Reflection - Jesus is Tempted

from our Lent Resource
Matthew 4:1-11

Forty days without food is a long time, actually surviving forty days without food is a miracle. Only God can keep you alive for that long without food.

But why was Jesus out there? Why would the Holy Spirit lead Jesus out into a desert when his ministry was going to be with the people?

Clearly God knew he wasn’t ready. When they start a race, they sometimes say something like “On your mark… get set… go!” Why? Because they want to make sure you’re ready.

That’s why we have pre-school before school, and primary school before high school, and why we have school at all. We need to get ready - we need to learn first before we’re ready for all the rest.

Jesus had a huge job ahead of him. He had to surprise everyone by telling them what God is really like. He was going to perform miracles, draw huge crowds and make a big fuss all over the place. If he wasn’t ready, he might mess it up.

Out there in the desert he had to learn to trust God, and not look for any short-cuts or easy ways out. He had to stay until God said “enough!” And he did.

The surprising bit at the end is that angels came and took care of him. We might read that and think Jesus saw angels all the time, but there is no reason to think that. Right there at his lowest, because he was probably very weak after forty days without food, he had a heavenly experience.

Sometimes people have a similar experience, and sometimes not. Have you ever had a time when you just had to stop and wait for a long time? Maybe you were sick, or maybe there was another reason. Or maybe you just wanted things to happen quicker, but you had to wait and wait.

A baby must learn to sit up, crawl, stand up and then walk, and they must walk before they can run. Life is like that.

Even in our faith we have a start, we learn and practice, make mistakes - we must spiritually walk before we can run. One of the ways we mark the early part is by being baptised. Many of us are baptised as babies, and we might mark our own decision to follow Jesus by being confirmed. These are markers along the way, recognising we are getting ready. Even Jesus was baptised, just before he went out into the desert.

And maybe, when we least expect it, along the way we might have an experience of God. These have a big impact on us - ask anyone who has had an experience like that! They give us confidence in what we’ve learned along the way, because God really is there, and God really is with us.