Living in the Wilderness

 A Series on Lent
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
Mark 1:9-13; Matthew 4:1-11

[Lent is the traditional 40-day observance leading up to Easter Sunday in which Christians fast, pray, and prepare spiritually for a time of reverence and adoration of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. The period of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and concludes with Holy Saturday.]

  

Forty days is a long time to be living in the wilderness by yourself while you’re fasting. Your mind can play tricks on you. You’re more vulnerable to temptations; to the urges of your basic desires. Besides extreme hunger, you can feel angry, lonely and tired; all of which are triggers for temptation.

 

John had just baptized Jesus. His Heavenly Father had affirmed him in the most loving way. The Spirit immediately led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested. It was an important time for Jesus to prepare for what lay ahead of him; to draw as close as possible to his Father; to gain strength for the impending battle.

 

I’m guessing that during his forty days of fasting and preparation, he had a lot on his mind. He may not have known all the specifics of the next three years, but he knew that he was to become the sacrificial Lamb. He knew the end would not be pretty, or pleasant. So as he faced the temptations of Satan, he may very well have been obsessing about his future.

 

When he was tempted to turn stones into bread, he may have wondered what similar temptations he would experience in the future. Would he face the triggers of being hungry, angry, lonely and tired?

 

When he was tempted to test his Father, did he wonder if maybe, just this one time, it would be okay in order to give him a little extra boost in his faith? After all, Gideon had given the Lord multiple tests before he obeyed. Why couldn’t Jesus?

 

When he was offered all the kingdoms of the world, wouldn’t this be a really great safety net for when he was arrested and passed from King Herod to Pilate to the chief priests and to the merciless crowd? For sure, having power over the kingdoms could prevent him from immeasurable suffering.

 

Of course, there’s no way to prove that these thoughts ran through Jesus’ mind during his forty days in the wilderness. But living in the wilderness does bring its share of difficult times and temptations; much like living in the wilderness of our world today. For you and me, the question becomes, how do we respond to these temptations?

 

During the coming forty days of Lent, take time to pause; to read Scripture, to meditate, to journal and to pray. Ask the Lord to reveal himself to you, and to draw you closer to him. Then, may you hear your Heavenly Father say the same words to you as he said to Jesus.

 

¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”        NIV

 

 

 

Some Things Never Change

Matthew 4:1-11

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%204%3A1-11&version=NIV;TLB

  

Have you ever had a face to face confrontation with the devil? Neither have I. But Jesus did, and he won! There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this passage in Matthew.

First though, let’s take a look at the back story. Let’s dig deeper to see what else was going on.

 

Jesus quoted several verses from the book of Deuteronomy. The lessons of Deuteronomy occurred as the nation of Israel finished wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. They were at the Jordan River as Moses gave them his final words of instruction to prepare them before they entered the Promised Land.

 

Here are just a few of the lessons that Moses passed along to them:

 

¹³ Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his

name.            Deuteronomy 6
 

¹⁶ Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.  Deuteronomy 6

 

³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.    Deuteronomy 8

 

Do these verses sound familiar to you? They are the same words that Jesus used to defend himself against the devil. Spoken 1400 years before, they were still powerful!  Some things never change.

 

I would bet that while Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness, that he was meditating on Deuteronomy because he was getting ready to lead the people of Israel to the Promised Land. Not a physical land, like Moses lead them to, but a spiritual home, inhabited by those who have faith in Jesus.

 

In light of this, as we wander in the wilderness, doesn’t it make sense for us to meditate on God’s word to prepare us for battle? Some things never change.

 

⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home

and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.                Deuteronomy 6

 

 

 

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SIDEBAR:

Before leading the people to the Promised Land, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River and then wandered in the wilderness for 40 days. This is the reverse order for Moses and the people of Israel who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before crossing the Jordan to the Promised Land.

Some things do change, but the purpose doesn’t.

 

Today's message through images.