The Gospel of Mark, Pt. 5

The Temptation of Christ

We continue in our series in the gospel of Mark, and last week and this week we engage with two very interesting questions related to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Last week we examined several responses to the question of “Why was Jesus baptized?” If he was the sinless Son of God, then he wouldn’t need a baptism of repentance which John the Baptist was offering to the masses. Therefore, we learned how ultimately, Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of his 3-year earthly ministry and was necessary for Jesus to fulfill all righteousness, so as to make himself the perfect sacrificial lamb and so that he could rightfully become the full propitiation for our sins. In other words, Jesus, as our example and our substitute, was perfectly obedient to the Father because we never could be.

And today, we’re going to answer another series of interesting questions, namely...… “Why did Jesus have to spend 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness just to be tempted by Satan?” And another interesting question that’s related is this....… “We know Jesus never sinned. But could he have if he gave in to Satan’s temptation?”

Glenn had baked some cookies one day, and was enjoying the result of his labor in his kitchen. "These cookies smell delicious," said Glenn. He ate one. "And they taste even better," he said.  Glenn ran to Derek's house. "Derek, Derek," cried Glenn, "taste these cookies that I’ve made."

So Derek ate one of the cookies and then proclaimed, "These are the best cookies I have ever eaten!"

So Glenn and Derek ate several more cookies, one after another. "You know, Glenn," said Derek, with his mouth full, "I think we should stop eating. We’re going to make ourselves sick."

"Yeah, you’re right," said Glenn. "Let’s eat one last cookie, and then we’ll stop." So Derek and Glenn ate one last cookie, and there were still many cookies left in the bowl.

"Derek," said Glenn, "let’s eat one very last cookie, and then we’ll stop." And so Derek and Glenn ate one very last cookie.

"We must stop eating!" cried Glenn as he ate another.

"Yes," said Derek, reaching for a another cookie, "we need willpower!"

"What’s willpower?" asked Glenn.

"Willpower is trying hard not to do something you really want to do," said Derek.

"You mean like trying hard not to eat all these cookies?" asked Glenn.

"Yep, that’s right," said Derek.

So Derek put the cookies in a box. "There," he said. "Now we won’t eat any more cookies."

"But we can open the box," said Glenn.

"Yeah, that’s true," said Derek. So he tied some string around the box. "There," he said. "Now we won’t eat any more cookies."

"But we can cut the string and open the box." said Glenn.

"You know, that’s true," said Derek, so he got a ladder and he put the box up on a high shelf.

"There," said Derek. "Now we won’t eat any more cookies."

"But we can climb the ladder and take the box down from the shelf and cut the string and open the box," said Glenn.

"That is true," said Derek. So Derek climbed the ladder and took the box down from the shelf. He cut the string and opened the box. And then he took the box outside and he shouted in a loud voice. "Hey, birds, here’s some cookies!" And dozens of birds came from everywhere and they picked up all the cookies in their beaks and flew away.

"Now we have no more cookies to eat," said Glenn sadly. "Not even one."

"Yes," said Derek, "but we have lots and lots of willpower."

"You can keep your willpower, Derek," said Glenn. "I’m going home to bake a cake!" 

John Piper once said that sin (lust for example) (SLIDE) "gets its power by persuading me to believe that I will be more happy if I follow it. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier." You see, willpower will always fail in the long run in fighting the temptation of sin, because as long as your heart’s affection is for that which is sinful, you’ll eventually succumb to what you truly desire. And so the temptation of Christ offers us some important lessons with regards to Jesus himself, but also in terms of how we can apply what we learn from Jesus in our lives, specifically in our own fight against the temptations that surround us all the time.

So if you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Mark 1:12–13 (SLIDE) “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.”

A couple things to note here as we begin to examine this passage. Remember the context.....Jesus had just been baptized by John in the Jordan River, and when he came out of the water, he saw the heavens torn open and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove, and the Father’s voice came from heaven declaring that Jesus is his Son, in whom He is well pleased. And then the Spirit immediately drives Jesus into the wilderness.

