This week we look at Mark 1:9-15 and see how Jesus, once baptized was driven out into the desert with the wild beasts to be tempted by Satan. Now, if you are familiar at all with the desert wilderness, you can imagine that Jesus’ temptations went beyond what is written. His first temptation may well have been the beasts that roam the area. That 1st century desert apparently didn’t include tigers, but did included cheetahs, lions, vipers, and bears!
The Gospels of Matthew and Luke go into detail concerning Jesus’ temptation by the devil himself; temptations of hedonism, egoism, and materialism were thrown at Jesus, but He fought them all successfully.
Our lives are not unlike the desert experience of Jesus. We may not face wild animals very often, but we have plenty to frighten us. And we face the temptations of the world every day at every turn. What we have to keep in mind is that Jesus has overcome the world for us! And secondly, we are armed in every way that He was when He faced the wilderness; including the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, and despite what we can see, the ministry of angels!
The Gospels of Matthew and Luke go into detail concerning Jesus’ temptation by the devil himself; temptations of hedonism, egoism, and materialism were thrown at Jesus, but He fought them all successfully.
Our lives are not unlike the desert experience of Jesus. We may not face wild animals very often, but we have plenty to frighten us. And we face the temptations of the world every day at every turn. What we have to keep in mind is that Jesus has overcome the world for us! And secondly, we are armed in every way that He was when He faced the wilderness; including the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, and despite what we can see, the ministry of angels!
