Jesus left the Jordan River after being baptized and went for 40 days into the wilderness. All through scripture, the wilderness is a place of challenge, a place of testing, a place of transition. Don’t imagine the lush green mountain wilderness of central or northern Pennsylvania. In Judea, the wilderness was and still is a dry and desolate place without much water or plant life. The Hebrew people wandered in that wilderness for 40 years after escaping slavery in Egypt before they could enter the promised land, learning to rely on God. In the wilderness, both the Hebrew people and Jesus were tested – not the kind of exam they passed or failed, but more like an assessment of skills where their strengths and “growth areas” were made clear. Before entering the promised land, the people needed to discover their weaknesses and work on them.
Jesus, unlike his ancestors, was up to every test. Jesus prevails each time “the devil” tests or tempts him. Jesus knows already how to rely on God. Jesus refuses to use a miracle to meet his physical needs or turn away from God to obtain power or exploit God’s love for him to gain publicity. He replies with a quote from scripture each time. Jesus is deeply grounded in who he is and why he has come to the world. Jesus fully understands and accepts God’s role in it all. Jesus is able to meet these tests as he starts his public preaching and teaching, healing and casting out evil, and eventually transforms the world.
We each encounter our own moments in the wilderness; times of transition when we face the kind of tests that help us assess our strengths and weaknesses for the challenges ahead. I have felt like I was in the wilderness many times: my first months on campus as a new freshman, moving to another part of the country for a job, when I was very ill and alone, starting graduate school, becoming a parent, when my mother died. These and other times in the wilderness have led me into unfamiliar and scary places where I am tested. Each time I find myself in the wilderness, I discover my own strengths and weaknesses. I come to a renewed understanding of who I am. While using my strengths and working on my weaknesses in each challenge, I try to learn more fully how to rely on God.
We all face times in the wilderness with an abundance of testing and challenges. None of us will prevail as fully as Jesus does in this encounter, but we are not alone. God is faithful and walks with us, empowering us with strengths and new growth, moving us from the wilderness to the land that lies ahead.
Peace,