COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 7
THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS
“ Mark 1:12 And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto Him.” (Mark 1:12-13)
INTRODUCTION
Mark begins the Gospel with the ministry of John the Baptist. Matthew begins with the genealogy of our Lord (Matt 1:1-17), provides significant details about His birth and infant days (1:18-2:23), and includes the ministry of John and His baptism of Jesus (3:1-17). Luke begins with an extensive word concerning John the Baptist, including a lengthy prophesy by his father (1:5-25,57-80). He includes the announcement of Jesus’ birth to Mary by Gabriel (1:26-37), and Mary’s visit with Elizabeth and her marvelous outburst of praise (1:39-56). He also includes several details of Christ’s birth (2:1-20), the dedication of Jesus by Simeon (2:21-39), his maturing years, including being in Jerusalem when He was twelve years of age (2:40-52), the ministry of John the Baptist (3:1-22), and His genealogy (3:23-38). John begins the Gospel with the pre-incarnate Word (1:1-5), the ministry of John the Baptist (1:6-36), including several explanations concerning the effects of salvation and their causes. All of this confirms to us that the Gospel is not simplistic. It begins with the Lord’s Person and purpose in eternity past, and a reason for the entrance of the Savior into the world. It is marked by Divine intervention from beginning to end, including God, the Word, the Holy Spirit, and holy angels. People from lowly shepherds to wise men from the East were brought into the picture. Holy people like Zecharias, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna were involved. Now we will be introduced to a singular event in the life of Christ – a time when He experienced an extended and concentrated assault by the wicked One. This was essential to Him being prepared to save us – particularly by His Intercession (Heb 7:25).
THE SPIRIT DRIVES JESUS INTO THE WILDERNESS
“ Mark 1:12 And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness.”
Jesus has fulfulled “all righteousness,” being baptized by John. The Holy Spirit has descended upon Him from heaven, and is remaining upon Him. God has spoken from heaven, confirming that Jesus is His Son, and that He is well pleased with Him. Anointed and ready to begin His ministry, what will Jesus be directed to do?
AND IMMEDIATELY. Other versions read, “And at once,” NIV and “And straightway.” ASV This is the next activity in which Jesus was engaged. Now entering into His ministry, Jesus does not return home for some last minute adjustments, as one would-be follower wanted to do (Lk 9:61). His life had been lived with this in mind, and now He was ready to embark on the mission for which He was prepared. This is the manner of the Kingdom.
THE SPIRIT DRIVETH HIM. Other versions say the Spirit “drove Him,” NKJV “impelled Him,” NASB “sent Him,” NIV “compelled Him,” NLT “put Him forth,” YLT and “[from within] drove Him.” AMPLIFIED The word “driveth,” or “drove,” means “to cast out, drive out, or send out,” with a notion of violence. It is the word used to describe Jesus casting out demons (Mk 1:34,39). Here the word is used differently. Demons were cast out by a Person and power external to themselves – by the One who was against them. Here, the driving is from within, by the Holy Spirit who was in harmony with Jesus, not against Him. Thus, Matthew says Jesus was “led up of the Spirit” (Matt 4:1), emphasizing Jesus’ sensitivity.
Here we see what was involved in the Holy Spirit “remaining” on Jesus – the sign that was given to John concerning Him (John 1:33). Luke describes the “remaining” in a most precise manner: “And Jesus being FULL of the Holy Spirit returned from Jordan” (Lk 4:1). Thus, what is described as the Spirit “remaining” upon Jesus was the way in which the indwelling Spirit was made known to John – as the cloven tongues on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:3). Technically, the Spirit did not remain “on” Jesus, but within Him. It was Jesus’ spirit that was “anointed” with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38). While, for the sake of John, this involved an outward experience, it was the inward reality that suited Jesus for His ministry, not the outward one. There is not indication that Jesus walked about with a dove sitting upon Him. It was the Spirit within that “drove” Jesus, compelling Him.
This too is the manner of the Kingdom – inner compulsion. Just as surely as Jesus was “led” by the Spirit, so those who are in Him are “led by the Spirit.” In fact, those who are so “led” are said to be “the sons of God” (Rom 8:14). It is only those who are “led by the Spirit” who are “not under the Law” NKJV (Gal 5:18). This is a direction from within. It is not direction as with a commandment, or a set of rules. The individual is driven by strong desire, inclination, preference, and a sanctified will. Jeremiah foretold this type of leading when he said the New Covenant would involve God putting His laws “in their inward parts,” and writing them “in their hearts” (Jer 31:33). For us, this involves a radical change – but it is not one that is irreversible. This “change” is facilitated by “the Spirit of God,” as affirmed in Scripture: “changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor 3:18). That changing is quite similar to Jesus being driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. It is a spiritual alteration that takes place within through the operation of the Holy Spirit.
