Desert Distress

Jesus and his Destiny

Jesus consented to be baptized by John, so that everything would be done rightly. Then the Holy Spirit descended upon him and a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 

So he is confirmed as God's  Son, the Messiah who was predicted! It's time for him now to forsake his career as a carpenter, and take up the role of prophet, for John the Baptist had prepared the way. BUT one more thing must happen, before Jesus begins to preach. What is it?

My thesis is that Jesus, as fully man, learned things the way we learn them: that is, the Holy Spirit reveals them to us. Jesus knew the scriptures, which said that the Messiah was destined to be scorned, beaten, and cruelly murdered by hanging on a cross. But now he had to deal with that fully, accepting those horrid facts into his life as a physical reality. We know that Jesus struggled with this to the very end, praying "Father, if at all possible, take this from me. But not as I want it, but as you want it." This could only be dealt with alone, in the desert, where he was driven by the Spirit.

Driven by the Holy Spirit

As Jesus wandered in the desert, he was led around by the Holy Spirit.

Alone with the Wild Beasts

Only Mark's Gospel mentions Jesus being with the wild beasts. Thus Mark confirms the scripture: "The wild beasts will honor me: The jackals and the ostrich."

Prayer, Fasting, and Hunger

As a middle-class carpenter, it is unlikely that Jesus had dealt with near-starvation before. The number of completion is 40, but before Jesus had completed his 40 days of fasting, he knew what starvation felt like. It even may have affected his mind, so that the very rocks would begin to look like bread. But he is here to resolve what his life holds for him, and what he is called to say to the people of Israel.

Satan Speaks

In the stillness of the desert, Jesus could hear the devil speaking: "You don't have to wait for a time of completion. You can have something to eat right now. You can turn these stones into bread. Go ahead, you can do it! If you are really the Son of God, you have  the power."

Tempting, right?  But something was wrong. If the Holy Spirit sent him out here, it was for a reason, and the reason was probably not to feast on whatever succulent food he could find--or conjure--out here. Besides, what was really keeping  him alive out  here? Something to eat? Or his Father in heaven?

Jesus reached deep into scripture and answered Satan, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

The Pinnacle of the Temple

But Jesus' mind leapt ahead to his coming ministry. John the Baptist had made his mark, Baptizing by the Jordan. Everyone knew about him. But who ever heard of Jesus? He's just a carpenter, and the son of a carpenter. How will people get to know him? Why would they come out into the desert to hear a carpenter speak, a carpenter who had  never done anything amazing? How would they know that Jesus is the Son of God?

Satan had an answer for him. He took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, and said to him, "If you are really the Son of God, then just throw yourself down from here. For in Scripture it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you that On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"

So now the devil was throwing the words of Scripture at Jesus, showing him how he could become well known. But Jesus had a few words to throw back: "On the other hand, in Scripture it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

(In Luke's Gospel, he places this incident second, but he connects the three incidents with "and..." ..."and..."  Matthew's Gospel is more specific: he introduces this incident with "Then..." and introduces the final incident with "Again, ..."  Matthew has specified for us what the correct order was for the three temptations by Satan.)

The Kingdoms of the World

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But Satan is not done yet. Was Jesus troubled about the prospect of being tortured  and nailed to the cross? You bet he was. So the devil threw his best shot, showing  Jesus how he could avoid all that pain.

Satan took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to Jesus, "All these domains and the glory that  you see I will give to you, for it has been handed over to me, and I can give it to whomever I wish. So if you worship before me, it shall all be yours."

Jesus had a ready answer for the devil's wiles: "Leave me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only!"  So Satan departed, biding his time for the next opportunity he would have to tempt Jesus.

Angels Came to Minister

Jesus passed the test. In fact, he passed all three tests. Angels came and ministered to him, until it was such time that he would begin to reveal himself to the world. 

What Career for Jesus?

Rich man, Poor man, Beggar man, Thief?

Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief?

 

The text above is a children's fortune-telling game: that is,

"What will you be when you grow up?"

The old English version of it  was:

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor,

Rich Man, Poor man, Beggar Man, Thief.

But Jesus' version of it might be:
Carpenter, Farmer, Rabbi, Sheep?

Jesus' earthly father was a carpenter. But Joseph was already middle-aged when Jesus was born, and by the time Jesus reached 30, Joseph had passed away, to all appearances. At 30 years old, Jesus would be at least a journeyman carpenter, and perhaps a master carpenter. The Romans were busy building new Greek-style cities. One of them--Sepphoris--was only 4 miles from Nazareth. There would be plenty of work for a carpenter.

Or should he be a farmer? The family of Joseph owned 30 acres of farmland outside Nazareth, that had been handed down from generation to generation. But Jesus would have to share that with at least some of his step-brothers. And dry farming was a hard life, especially when the early rains or the latter rains were inadequate. History tells us that the grandsons of Jude--Jesus' youngest step-brother-- were still farming this piece of land at the end of the first century AD.

