The Judean wilderness is a desert. It is generally dry and arid, hot in the day and cold at night. It has endless piles of rocks, steep hills, little to no vegetation, water and shade. It is empty, dry and depressing. It’s not easy to survive in the wilderness and one could easily get lost and even lose his life there.
Yet Mark 1:12 tells us the Holy Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness. This is rather bewildering, especially since the Heavenly Father had just affirmed Jesus as His beloved Son (Mark 1:11). We would’ve expected Jesus to be sent to a palace or comfortable resort! But He was sent to a desert? Why?
Mark 1:13 suggests that the Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan (c.f., Matthew 4:1). This fact may leave us even more bewildered. Why would the Holy Spirit send Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted?
Mark 1:1 tells us that this was the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This suggests that the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness (Mark 1:12-13), His validation as the Son of God by the heavenly Voice (Mark 1:11) and John’s testimony of Him (Mark 1:2-8) were all part of Jesus’ preparation for the work He’d come to do as the Christ, the Saviour of all mankind.
Are you struggling in a wilderness experience, feeling lost, dry and wondering aimlessly? You’ve been obeying God, you’re assured of His love and you know you have a purpose and a mission from God. You’re all ready to start serving as a cell leader or in a church ministry. Then, all hell breaks loose and you’re plunged into serious illness, family misfortunes, financial crisis, relationship conflicts even persecution – and you wonder why. The truth is that it is not as purposeless as it seems. It may be a time of spiritual warfare and testing, or it may be God’s way of forming you, preparing you and training you for the mission ahead of you.
The word “wilderness” occurs four times in Mark 1:1-13. The promised forerunner prepared the way for the Messiah in the wilderness (1:3). John the Baptist began his ministry in the wilderness (1:4). Jesus was sent into the wilderness (1:12). He was in the wilderness for forty days, facing Satan, wild animals, and at the same time, was being ministered to by angels (1:13). If the Son of God was intentionally sent to the wilderness by the Spirit of God, then we too can expect God to lead us into “wilderness” experiences.
Satan’s temptations and the threat of wild animals were not the only things Jesus faced in the wilderness. The Holy Spirit and angels were also there with Him! God’s Word was proclaimed in the wilderness, and it was there that the Son of God was prepared for His mission on earth. We often only see the negative aspects of wilderness experiences. In the wilderness, our discomfort and our pain will cry out for our attention so much so that we’re blind to and forget the good that God is doing for us there. We only see the “wild animals” but not the “angels” that are with us. If we persist in seeing only the negative, we may end up rebelling against God. May our eyes be open to the unseen things He’s accomplishing in us, for us and through us in the wilderness. He is with us in the wilderness! He’s providing for us, protecting us, strengthening us, ministering to us, guiding us, forming us and preparing us for what’s ahead. These realities are not so obvious while we’re in a wilderness, but they’re there! So let’s cling to God and His Word when we’re going through a wilderness experience and walk by faith, not by sight.
DAILY MEDITATIONS:
Monday: Mark 1:3
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
Tuesday: Mark 1:4
And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Wednesday: Mark 1:12-13
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Thursday: Exodus 13:18 (ESV)
But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.
Friday: Exodus 3:1-2
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
Saturday: Deuteronomy 8:15-16
He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you.
Sunday: Isaiah 43:19
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
All scriptures quoted are from the New International Version (NIV), unless otherwise stated.
By Pastor Yong Tai Tong