If the Lord Jesus Himself, “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), and having “no sin” (1 Pet 2:22) was compelled by the Holy Spirit, what person is there who is so foolish as to imagine he can be directed by rules and regulations, or some self-help system created by men? It simply is not possible for men to be directed from within independently of the Holy Spirit. If the Mediator of the New Covenant was so directed, it is utter vanity for those whom He is saving to the uttermost to attempt to be directed by anyone else. Although this may appear very evident, it is equally plain that the modern church is fundamentally ignorant of this circumstance. If those wearing the name of Jesus were actually experiencing the leading of the Spirit, many “Christian ministries” would dry up immediately. Also, let it be clear in your mind, no other direction is effective in Christ Jesus.
INTO THE WILDERNESS. Other versions read, “the desert,” NIV and “the waste land.” BBE In Scripture a “wilderness” is a “solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited, and uncultivated area.” STRONG’S The means of sustenance are not found in such a place, and dangers lurk everywhere. When Moses left Egypt, he first went into a desert (Ex 3:1). When Israel was delivered from Egypt, they first went into the wilderness (Ex 19:2). When John the Baptist came of age, he first went into the desert (Lk 1:80). When Saul of Tarsus was converted, he went into “Arabia” – a desert region (Gal 1:17). This, then, is also a Kingdom manner. When men leave the world and commence running the race set before them, it will first lead them through a desert, where they become keenly aware of the poverty of this world.
FORTY DAYS OF TEMPTATION
“ 12a And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan . . .”
When Moses went into the desert, it was to receive his call from God (Ex 3:1-4:17). When Israel came into the desert, it was to receive a covenant from the Lord (Ex 19:2-8). When John the Baptist went into the deserts, it was to tutor him for His showing to Israel (Luke 1:80). When Saul of Tarsus went into Arabia, it was in order to be taught by Jesus (Gal 1:17; 1 Cor 11:23). However, Jesus’ time in the wilderness was for other purposes.
HE WAS THERE. Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness, and remained there for forty days. Just as the Spirit “remained” on Christ, so that Spirit enabled Jesus to “remain” in the wilderness. He stayed there for the time appointed – “forty days.” Matthew says that He “fasted forty days and forty nights” and was not hungry until “afterward” (Matt 4:2). Luke writes, “And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered” (Luke 4:2).
We learn from this that the Holy Spirit enables those He directs to remain where He leads them. There is also a higher form of sustenance that causes all inferior appetites to wane – “He afterward hungered.” Later, when Jesus was sitting on a well, wearied with His journey and speaking with a certain woman, His disciples came with some food they had procured from “the city.” Jesus told them, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of” (John 4:32). As He had spoken with a searching woman, His earthly appetites had waned. So it was when Jesus was led up into the wilderness. For forty days and forty nights, He was not hungry!
TEMPTED OF SATAN. Mark says Jesus was “tempted of Satan” during the forty-day period. Matthew says the Spirit led Him “into the wilderness TO BE tempted of the devil” (Matt 4:1). Luke says of this time, “Being forty days tempted of the devil” (Lk 4:1). This, then, was an appointed time of testing – a time that would prepare Jesus for His ministry among men. Without this leading, Satan would have had no access to Jesus.
None of the Gospel writers provide the details of Satan’s temptation during those forty days. It is only the strongest temptations that are detailed – those that were leveled at Jesus in His weakest point – when He “afterward hungered.” It was when the forty days “were ended” that Satan came to Him in these epochal temptations (Lk 4:2-3).
TEMPTATION #1. Satan preceded this temptation with the words, “If Thou be the Son of God” (Matt 4:3; Lk 4:3). When Jesus’ appetite for food had returned and was at its strongest, Satan challenged Him, “command that these stones be made bread” (Matt 4:3). Luke says he took a particular stone and said, “command this stone that it be made bread” (Lk 4:3). Jesus drew the sword of the Word and answered that man did not live by bread alone, but by “every Word of God” (Lk 4:4; Matt 4:4; Deut 8:3). That word repulsed the devil, moving him to regroup. This a temptation appealed to “the lust of the flesh” (1 John 2:16a), and parallels Eve’s temptation to see the forbidden fruit as being “good for food” (Gen 3:6).
TEMPTATION #2. Satan also preceded this temptation with the words, “If Thou be the Son of God” (Matt 4:6; Lk 4:9). In some way wafting Jesus away to “the pinnacle of the temple,” Satan challenged Jesus, “cast Thyself down,” quoting the Scripture that affirmed God would not let Him dash His foot against a stone (Matt 4:5-6; Lk 4:9-11; Psa 9:11-12). Historians say the “pinnacle of the temple” stood 700 feet above the bottom of the valley below (the height of a 70-story building). BARNES Again, Jesus drew the sword and said, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matt 4:7). Luke places this as the last temptation, stating that here “the devil had ended all the temptation,” and departed from Jesus “for a season” (Lk 4:13). This was a temptation appealing to “the pride of life” (1 John 2:16b), and parallels Eve’s temptation to see the forbidden fruit as “desired to make one wise” (Gen 3:6b).
