In The Wilderness - Mark 1:12-13

"And immediately the Spirit impelled Him

to go out into the wilderness.

And He was in the wilderness forty days,

being tempted by Satan;

and He was with the wild beasts,

and the angels were ministering to Him."

(Mark 1:12-13)

The temptation of Jesus is a very well known New Testament story. It's recorded in all of the gospel accounts except for the book of John. Both Matthew and Luke give much more detailed descriptions than does our friend Mark. The latter succeeds in summing up the whole experience in only two verses and gives a solid cliff note of Christ's "crisis". Two verses covering 40 days!

Now, with that said, I must admit that everything in me wants to run to those other gospel accounts and share with you the lessons I've learned in times past from the "extended-play" versions. Matthew and Luke's renderings are truly deep mines containing many precious jewels. They are rich with insight into the schemes of Satan. They are full to over-flowing with pictures of the three-fold Achiles' heel that dwells in all of our hearts (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life). And they abound with examples of how to properly defend ourselves with the sword of the Spirit against those wicked and dastardly devilish schemes. Oh, how I want to go there! But I have made a promise to myself that I am going to stick like glue to Mark and focus on what he deems necessary for the moment.


So, what does Mr. Mark have to teach us this day? Well, I have personally learned 4 things from these 2 verses.