JESUS' JOURNEY INTO THE WILDERNESS

The story of Jesus' journey into the wilderness after his baptism by John the Baptizer is foundational to the whole story of Jesus.  That journey was transformative for Jesus.  It is what I have described in other posts as a pause in Jesus' life that would transfigure his perception of himself and the world in which he found himself.  In this series of posts on humanity of Jesus,  I am attempting to offer an understanding of Jesus' life  story from a strictly human point of view.  I feel the importance of doing so is that over the centuries we have lost sight of and lost touch with Jesus being a person just like us.

What is portrayed as a demonic voice or visions in Jesus' wilderness experience  I am purposely portraying as interior conversations. This is not to discredit the Gospels or the understandings of their presentation, but rather to orient our understanding of them in human terms.  The very human Jesus of Nazareth has much to teach us about ourselves and our life journeys if we avoid distancing him as being something other than one of us.

Like us, Jesus experienced both right and wrong in his life. Contrary to what some of the New Testament writers would have us believe about Jesus, he wasn't, in human terms, perfect.  He was not only subject to sin but he perceived himself a sinner as, most notably, he was one of many who heeded John the Baptizer's call to repent and prepare for the kingdom of God.  It was heeding that call which led Jesus to experience a vision as he emerged from the water of his baptism in the Jordan river, a vision in which he was told that he was God's son, in whom God was well-pleased.   

We can only imagine the sense of awe, if not panic, Jesus was likely to have experienced.  What did this mean?  Was it real?  Inevitably it would lead to the question that haunted Jesus throughout his ministry, a question hopelessly expressed on the cross in those painful words,  'My God, my God why have you forsaken me?  When Jesus emerged from the waters of the Jordan he found himself on a journey of discovery that began with the most fundamental question most of us have or will face in our lifetimes:

WHO AM I?

That spirit driven question drove Jesus into the wilderness seeking an answer to what it meant to be declared God's son.  The destination of the wilderness is more than a geographical place.  It implies a state of mind.    

In strictly human terms, Jesus likely questioned his sanity.  He questioned the voice of God declaring him to be God's son and finds that he can't get it out of his head or get rid of the gut wrenching feeling it caused him to have.   The Synoptic Gospels do not depict Jesus questioning that vision in any direct manner.  They do so rather indirectly by introducing another voice into the narrative, that of the devil or Satan.

We are led to believe in the Gospel accounts of Jesus' journey into the wilderness that God wanted to test Jesus without giving us a specific reason for God wanting to do so, as if God wanted to see if he would stand up against the temptations that would be coming his way.  Perhaps the wilderness journey was needed to temper Jesus' expectations of what he was going to face in his ministry through a series of trials. We can't read God's mind, but from a human point of view, we can understand Jesus needing to find an answer to the meaning of God calling him son.  

Questions that crossed Jesus might have sounded like these:  "Is  God calling me  to be the Messiah that everyone was looking for?  Am I the one who would re-establish the Kingdom of God on earth?  If so, why me?  What is so special about me?  Why is God pleased me above all the others who gathered at the Jordan?"  

In the Gospels of Luke and Matthew Jesus is presented with three  temptations.  The Gospel of Matthew has Jesus initially presented with two temptations specifically aimed at answering the question, "Are you really God's son?"   They come in the form of turning stones into bread and testing to see if God would send his angels to protect Jesus should he jump from the highest pinnacle of the Temple.  In other words,  "If you're the 'Son of God.' Prove it."  

If Jesus had wanted to know if he truly was God's specifically declared Son, all he would have had to do was follow through with any one of them.  Had he turned stone into bread or experienced angels saving him from harm after jumping from the Temple highest pinnacle, he would have had all the proof he needed.  Jesus would have proven himself to be some potential super hero with super powers, but Jesus didn't take the bait and we are left wondering why?  A clue to that is found in the reasons Jesus called to mind, "Man does not live by bread alone" and "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."  

As enticing as these temptations were, it would appear that Jesus figured out that proving that he had super powers would have not answered the most fundamental question that brought him to the wilderness.   The question as to who he was would have remained.  

What strongly supports this assumption is the final temptation according to Matthew.  Playing on the prospect of Jesus' doubts and fears as to where God was leading him, Matthew depicts the devil taking a different approach and offers Jesus a familiar, more sure-fire temptation.  Paraphrasing Matthew's account;

Then Jesus heard a voice.  "You seem to be afraid of proving whether you're who God says you are.  Perhaps you're afraid of God or you really don't think you're the Son of God, which of course leaves you nowhere but in this wilderness of doubt.  You still seem so uncertain about yourself.  Nothing is more annoying than that nagging feeling of uncertainty.  I can fix that. 

I suspect you are torn about this whole son of God thing because you would really like that to mean you are, at some level, God.  Do you want to be like God?  I know this has crossed your mind.  The urge to exercise God-like power is there.  I can sense it.  

You can... you know.... be a god.  Just look around this wilderness.  Just look at the mental anguish this whole son of God thing is causing you.  Why labor for an ambiguous kingdom that has yet to take shape (and probably never will) when you can have your own kingdom on earth, right here, right now. 

I know you want to do good.  Think of all the good you could do if someone good like you ruled the world.

You know I can make that happen.  I have the ability to grant you that.  You can rule the world if you acknowledge me as your father.  Make me your God and I will make you a god on earth.  Can I have an Amen to that?"  

As alluring as this proposition was, Jesus resists the temptation to temporal power.  On the surface these temptations as described in Matthew and Luke probably don't seem so tempting to us.   After all, we did not experience the vision that Jesus did.   We know we can't make bread out of stones or leap from a tall building expecting to be saved by God's angels.  We know how ridiculous it is to think that anyone of us could rule the world with god-like powers if we worshipped Satan or some demonic presence, but Jesus struggled with such demonic thoughts.  Unlike Jesus, we don't live in a world were a majority of people thought it possible for mortals, on rare occasion, to acquire god-like powers like those attributed to emperor of Rome, who he could possibly through some demonic manipulation have replaced.   

Each of these three temptations appear aimed at general human needs; the need for sustenance, assurance, and empowerment.  One could spend some time delving into each these, but the point of Jesus' refusal to take the bait on being certain as to what it meant to have been identified as the son of God was to let go of the need for certainty in order to move on with his life and ministry.  

In resisting the lure of these temptations, Jesus proved to himself what Abraham proved throughout his life; his faithfulness to God and his trust in God's faithfulness. Like Abraham, Jesus comes to understand through this trial that he didn't need to know for certain where God was leading him, but rather to accept that faith in God alone is sufficient for sustenance, assurance, and empowerment he was seeking; the same faith that led him to the Jordan, the faith that led him into the wilderness, and the faith that would lead him to where God willed him to be.  

Jesus didn't receive a direct answer to the question,"Who am I?"  Jesus found his desire to know quelled; to be content with the ambiguity and uncertainty of being declared God's beloved son.  That question of who Jesus was would morph into a life-long journey of discovery that could could only be answered by Jesus living into into becoming the son God called him to be.

In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus refrains from ever referring to himself as the son of God, let alone the capital "S" Son of God.  He never refers to himself as a messiah.  Instead, Jesus chose a different identity as he enters his ministry, a human identity by referring to himself as the "Son of Man." 

In my next post, we will take a closer look at Jesus' choice of this identity.

Until next time, stay faithful