Jesus in the Wilderness

We were looking at Jesus' temptation in the wilderness this evening at cell. I wanted to jot down a couple of interesting points that came up...

- Jesus' temptations mirror the tests that the Israelites failed in their forty years in the desert...they moaned about food, they worshipped other Gods and they tested God.

- The choices he is faced with in these 'temptations' are just the beginning. They represent the choices he will face day-to-day during his ministry:
The temptation to use miracles for personal gain, or else to demonstrate his power or identity ('If you are the Son of God')
The temptation to build an earthly kingdom or submit to authority other than God's.
The temptation to test God, to demonstrate his divinity, to find out if God will really save him.

These choices are set before him, as clear as they will ever be. Jesus sets the pattern here, refusing neither to engage with the enemy, nor do what he suggests. He answers but does not bother to dispute.

- In thinking about the last temptation, it's interesting to remember that of course Jesus will die and God will forsake him (Matt 27:46), at least temporarily. He does throw himself from the temple in one sense, and God doesn't send angels to save him (although Jesus later says that he could call on his Father and immediately have 12 legions at his disposal - Matt 26:53) Jesus' focus is on obedience to his Father, not asking 'what if?'.