One of the most challenging books I have ever read was “The Pursuit of Holiness” by Jerry Bridges. I found it biblically sound and a good reminder that I need to keep myself exposed and often reacquaint myself with the sacred holy things of God. Especially in a world where casual Friday has even impacted idealogy and morality. The temptation to conform, enjoy or celebrate the style of living Christ commanded me to live is often viewed as legalistic and confining. While the culture may hold the view that pursuing holiness is the ultimate killjoy, as a child of God, I have learned that nothing will kill my joy faster than not embracing Christ’s teaching on life’s priorities. This is demonstrated passionately for us in the temptation of Christ by Satan at the onset of His earthly ministry. Though it is not an event occurring in Jesus’ last 40 days, it is impossible for me to pass on the passion of Christ revealed in His experience in the wilderness as I lean into the season of Lent.
The biblical accounts of this event are found in both the 4th chapters of Matthew and Luke. It is also found in the 1st chapter of Mark. After the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, God’s voice spoke from Heaven audibly, announcing His pleasure in His beloved son. The Holy Spirit is recorded to have descended as a dove at this time, and I love these passages as it is an amazing revelation of the trinity, all present in their separate entities but demonstrating their unity of one spirit. This was the event that marked the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Immediately after this, Jesus went into the desert to fast and pray. This reminds me that Jesus was ever passionately pursuing the will of God and preparing Himself for the cross long before He made His way to Calvary.
This is a good time to examine that Jesus was not the only one who was passionate in this account. Satan has been passionately pursuing the identity of the Messiah for years and doing all he could to thwart God’s plan to save His people. Consider that the biblical prophecy of Christ’s earthly mission was announced in Genesis after the fall of man when God revealed a redeemer would come. From that moment on, Satan began to plot, kill and murder any candidate he might suspect would be the Messiah. Folks need to remember that Satan is cunning and wise as a serpent but does not possess omnipotence and cannot see the future as God does.
The evidence of Satan’s attempt to eradicate the salvation plan is seen throughout the Old Testament, beginning with the murder of Abel by Cain. The unrighteous slayed the righteous. This pattern continues as we see of all the times that Satan influenced others to slay all the Hebrew baby boys, both by the Pharoah of Egypt and Herod the Great. Had Satan known the identity of Jesus specifically, he would have made a targeted attempt on his life. But, since Satan knew that the Messiah would come from this line of people, his influence to kill all the baby boys gave him some false assurance that surely he had exterminated the Messiah. Herod was so determined that he had all the Hebrew boys under the age of 2 killed, just in case he didn’t have the timeline right. Though Herod was concerned about his earthly throne, Satan used Herod in the attempt to unseat the Son of God from His This brings us to the temptation of Jesus. The public baptism identified Jesus specifically as the promised Messiah, and God’s thunderous voice confirmed it. Now, Satan, who had been searching and plotting for centuries, was going to pursue Christ passionately.
Jesus went into the wilderness, and after 40 days of fasting and prayer, He was quite hungry. His response to Satan’s invitation to turn stones into bread to satisfy His hunger reminds me that Christ was wholly God and wholly man. Yet, Jesus remained holy, answering Satan with a passionate reply that He would depend solely on the Father and not be ruled by his natural fleshly drives, like hunger and thirst. The next thing Satan tries to entice Jesus to do is to jump off the cliff. This is consistent with Satan’s prideful deceit that he could eliminate the salvation God offers to the world by killing the agent of it, Jesus himself. When this was met with the passionate loyalty of Christ to the will of God, Satan’s last attempt was at least to tempt Jesus to align his power and worship with evil. Upon the adamant refusal of Jesus to succumb, the scriptures record that Satan left Jesus but would return when the next opportunity presented itself. This is another place where we see the wholeness of God and man in Christ, Heaven, and earth meet up as angels come to minister and care for him.
The vast depth of truth revealed in this account is far greater than this writing could address, but because I am focused on the passion of Christ, I want to draw out this perspective. The pursuit of His mission to the cross began when Jesus opened his eyes on this side of Heaven. It continued when he was found in the temple at the age of 12, being about the Father’s business as he told Mary and Joseph, all the way to His last affirmation from the cross that “It is Finished.” Jesus remained passionate. Enduring the temptation of his tired, hungry flesh and the mental anguish of knowing that a painful death awaited him, Jesus was motivated by His great love for me to pass on the opportunity to opt-out of suffering and death. I use the word “me” because salvation is personal. It’s passionate and perfectly purchased by Christ for the world as a whole. It is offered to me as a free gift. As I read and reflect on the temptation of Christ, it stirs my passion. I embrace that it is not a mere historical event like the crossing of the Mayflower or the death of Alexander the Great. But rather, it is a living invitation to step into the personal experience of Jesus in that wilderness because His hunger, struggle, and anguish have my name all over it. I am a part of history in that Jesus endured these afflictions to meet with the appointment at the cross to make me able to be in the right relationship with God. Because He is Holy, I am Holy. I share in His righteousness. Because He is wholly God, He has made me part of His family. I am wholly Gods; I belong to Him. Though my hunger for other things may cause me to pursue satisfying my own needs, I am provided for by His hand alone. Though Satan may tempt with the desire for more control and more acceptance by the world, I can share in the passion that Christ had, to do the will of the Father. As I make my way through this life I can, as the scripture says in Phil 4: 13, “do all things through Christ who strengthens me.“
Please come back to the vineyard where next time the 5 o’clock worker shares the passion that can be found in a bottle of perfume.
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