The Temptation Of Jesus
THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS
MARK 1:12-13
Jesus’ temptation was a preparation for his ministry.
Mark gives only the briefest account of the event that immediately followed the baptism of Jesus (contrast Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). After Jesus had received God’s commission and power for his work, he was sent by the Spirit farther into the wilderness, away from human contacts, and there he faced Satan in single combat. Satan appears in the New Testament as the one who tempts men to turn aside from the will of God, accuses them before God when they fall, and seeks their destruction. He is the prince of this world, and it was to defeat him and set his prisoners free that Jesus entered upon his ministry.
The position of the story suggests that the temptation was a preparation or probation for the ensuing ministry. Jesus encountered the prince of evil personally before attacking his minions. Support for this view has often been sought in the “forty days” which are regarded as being parallel to the forty years of Israel’s journeyings in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:2,16) or to the forty days of Elijah’s journey to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19.8); but neither of these Old Testament periods was one of temptation by the evil one, and it is probably best to conclude that forty days is simply a round number meaning a “long-ish” time with no typological significance.
The “wild beasts” suggest the loneliness and evil associations of the area, far removed from civilization (Isaiah13:20f.; 34:9ff.; Psalm 22:11-21). There may perhaps also be the thought that the wild beasts are subject to Jesus (Job 5:22f.; Psalm 91:13; Isaiah 11:69). On the other side, the angels are the allies of Jesus (Psalm 91:11f.) who aid him in his contest (cf. 1 Kings 19:5,7); “ministered” need not be confined to providing food, especially since Mark does not mention that Jesus fasted, but has a more general sense.
So the story ends, but not the temptation. See 8:11, 10:2 and 12:15 for the recurrence of temptation in a less obvious fashion, for here it comes through men rather than in a wilderness from an agent who may be more easily recognizable.
We are not told explicitly that Jesus overcame the tempter, but the fact is obvious from the way in which the story continues (see the comment on 3:27).