READING: Mark 1:12-13, Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-15, John 1:19-2:25
Matthew and Luke record the details of the significant event. Mark reduces the details to just the minimum, but he still points out what happened via just two verses: “Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness 40 days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels began to serve Him” (Mark 1:12-13). This event, immediately following the baptism of Jesus, marked the battle the Son of God would face; as one writer put it, “Without a moment to catch his breath, as it were, Jesus is thrust into the fray to pursue the ministry to which he is ordained and for which he is endowed.”*
Yet, while it was Satan doing the tempting, it was the Spirit who compelled Jesus to the wilderness. Jesus was thus not on the defensive, but on the offensive. He went to the wilderness to announce to the devil that He was the Messiah who would follow the will of the Father without exception. No device of the enemy would distract Him. Indeed, Jesus’ victory on the Mount of Temptation was a word to the enemy that Genesis 3:15 would be fulfilled. The One sent to crush the head of the serpent was on the scene.
Today, be sure to thank God for the victory that is yours in Christ Jesus.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Are you living in this victory today?
DAILY PRAYER: “Father, we praise You for Your plan. Thank You for victory.”
TOMORROW’S READING: John 3:1-4:15, Luke 3:19-20
*J. R. Edwards, (2002). The Gospel according to Mark (p. 39). Eerdmans; Apollos.
