First Sunday Of Lent
MARK 1:12-15 (Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22)
When there is mention of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, we instinctively think of the triple temptation in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. The earlier gospel, Mark, knows nothing of a triple temptation. Matthew and Luke used the Gospel of Mark and audaciously copied from it, changed and expanded it according to their own theological traditions. Their versions of the temptation of Jesus are a considerable expansion of the very brief, (two sentences), presentation of Mark. Mark begins, “The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness….” In Mark’s arrange-ment of material this “drive” takes places immediately after Jesus’ baptism and his identification as Son of God by the voice from the sky. Mark noted the descent of “the Spirit in the form of a dove” upon Jesus at his baptism. It is therefore the same Spirit who descended upon Jesus at his baptism who is acting here at the beginning of the temptation story.
The English word “drove” is not the best translation of the Greek verb Mark uses for the Holy Spirit setting the stage for Jesus’ temptation. The first reason: it is too easy to misunderstand what is meant. In a time when so much is done on wheels, the first thought that comes to mind is the Spirit as a kind of taxi driver conveying Jesus into the wilderness. Second reason: Mark weaves into his gospel a major theme which can be called “the abandonment of Jesus.” That theme begins with the Spirit “driving” Jesus into the wilderness. Mark uses the same Greek verb as he uses to express Jesus’ exorcisms, that is, expelling demons. Applying pressure against the will of someone is implied. Therefore a better translation would be, “The Spirit expelled Jesus into the wilderness.” The theme of abandonment therefore begins with the action of the Holy Spirit and ends with the non-action of the Father at the cross, when the Marcan Jesus cries out in the opening words of Psalm 22, “My God! My God! Why have you abandoned me?”
Jesus’ human nature instinctively recoils from exposure to hardship in the barren wilderness just as that same human nature begged his Father to let him escape the cross. Mark continues: “And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan.” If Mark intends this “wilderness” to refer to a desert, the most likely location would be southern Judea, perhaps in the Dead Sea area. John the Baptizer was also associated with this area as we see in Mark 1:4. “Wilderness” also echoes the struggles of Israel in their long trek through the Sinai wilderness into freedom. It was a time of testing, tempting, purification. Israel was being prepared by God for the Promised Land. Jesus undergoes preparation and strengthening for his approaching ministry. The term “forty days” is filled with echoes of the Exodus of Israel. For example, Deuteronomy 8:2, “And you shall remember all the way the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart….”
“Tempted by Satan” is noted without any detail about specific temptations such as are found in the versions of Luke and Matthew. The latter are theological expansions or commentaries on Mark’s simple statement, “tempted by Satan.” According to early Christian theology, Moses and Elijah were two important prototypes of Jesus. Each of them had his own forty days in the wild-erness. For Moses’ forty days, see Exodus 34:28 and Deuteronomy 9:9. For Elijah, see 1 Kings 19:8. The word “Satan” is derived from a Hebrew or Akkadian verb meaning “to bear a grudge.”
The noun itself meant “adversary, opponent.” The word “Satan” was also current in Persia at a time when the Jews were under Persian domination and influence. Thus “Satan” is considered a Persian loanword, a word borrowed by the Jews and used in Jewish & later Christian literature. At the risk of offending the legal profession, it may be pointed out that in Persian the word “Satan” signified a prosecuting attorney.
Biblically speaking, Satan enters the Old Testament rather late, and not as the malignant character that evolved in very late Old Testament times and early New Testament times. The Book of Job seems to have the honor of being the first to speak biblically of Satan as a person in his own right, but a heavenly spirit who is late for heavenly staff meetings. He is not yet an evil figure, but is used as God’s agent to try Job’s patience. Originally not only good but also evil was thought to be caused by God. See Isaiah 45:7. As theology developed, it was deemed necessary to put some distance between God and evil. Ready at hand for a mediating cause of evil was the figure of Satan, which became a name for the ruler of evil spirits, that is, the devil. By New Testament times, the name Satan indicates a totally evil figure.
Mark continues, “And he was with the wild beasts.” Mark probably intends this statement to add to the desolation of Jesus’ experience – no human consolation. He may already have in mind the abandonment and desolation of Jesus on the cross. The last words of Jesus on the cross in Mark’s gospel are the opening words of Psalm 22. That Psalm describes the sufferings of a victim as being surrounded by wild dogs. He prays to be delivered from “the mouth of the lion” and “from the horns of wild oxen.” The temptation scene closes with these words, “And the angels ministered to him.” Both Luke and Matthew interpreted this Marcan statement as a reference to Psalm 91:11-12, “He will give his angels charge over you, to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