Or how about Rabbi, or Scribe? Jesus showed his intense interest in the scriptures as early as twelve years old. He enjoyed discussing scripture with other learned men. Maybe that's what he's been called to do? His oldest stepbrother, James, was already gaining a reputation as a man who knew how to apply the scriptures to real life situations.

And what about being a shepherd? As a child, surely Jesus spent some time helping the local shepherds watch their sheep. It was a simple life, with plenty of time alone and plenty of time outdoors.

Decisions, Decisions.

But Jesus couldn't just choose anything that appealed to him.

He had a history to deal with.

He was conceived under some very strange circumstances, that had to be answered to. And when he was born, an angel had appeared by night to shepherds in the fields, telling them that a Savior, "Christ the Lord," would be found in Bethlehem, lying in a manger. Then Simeon, a prophet in the Temple, said that the infant Jesus would be "A Light of Revelation to the Nations," and another prophet, Anna, spread the word about this infant.

Not only that, but a group of learned men who studied the stars travelled from far away to kneel at the foot of Jesus' bed, proclaiming Jesus as King of the Jews and giving him precious gifts. 

King of the Jews? He was going to be King of the Jews? So far he was only king of the desert. "Light of Revelation to the Nations?" Was he supposed to call down fire from the sky, like the prophet Elijah?

And then there was the word that he gave to his parents when he was twelve, that he had to be "In my Father" (Luke 2:49). (Note: Some translations will say, "In my Father's house," and others "About my Father's business." Both are good guesses, but wrong. The boy Jesus said, "In my Father.")

"In my Father?" His parents had not understood that. But later he told his  disciples what it meant. Jesus said of his heavenly parent, "I am in my Father and my Father is in Me. If you have seen me, then you have seen the Father."

So that was his new career. But how to get there?

Something else had to happen first.

Jesus' Crazy Cousin

Maybe the answer lay in what Jesus' crazy cousin was doing. "John the Baptist," they were calling him. Jesus likely hadn't seen him since they were kids. John's elderly parents had passed away and John had fled into the wilderness. Some said that he had joined the crazy Essenes at the village of Qumran.

But now it looks like the Essenes had kicked John out because he was just too crazy. He was preaching stuff in the wilderness such as "The Kingdom of Heaven is near! Repent, and believe in the Good News!" And what could he be eating out there all by himself? Bugs?

But John "the Baptist" also had a history to answer to. When he was born, his father Zacharias (Jesus' uncle) had prophesied that his son John would be called the Prophet of the Most High, and that he would clear the way for the Lord--that is, the Messiah--to appear before the people of Israel (Malachi 3:1).

So Jesus goes to look him up in the desert. He wasn't hard to find: people from across Judea and Galilee were streaming to him to be baptized in the Jordan river. But John was intimidated. "Jesus, you're the chosen one! I can't baptize you! You should be baptizing me!"

But Jesus saw that John was the gateway to the beginning of his ministry of hope for the people of Israel. He said, "No, John, let this happen, so that all that is right can be fulfilled." And John relents, leading him into the Jordan to be baptized. 

Jesus Gets Baptized

It turns out that John wasn't so lonely out there by the Jordan as we imagined. Among those that came to be baptized, a few men stayed around to help him baptize and  listen to his teachings, and become his disciples. And besides the bugs and wild honey, it is certain that some of those that were baptized also brought food to honor this new prophet.

As Jesus requested, and as he expected, John baptized Jesus in the waters of the River Jordan. That would seem to satisfy Jesus' change in vocation from carpenter to prophet, but God had more up his sleeve for Jesus, that would surprise everyone.

Splitting the Sky

When Jesus came up out of the waters and was praying, an amazing sight appeared: the heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the bodily form of a dove. And a voice came from heaven, saying to Jesus, "You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased."

The crowd might have thought they heard thunder, But both Jesus and John saw the Spirit resting on Jesus and heard the voice from the sky. John would later tell his disciples, "There he is! There's the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!"

But yet more must come to pass before Jesus will begin to take up his role as Prophet and Savior.

Check this space next week to find out just what that was.

A Juvenile Delinquent God

What?

Yes. Jesus of Nazareth. He is not yet "Jesus the Christ" (Christ = "The Anointed One") because at twelve years old he has yet to be anointed. That will happen 20 years later, when he meets John the Baptist in the wilderness down by the Jordan.

But, according to our Christian Belief, he is already "fully man" and "fully God." Fully God means Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent. He can do anything, he knows everything, and he is present everywhere. But according to Paul, he has set aside divine attributes, or at least some of them (Philippians 2:7). 

