Luke (4:1-13) the detailed accounts of Satan’s temptations in the wilderness, which help us see how we are still similarly tempted by the devil’s partial quotations of Scripture. So, in Mark, although we get a more concise account of the Temptation, we receive some vivid details that the others omit. When Mark describes Jesus as being ‘driven,’ it’s the same emotion we too experience when we sense the Spirit’s strong conviction to respond to God’s call in certain situations. We may not be able to explain exactly why we felt compelled to get in or out of a situation and to do it immediately, but we know it. Jesus spent no time basking in the glory of his Father’s heavenly voice or the presence of the Spirit descending upon Him, He was eager to begin His ministry, and He knew it started with His confrontation in the desert.” (John MacArthur)

Mark’s terminology should remind us of another more ancient time. “And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness… according to the number of days, forty days, you spied out the land, a year for each day.” (Num 14:33-34) Israel failed when tested, but our Lord succeeded victoriously. Adam lost his dominion over the wild animals because of his disobedience (Gen 1:28), but in Christ, the promise of that dominion has been restored for all who will come to Him. (Heb 2:5-9) Mark is also pointing out something we may not have thought about, but as a weakened lone human in the desert forty days and nights, Jesus could have been easy prey, but He was safely ‘with the wild animals’ and He was with His angels… as are we! (Psalm 91:11; Heb 1:10-14) Jesus’ time amongst the wild beasts should also remind us of our future Home with Him, when ‘the lion shall eat straw.’ (Isa 11)” (Dr. William Lane) Mark’s account may have been short, but it was loaded with reminders of the Servant’s authority. (Psalm 8:1-9)

David