Another thing to note......remember the common feature of Mark’s gospel - the immediacy with which he writes about the various events of the life and ministry of Jesus. In just the first 13 verses, this is the second time Mark uses this adverb - immediately. When Jesus came out of the waters in verse 10, he “immediately” saw the heavens being torn open. And following his baptism, he “immediately” was driven out to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. And this is an interesting description of the Spirit’s action towards Jesus. Typically, when this word is used in the NT, its primarily translated as “drove out” or “cast out”, and often refers to demons being cast out of people. So its a forceful action upon the object. And so we see here the Spirit’s will, perfectly in line with the Father and the Son, being acted upon between one member of the Trinity towards the other. The Spirit commissioned Jesus in light of his baptism, and now He’s exposing Jesus to a period of testing as if to prepare him for his future ministry.

So here’s a good place to consider our original question for the day - “Why did Jesus have to be sent to the wilderness to undergo temptation by Satan himself?” And to answer that question, we’re going to consider three possible and relevant responses...and first in your outlines, the temptation of Jesus (SLIDE) proves his humanity. Within the first few hundred years of the Christian church, many heresies began to crop up, particularly around the nature and person of Jesus. And many of the heresies grew out of gnostic philosophy, which stressed the sacredness of the spiritual and the corruptness or emptiness of the physical. Which meant that gnostics believed that the only truly good things are spiritual, and therefore, what you did in the physical had no significant bearing or importance in life. In fact, anything physical was associated with evil.

So when it came to the nature and identity of Jesus, those influenced by the gnostics had no problem accepting Jesus as a divine and spiritual being. However, they refused to accept the humanity of Christ. And so arose gnostic heresies that taught that Jesus was merely a spiritual being that never really inhabited a physical body....therefore no incarnation.........no real death on the cross and no real, physical resurrection from the dead. On the other hand, there continued to arise false teachings surrounding Jesus’ divinity as well, with one significant heresy coming from a Christian bishop in Alexandria by the name of Arius, through who’s namesake the false doctrine came to be known as Arianism.

Arianism, which taught that Jesus was a created a being and a lesser god as compared to almighty God Yahweh, was gaining traction by the beginning of the fourth century AD, and so in 325 AD, several hundred Christian bishops gathered in Nicaea to officially combat this heresy and establish orthodox, biblical Christology, which gave birth to the Nicene Creed - a creed that still stands today as one of the foundational summations of Christian orthodoxy as it pertains to the nature and persons and the work of the Triune Godhead.

So within the Nicene Creed are these words pertaining to the nature of Jesus (SLIDE) “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father...” For one, the doctrine of Christ’s dual nature as both God and man is called the (SLIDE) hypostatic union = the divine nature and the human nature coexisting in the one person of Jesus. Both natures exist in their truest sense simultaneously, with neither one overriding the other, but working in perfect harmony with one another at all times.

The Nicene Creed goes on to describe the humanity of Jesus through his incarnation as well, but the key word used in the Creed that we really need to pay attention to is the word “true”. This has been the standard accepted word to describe both Jesus’s divinity as well as his humanity. He is truly God, and truly man. In fact, using words or phrases like fully God/fully man......100% God/100% man are in fact insufficient and not useful in describing the duality of Christ. So we need to be careful with our language......and so Jesus is truly God.....he’s really God......and he’s truly man.....he’s really human.

And so the temptation of Jesus proved his humanity in that Jesus experienced temptation just as you and I do. Consider what the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 4:14–15 (SLIDE) “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” In the wilderness, and likely throughout the entirety of his life here on earth, Jesus was tempted just as you and I are tempted.

Consider how Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness according to Matthew’s gospel, who offers a more detailed description of those forty days in the wilderness. He misuses three different OT passages to tempt Jesus with the prospects of power....of pride......of influence and notoriety.....of even testing God. And don’t we struggle with those same temptations on a regular basis? It can be very difficult to resist the enemy’s temptations when it comes to power, position, and influence. We all want to feel important and necessary to others, and often our own pride can force us to succumb to those temptations.

Likewise, Jesus fasted for the entire time, and so Satan tried to attack his human weakness by tempting him with fleshly, physical satisfaction as well. And I think its safe to say that for most of us, fleshly temptations are what we struggle with the most. Whether its drugs and alcohol and other substances......sexual lust.......food.....or even laziness......the enemy knows how to attack our fleshly weaknesses.

