Mark 1:12-13

This morning, we find ourselves in a really well known narrative in the life of Jesus. Typically what we’ll do is look at the 3 different temptations that Jesus faced. We learn from how Jesus responded to those temptations. But, Mark leaves out all those details, and he does so for a reason. We want to be faithful to Mark’s letter, which is going to require us to think a little bit creatively about why Mark presented this account the way that he did. What does Mark want us to learn? What is he trying to focus in on?

Read Mark 1:12-13

Big Idea: God often uses the wilderness to test our faith in Him.

I want to start first with this word, “immediately.” Immediately after Jesus is baptized by John, immediately after he was confirmed by the Holy Spirit and affirmed by God the Father. Immediately after Jesus receives the blessing, the Spirit “drives” Him into the wilderness. It seems at times that we are never more vulnerable to an attack from the enemy, then when we have just experienced a blessing from the Lord. When things are going really well, we tend to relax and let our guards down. We forget that there is a spiritual battle going on behind the scenes, and we just assume that everything is good, and then BAM, the attacks come. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. 

Immediately, Jesus is driven into the wilderness, and let’s not miss how Jesus got there. 

5 TRUTHS ABOUT THE WILDERNESS

1.. Jesus was led by the Spirit.

The Spirit “drove” Jesus to the wilderness. The word here does not mean that Jesus was forced into the wilderness, but that He felt compelled to go. Today we experience a similar phenomenon called “conviction.” It’s a difficult spiritual experience to explain, unless you’ve experienced it yourself. But there’s this gut feeling that is compelling us forward. It’s the same feeling we get when we know we should NOT be doing something. It’s the same feeling we get after we’ve done something wrong, and the Spirit is telling us that we’ve messed up. 

The deep conviction, the deep compulsion is the Holy Spirit working. Jesus trusted the Spirit’s leading, and we should do the same. So often when we enter the wilderness, we blame God, or we doubt God. We struggle to trust Him because why would He lead me into this place? Here’s what we see with Jesus: There was purpose and it was on purpose. And no matter how long the wilderness season might be for us, the same can be said. There is purpose in it. So why did the Spirit compel Jesus to go out into the wilderness?

2.. The wilderness was the place of testing.

And it wasn’t a short period either! For 40 days Jesus was in the wilderness. And this isn’t a random number of days, in fact it may sound familiar in a few different ways. 

Think about this. Israel crossed through the Red Sea and entered the wilderness for 40 years of testing. Jesus came out of the Jordan River and entered the wilderness for 40 days of testing. Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights, Exodus 34:28. Elijah was led for 40 days and nights to Mount Horeb, 1 Kings 19:8.

In those stories, the wilderness was used as a place of testing, as a sort of proving ground to the strength of their faith. Did they believe God’s promise to deliver? Did they believe God’s promise of protection?

It’s important to use the additional details of Matthew 4:2 here. In that verse, Matthew tells us that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, and THEN He was tempted. So, when Jesus was at His most vulnerable, starving, weak, emotionally drained, this is when Satan attacks. Here’s the scary thing. It can be when the blessings are pouring in, or it can be when we are broken down physically and emotionally. In both cases, if we aren’t careful, we let our guard down and allow room for the enemy to speak his deception and lies. But there is hope coming!

3.. Jesus was tempted by Satan.

We need to pause here for a minute and define a few terms that I’ve been using. I don’t want to confuse and make it sound like testing and temptation are synonymous, because they aren’t. 

In the New Testament, there are 2 words used for this idea of testing: 

1.. Dokimazo - has as its goal a test for the purpose of approval.

2.. Peirazo - has as its goal, generally speaking, a test to show its weakness or point of failure.

Whenever Satan “tests” us, the word is always peirazo—which means that the goal of his test is to entice us to sin. This is why the English translation typically says “temptation.” 

Now that we are clear on meaning, the more important truth about temptation is found in James 1:13. James says, “let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” God will not ever put us in a situation that can potentially lead us into sin. He will, however, allow certain things in our life to happen to give us an opportunity to prove ourselves faithful. 

The next point is a very interesting fact that Mark chooses to include. 

4.. Jesus was with wild animals.

This isn’t mentioned in any of the other gospels, so why here? We can try to dig in a little bit and figure it out. We don’t know much about where Jesus is. We know that He is in the wilderness, so physically, it’s demanding. We know that He has been fasting for 40 days and nights, so as well as physically, He’s emotionally and mentally exhausted. Add to that the fact that there are wild animals everywhere. 

It could be that Mark wants us to feel a sense of danger on behalf of Jesus. Can the wilderness be a dangerous place? Absolutely. But listen to this passage out of Isaiah 43:16-21:

“Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.” (Isaiah 43:16–21 ESV)

“The wild beasts will honor me.” Jesus, the creator of the wild beasts. They will honor Him. Does it give us the idea that the wilderness is dangerous? Yes. Was Jesus ever in danger? I don’t believe that He was. Even the wild beasts obey Him. 

5.. Jesus was strengthened by the angels.

This part is so cool. How did He make it through? As God in flesh, as a full-on human being, his body and mind were exhausted and worn down. All along the way, the angels of heaven were giving Him strength. When the hunger pangs of fasting hit, the angels sustained Him. When the mental anguish was pressing, the angels sustained Him. Listen, Jesus needed to be strengthened! As a human being, his human body needed to be strengthened. His human mind needed to be strengthened. 

And guess what?! The purpose of the 40 days of testing, and the purpose of the temptation from the enemy, is so that Jesus would become OUR sustainer. Listen to Hebrews 2:14-18:

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Application

Let’s insert ourselves into this narrative. 

We enter into a season of hardship. We enter the wilderness. It’s rocky, it’s desolate, and we feel alone. Listen, Jesus must have felt alone! We are emotionally damaged. We are mentally broken down. Maybe we are physically in pain. And we begin to look at God as the cause in a negative way. We don’t view the wilderness as a refining season, we look at it as a consequence for something we must have done. We look at it as God punishing us. And then we begin to lie to ourselves. We begin to change the truth about the character of God. At that point, we are extremely vulnerable. And our enemy is roaming this Earth looking for someone to devour. 

We lie to ourselves, and the whispers come. “You aren’t good enough. This is God punishing you. Nobody cares. Nobody loves you. Just give it up! This whole God thing isn’t working. Try something else!” And the longer we are in the wilderness, the harder it is to endure. And the attacks come, and the attacks come, and they keep coming. 

And then, you remember. You remember Jesus. You remember what He endured. 40 days with no food. 40 days being tested. 40 days being tempted. Satan offering Him a way out of His suffering. Jesus was and is perfect, so Jesus did not fall into temptation. But, now, because of this experience, we have a “great High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. We have a great High Priest who was tempted as we are tempted, but did not fall.” So “let us draw near and find mercy at the throne of grace.” 

How do we fight? James 4:7 tells us to “submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” How do we fight? We submit ourselves before the Lord. We trust that on the mountaintop and in the valley, God is still God.

Remember that Big Idea: God uses the wilderness to test our faith in Him.