He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him

 

 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:

"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You."

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.'"

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

 

- Mark 1:1-13 

 

In our recent readings, we have been given what is called Christ's High Priestly Prayer, in which He prayed to the Father just prior to His seizure by the authorities and crucifixion (beginning with Thursday's reading).  On Saturday, we read the last part of this prayer:   "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

 

 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:  "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You."  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.    My study Bible explains that the use of the word gospel (which literally means "good news" or "good tidings") does not refer to Mark's writings per se, but rather to the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That is, the good news of our salvation.  This word εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion (which Old English rendered "gospel") was commonly in use for proclamations of rulers like Caesar regarding the arrival of a kingdom; the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the gospel of the Kingdom.  John the Baptist is a messenger who comes to proclaim the imminent arrival of a Kingdom, to tell us to prepare the way of the Lord.  It is a baptism of confession and repentance in preparation for this Kingdom.  John is the last in the line of the Old Testament prophets, who proclaimed the word of the Lord.  Here he quotes from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3.  He was a tremendous figure in his own time, widely known (as evidenced by the many who come from Judea and Jerusalem in order to be baptized by him in the wilderness at the Jordan River.  John had many disciples, from out of whom came the first disciples called by Christ (John 1:35-39).  My study Bible also points out that the vacancy left among the first apostles by Judas' betrayal was filled by another who had been one of John's followers (Acts 1:22).  It adds that the people's acceptance of John as a godly man prepared them to accept Jesus as well (John 5:33-35). 

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  John is clothed with camel's hair and a leather belt, in a manner which bears resemblance to the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).  This helps to show that he fulfills the prophecy of Elijah's return (see Malachi 4:5, Matthew 11:14).   John's manner of life displays a rule of poverty and fasting, in which everything is dedicated to God and to his role as messenger of the Kingdom.  This is displayed through his great humility, and clear dedication to Christ the Lord whose advent he proclaims.  Note the evidence of the understanding of the Holy Spirit, already present to those who hear John.

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  We must note that this Baptism of Jesus Christ is what is called Epiphany (Manifestation, or showing forth) or Theophany (Manifestation of God), for it reveals the Holy Trinity in the vision of the Holy Spirit and the voice from heaven of the Father, just as the Father and the Holy Spirit reveal Christ as Son.   Jesus does not need to be baptized, but does so in order to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15).  Gregory of Nyssa is cited by my study Bible, who writes, "Jesus enters the filthy, sinful waters of the world and when He comes out, brings up and purifies the entire world with Him."  Thus, Christ sanctified the waters of the world for Holy Baptism for all.

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.  Christ's period of withdrawal to the wilderness for fasting and being tempted by Satan gives us our forty days of Lent in preparation for the celebration of Christ's Resurrection, Easter (or Pascha).  Note that it is the Spirit who drove Him into the wilderness for this period of spiritual struggle in preparation for His public ministry.   We can read about this period in more detail in Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13.  The word translated as drove means to cast out or throw out, so we are meant to understand the powerful action of the Holy Spirit involved in this forty-day period of resisting temptation by Satan.

In the ancient beginnings of monastic tradition, this understanding of Christ being driven into the wilderness by the Spirit for spiritual struggle with Satan served as inspiration for those who went to the Egyptian desert.   These early people who did so are often referred to as the Desert Monks.   So when we understand Christ to have been driven by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan, we need to see this event in the same framework that the ancients did:  that the wilderness was a battleground for spiritual struggle.  While we may see war and violent struggle in a physical or material sense in this world, the early understanding of the Gospel of Christ is couched in the understanding that there is a spiritual struggle going on all the time in our world, a spiritual battle between God the Father, Son, and Spirit and all the saints and angels loyal to God, and those spiritual beings who rebelled against God.  We, as human beings, are in some sense caught in the middle, and so we also are invited into this struggle, and particularly when we call ourselves believers or followers of Christ.  As we begin Lent, we should come to understand that this struggle in the wilderness is the model for Lent.  Traditional practices of almsgiving, fasting, and prayer emphasize our need for the development of spiritual strength in our faith.  By the way, the word in Greek for almsgiving is rooted in the word for "mercy" (ἐλεημοσύνην/eleimosinin), so when we practice "acts of charity," that word means charity in its most full sense, the practice of kindness and compassion, the giving of mercy to others.  Fasting also has a much more full meaning than merely its application to food; we also seek to fast from acts of harm such as gossip, or things that distract us from our love and focus on the Lord at this time.  Fasting from social media has become a rather popular thing, at least in particular from things that can be distracting and harmful, or tend to make us focus purely on the material rather than our spiritual lives and communion with God.  To fast in its purest sense is to say "No" to the things that tempt, so that we develop discipline and the ability to transcend temptations and make the path straight for the Lord, to paraphrase John the Baptist as he echoes the words of Isaiah.   It is not our impulses or passions that rule us, but our love of the Lord.  Note that while tempted in the wilderness, Jesus is ministered to by the angels.  It is important to understand that in the communion of prayer we are also assisted by angels, and in the Christian understanding, by the saints as well.  We call upon this "great cloud of witnesses" by whom we are surrounded, as St. Paul says, to help us also to grow closer to God, to find the right path, to seek the light by which we need to walk (John 8:12).  These are the purposes and practices of Lent, and perhaps in this time of great stress over the world we need this time of prayer more than ever.  Let us remember that John's preparation for the Lord was one of repentance and remission of sins; repentance in the Greek (μετανοια/metanoia) means "change of mind."  It is a time to reconsider, to set things right with God, to clear away the extraneous so that we more truly focus on this place of communion, to draw upon our resources for battling the temptations of extremes of passion and fervor for a clear acceptance of the peace He offers (John 14:27), even in the midst of tribulation.  Let us, at the very least, seek to fast from contributing to the clamor.