In a 1992 edition of Discipleship Journal, readers ranked their most common spiritual struggles and temptations, and these were the top 10 in order from top to bottom......materialism......pride......self-centeredness.....laziness......anger/bitterness......sexual lust.......envy........gluttony......lying. And isn’t it interesting that all of those, with the exception of sexual lust, were likely what Jesus was tempted with during his forty days in the wilderness. But as we’ll see in just a bit, Jesus’ divinity, as well as his obedience to the Father and his reliance on the Spirit, empowered him to remain perfect and without sin, which will provide for us an example on how to fight temptation in our own lives.

But before we get there, another interesting question arises - “Could Jesus have sinned?” We understand that Scripture testifies to the sinlessness of Jesus. But hypothetically speaking, could Jesus have sinned? Some people, like the famous heretic Benny Hinn, has argued that if it wasn’t for the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus could have very likely sinned. This is the doctrine called the peccability of Christ - that although Jesus never did in fact sin, he very well could have given certain circumstances, even if just in the hypothetical.

This is contrasted with the (SLIDE) impeccability of Christ, which is the doctrine that Christ is wholly incapable of sinning, particularly because of his divine nature. And this is of course the view of orthodox, biblical Christianity. Because Jesus is truly God, he is therefore incapable of sinning, for sin is antithetical to the very nature of God. And this is why we have to develop a robust view of the trinity, because Jesus’ hypostatic union of divinity and humanity is central to understanding who Jesus is and what he did on our behalf.

Nevertheless, Jesus’ humanity was on display in the wilderness because he endured temptations just like we do, but he also learned obedience, as we all have to as well. And that has always been a strange thing to think about with regards to Jesus - that he had to learn obedience. But that’s exactly what we see in Scripture. Remember what we see in Hebrews 5:7–8 (SLIDE) “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” As a man, Jesus depended greatly on the Father and the Holy Spirit. He prayed to his father with great reverence and passion and regularity. And although he was the divine Son of God, he learned to be obedient by enduring temptations and sufferings of all kinds.

And this is often the way we learn our greatest lessons in life - through enduring temptations and sufferings of various kinds. And I think this is because temptations and sufferings are often intended to bring us to the end of ourselves so as to eliminate self-reliance as much as possible. For those of us who have overcome addictions or bad habits of any kind.....what’s one of the first things we had to admit - I have a problem. Which means.....as long as we want to fool ourselves into thinking......I don’t have an addiction.....I have this under control.......I’ve got this......we’ve got a problem. We think our self-confidence and self-control and self-determination are enough to control our sinful habits........but that’s a lie from the pit of hell! You see the enemy wants you to be as self-confident and self-reliant as humanly possible, so that your focus remains inward and not upward!

But true freedom and true healing and true victory over sin and temptation come when you admit you’re nothing without Him and you can’t make it a day without being in his presence and entirely reliant on his grace and power. Why? Because his knows best, and His will is always perfect........(Priscilla’s post about unanswered prayers).......… (SLIDE) “I thank God for unanswered prayers because at one point I was praying so hard for something that deep down in my soul I knew wasn’t good for me, but God knew better...” God always knows better! And that’s why suffering and temptations can be powerful tools to teach us obedience. In fact the apostle James would put it this way in James 1:2–4 (SLIDE) “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Spiritual maturity and steadfasteness of faith are God-ordained results of patient endurance of temptations and sufferings! Jesus, in his humanity, needed to learn that, and so do we!

So why else did Jesus have to endure temptations in the wilderness? Well secondly, Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness (SLIDE) perfected OT archetypes. Throughout the OT, we see archetypes and typology and foreshadowings, all of which point to a great reality that is ultimately fulfilled in Christ. And so the fact that Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days presents to us several significant parallels to OT stories.

Consider how the nation of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before being allowed to enter into the Promised Land. And while they were wandering, they became desperately hungry, and so God sent manna down from heaven to nourish them. Jesus is the true bread of life who provides us real, lasting nourishment, and he even reminded Satan that man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes God. Likewise, the Israelites time in the wilderness was filled with countless instances of disobedience and rebellion towards God, but Jesus, who is the greater Israel, remained perfectly obedient to the Father while being tempted in the wilderness.

