In the wilderness of this day

The entire cycle of events including Jesus' baptism, his time in the wilderness, the beginning of his ministry and preaching are all covered in six verses!

Every word counts!

We need to pay attention to what he does say, and not bring over things from Matthew or Luke's accounts.

The three scenes go by in rapid-fire order:

(1) the announcement of Jesus' identity at his baptism,

(2) the wilderness time

(3) the summary announcement of his purpose and mission.

Our attention right now is on the second of these scenes, the wilderness time.

We are reminded of several of the other 40s in the Bible:

(1) the 40 years that Israel spent in the wilderness wanderings,

(2) Moses' 40 days on Mt. Sinai waiting for the law,

(3) Noah and the 40 days and nights in the watery wilderness of storm and flood.

A. Central to each of these wilderness times is the danger involved.

--the people could become derailed from their part of the story of salvation and go their own way.

--there could be loss of physical life as well as spiritual life

--they could easily become estranged from God, and many did.

--wilderness is a dangerous place.

B. Wilderness is also a place of testing

--The 40 days the Moses was gone was a testing-time for the Hebrews.

--most of them failed.

They melted down their gold and made a golden calf to worship.

They flunked the first test.

During the 40 years that followed, that entire generation had other tests and they failed them also,and they all died out there in the wilderness.

Their children were the ones who entered the promised land.

Noah could have gone along with the crowd and done what everyone else was doing, but followed the direction of the Lord God and built the ark instead and was ready when the storms came.

The wilderness is a time of testing to see if people will listen to the voice of God, or will follow some other.

C. The wilderness is a time for utter reliance upon God

--The Hebrews had to depend upon God for manna, quails, and fresh water in the wilderness.

Day after day, year after year, their very survival is in question.

--They needed God's gifts daily.

--”Daily bread” is survival bread, and God gives it!

Each of these themes is played out in Jesus' time in the wilderness.

A. a time of danger:

--like everyone else, Jesus needs food and water.

Where will he get it?

--There will be wild beasts there, Mark mentions..

Will they harm him?

We don't know!

We aren't told more about them, just that they are there.

B. It is a time of testing for Jesus

--Will he give up and die in the wilderness?

--Will he accept the role that the Father has thrust upon him?

or will he demand his rights and privileges?

Will the wild beasts test him, frighten him, devour him?

C. It is a time for reliance on the Father.

Human strength will not be enough

Angels, God's messengers, are sent to comfort him throughout his time of danger and testing.

They are to counterbalance the forces of evil and destruction,

to show the path thru the dangerous places,

to manage the challenge posed by the wild beasts.

At length, Christ emerges from the wilderness as a sign of his strengthened life with the Father, announces the breaking in of God's kingdom with all who will hear his voice and respond in faith.

So, Jesus is victorious; what has this to do with us?

Jesus walks first where we must walk, and shows us the way through.

A. We are led through times of danger

Immediately after his baptism, Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness.

18 centuries ago, A Christian writer observed that the most dangerous time for a new Christian is right after the first high level of enthusiasm from the process of becoming a Christian has worn off.

Satan is ready to pounce when the new believer realizes that life is not going to be easy.

How many new parents in a burst of enthusiasm

bring young children for Baptism,

make all of the promises to raise their children in the faith...

and then the very next Sunday morning decide that it is too much trouble to get out of bed and get everything done to get themselves and the child ready to come, for worship, study, and fellowship. Danger!

B. Also, it is a time of Testing for us.

Parents may put away sharp objects.

They may pad the corners of coffee tables and prepare many things.

But still the young child just learning to walk has to test out balance, skill, and strength for himself.

No one can do it for him.

Those who have had a serious accident, stroke, or surgery talk about the struggle of learning to walk again and also relearning many other skills.

It is hard work!

It involves pushing constantly against resistance.

It involves sustained effort.

Perhaps you've seen those crazy contests where men pick up incredible weights or pull enormous loads, etc.

They don't get to that point quickly, but only by arduous work, bit by bit.

How can we expect our time as Christians to be any easier?

Testing comes to us as Christians every day.

Because Jesus loves you, how will you treat your child, your spouse, your neighbor?

Because Jesus loves me, I cannot say something like “Money is not a problem for me, only for the very rich.”

In our wilderness times, the problems crowd in upon us and we are commissioned to push right back.

How you and I use our time, our money, our talents and abilities is always an issue.

Do we go whichever way society around us pushes, or do we insist on the right way which may be the difficult way, a way requiring much effort and the Lord's encouragement.

C. This Lent and every day, it is time for reliance on the Father.

Have each of us realized that we may be one of God's messengers for the encouragement of that Christian next door?

God keeps breaking into our small expectations and narrow visions in these very ways.

We're in the wilderness time now; a time of danger, a time of testing, a time we need to rely on the Father.

If we were to pray “Lord, make it easy.”

the Lord may well respond “You've got to be kidding!”

It will likely be hard and the challenges many.

But our Lord Jesus has already walked this way.

--He has blazed a path in this world's wilderness.

--He has managed every wild beast, even the power of death itself.

--He gladly points out the way to any who will follow.

Let us encourage and build up one another with these words. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.