Into the Wilderness

After his baptism, the Spirit “drove Jesus into the wilderness… for forty days and nights.” Like Moses on Mount Sinai, the Messiah of Israel found himself alone in the Judean desert confronted by the Devil. His only guide was the Word of God. Like Israel, he was “tested” in the wilderness. But unlike that nation, he overcame every test, emerged victorious from the experience, and was “full of the Holy Spirit.”

Moses did not eat during his time on Sinai, so also Jesus “fasted” the entire period he was in the Wilderness. Not coincidentally, his temptation preceded his ‘Sermon on the Mount’ in which he pronounced his authoritative applications of the legal statutes received by Moses.

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• (Matthew 4:1-2) - “Then was Jesus led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the Devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered.

• (Deuteronomy 8:2) - “You will remember all the way which Yahweh your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to test you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or not.”

• (Deuteronomy 9:9) – “When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which Yahweh made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights; I did neither eat bread nor drink water.”

Jesus was “led by the Spirit.” All three synoptic gospels leave no doubt that it was the Spirit of God that “drove” him to this confrontation. He was under divine necessity. Before he began his Messianic mission, he needed to succeed where Israel had failed – (Mark 1:12, Luke 4:1).

• (Matthew 4:3-4) – “And the tempter came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

The first temptation recalled the incident when the Israelites murmured against Moses and longed for the “fleshpots of Egypt.” Yahweh responded graciously by providing Israel with “manna” from heaven - (Exodus 16:1-4).

In contrast, rather than complain or demand what was his right, Jesus responded by citing the passage in Deuteronomy that describes the miraculous feeding of Israel with manna:

• (Deuteronomy 8:3) – “And Yahweh humbled you, and suffered you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you knew not, neither did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh does man live.”

Jesus did not mutter against God because of his hunger. Instead, he submitted to the will of His Father.

• (Matthew 4:5-7) – “Then the Devil took him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning you; and, On their hands, they shall bear you up, that you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, Again it is written, You shall not test the Lord your God.”

Having declared that the Messiah lives by every word that comes out of the “mouth of the Lord,” Satan next used one of those very words to tempt Jesus to commit a rash act. Since devout Jews expected the Messiah to appear in the Temple, would it not advance his mission if he descended safely from the “pinnacle of the Temple” and landed gently in its courts while the nation was at worship? – (Malachi 3:1).

Israel “tested” God with their complaints, but Jesus refused to do so. At his baptism, the voice from heaven identified him as the “Beloved Son,” but he was summoned to fulfill that role as the “Servant of Yahweh” who “suffers” for his brethren. This Messiah would be manifested to Israel in his submission and suffering, not in impressive displays of royal grandeur and military might – (Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 42:1, Matthew 3:17).

Again, Jesus responded by citing a passage from the Book of Deuteronomy - “You will not test Yahweh your God, as you tested him in Massah.” It was at Massah that Israel complained once more - (Deuteronomy 6:16):

• “… And there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore, the people strove with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them: Why do you strive with me? Why do you test Yahweh?” - (Exodus 17:1-3).

The Gospel of Matthew wants us to read this scriptural background into the testing of Jesus (“You shall not test the Lord your God”), and once again, where Israel failed the Messiah overcame.

WORSHIP GOD ALONE

• (Matthew 4:8-10) – “Again, the Devil took him to an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and he said to him, All these things will I give you if you wilt fall down and worship me. Then said Jesus to him, Get you hence, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.”

The next temptation was all too real. At his baptism, the heavenly voice alluded to the Second Psalm that promised God’s Messiah would inherit all the kingdoms of the world.

What the Devil offered Jesus was his by divine decree. Strikingly, he did not dispute Satan’s right to grant sovereignty over the governments of the Earth, which, no doubt, included the Roman Empire - (Psalm 2:7-8, Matthew 3:17).

Imagine all the good Jesus could do if he wielded the might and majesty of Rome! If anyone deserved unlimited political power, it was the Son of God! Nevertheless, he rejected this offer. In doing so, he quoted from the same passage he had just cited to fend off the second temptation:

• “You shall fear Yahweh you God; and him shall you serve… You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples that are round about you; for Yahweh, your God is a jealous God; lest the anger of Yahweh your God be kindled against you and he destroys you from off the face of the earth. You shall not test Yahweh your God, as you tested him in Massah” - (Deuteronomy 6:13-16).

Having completed his test, the Devil departed. According to the Gospel of Luke, Satan “departed from him for an opportune time,” indicating this was not his final attempt to derail Christ’s mission. On at least one other occasion, he again tempted Jesus with political power - (John 6:15).

Having overcome every test of the Devil, Jesus “returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee.” Being “full of the Holy Spirit,” he began to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God. His Messianic mission began in conflict as the Devil gathered his forces to stop Jesus, and it would end in confrontation with the religious and political authorities, and ultimately, in his death. 

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SEE ALSO:

• The Salvation of Yahweh - (‘Jesus’ means ‘Yahweh saves.’ In the man from Nazareth, the salvation promised by the God of Israel arrived in all its glory)

• The Anointed Servant - (The Spirit of God and the voice from heaven confirmed the calling and identity of Jesus – Son, Messiah, and Servant of Yahweh)

• He Baptizes in Spirit - (John the Baptist prepared the way for the Messiah who is the Herald of the Kingdom of God and the one who baptizes in the Spirit – Mark 1:4-8)