In the previous blog, I discussed the necessity of going to the wilderness. Now we see Jesus Himself illustrate this. After Jesus was baptised, He was driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit.

First however, he was gloriously affirmed by His heavenly Father: You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased. Note that Jesus received this affirmation before He did any ministry, and before He was tempted (though, yes it was after His choice to be obedient in baptism). God the Father did not wait to see how Jesus would come out of temptation before He affirmed how much He loved Him. It’s important that like Jesus, we grasp this basis of God’s love before doing anything. Though we are humans, and Jesus is God, we can distill some important principles from this:

1. We don’t work to earn God’s love, but we do things out of gratitude for God’s love.

2. Knowledge of God’s love for us is important to get through difficult periods of temptation. God probably knew Jesus needed some encouragement for the next episode!

After this encouragement, the Spirit immediately drove Jesus into the wilderness.  Interesting: the Spirit purposefully drove Jesus into the wilderness, where God knew He would be tempted. Why?

Jesus’ lived a normal human lifestyle, in which he grew in wisdom as his childhood years progressed. Perhaps, he also needed to follow the normal human trajectory for preparation for ministry (see e.g. Luke 2:52, Hebrews 5:7), in which testing is necessary. More importantly I believe, whether He needed to follow this trajectory or not, He definitely modeled this for us. Ministry is tough. It is better, perhaps, to be exposed to temptations and testing before ministry, so as to be better prepared when they arise during this process. A period of testing shows the true character of a person, and after going through it, a person can come out stronger and more stable than at first.

Testing, a desert place, and the accompanying loneliness help us distill what is truly important in life and know our priorities. When we cannot depend on other human beings, and on things we feel are basic needs to function, this helps us place our ultimate trust in God: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God“.

The lonely place of the desert also brings out a person’s true character. What choices does someone make when no one is looking? Jesus was tempted to abuse His power, focus on comfort, and gain glory for Himself – and did not yield. Such temptations often arise during ministry, as you probably have seen illustrated by prosperity gospel preachers! (I will not name any). These temptations can creep in subtly, so it is all the more important that people are stripped of them before they enter into work in God’s kingdom. If human ministers are stripped of egoism, comfort and pride at the outset, before they begin their ministry, this will help them do this in a manner that glorifies God and face the inevitable difficulties that come their way.

Thus, being brought into a desert place can be a very important forming process. Perhaps this is why the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert. Sometimes we too are driven into desert places or encounter them. We doubt why, and doubt God’s goodness, but all along He has a purpose that He will accomplish with it. His goodness never fails. And He brings angels (or messengers) to minister (serve) us and encourage us (Mark 1:13).

If we are not driven into a desert place, we can also look for such an experience (as mentioned in the previous post). We can go to the desert consciously by taking time for prayer, and going on a retreat for a few days. We can do away with stuff that clutter our lives. We can ask God to reveal any obstacles in our lives that limit how our lives show His glory. In short, we can engage in the repentance that John the Baptist calls us to in chapter 1.

Let us prepare a highway for our God!