The Israelites ate manna forty years until they came to a habitable land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

—Ex. 16:35

Hunger in the Wilderness

While he was there, Jesus fasted from eating, and at the end of the 40 days, he’s very hungry. His ancestors were also hungry when they were in the wilderness. Each morning they relied on God for their bread. Jesus empathizes, he symbolically aligns himself with his people, and he experiences the kind of temptations they experienced.

When the people of Israel left Egypt and entered the wilderness, the first major crisis revolved around what they would eat. Some grumbled and wished they were still in Egypt because they believed they would die from starvation. Moses brought their concerns to God and God met their needs with manna. This manna appeared every morning and there was just enough for each family. They had to rely on God daily for their food. Here we see Jesus hungry in the wilderness and he had the power to fulfill his own food needs. Instead of making bread for himself, he set aside that power and he stated his intention to rely on God. He walked in the footsteps of his ancestors and trusted God to sustain him. 

Worship in the Wilderness

In the second temptation, the tempter offered him the whole world if Jesus would just worship him. If true, this offer suggested there’s an easy shortcut to redemption. Whether the tempter had the power to offer that kind of dominion or not, it would destroy the integrity of God’s very place in the order of the universe. Jesus as a human knew this, but also experienced the lived reality of human frailty, emotions, and having to untangle the wordsmith temptations of the devil.

The Israelites also dealt with temptations around worship. When Moses went up the mountain to receive the law, he was gone longer than they expected. Assuming their leader was dead, the people panicked and turned to the gods they were raised with. It may not seem logical to us, but the golden calf probably brought comfort and a feeling of stability during that time of confusion. Jesus placed himself in a state of weakness and allowed himself to be tempted when he was susceptible to confusion. In that way, he walked the hard path of physically empathizing with his people. 

Faith in the Wilderness

At first look, this third temptation doesn’t seem to correspond with anything from the people of Israel wandering in the wilderness. The key here is in the response Jesus gave, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” This is a quote from Deuteronomy where Joshua instructed the Israelites before they entered Canaan. In this instruction, he told them not to put the Lord your God to the test, as your forefathers did at Massah. What happened at Massah?

This was where the people rose up against Moses because they wanted water. In this uprising, the people accused Moses of bringing them out of Egypt simply to let them die. This seemed reasonable since we all need water to survive, but this was considered a test of God’s power and provision. God had already provided water miraculously, and at this point, manna had also been provided miraculously. Not to mention the Exodus itself. This reversion to accusing Moses of letting them die is a way of expressing a lack of belief and demanding miracle after miracle to prove God’s provision.

This is where the temptation of Jesus ties in. The tempter is telling Jesus to demand proof of God’s love and protection by throwing himself off the cliff. It’s a different scenario, but Jesus was being tempted to trust God, only after receiving a miraculous sign. He’s being challenged to “test” God’s faithfulness and Jesus resisted that temptation to have his faith confirmed with miracles. 

Empathy in the Wilderness

Jesus walked a mile in the footsteps of his ancestors and in so doing, he empathized with them. He also gained an understanding of what they experienced in their humanity, in their hunger and thirst, in their frailty. This encounter in the wilderness was at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It added the kind of compassion that is only learned through experience. 

God’s love is thorough. Jesus not only offered grace and mercy, he made it his business to personally understand what we deal with. In this text, we see one specific example of this, and this intentionality shows us these temptations weren’t incidental, but exercises in trustworthiness. 

Jesus knows the difficult seasons you have experienced as well. Bring those to him in prayer, knowing he doesn’t just love you in the “mountaintop experiences”, but also in the wilderness.

Photo of stones credit: by Deniz Altindas on Unsplash

Photo of desert by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash

Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.

Luke 3:15-17 , 21-22

So much can be said about this, especially recognizing that baptism is one of the sacraments of the church. What I want to look at here is the relationship between John and Jesus.

Last of the Prophets

John is the last in a long line of prophets for the people of Israel. The prophets lived into the role of God speaking to humanity through a chosen person. John’s enacting that role exactly as the prophets of old did. His parents were instructed by the angel to raise him in the way of the Levitical priesthood. As a man, he lived in the wild eating bugs and wearing animal skins. I imagine the sight of him recalled memories of the ancient prophets such as Ezekiel and Elijah. He was the last because this role in their society was coming to an end.

Jesus, in his incarnation, is living into the role of humanity’s response to God. Jesus was human and God, but his purpose was to live in a way that no other human could. So in this encounter, he humbly takes his place in line with the other people coming to obey and be baptized. He’s not self-deprecating, he’s decisively following God’s will.

Baptism as Redemption

Historically the kings and religious leaders of Israel would come into conflict with the prophets of old. There are stories retold of controversy, attempts at coercion, and even the slaughter of all the prophets during the time of Elijah. Here we see Jesus as teacher and king, receiving John’s word, obeying John’s instructions, and repenting through the act of baptism. Jesus didn’t have anything for which to repent. This act of following John in this moment is also an incarnation act of receiving God’s word and God’s instructions as a human, as a teacher, and a king. It’s a redemption of past wrongs.

The redemption God offers us is thorough. This isn’t just a thumbing of the nose to the leaders of Israel’s past. This is redemption. We are all broken to varying degrees in our ability to hear and follow God. Jesus enacts this perfect obedience. When we follow Jesus we are given his spirit that transforms us and leads us in how to follow Jesus.

Where is the Spirit transforming your life? In what way is God calling you into humble obedience?

Photo credit: by james ballard on Unsplash