In The WIld But Not Of It

How do you prepare for a task? What tools are needed to thrive in the wilderness?

Some tasks require very little preparation, like brushing your teeth. Other tasks require a lot of preparation, like building a house or starting a business.

If you were going to attempt to do something for God, what are some steps that you might take in order to be prepared?

God had been preparing this moment for thousands of years. He knew even before the world was created that He would send Jesus to pay the penalty of sin.

What steps do you think God did in order to bring about the coming of Jesus?

God was using His sovereignty to shape human history and human hearts to bring about the setting for Jesus’ arrival. But even after He was born, Jesus continued to prepare for His ministry on earth through careful study, prayer, and fasting.

Luke 3:1–2 CSB

1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

Notice the setting. Luke gives us a detailed account of when it is these events take place. He does this because the story of Jesus is not a mythology, but an account of the true historical events that took place. These characters seem larger than life compared to the humble depiction of Jesus and John given to us in the early chapters of this book. These men ruled empires and were responsible for the lives of thousands of people, yet by the end of the book of Luke, and even by the end of this chapter, we find Jesus to be superior to every man mentioned in the introduction.

Luke 3:3–6 (CSB)

3 He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

Prepare the way for the Lord;

make his paths straight!

5 Every valley will be filled,

and every mountain and hill will be made low;

the crooked will become straight,

the rough ways smooth,

6 and everyone will see the salvation of God.

Here is proof of God’s preparation. Hundreds of years before John was born, God promised through the prophet Isaiah that John would come to prepare the way for Jesus.

Who is John the Baptist? John was the cousin of Jesus, he was the son of Zechariah who served as a priest in the temple at the time of Jesus’ birth. John is also the product of a miraculous birth. His mother Elizabeth was barren but God made a way for John to be born even though they were of an old age. John lived in the wilderness and ate locusts and wild honey. He wore camel hair and had a leather belt, and spent his time baptizing people in the Jordan river.

By fulfilling this passage, John was making the way for the Gospel message to be accessible to not just Israel, but to all people. His message served to prepare the hearts of the people so that when Jesus came, they would be ready to respond to the call to follow Him. In a sense, John doesn’t fill valleys or squash mountains, but the incredible power of what Jesus does through His death and resurrection makes it so anyone can come to faith in Him regardless of how many times they fall short. The Gospel is not for sale, it is a free gift for everyone. It makes the strong bow low, it raises up the weak, it guides and it heals. We can be unashamed of this Gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

Luke 3:7–20 CSB

7 He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 “What then should we do?” the crowds were asking him. 11 He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.” 14 Some soldiers also questioned him, “What should we do?” He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” 15 Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.” 18 Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. 19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to everything else—he locked up John in prison.

John was preparing the people for a cultural shift, from the Old Covenant to the New covenant. John calls the people to stop depending on their ancestry and good deeds for salvation and to start looking for the One, whose sandals John was unworthy to untie. In this person, John says, the people should put their trust in. John’s baptism was similar to the baptism we have today in that it was symbolic. John baptized people for repentance: the process of turning away from sin and choosing to do good. Our baptism today is symbolic of the baptism of the Holy Spirit we receive the second we put our faith in Jesus. The repentance of John’s baptism was not always permanent, but the salvation we experience through Jesus and remember in modern baptism today is permanent. That is why we don’t re-baptize every time someone repents of a sin or rededicate their lives to Christ.

The question the people had might be similar to one you have.

Why is Jesus worthy? Why should I trust Him? Who is Jesus?

These questions are answered in the last verses of chapter one.

Luke 3:21–22 CSB

21 When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As he was praying, heaven opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”

It pleased the Father to send His Son Jesus. Jesus is fully God but became a man and experienced heartache, sorrow, He was thirsty, He was hungry, He left a throne to come to earth where He didn’t even have a place to lay His head, He was mocked, He was rejected, and He was put to death. In all these things God was pleased because Jesus didn’t stay dead. He rose again and because of that He is worthy of all of our worship and affection. Jesus is THE way for us to have a relationship with God and because of that God was happy to send Jesus.