TEMPTATION #3. Satan did not challenge Christ’s Sonship in this temptation. He rather takes Jesus to “an exceeding high mountain” and gives him a panoramic view of “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them” (Matt 4:8). Luke says he did this “in a moment of time,” or “in an instant” NIV (Lk 4:5). Affirming that these all had been given to him, and whoever he willed to give them (Lk 4:6), Satan offered “All this power” to Jesus if He would “fall down and worship” him (Matt 5:9; Lk 4:7). Jesus again draws the sword of the Word and affirms, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Luke 4:8; Matt 4:10). Jesus’ first words confirm this was, in fact, the last temptation. This was a temptation to “the lust of the eye” (1 John 2:16c), and parallels Eve’s temptation to see the forbidden fruit as “pleasant to the eyes” (Gen 3:6c). Luke lists the temptations in the order of “all that is in the world” – “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Matthew lists them in order of their actual occurrence. At this point “the devil had ended all the temptation” (Lk 4:13).
A SUMMATION OF THE TEMPTATION
“ 12a . . . and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto Him.”
Mark provides an overview of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. He was tempted by Satan “for forty days.” During that time, “He was tempted in all points like as we are” (Heb 4:15). These “points” refer to the categories of temptations, not to every single temptation endured by men. It is foolish to imagine that Jesus was tempted to be drunk, do drugs, lay with another man’s wife, view pornography, or covet the possessions of His neighbor. There have been all manner of people who have not been tempted in such things. Rather, in every area of temptation Jesus was assaulted by the devil at His weakest point – “after” the forty days and nights. The magnitude of these temptations is not to be compared with those that we experience. They were the largest ones in Satan’s arsenal, hurled at the Son of God when He was at His weakest physical point. This was temptation at its optimum. Further, the three major temptations did not occur over a long period of time, but appear to have taken place rapidly and with supernatural power and attractiveness – something like Eve’s temptation which was also in the “moment of time” category.
Thus at the beginning of His ministry, and at the close as well, Satan assaulted Jesus with unparalleled temptation. At the beginning He sought to divert Christ’s attention from His ministry to his own fleshly interests. At the end, He sought to do the same thing. That is why Jesus cried out “If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matt 26:39). It was then that He “offered up prayers with strong crying and tears” (Heb 5:7), and especially “suffered, being tempted” (Heb 2:18). His latter temptation was unique to Him, for it involved a cup that He alone was intended to drink (Mark 10:38). We do not endure that type of temptation.
The temptation of our text, however, uniquely equipped Jesus to minister to those who are being tempted. As it is written, “For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted” (Heb 2:18). However seemingly complicated and frequent the temptation may be, it is in one of the three categories in which our Lord was tempted. He is therefore able to bring us through those temptations without us giving in to them.
At the beginning of His ministry Jesus overcame the devil in the three areas where Eve was overcome in the first place: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.” In Him, every believer has a fresh start in life, and the means to overcome the devil.
WITH THE WILD BEASTS. Only Mark provides this detail. This was an area not inhabited by men – a most remote and unfrequented place occupied only by the wild and untamed beasts of the earth. The term “wild beast” accents the dangerous circumstances that surrounded Jesus during this temptation. Other versions read, “with the wild animals,” NIV “He was among wild beasts,” NAB and “He was out among the wild animals.” NLT At night there was the wolf, the boar, the jackal, and the leopard. There were probably the lion, the serpent, and the scorpion. At least two things may be observed in this circumstance.
First, Jesus was not harmed by any of these “wild beasts.” These “beasts” were “brutal, savage, and ferocious.” STRONG’S Jesus was protected from them like Daniel was in the lion’s den. Ordinarily, this was a surrounding in which men could not survive. Yet Jesus, Lord of all, was not harmed or seemingly threatened by this vast arsenal of hostile animals.
Second, the most challenging situation Jesus faced was not the threat of wild beasts, but the subtlety of the wicked one. It is far most threatening to face “the tempter” (Matt 4:3; 1 Thess 3:5). Those who live close to the earth become unaware of this. People who would not for a moment go into a place occupied by wild and venomous beasts often think nothing of wandering into places where Satan’s temptations are stronger and more focused. Jesus had to be “driven by the Spirit” into this area – and it would serve a higher purpose. To be “tempted by the devil” is far more serious than to face physically threatening circumstances.
THE ANGELS MINISTERED TO HIM. Other versions say the angels, “were ministering to Him,” NASB “attended Him,” NIV “waited on Him,” NRSV “took care of Him,” BBE “looked after Him,” NJB “were helping Him,” IE and “ministered to Him [continually].” AMPLIFIED Matthew says they came when “the devil leaveth Him” (Matt 4:11). I gather this means in they then ministered in a special and accelerated way. Thus, the very Scripture Satan used to tempt Jesus was being fulfilled throughout the forty days and nights.
In the temptation prior to His death, when Jesus was praying in sweat and agony, “there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him” (Lk 22:43). So a multiplicity of angels miraculously sustained the Savior here, no doubt gladly ministering to and serving Him – strengthening Him to endure Satan’s assault.
We are also told that the holy angels have been “sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Heb 1:14). Do not doubt that part of that marvelous ministry is occurring when you are being tempted! You cannot perceive them with your eye, but you can sense them with your heart. You are being sustained by heavenly messengers!