We often use the language of “wilderness experiences” to talk about times in our lives when we feel alone, abandoned, or lost in the midst of a scary, barren, wild time. We may think about times when we felt adrift – because of a diagnosis, or a death or loss, or a change in circumstances. Or perhaps it felt like we were being punished – stuck in the wilderness because we somehow weren’t enough, or didn’t choose the right things.
In the Bible, the wilderness is often a place of preparation, a place of waiting for God’s next move, a place of learning to trust in God’s mercy. Most notable are the Israelites, who wander in the wilderness for forty years following the exodus from Egypt.
In the book we’re using in Confirmation class, called Manna and Mercy, author Daniel Erlander describes this time as “the wilderness school”, where the Israelites would learn how to live as God’s people in preparation to enter the Promised Land.
Despite what all students think at one time or another, the purpose of school is not to waste our time learning things that we’ll never use again. Instead, we learn information, and, more importantly, strategies, like communication, critical thinking, time management, and so on, which we will pull out and use on a regular basis in the future.
The same is true of the wilderness school. For Jesus, we can see how the testing he undergoes in the wilderness connects to his later ministry. Secure in his identity as the beloved Son of God, Jesus experiences testing that helps him articulate what sort of Messiah he will be.
Will he look to his own interests and desires? Or will he embrace God’s call to point to the kingdom of God, attending to those at the margins, the ones who long for a word of mercy and hope?
Immediately following his baptism by John in the Jordan River, Jesus is driven into the wilderness for forty days of fasting, reflection, and prayer. At the end of forty days, Jesus is hungry – he is human, after all – and that’s when Satan, the tempter, the devil shows up.
First, the tempter tossed out a chance for Jesus to use his power to satisfy his own needs – in this case, his extreme hunger after fasting for forty days. “If you are the Son of God,” says the devil, “command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Soon Jesus will provide words as well as bread for the crowds who gather to hear him, using his power not to feed himself, but to multiply five loaves and two fish into enough to feed five thousand people, with some leftover.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus – the mouth of God - used words to admonish and teach, to welcome and forgive, to heal and calm. With his words, Jesus would give life to those he encountered, those who were often on the margins, forgotten, despised.
Next, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, to the pinnacle of the Temple. He offered Jesus the chance to show off his closeness with God, to use their relationship to benefit himself. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘God will give you into the angels’ charge,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
But Jesus knows that that’s not how relationships work. We don’t have relationships so that we can take advantage of others and their power or connections. Jesus said to the devil, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Instead of testing God, we are called to trust God.
This wouldn’t be the last time Jesus would be offered this chance. Lifted up to another high place, the cross, Jesus would be taunted with similar words – “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” Raised up on the cross, Jesus would then be raised up again – from death to life on the third day.
Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain, offering him a chance to secure the glory of political leadership. “All these I will give to you,” the devil said, “if you will fall down and worship me.” But Jesus says, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God; serve God alone.”
Jesus knows that earthly power is fleeting. Political leadership, even of all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, is nothing compared to God’s reign. It is this reign that holds Jesus’ focus throughout his ministry.
He preaches often about the unexpected, upside-down nature of God’s kingdom as compared to earthly kingdoms. And those who have been forgotten and oppressed by earthly rulers are especially glad to hear about it, and to hear that they have a special place in it.
It is usually only much later that we can look back on the wilderness times in our own lives to see how our past experiences and struggles prepared us for challenges later on – whether challenges in our own lives, or the lives of those around us.
Of course, in the midst of our loneliness and fear and testing, that’s not what we want to hear. It can sound empty, minimizing the very real anxiety and hurt and struggles we are experiencing.
In those wilderness times and times of testing we cling not to platitudes that insist we are being prepared for the future, but instead to the reminder that whatever wilderness we face, Jesus has already been there. That whatever we go through, we do so not alone but rather accompanied by the presence of the God who calls us beloved. Not even wilderness can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Then, when we’re ready, we can see how God is able to use the testing and difficulties we experience to equip us for life as the people of God. Through the wilderness and beyond it, God continues to be present with us, now and forever.
