Unlimited: Jesus In The Wilderness | Good News Unlimited
Unlimited: Jesus in the Wilderness
Feb 6, 2024 2347
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness,and he was in the wilderness forty days, being temptedby Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him (Mark 1:12–13, NIV).
In the book of Mark, everything about the life of Jesus is powerful and quick. For example, you see that everything happens “straight away” or “at once.” Jesus was just been dramatically baptised by John the Baptist and now He is being sent out.
One moment, Jesus is being baptised, hearing the voice of the Father affirming that He is His beloved Son. The next moment, Marks says, “at once” the Spirit sends him out into the wilderness. These two ideas don’t seem to go together.
Similarly, Mark tells us that while Jesus was in the wilderness, he was with the wild animals and with the angels.
What is Mark trying to tell us here?
He wants to tell us something about what it means to be a servant of God in this world.
Sometimes we think that when you choose to serve God, suddenly everything becomes easier and more pleasant. But Mark tells us that when Jesus was baptised, the Spirit sent him immediately into the wilderness.
He’s telling you that when you choose to serve God, the Spirit is going to send you into the wilderness to do battle on God’s behalf. You’ll be walking into trouble. You’ll be in the wilderness with the wild beasts.
But the up-side is that, like Jesus, you will also be walking with the angels.
The Christian life always has those two sides to it, the beasts and the angels, trouble and joy.
– Eliezer Gonzalez
Eli’s Reflection: Think about what you expect from your Christian walk. Our culture screams that life is about comfort and excess. Do your expectations match the experience of Jesus?
