Mark 1:12-13 Satan Tempts Jesus In The Wilderness.

Upon being anointed for his ministry, the Spirit then sends Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by Satan. The wilderness motif runs throughout the new testament as a focal point of what is happening at this stage in salvation history. The apostate members within the old covenant community at the time of Jesus’ advent, is likened unto the generation who rebelled for 40 years in the wilderness. That generation also lacked faith, stemming from their choice to refuse to take the land which God had promised. There were believers like Moses, who were true members of the covenant, but his lack of faith also barred him from entry. Now with Jesus, we see a similar challenge to the same gospel of the kingdom. In his 4o days would he be proven faithful to the mission he was given, and the work he had just been anointed to? We must not lose sight of the fact that angels also “ministered to Him.” Satan had his angels, but Jesus also had his. Matthew and Luke give us a fuller account as to how Jesus answered this question in the affirmative (Cf. Mt. 4:1-11; Lk. 4:1-13).