In the Bible, the wilderness is often a place of preparation, a place of waiting for God’s next move, a place of learning to trust in God’s mercy. Most notable are the Israelites, who wander in the wilderness for forty years following the exodus from Egypt.
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| Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash |
In the book we’re using in Confirmation class, called Manna and Mercy, author Daniel Erlander describes this time as “the wilderness school”, where the Israelites would learn how to live as God’s people in preparation to enter the Promised Land.
Despite what all students think at one time or another, the purpose of school is not to waste our time learning things that we’ll never use again. Instead, we learn information, and, more importantly, strategies, like communication, critical thinking, time management, and so on, which we will pull out and use on a regular basis in the future.
The same is true of the wilderness school. For Jesus, we can see how the testing he undergoes in the wilderness connects to his later ministry. Secure in his identity as the beloved Son of God, Jesus experiences testing that helps him articulate what sort of Messiah he will be.
Will he look to his own interests and desires? Or will he embrace God’s call to point to the kingdom of God, attending to those at the margins, the ones who long for a word of mercy and hope?
Immediately following his baptism by John in the Jordan River, Jesus is driven into the wilderness for forty days of fasting, reflection, and prayer. At the end of forty days, Jesus is hungry – he is human, after all – and that’s when Satan, the tempter, the devil shows up.
First, the tempter tossed out a chance for Jesus to use his power to satisfy his own needs – in this case, his extreme hunger after fasting for forty days. “If you are the Son of God,” says the devil, “command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Soon Jesus will provide words as well as bread for the crowds who gather to hear him, using his power not to feed himself, but to multiply five loaves and two fish into enough to feed five thousand people, with some leftover.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus – the mouth of God - used words to admonish and teach, to welcome and forgive, to heal and calm. With his words, Jesus would give life to those he encountered, those who were often on the margins, forgotten, despised.
Next, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, to the pinnacle of the Temple. He offered Jesus the chance to show off his closeness with God, to use their relationship to benefit himself. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘God will give you into the angels’ charge,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
But Jesus knows that that’s not how relationships work. We don’t have relationships so that we can take advantage of others and their power or connections. Jesus said to the devil, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Instead of testing God, we are called to trust God.
This wouldn’t be the last time Jesus would be offered this chance. Lifted up to another high place, the cross, Jesus would be taunted with similar words – “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” Raised up on the cross, Jesus would then be raised up again – from death to life on the third day.
Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain, offering him a chance to secure the glory of political leadership. “All these I will give to you,” the devil said, “if you will fall down and worship me.” But Jesus says, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God; serve God alone.”
Jesus knows that earthly power is fleeting. Political leadership, even of all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, is nothing compared to God’s reign. It is this reign that holds Jesus’ focus throughout his ministry.
He preaches often about the unexpected, upside-down nature of God’s kingdom as compared to earthly kingdoms. And those who have been forgotten and oppressed by earthly rulers are especially glad to hear about it, and to hear that they have a special place in it.
It is usually only much later that we can look back on the wilderness times in our own lives to see how our past experiences and struggles prepared us for challenges later on – whether challenges in our own lives, or the lives of those around us.
Of course, in the midst of our loneliness and fear and testing, that’s not what we want to hear. It can sound empty, minimizing the very real anxiety and hurt and struggles we are experiencing.
In those wilderness times and times of testing we cling not to platitudes that insist we are being prepared for the future, but instead to the reminder that whatever wilderness we face, Jesus has already been there. That whatever we go through, we do so not alone but rather accompanied by the presence of the God who calls us beloved. Not even wilderness can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Then, when we’re ready, we can see how God is able to use the testing and difficulties we experience to equip us for life as the people of God. Through the wilderness and beyond it, God continues to be present with us, now and forever.
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