12 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
Immediately,
is used over 40 times in Mark, far more than any other book in the New
Testament, more than all the other Gospels combined.
Jesus, the Servant King, was on the move, busy about
His Father’s business.
Are you?
He’s, our example.
Immediately...
after what?
Immediately
after being baptized by John.
Jesus being baptized by John made a public statement
about who He considered was on the Right side of God.
Jesus did NOT go to one of the politically correct
public mikva'ot (ritual baths) in Jerusalem where the long black robed
city slicker priests hung out around the temple.
No, Jesus took the dirt road out of town about 20
miles to where a hairy, leather skinned, locust eating, finger pointing, Truth
telling, country preacher by the name of John, was baptizing in the Jordan
River.
John spoke the raw Truth, called out crooked
politicians, fake news scribes, the sins of the people, and even, the waste
fraud and abuse of Roman Soldiers. Luke 3:10-14.
His blunt, Truth telling boldness, got him thrown in
prison, and his head served on a silver platter. Matthew 14:10-11, Mark 6:27-28.
Jesus said of John: “Assuredly, I say to you, among
those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but
he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:11.
John was the culmination of the O.T. prophets,
bridging the gap between Old Covenant and New.
John was the Bridegroom’s best man...
Then, after him, it was, here comes the Bride. The
Bride of Christ.
So, Jesus was baptized by John and then... 12 Immediately
the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
Pause and picture the scene and we’ll see a powerful message
reflected here.
All eyes are on Jesus, standing next to John in the
Jordan River, still dripping wet from being baptized by John.
John, popular John. Remember we were told in verse five that all Judea and Jerusalem went out to be baptized by John.
All eyes, lots of eyes, are on Jesus and John.
Previously, John had pointed at Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29). Then, when Jesus asked to be baptized, John said, “I should be baptized by You.” (Matt. 3:14).
So, the crowd was awe struck by this Man that John the
Baptist, revered.
It gets even better.
As John lifted Jesus up from under the waters of baptism, the heavens opened and the Spirit descended like a dove and a Voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son in whom I AM well pleased.” (Matt. 3:16-17).
Wow! What a perfect segue for Jesus to say, “Yes, I AM
the Son of God, the long awaited Mesiah, the Savior of the world. I have come
to set you free from the bondage of sin. If you believe in Me, just say this
prayer after Me, and you will be born again, then, come and be baptized.”
But the Spirit had other plans... 12 Immediately
the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
And therein is the message.
If you are a Christian...
Nowadays we need to explain what the word means. If
you are a Christian, you love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with
all your strength (Matt. 22:37-39), you deny yourself take up your cross and
follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24-26), you set your hand to the plow and don’t look
back (Luke 9:62), you want to be used by God, you strive to be His salt, His
light, His prayer warrior, soul winner, disciple maker).
If you are a Christian, you must:
1. Be
listening for the Spirit of God above the noise of the world.
2. Be
willing to walk away from the crowd, the spotlight, the popularity, for the
solidarity that only comes with investing time alone with the Lord.
Even Jesus, often withdrew to a solitary place to
pray. John 5:16.
Even Jesus, only said, and only did, what He heard and
what He saw from His Father. John 5:19, 12:49.
Do we?
He’s, our example.
12 Immediately
the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
13 And He was
there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the
wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
Matthew and Luke 4:1-2, tell us He was fasting
for forty days and nights in the wilderness.
Sunday, I fasted all day, not on purpose, not for some
good, holy, righteous reason, but because I just didn’t have time. Then, I
heard from our friend Harrell, that his surgery was going to be on Monday, so I
figured I’d just keep on fasting and pray for him, so I did until Monday
evening.
That wasn’t even two full days, and by Monday
afternoon I was thinking about food every five seconds.
Can you imagine 40 days and 40 nights?
Jesus did it. But why? He wasn’t trying to kick a bad
habit or overcome some sin.
Hebrews 5:8
tells us Jesus learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
Times like this is where He gained the endurance to say things like “Not My will but Thine.” Luke 22:42.
And the strength to stay the course, to the cross, and
say, “Father forgive them...” Luke 23:34.
Hebrews 4:15
tells us Jesus can sympathize with us because He was tempted in every way just
like us.
He willingly took off Divinity to put on humanity. All
of it. Emotions, temptations, weariness, mosquito bites, hot, cold, pain, sleepy,
happy, sad, angry, thirsty, hungry...
