I hope you’ve found the last three weeks helpful for your walk with God and this week we’re finishing with the man around whom all of time pivots.

We don’t know much about Jesus’ first thirty years except that he grew in favour with God and man. But I’m sure there were many wilderness seasons during that time. 

The two wilderness seasons I want to focus on today are the forty days in the wilderness that we read about in Luke 4 and then in the garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26.  

This first wilderness was when Jesus had only just started his ministry when he was baptised by John in the Jordan river. After this he headed into the wilderness, where he prayed and fasted. It’s only at the end of this time, when physically, Jesus would have been at his weakest, that Satan comes to tempt Him. 

The three temptations that Jesus faced are ones we face regularly, though it may not be immediately obvious. The first temptation is to give in to his flesh by eating bread. Jesus had committed this time to fast, making a slave of his flesh by not giving in to it’s desires. Our world is quick to tell us that if it feels good, it’s right, but Jesus wanted to be the master of His flesh rather than allow it to master Him. We face this same temptation with how and what we eat and what we do with our bodies. 

Next, he was tempted to get power and dominion the easy way. He already had a right to all power and authority, he’d chosen to give it up. Choosing God’s way over the enemy’s shortcut. We face this when we have an opportunity to lie to get ahead or gossip to bring someone else down. 

Finally, he was tempted to prove himself to the world by throwing himself down from a very public place, the temple in Jerusalem, and have angels lift him up. That way, everyone would know who he was. But he rejected this and allowed the world to choose whether or not to accept him. We have to learn that the world may not accept who we are, but we can still choose to live in a way that brings glory to Him. 

Jesus faced these temptations and overcame them so that we could do the same. As it says in Hebrews 8:15, He was tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

His time in the wilderness had left him physically weak, but spiritually strong. He was able to withstand the temptations because His relationship with His father was strong enough to sustain him. He knew His identity. 

Another of his wilderness moments comes in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knows what lies before Him. He faces rejection from His friends and followers, He knows he’ll experience separation from His Father as he takes on the sin of mankind. In this moment, he gets on His knees, like Joseph he’s done nothing wrong, like David he is pursued by enemies and like Elijah he pours his heart out to His Father. 

This moment is defining for Him and for us. We can face hardship, winter seasons, and injustice, but like Jesus we can say, ‘Not my will be done but yours’. We can find, in surrender, peace and the strength to go on. 

Remember, we have one who will lead us through the wilderness, through the desert and give us hope. We can lean on our beloved. Song of Songs 8:5 – Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved? 

We can lean on Jesus, knowing that he learnt to lean on His father. He knows our struggles and wants to lead us through them.