Jesus Christ
The Passion
The Spirit of Temptation
by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D.
Jesus had now been confirmed as the Messiah. And, as soon as the baptism and annointing had been complete Jesus left his disciples and being driven by the spirit, sought isolation in the wilderness in order to fully experience the Spirit of God.
"And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness" -Matthew 4.
Jesus brought no food, and for forty days he fasted; and this too, had prophectic significance.
Jesus was to introduce to the Jews and the world, the New Convenant of God, and it was for this reason that he sojourned alone, without food in the wilderness, for Moses had done the same:
"And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." -Exodus 34:28
Wondering alone in the wilderness, without food, is a common form of "spirit quest" that has been employed by those seeking truth and spiritual enlightenment, for thousands of years. Not uncommonly, the seeker is rewarded with heavenly or hellish visions or a spiritual awakening and may be visited by angels, devils, or spirit-guides such as wolves, lions, eagles, hawks, or even "a spirit like a dove."
As is now well established, prolonged periods of isolation also induce vivid and realistic hallucinations which may range from the simple to the profoundly complex. Likewise, prolonged periods without food or water can induce hallucinations of both. And, it has been reported that those who undergo long periods of sensory deprivation may hallucinate not only food or water, but angels, devils and gods.
It is also not uncommon for those seeking spiritual nourishment while sojourning in the wilderness, to be tempted to break their fast, to eat or drink, or to return home to friends and family because they can not stand the isolation or the pain of hunger.
To overcome temptation is part of the spirit quest.
Jesus went without food and was isolated for forty days. And Jesus was tempted to use his powers to "command that these stones be made bread."
But Jesus resisted temptation as he was seeking God, saying" It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Given his powers, his ability to heal the sick, raise the dead, and draw multitudes of worshipping crowds, the prospect of conjuring up bread when he hungered so, might well have been a compelling temptation and a simple feat. Given his powers, Jesus need not "command stones" but could command armies and achieve unlimited power and glory. Indeed, as he well knew, Jesus could achieve all this without the need to suffer the prophecied torture and Crucifiction that would end his life, before being risen, as the king, on the third day.
The temptaton was there. He could have all that a man might desire, if only he would abandon his mission, abandon God, and embrace evil, and worship the devil in his place.
"Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." -Matthew 4.
But Jesus refused temptation: "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."
Satan had been defeated. Evil had been defeated. Temptation had been defeated.
Having withstood temptation (the Devil), Jesus now received authorization from God, to go forth as the Messiah, and to announce: "The time is fulfilled."
After 40 days without food, Jesus, returned from the wildnerness and "came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." -Mark 1.
But Jesus dared not declare himself the Messiah, or the King of the Jews; not yet. The time was not ripe. His hour had not yet come.
To do so before he had finished his mission, and fulfilled the prophecies, would be to invite failure and an early death.
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