Mark 1 

Lord, open our eyes to see and our hearts to receive Your Word.. that  we might know You more. 

 V12-13  Jesus was "immediately... impelled.. to go our into the wilderness."  The Spirit of God came "like a dove" upon Jesus as He came up out of the waters of baptism... and swept Him away to a solitary place in the wilderness. This place had no food.. so He went without for 40 days.  This place had wild animals and worse than that it was where Satan came to tempt Him.  Mark skips over the details of those temptations and goes straight to the end.. "and the angels were ministering to Him." 

Hebrews 2:14 tells us that "Because God's children are human beings- made of flesh and blood - the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death." (NLT) 

Jesus suffered there in the wilderness. He suffered from hunger and thirst. He suffered from the heat of the day and the chill of the night.  He suffered from being alone with only wild beasts for his company.  He was flesh and blood.. just like us.. so He was not exempt from the physical suffering of these 40 days.  Could any of us spend 40 days in such a place?  I know I couldn't.  Yet, Jesus began His ministry with this time of isolation.. no doubt.. communing with His Father for the things that were about to happen during the next 3 years. 

Can we know Jesus more in this "snapshot" that Mark provides for us?  We see that He was "impelled" by the Spirit and sent to a place that was quite desolate.  He was willing to go.. willing to suffer.. even from the beginning of His ministry.. indeed from the beginning of His life.. when He took off His Royal Robes of heaven and became "flesh and blood" so that He could die for our sins.  He overcame the suffering.. so that He could overcome the temptations of the devil.. and overcome death and the grave.  Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Father in heaven, may we become more and more like Your Beloved Son as You fill us with Your Spirit and lead us.. whether into a wilderness.. or some other place.  May we find the strength in Jesus to overcome temptations.. and to overcome fear and uncertainty.  Jesus, we need You.. every hour we need You.. be with us today as we draw near and rejoice that we are with You always. Amen.