Furthermore, the great OT prophets like Moses and Elijah both fasted for 40 days. In Exodus 34:28 , we read (SLIDE), “So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.” Moses fasted forty days and forty nights before giving the law to the people of God. Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights as he came to fulfill the Law of God. Following the miraculous feat on Mount Carmel, we read in 1 Kings 19 how Elijah fled from the evil queen Jezebel and headed toward the wilderness. But during his journey, he was ministered to by angels who fed him, and then he fasted forty days and forty nights as he made his way to Mount Horeb where he would receive a word from God. Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days, was ministered to by angels at the end, and then began his ministry as the Word made Flesh.

And then lastly, we need to remember Jesus’ relationship to Adam, the first man. Paul explains this Romans 5:12, 14-15, 17-19 (SLIDE) “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned......Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.......For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

Whereas Adam was disobedient to God due to temptation, even within the perfection of the garden, Jesus remained obedient to God even though he endured temptation in the wilderness. And so in effect, Jesus undid all that came as a result of Adam.

And then the last reason why Jesus had to endure temptations in the wilderness......(SLIDE) to provide us an example. For one, Jesus surrendered his own will to that of the Father and the Spirit. Remember, Mark says that the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness. If there is something intrinsic to every human being, its the desire and inclination towards self-preservation. In other words, we will naturally be inclined to avoid danger and discomfort in order to preserve our own desires and comforts and motives. However, Jesus was utterly unconcerned with self-preservation. He willingly endured temptation in the wilderness for forty days while also enduring persecution, betrayal, and many other hardships during his three years of ministry.

And one of the most powerful examples of self-denial by Jesus comes during an evening of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, where we Jesus’ humanity on full display when he prayed to the Father in Luke 22:42 (SLIDE) “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” How many times do we pray on a regular basis for safety and comfort and ease in our circumstances? How many times do we pray for God to ease our pain.....to remove our suffering......to preserve us from further hardships? But Jesus gives us the ultimate example of how to fight temptation and fleshliness - to utterly abandon all sense of self-preservation.

Have you ever suffered through a long season of hardship, and thought to yourself....why hasn’t God answered my pleas? Why do I continue to go through this painful hardship? This can often lead to frustrations with God and circumstances and a sense of hopelessness.....like this is going to never end and I guess I just have to suffer. Or maybe God’s will is entirely different for you in light of your circumstances. Maybe He’s got you exactly where He wants you to be so that you can learn obedience and grow in spiritual maturity. Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned or a greater mission that God has for you. And so Jesus’ example of self-denial and his perfect desire to seek and obey his Father’s will should be our example in every situation of life.

Another example that Jesus offers us in the wilderness is how to fight the lies of the enemy. In both Matthew’s and Luke’s gospel narratives, we get more details of the interactions between Jesus and Satan, who tries to twist God’s word to tempt Jesus. And every time, Jesus responds with Scripture to combat the temptations of the enemy. And this pattern of Jesus offers us the exact method of combating the enemy when he attacks us in like fashion. Remember what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:4 (SLIDE) “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” And the exact nature of those weapons are further described in Paul’s teaching on spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:17 where he describes the only offensive weapon (SLIDE) “...and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,...”

The word of God is our offensive weapon to combat all the temptations that the enemy can throw our way. The enemy always seeks to confuse you regarding what God has said.....from the very beginning, his ploy was simple.....get mankind to question what God really said. And how did Eve respond to the temptations of Satan?.......she relied on what she though she heard God say....not what he actually said. This is why personal revelation and relying on what you think God has told you personally can be so misleading.....and this is why its all the more important to be grounded in and well familiar with the word of God. We may get a sense that God is leading us or prompting one way or another, but we have to have the discernment to test that according to God’s written word. God’s unwritten will is always grounded in and supported by His written will.

