Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. Luke 4:1-2, NLT.
One can only surmise the ways Jesus came to be prepared for his trial in the wilderness. However, it is easy to imagine that his rearing in a godly home was a source of internal strength. As were the years he spent as a young adult, giving himself to reflection, interaction with the people in his village of Nazareth, and then, of course, the decision to give himself to baptism by his cousin, John.
Such strength does not come accidentally; it is, rather, the sum of observation, resolve, intention, and courage. Jesus, we are told, was a learner. Throughout his life, beginning at an early age, he used his experience as a way to mature. As the Hebrews writer said, “Even…though a son…he learned obedience through what he suffered.” Hebrews 5:8.
After his baptism, Jesus was led into a wilderness area, probably near the Sea of Galilee where he was alone and without any resources or people. This was the place of the launching his mission. In this place he faced the full power of temptation and sin. His preparation served him well, and he repelled the primal urges of evil – stones to bread, human hungers of every type, the vision of the kingdoms of the world, lust of every type, and the idea of jumping off the temple, ego satisfaction of every type.
The point of this is not to say that human beings alone, can achieve such a perfect, sinless response to evil. They can’t, and that is the human problem. The point is that Jesus in this inauguration of his mission faced down the full force of evil and won. Jesus’ whole mission was to defeat the twin powers of sin and death. He would continue to live his entire human life being confronted by similar trials.
In the second century the early church began what would become Lent – forty days of preparation for baptism and Easter, in respect for Jesus’ forty days of temptation in the wilderness. There’s something about the deliberate way that Jesus walked into the wilderness that is worth imitating today. Intentional, decisional, committed giving of one’s life to attempt to live as Jesus did.
Prayer: We give thanks, O God, for the model we have in Jesus of what it looks like to face up to life’s challenges and temptation. Please give us the strength and resolve we need to succeed in these trials. In Jesus’ name we pray this Amen.