He had to face it all and win, He could not slip up
and sin, not even a little, or His Sacrifice for sin, would be worthless.
Romans 6:23, The wages of sin is death,
but the Gift of God is Eternal Life, through Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, led by the Spirit, He went to into
the wilderness to pick a fight with His flesh, and the devil, and to win—all humanity
depended on it.
They say the first three days of fasting are the
hardest, after that hunger goes away.
The most I’ve ever fasted was ten days, and it’s true,
after about three days, it gets easier. It’s powerful. Spiritual and moral and
mental clarity comes when the flesh is not on the throne.
Forty days is the max a person can go, then, the
hunger returns, and that’s a warning sign you’re starving to death.
That’s what happened with Jesus. Forty days and nights
fasting and praying, then hunger came, and so did the devil.
The tempter said:
“If You are the Son of God,
command that these stones become bread.”
But He answered and said, “It is
written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.’ ”
Then the devil took Him up into the holy
city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are
the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His
angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you
dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
Jesus said to him, “It is written
again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
Again, the devil took Him up on an
exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and
their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will
fall down and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you,
Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only
you shall serve.’ ”
Then the devil left Him, (for a season)
and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13.
“If You’re the Son of God— eat. Feed
Your flesh.
“If You’re the Son of God—jump. Prove
it.
If You’re the Son of God—bow. Take
a short cut.
Yielding to any one of those temptations, as innocent
as they may seem, would’ve disqualified Jesus as the sinless, spotless,
blameless, Lamb of God.
You see, even God, especially God, abides by His own
Divine Eternal Justice System.
So, the devil’s no dummy and when Jesus was at His
weakest, that’s when he showed up. And what were the first words out of his
mouth? “If You’re the Son of God...”
What did Jesus hear loud and clear before He headed
into this wilderness?
“This is My beloved Son in whom I
AM well pleased.”
That’s the very Words the devil tried to steal.
Jesus told us in the parable of the Sower that the
devil comes to steal the Word. Mark 4:15, Luke 8:12.
The devil is a deceiver, a twister, a perverter, of
the Word of God. It’s what he did in the beginning. “Has God said,
you shall not eat from any tree in the garden...” Genesis 3:1.
It’s what he attacks the most. It’s why he deceived
black robed supreme court justices (with God complexes) into ruling Bible
reading and prayer in schools unconstitutional.
It’s why he works so hard to keep people from reading
and preachers from teaching God’s Word.
Adam and Jesus were both tempted to eat. Adam failed. Jesus won by knowing and using the Word of God as a quick and powerful Sword. Heb. 4:12.
13 And
He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with
the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
Jesus with the wild beasts, seems to indicate He
was in danger of the very wild creatures He created.
That’s hard to imagine.
But as per His own Words and actions during the
temptations, He would not abuse His Power, He would not put the Word of God to
a foolish test.
So, if He saw a rattle snake or a lion, He’d avoid it.
Perhaps, Jesus included this peril of wild animals
to show empathy and comfort to first century Christians at risk of being fed to
wild animals by Nero.
After battling the flesh in a fast and battling the
devil through temptations and avoiding getting bitten by snakes and eaten by
lions, Jesus was hungry and starting to starve to death, and the
angels ministered to Him.
There are angels among us. They are ministering
spirits. Heb. 1:14. Don’t ever, ever, pray to them. Don’t try to conjure them
or talk to them.
Just know they are near.
Two out of three are good.
Don’t forget to entertain strangers, for
in so doing some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13:2.
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness. But after the fasting after the tempting after the
battling, He returned in the Power of the Spirit. Luke 4:14.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word, that
calls us to be Your beloved child, that leads us into the wilderness, past the
perils, over the temptations, and out the other side in Your Power. Now, Lord
we pray for an ongoing hunger for Your Word, the ability to understand it, the
wisdom to apply it, and be busy about Your business, as soul winners and
disciple makers, so that of all those You’ve given us, none are lost.
Thank You.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
Call or text: 612-554-2522
Email: pray4measap@aol.com
Facebook: Church at WPV
Books: amazon.com/author/dougspurling
Watch online:
Facebook: Winning in the Wilderness,
Mark 1:12-13
You Tube: Winning in the
Wilderness, Mark 1:12-13
This was feed for you to read. Now it’s
Seed for you to sow.
No comments:
Post a Comment