And science actually confirms the effects that the word of God has on our hearts and minds. One of the most extensive studies conducted on the effects of reading the Bible took place in 2009 by the Center for Bible Engagement, and their study has had some pretty profound effects on how we understand the importance of reading our Bibles on the regular basis. The study showed that if you read the Bible once a week, that has basically no effect on your thinking or lifestyle.....If you read the Bible 2 days a week.....same thing - no distinguishable effect in one’s life. If you read your Bible 3 days a week, there starts to be some signs of effect, yet relatively quite small and generally insignificant.

However, when you read your Bible 4 days a week....something significant happens, and massive effects begin to take place. The study quantified the effects, and they are quite tremendous......When those in the study reported reading their Bibles at least 4 days a week, they show a 57% less chance of getting drunk....a 67% less chance of having sex outside of marriage.....a 61% lower odds of watching pornography......and a 75% less chance of gambling. And if you think these are pretty significant......consider these statistics......Those who read their Bible at least 4 days a week are 228% more likely to share their faith with someone.....231% more likely to disciple someone else....and 407% more likely to memorize Scripture.

The psalmist says in Psalm 119:11 (SLIDE) “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” God word is our safeguard against sin and disobedience. Remember what Piper said, that the power of temptations lie in their attempt to make you believe that sin will make you happier. But God’s word combats that by reminding you that God is your portion......that Jesus is the only one who can fill your heart and soul.....that your ultimate need is intimacy with God, and nothing else! God’s word is truly your greatest weapon!

And this leads us to another example that Jesus gives us in fighting against temptations of various kinds. We read in Hebrews 2:17–18 (SLIDE) “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Remember, Jesus is our High Priest who was tempted just as we are, and therefore not only does he understand your suffering, but he’s made a way through the suffering and towards victory of sin and temptation.

We read on in Hebrews 4:16 (SLIDE) “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We can approach God boldly and we can courageously combat the temptations that we face on a daily basis through the grace and mercy of God. Remember when Paul was sent a thorn in his flesh to torment him, he cried out to God three times to remove his suffering, and Christ himself tells him in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (SLIDE) “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Paul’s thorn in his flesh and Jesus’ endurance through suffering temptation in the wilderness remind us that God’s grace is sufficient to overcome any and all trials of life. As the angels ministered to the Son of God during his trial in the wilderness, we’re reminded that God is in the business of ministering to those who remain obedient and wholly dependent on his grace. Its only when we seek to do things on our own power......or when we try to take control of our lives.....that we’re more susceptible to giving into temptation.

But we need to remember what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13 (SLIDE) “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” God is faithful, and therefore every temptation that comes our way is coupled with a way of escape. So every time you are tempted by lust and broken desires......every time you’re tempted to take a drink......every time you’re tempted to let pride or anger or bitterness or hurt get the best of you.....God has made a way of escape.

Some people fall into temptation, but a great many make plans for disaster ahead of time. "Son," ordered a father, "Don't swim in that canal." 

"OK, Dad," he answered. But he came home carrying a wet bathing suit that evening. 

"Where have you been?" demanded the father. 

"Swimming in the canal," answered the boy. "Didn't I tell you not to swim there?" asked the father. 

"Yes, Sir," answered the boy. 

"Why did you?" he asked. 

"Well, Dad," he explained, "I had my bathing suit with me and I couldn't resist the temptation." 

"Why did you take your bathing suit with you?" he questioned. 

"So I'd be prepared to swim, in case I was tempted," he replied. 

Too many of us expect to sin and even excite sin in our lives. The remedy for such dangerous action is found in Romans 13:14 (SLIDE) “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” So something for you to consider as we close for today......in what areas do you continue to make provision for your flesh? In what areas do you compromise........where do you make excuses for why you won’t take bold steps to resist sin........what aspects of your old life are you trying to hold on to because you don’t want to let them go, and so you’ll try your hardest to justify why you don’t have to change? Remember, the person with a real problem is often the one who says “I don’t have a problem.”

Whenever we play with temptation, it is easy to drift into great danger. But when we refuse to give in and rather put on Christ by abiding in him and his word, we have all we need to resist gratifying our own fleshly desires. Putting on Christ means making his desires our desires.....his example our example......his manner of life our manner of life......his obedience - our obedience.