Not a Very Nice Place

In this post we will be looking at Luke 4:1,2 where Jesus goes into the desert and is tempted by the Devil. Many of us read this story and walk away with a "great Jesus showed him" and don't really understand why this story is in the Bible. We will take this passage a piece at a time, since it is rather long.

First of all remember a couple of weeks ago we looked at the circumstances of Adam and Eve when they were tempted by the serpent. Here is a reminder of that:

• All of their needs were met
• They had food
• They had shelter
• They had each other
• Animals were friendly
• They were in the Garden of Eden
  
• All the comforts
• A relationship with God
  

Now lets look at the beginning of Luke 4.

Luke 4:1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

This takes place just after Jesus has been baptized, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven and God the father has declared Him to be "my Son with whom I am well pleased". The setup here is just the opposite from Adam and Eve. Jesus is now in the wilderness. For the Jews this is not a very nice place. It is considered a hostile place. For us in America when we think of a large abandoned mansion on a hill at the end of a lane, we would project the idea that it is haunted and scary to visit late at night. The Jews viewed the wilderness the same way. It was considered scary and haunted by demons.

Also we have recorded in the Gospel of Mark 1:12 "... and was with the wild beasts". This is not an idle phrase entered by Mark. The idea is that the beasts in the wilderness were not friendly but were to be feared. So what the writers of the gospel are trying to portray is a hostile environment. In addition there isn't any food. Jesus is weak and hungry. He doesn't have shelter, and He is all alone.

I don't think it is coincidental that the story of Adam and Eve's temptation by the serpent takes place with circumstances that are just the opposite of the circumstances we find when Jesus is tempted by Satan. This demonstrates that we do not have the means to resist the Devil even in the most ideal circumstances. Yet Jesus as God's Son who does not take advantage of His devine nature, but instead relies on the strength of prayer and understanding of God's Word to put off the tempation of Satan for 40 days under the most hostile of circumstances.

The tempation and resistance to Satan is what makes Jesus worthy to be our substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. He is the unblemished lamb. He is worthy to bear our transgressions. He has felt our infliction and been faced with our temptations. He has known the weakness of the flesh and the trials that we face. He is worthy to be the Savior we are searching for.

The next time we will look closer at the three temptations recorded in Luke. In the mean time my hope and prayer for those reading this post that you have a very special and Happy Thanksgiving. May you be well aware of the blessings that God has bestowed on you.