12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Still dripping from baptism – so to speak – still wet from the inauguration of His ministry, Jesus immediately, our verses for today state, was driven out by the Spirit into the desert. The desert in Scripture is synonymous with a place of desolation, loneliness and danger. Most assuredly, again and again we discover in God’s Word that Satan does not waste any time and he never stops testing us. He is constantly nipping at our heels – both believer and non-believer alike. Here we see Jesus drop from a high point in His ministry to a low point, almost immediately – at least from our perspectives. Isn’t that the way life normally goes? We can be soaring on a spiritual high and the rug is suddenly jerked out from under us and we are left flat on the floor looking up. Yet, as Ann Voskamp so succinctly and correctly states regarding the child of God – “All is grace”.
Next we see a strong moral compulsion in which the Holy Spirit led the Lord Jesus to take the offensive against evil and temptation rather than avoiding or side stepping those two malefactors. We are to be prepared for battle as well. There are very real forces of evil in this world that are tremendously intelligent and complex. Paul warns us in Ephesians to prepare ourselves by donning the full armor of God in taking our stand against the wily schemes of the devil and his demonic forces:
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Eph 6:12 (NIV)
Interestingly, Paul also gives the believers the following valuable Truth regarding the temptations that will most assuredly befall us as we follow Christ – we are given the way to live victoriously through them bringing God much glory:
13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it. 1 Cor 10:13 (NIV)
God gives us the assurance that we can stand up under our trials, tempting and testing’s. Jesus causes us to stand because He is faithful and able to cause us to stand – we are to live in reliance upon Him. He is the One that has overcome the world:
33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NIV)
The writer of Hebrews also tells us:
18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Heb 2:18 (NIV)
“No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you.” C. D. Martin
“God is the only One who can make the valley of trouble a door of hope.” Catherine Marshall
The actual temptations are not recorded in Mark but in both Matthew and Luke we are told Jesus’ weapon of choice against the adversary was the Sword of the Spirit – which, of course, is the Word of God. Paul tells us in Ephesians this is also to be the weapon of choice for every believer in Christ:
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph 6:16-17 (NIV)
I find it extremely interesting as well that Satan also used God’s Word albeit in a distortion of the Truth. He is a pro at mixing the Truth with lies. He never seems to change his tactic and why should he? We seem to continue to fall for it since the Garden of Eden – all the way back in Genesis - he tempts us again and again by getting us to question – “Did God really say”. You would think we would finally catch on! We learn from this the importance of the knowledge of Scripture in its entirety – there is to be no picking and choosing a few random verses to build our faiths and cases on – no taking Scripture out of context - a verse here or a verse there – excluding the Truth in others in an effort to allow us to do whatever we choose. We are all individually accountable to know the Truth – the whole Truth.
"The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others.
Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian." A.W. Tozer
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16-17 (NIV)
“But God didn’t leave us defenseless. God said to Jesus, ‘Obey me about the tree’ – (like he did to Adam and Eve) only this time the tree was a cross – ‘and you will die.’ And Jesus did. He has gone before you into the heart of a very real battle, to draw you into the ultimate reality of the dance. What he has enjoyed from all eternity, he has come to offer to you. And sometimes, when you’re in the deepest part of the battle, when you’re tempted and hurt and weak, you’ll hear in the depths of your being the same words Jesus heard: ‘This is my beloved child – you are my beloved child, whom I love; with you I’m well pleased.” Timothy Keller