Into the Wilderness

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

We pray every week – some of us every day – “lead us not into temptation.” Jesus taught us to pray so. And yet temptation is exactly where the spirit leads Jesus.

If we are to follow Christ, then it would seem that wilderness is part of the journey. But what are we to make of the prayer to lead us not into temptation?

Maybe I am making too much of something simple but there is a difference in what the Greek says in these two different passages. In the wilderness temptation story, scripture says that the spirit led Jesus up to temptation. In the Lord’s Prayer, the Greek encourages us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” Up to versus in to. There is a difference.

The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness where temptation exists, but not into temptation.
Into temptation is, I believe, our own doing. God leads us up to the place where tempting happens, but it is our humanity that walks into it. Once we walk into temptation, God is right there is lead us through the temptation. And this is why we pray to be led not into it, but to be deliver from the evil that beckons us to walk into it on our own.

That the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness is significant. This happens right after his baptism but before his ministry really begins. Maybe there is something about the wilderness of life that the ministry of life requires. Ministry requires wilderness. That may be a lesson we all need to hear.

The wilderness prepares us for ministry. It forms us and shapes us for God’s call. The challenges and difficult, dark, lonely, struggles of life teach us what we need for ministry. Part of the point here may be empathy. It is the experience of our own struggle which calls us to be compassionate to others in the midst of their struggle.

The wilderness inspires us to ministry. Through the wilderness we see and sense a call from God to be a blessing to the world. Ever noticed how families who have been through something difficult end up being champions for others in that same difficult situation? For example, those who have experienced Alzheimer’s become advocates for those with the condition. So the wilderness becomes this launching pad for ministry. It propels us to care about things that we might not normally notice.

There may be a lot more we could explore here, but what I want us to see more than anything is that the wilderness is a part of our faith journey. We do not follow Christ in order to avoid the tough stuff of life. We follow because we have an experience of a leader who delivers us from the tough stuff.

But there’s more here in the story…

He (Jesus) fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.

40 is a number that is often the time period of struggle, of change, of testing, of journey…in the story of God. We love 40 days of good things these days – 40 days of purpose, 40 days of life, 40 days of breakthrough, 40 days of dating, 40 days of generosity, 40 days of giving, miracles in 40 days, learn a language in 40 days, fireproof your marriage with 40 days of love – we love 40 days and good things.

But the Bible doesn’t do this kind of thing. In the Bible it’s 40 days of struggle, 40 days of blood sweat and tears, 40 days of hunger, 40 years of homelessness and wandering. Write about that plan today and try to sell books with it!

This is no easy 40 days that Jesus is led into by the spirit. It’s 40 days of wilderness wandering and temptation. The wilderness is not quick. It takes time. It’s not just physical, though there is plenty of physical struggle that happens. The wilderness is where the physical journey impacts the spiritual journey. That is part of the significance of the number 40. It’s sacramental, meaning that it’s where the hand of the human and the hand of God join in the journey from one side to the other.

Now, in the story, what comes next is three encounters with the devil.

The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,
saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”

Now, there are lots of great books and articles and sermons that explore these three encounters in depth. They examine the three temptation looking at similarities and differences. Personally, I have found some amazing insights into those over the years – Joanie and I may even write a few blogs this week on each of these three temptations. We’ll see. But today I just want you to notice that in the wilderness there are encounters with temptation. Those encounters come in different forms, different ways, with different words, and through different desires that lure us into a way of living that violates God’s hopes for you and me.

Yes, in the difficult, dark, angry, lonely, depression-filled, struggles of life, there is great temptation. And  it can come for every side and every angle. It can be in your face. And it can be quiet and hidden.

What I see in these three encounters with temptation is this: conflict and struggle. Now it’s easy to think the devil just takes Jesus here and there and Jesus easily refutes every temptation. I doubt that. Pay attention to the story. Remember what we just said about the significance of 40? This is no easy journey. That is part of the significance of 40. It reminds us that this is about struggle and conflict, just as it was for the Israelites in the wilderness. Like Israel, Jesus is now filled with struggle and conflict. That is part of what the wilderness is about.

But here is good news: the devil may be the first and hardest encounter in the wilderness, but the devil is not the last encounter. The story ends this way:

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

There is another encounter in the wilderness. And it’s with angels. Perhaps this story is reminding us that  both devils and angels wait for us in the wilderness. The devil is in the tests and temptations. The angels are a reminder of God’s love and strength. The encounter with the angels is a reminder that the wilderness isn’t just about temptation. It is also an opportunity to discover how courageous, how strong, how steadfast, and how faithful we have the ability to be, especially when we are led by God’s Spirit which fills us with love and strength.

The easy part of our faith journey is hearing how God sees us – that God loves us, forgives us, strengthens us and saves us. That’s baptism. But there is wilderness beyond baptism. And the hard part is entering the wilderness where everything about the truth of God’s love and salvation will be tested. Yet the wilderness is a gift. A gift to which God’s Spirit leads us. Yes, God will take us right up to temptation. And while God will not lead us into temptation, God will deliver us from us. And those angels will be right there waiting on us reminding us how much God loves us and how strong we are with that love.

So, maybe like Jesus, we need long stints in the wilderness to learn what it really means to be God’s beloved. In the wilderness you are both tempted and loved. You are both uncomfortable and comforted. You are both weak and strengthened. You are imperfect and yet perfectly loved. Learning to trust all this takes time. And that, dear friends, is what Lent is all about.