Luke 3:23–38 (CSB)

23 As he began his ministry, Jesus was about thirty years old and was thought to be the

son of Joseph, son of Heli,

24 son of Matthat, son of Levi,

son of Melchi, son of Jannai,

son of Joseph, 25 son of Mattathias,

son of Amos, son of Nahum,

son of Esli, son of Naggai,

26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias,

son of Semein, son of Josech,

son of Joda, 27 son of Joanan,

son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel,

son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,

28 son of Melchi, son of Addi,

son of Cosam, son of Elmadam,

son of Er, 29 son of Joshua,

son of Eliezer, son of Jorim,

son of Matthat, son of Levi,

30 son of Simeon, son of Judah,

son of Joseph, son of Jonam,

son of Eliakim, 31 son of Melea,

son of Menna, son of Mattatha,

son of Nathan, son of David,

32 son of Jesse, son of Obed,

son of Boaz, son of Salmon,

son of Nahshon, 33 son of Amminadab,

son of Ram, son of Hezron,

son of Perez, son of Judah,

34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac,

son of Abraham, son of Terah,

son of Nahor, 35 son of Serug,

son of Reu, son of Peleg,

son of Eber, son of Shelah,

36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad,

son of Shem, son of Noah,

son of Lamech, 37 son of Methuselah,

son of Enoch, son of Jared,

son of Mahalalel, son of Cainan,

38 son of Enos, son of Seth,

son of Adam, son of God.

Luke 4:1–2 CSB

1 Then Jesus left the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, he was hungry.

Jesus was led by the Spirit to go into the wilderness. He was hungry, He was tired. Sometimes the Holy Spirit leads us into dangerous situations.

How do we respond when in the wilderness?

We can respond the same way Christ does, with Scripture and with prayer! One thing Jesus did to prepare for His ministry on earth was fast.

What is fasting? Why is it important?

Luke 4:3–4 (CSB)

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

4 But Jesus answered him, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.” [but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. -Matthew]

Luke 4:5–15 (CSB)

5 So he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 The devil said to him, “I will give you their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. 7 If you, then, will worship me, all will be yours.”

8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

9 So he took him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

He will give his angels orders concerning you,

to protect you, 11 and

they will support you with their hands,

so that you will not strike

your foot against a stone.”

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God.”

13 After the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout the entire vicinity. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, being praised by everyone.

Jesus was tempted three different ways while in the wilderness:

Could He trust God as a provider?

Was God worthy of praise?

Could He trust God as a protector?

With each temptation, Jesus responded with Scripture and He remained faithful to God. He entered into His ministry prepared and ready to trust God in every situation He would face, even His own crucifixion.

We as sinful people struggle with the same three questions. Sometimes it is difficult that God can meet our needs, its hard to make God first above all the other distractions we have, its hard to trust that He knows what is best for us even when things are going bad, but in all these things we can trust in God because He is at work. Jesus trusted God because He knew that what God had planned was bigger than any momentary pleasure He might have gotten from sin. Our sin offers us nothing compared to what God has to offer us. God offers us a fulfilling life of joy and peace. He offers us an eternal relationship with Him. He offers us a purpose for living.

God is not done working. He promises us that one day Jesus will come again.

What is God doing to prepare the world for that event?

Just like God used John to prepare the way for Jesus, He is using us, His church, as a royal priesthood, as voices crying out in the wilderness, to prepare the way for His coming. We are called to be salt and light in this world filled with darkness, and we are called to take the message of hope we have in Jesus, that God became a man, lived a perfect life, died on the cross paying the penalty of our sin, and rose again on the third day, ascending into heaven and taking His rightful place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and that through faith and not by our works we can have an eternal relationship with Jesus, forever.