Omniscient? Then why did he ask for the name of the multiple demons controlling a man from the tombs near the sea of Galilee? Omnipotent? Mark says that he "could do no miracle" in Nazareth, except to lay his hands on a few people and heal them. Omnipresent? Jesus seemed to  get to places the old-fashioned way: he walked there. "Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not  have died."

So what about those times that he seems to  have God-like powers?

I believe that Jesus retained the same powers that you and I have as Christians. That is, we are guided by the Holy Spirit and empowered by our faith. When the woman at the well said, "I have no husband," the Holy Spirit revealed to Jesus the full, painful, sordid story of her life with multiple husbands--something that he could not have known without it being revealed to him. When Jesus healed the man born blind, he was doing the very thing, according to him, that you and I could do if we had but a mustard seed of faith. And I can't recall an instance where Jesus was located somewhere other than where his physical body was, except possibly the time that Satan, of all people, took him from the desert to the temple, and then to a very high mountain (Matthew 4:5,8).

So. Back to the 12-year-old Jesus of Nazareth. (He didn't spend enough time in his birth city to become known as "Jesus of Bethlehem.") Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem WITHOUT TELLING  HIS PARENTS what he was going to do. His mother loved him deeply, and his earthly father protected him faithfully, so how could it be that he would not have known that his absence would give them great anxiety?

"Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father?" What a lame excuse. He has clearly not let his parents know this. There is no excuse for him not letting his parents know what he was planning to do--or perhaps, what he decided to do at the moment. Our Lord and Savior is behaving as a  Juvenile Delinquent.

But his mother's complaint shocked him back to reality. "Why have you treated us this way? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for  you!"

Jesus had made a mistake. Jesus did indeed "have to be in his Father," but the time for that to be fulfilled had not reached its completion. The present time called for him to be obedient to his parents, and to grow in stature and in wisdom. He immediately reformed his behavior, and continued from that time to be in subjection to his parents. "There is an appointed time for everything, and there is a time for every event under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Jesus learned this lesson well.  We find an echo of this lesson at John 2 verse 4: "What does their lack of wine have  to do with you and I? My time has not yet come."

So Yes, for a brief time, Jesus was a juvenile delinquent. Once confronted with reality, he became a reformed Juvenile delinquent.

My Lord and Savior, a reformed juvenile delinquent, is the Light of my life and Lord over all that I do. Amen. So be it.

Boy Jesus on the Loose

Did Jesus Ditch His Parents?

Let's check the record: Luke 2:41-51

Luke Chapter 2, Verse 41:

Now Jesus' parents went up to Jerusalem every year for the Feast of the Passover.

Verse 42: When Jesus became twelve, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the Feast.

The Passover Feast began at sunset on March 8th, 9 AD,  and ended seven days later at sunset again. The 8th day was for traveling home.

43 As his parents were returning on the eighth day, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.

43-44 But his parents were unaware of it, and supposed him to be in the caravan.

44 After a day's journey, they began looking for him among their relatives and acquaintances.

45 When they didn't find Jesus, they returned to Jerusalem looking for him.

46a Then after three days they found him in the temple.

46b He was sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them,

46c And asking questions.

47a All who heard him were amazed at his understanding,

47b And impressed by his answers.

48a When his parents saw him, they were astonished.

48b His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us this way?"

48c "Look! Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you!"

Wait! I thought Jesus was sinless! Didn't he just sin against his parents?  The answer is no, this sin would not be counted against Jesus. You see, he was only 12 years old and had not had his 'bar Mitzvah' (son of the Law) celebration. Joseph was responsible for his misdeed, and may have had to atone for not instructing Jesus properly or supervising him sufficiently.

49 But Jesus said, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know I had to be in my Father?

Some translations will report, "Didn't you know I had to be about my Father's business?" Other versions will say, "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" Both translations are speculative, and both are wrong. The original Greek says simply, "in my Father." But what does that mean?

50 But his parents did not understand this statement of his.

Jesus' parents may not have known that Jesus was talking about his Heavenly Father, not his earthly father Joseph. Many years later, the apostle John had the answer that his parents did not have. In John's first letter to the churches, John writes, "Jesus appeared in order to take away sins; and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in Jesus sins; and no one who does sin has seen Jesus or knows Jesus" (1 John 3:5-6). Just as Jesus had to abide "in" his heavenly Father, so you and I must abide "in" Jesus. If we do that, our sins will be forgiven and will not count against us.

51a So Jesus came down from Jerusalem with them and returned to Nazareth, where he continued in subjection to his parents.

Jesus had made a mistake. He had jumped the gun and ditched his parents. The time had not yet been fulfilled when Jesus should show himself to the world, and would eventually die to atone for the sins of the world. While he waited for that, it was time for him to grow in wisdom.

51b His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

52 Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

And when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, he moved fully into his new position of being the light of the world, and bringing peace between man and God.

BONUS: For your coloring book.