At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. Mark2:12-13
A journey closer to God will also be accompanied by temptation.
A relationship with God does not take place in a vacuum. We have an enemy who would try to derail our relationship with God.
When it comes to Satan, we often caricature him ("Nic the Pig","Hot Stuff" or the "Devil on my shoulder") or we make him ghoulish and horror-movie like. The best definition is that he is an implacable enemy who has dedicated himself to "steal, kill and destroy" God's people and God's plans.
Through His baptism Jesus took significant steps towards His goal of carrying our sin-guilt on the cross. Immediately Satan crowds into His desert place of preparation to tempt Him. He wants to corrupt the Sin-Bearer so that He is disqualified from carrying the collective guilt of humanity.
Mark's account is brief and wild â€" it is not a tame encounter. We are reminded that Satan's attack was designed to isolate, expose and intimidate Jesus. But Jesus withstood the temptations and from Matthew and Luke we know that He resisted temptations to be self-sufficient, impressive and powerful. He did this by commitment and obedience to God's Word.
The writer to the Hebrews puts it best: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.†(Hebrews 4:15-16)
As we journey closer to God we will also be tempted. But Jesus our Saviour and High Priest will be with us!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
