October 9
October 9
Jesus faced and defeated temptation on our behalf, so that when we face temptation, we can defeat it too.
It is important to understand that the life of Jesus before he went to the cross was as necessary as what he did on the cross. Everything that Jesus did in his earthly life, he did as our substitute. It was essential that he, on our behalf, live a perfectly righteous life all of the time and in every way. It was God’s plan that Jesus’s righteousness would become our righteousness, so that we could stand unafraid before a holy God. It was also essential that Jesus, the second Adam, face temptation like the first Adam faced—yet, unlike Adam, he did not fail, but resisted temptation and defeated Satan. Jesus fought the battle with temptation and won the victory for us, and so, when we face temptation, we are able to defeat it too. The saving work of Jesus was done not just on the cross, but in his life as he lived as our substitute.
The book of Mark is hard-hitting and fast-paced. Mark’s mission is to demonstrate that Jesus of Nazareth is, in fact, the promised Messiah, the Son of God. Mark begins his Gospel with a quick introduction to the substitutionary mission of Jesus. He begins with three essential introductory vignettes: preparation (John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus), identification (Jesus identifies with sinners in his baptism), and temptation (Jesus defeats Satan in the desert). Each of these things is necessary before Jesus begins his public ministry, but here I want to focus on his temptation: “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him” (Mark 1:12–13).
Mark’s account of the temptation of Jesus is brief, but the words are important. First, it is vital to notice that it is the Spirit who drives Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. This isn’t an accident. Jesus isn’t blindsided. He is driven into the wilderness, because part of God’s redeeming plan is for Jesus to engage in a face-to-face battle with Satan and win. The Spirit leads Jesus into this battle for us. The victory is won with us in mind. The timing of this battle is also important. It is accomplished before Jesus begins his public ministry, so that he will enter that ministry having already defeated the enemy.
Notice also that this is not a brief encounter with Satan. No, it is an arduous forty-day battle. God does not abandon Jesus in the wilderness but sends angels to minister to him. All of this is done for us as the children of God. We have the power to resist the devil because the victory of Jesus is our victory, and, because it is, we face an already-defeated foe. Just as God doesn’t abandon Jesus, so he won’t abandon us, but will deliver the protecting grace we need in times of temptation.