Shortly after his baptism, Jesus goes into the wilderness to be with God. He purposely withdrew from people and distractions of his community to better learn of, and from, His Father. Weeks and weeks of seclusion to learn and to listen for what will have been forty days. As we know at the end of this experience, Christ goes and teaches in the synagogue where he finally, and publicly, speaks of who He really is. I am He, He will say. ‘This day is this scripture fulfilled.’ I am the fulfilment of this prophesy of Iasiah. Our Savior of the world leaves from this experience ready to begin His work and to fulfil his mission on earth.
And knowing what would shortly come to be, not just with Christ, but for all of us, the adversary came wearing many different hats of temptations.
In the wilderness, he went to Jesus trying to sell, distract and alter Jesus’ direction with all that is appealing here in this life. Physical appetites, materialism, popularity, vanity, power. Christ was hungered, he was physically weak, and the tempter strategically exploits the appeals of the human side of Christ for persuasion.
From the high place on the temple, to the high place of a mountain, Christ was shown visuals from a birds eye view of all of the wealth, treasure, and bounty of this world, and said take.
“All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” In the wilderness, Satan tries to skew, distract and get Jesus to doubt who He was and to abandon the love, relationship and calling from God.
Forty relentless days in Jesus’ weakness, feeling so deeply all the lures of men, the adversary showed Him everything wanted to man in desperate attempts to stop Him, to put an end to all that He will do.
So what could have caused Jesus to not only turn away but leave the wilderness with such a resolve to finally start His work and put in motion all that will unfold?
You.
Saving you. Getting you back. Giving you everything.
He was motivated, strengthened and dedicated
to you.
Him creating this world, Him coming here, the miracles, the lessons, His death, it was always about and for you. And he never lost sight of that,
He never lost sight of you.
xoxAL
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