Led by the Spirit into the Desert

1. Led by the Spirit
The Holy Spirit that descended upon Jesus at His Baptism leads Him into the wilderness (the desert of Judea which lies between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea). Therefore it is the Holy Spirit who makes Him confront and defeat evil.

2. Forty Days and Forty Nights
Jesus stays in the wilderness for forty days just as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years during the Exodus. In their wilderness wandering, the rebellious Covenantal People of God failed not a few times. They murmured against God and went against their leader Moses. They opted against God. In the wilderness, Jesus reenacts the temptations of His people. Will He, the newly proclaimed Son of God too fail? The tension mounts!

Jesus stays in the wilderness for forty days, just as the ancient prophets met and decided with God alone far from the world. In deep communion with God, He is making His opt for the ministry. This becomes the fertile ground for the devil. Will He too opt against God? The tension mounts!

3. Tempted by the Devil
At the end of the forty days, Jesus confronts the devil. At baptism, Jesus was proclaimed God's Son. Over the waters of the Jordan, Jesus' unique relationship with God was thus proclaimed. Now it is tested.So the devil repeats "If you are the Son of God..."

4. First Temptation
Three tests are put to Jesus, based on the natural human drives of hunger, glory and power. First, He is asked to change stones into loaves. But, He refers to Deuteronomy 8 : 3 "He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord."

In Deuteronomy 8: 3 Moses interpreted the wilderness scene. God called the people out of Egypt. People should have faith in Him. He knows what He does. So when He does something people should believe in Him. He really tested them by making them hungry to teach them the lesson of accepting His will, workings and word.

But in their hunger Israel murmured and clamoured for food. They murmured in the desert against God and Moses yearning for the flesh pots in Egypt. By this they tested Him instead of believing in Him. But out of care, He gave them manna in the desert for hunger. He made their lives easier in the desert.

Jesus in the wilderness is now hungry and the devil would like Him to perform a miracle to satisfy His hunger. Will He too fail like Israel? He would obey God and take the more difficult path of fasting. Even when natural means fail, He would trust in God's care. He would rather rely on His word, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'"

5. Second Temptation
Second, Jesus is asked to inaugurate His ministry with a dazzling display on the parapet of the Temple of Jerusalem, the city of destiny, where He will ultimately face His destiny, the city of Jesus' passion, death and Resurrection, where He will finally confront and completely conquer the devil.

In the wilderness, Israel wanted water to drink and again murmured against God and Moses and forced a miracle from God to make their lives easier: the water from the rock.

Now the devil suggests Jesus to jump from the Temple wall that people may aclaim Him as Messiah, as He will not be hurt. But He does not wish to have the easier and the popular road to Messiahship and thereby, does not wish to tempt or test His God who has called Him to a difficult road of Messiahship.

6. Third Temptation
Finally Jesus is asked to accept the kingdoms of the world at the hands of someone other than His Father. In the wilderness, Israel tested God so much and they got things they demanded in an easier way and finally they rejected the very God who called them by adoring a false god made according to their wishes, namely the golden calf.

Now the devil wishes that Jesus would worship him in exchange of the whole world. He wishes Jesus to follow the easy path of
idolatry. But He vehemently rejects it and opts for the true God.

At the end, when Jesus abides by the will of God and suffers and dies on the cross - the difficult path - then He will really give Him all power and authority in heaven and on earth.

7. The Suffering and Dying Messiah
All these three tests revolve around Jesus' mission as God's Son. Over the waters of the Jordan, He was identified as the Suffering and Dying Messiah or Son of God. The devil tries to frustrate God's plan - Jesus' mission as His Son to be the Suffering and Dying Messiah. But Jesus manifests His unique Sonship of God. He does not use His powers to His own benefit. He does not blackmail His Father into seeing that no harm befalls Him. He does not receive kingship over creation except at the hands of His Father. He is deeply committed to the messianic mission entrusted to Him by the Father. He prefers the way willed by the Father - the way of the cross - to the easy way, suggested by the devil. Undaunted by these temptations of the devil Jesus dedicates His life to the destiny, willed by His Father.

8. Via Crucis
The three temptations are symbolic of the whole ministry of Jesus. At baptism He was proclaimed the Son of God, the Suffering and Dying Messiah. Throughout His ministry, this particular way Jesus has chosen - via crucis - is tested.

The devil makes use of this title each time for its advantage, "If you are the Son of God-" But Jesus holds on to God's will.

Jesus spoke like an ordinary man on the Mount of Olives, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as You will". In other words, He implores, "If it is your will, remove the difficult path, this chalice..." Then He surrendered to the Father's will immediately, 'but not my will.'

Even on the cross, the same challenge is given - even now at this last hour He is challenged to perform a miracle, "... save yourself, if you are the Son of God, (and) come down from the Cross! ... He saved others; He cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let Him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in Him"

Which is the path of the Church today?