“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.” – Mark 1:12-13
There’s so much to contemplate in these two little verses! After Jesus was baptized, it was the Holy Spirit Who led Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Though God never tempts us, He permits Satan (for a time) to test His people, even His Son. Temptation is part of earthly life in this fallen world dominated by the devil, all the more so for those closest to God.
Jesus was alone in that desert for 40 days, fasting and powerfully tempted by Satan. Can you even begin to imagine what that must have been like? To be pushed well past normal limits physically, emotionally, spiritually, and THEN to be tempted with the biggest and best temptations the devil had to offer? No one has ever been tempted as much as Jesus. Yet, in all that, Jesus never failed the test. Jesus never succumbed to temptation. His faith and His reliance on Scripture sustained Him through every test.
The temptation of Jesus (40 days in the desert) is a parallel to the temptation of Israel (40 years in the desert). Where Israel gave in to temptation over and over again, Jesus resisted every temptation perfectly. Through this successful time of testing, Jesus proved He was the true Son of God. Jesus succeeded where Israel failed. He proved He was indeed worthy to proclaim the good news of God’s Kingdom that He Himself was ushering in. By resisting temptation, in the wilderness and for the rest of His earthly life, Jesus qualified Himself to be the sinless sacrifice required to the pay the penalty for our sins on the cross. Praise God for the steadfast faithfulness of Jesus, our Lord and Savior!