GOSPEL READING:
Mark 1:12-1512 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel."
SCRIPTURE READING:
Genesis 9:8-158Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9"Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." 12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh."
Meditation: What is
the significance of Jesus spending 40 days and nights of solitude,
prayer and fasting in the Judean wilderness? In the Old Testament
40 days was often seen as a significant period of testing and
preparation for entering into a covenant relationship with God. In
the days of Noah, God judged the earth and destroyed its
inhabitants in a great flood because of their idolatry and total
rejection of God. Noah and his family were spared because they
obeyed God and took refuge in the ark for 40 days. When the flood
subsided God made a covenant with Noah and promised that he would
not destroy the human race again. Jesus came to fulfill that
promise.
Forty days of retreat to seek the face of God
When God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt he brought
them into the wilderness of Sinai. Moses went to the mountain of
the Lord at Sinai and remained there in prayer and fasting for 40
days (Exodus 24:18). At the conclusion of this 40 day encounter
God made a covenant with Moses and the people. After the prophet
Elijah had confronted the sin of idolatry (the worship of false
gods) in the land of Israel and destroyed the 400 priests of Baal
(1 Kings 18:20-40), he fled into the wilderness and journeyed for
40 days to the mountain of God at Sinai (1 Kings 19:8).
There God spoke with Elijah and commissioned him to pass on the
work of restoring the worship of the one true God in the land.
After Jesus was anointed by the Spirit in the waters of the Jordan
River, he journeyed to the wilderness of Judea for 40 days to
prepare himself for the mission which the Father sent him to
accomplish - to offer up his life as the perfect atoning sacrifice
for our sins. Through the shedding of his blood on the cross he
won for us a new and everlasting covenant which fulfilled and
surpassed all the previous covenants which God had made with his
people.
God's Word and Spirit sustains those who seek God's will
Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us in their Gospel accounts that
Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. Mark states
it most emphatically: "The Spirit immediately drove him out into
the wilderness" (Mark 1:12). Why was Jesus compelled to seek
solitude for such a lengthy period? Was it simply a test to
prepare him for his ministry? Or did Satan want to lure him into a
trap? The word tempt in English usually means to entice to
sin or wrong-doing. The scriptural word here also means test
in the sense of proving and purifying someone to see if there are
ready for the task at hand. We test pilots to see that they are
fit to fly. Likewise God tests his servants to see if they are fit
to be used by him.
God tested Abraham to prove his faith. The Israelites were sorely
tested in Egypt before God delivered them from their enemies.
Jesus was no exception to this testing. Satan, in turn, did his best to entice Jesus to
chose his own will over the will of his Father in heaven.
Despite his weakened condition, due to fatigue and lack of food
for 40 days, Jesus steadfastly rejected Satan's subtle and not
so subtle temptations. Where did Jesus find his strength to
survive the desert's harsh conditions and the tempter's
seduction? He fed on his Father's word and found strength in
doing his will. Satan will surely tempt us and will try
his best to get us to choose our will over God's will. If he can't
make us renounce our faith or sin mortally, he will then try to
get us to make choices that will lead us, little by little, away
from what God wants for us.
As soon as John the Baptist had finished his ministry, Jesus
began his in Galilee, his home district. John's enemies had sought
to silence him, but the Gospel cannot be silenced. Jesus
proclaimed that the time of restoration proclaimed by the prophets
was now being fulfilled in his very person and that the kingdom of
God was at hand. What is the kingdom of God? The word "kingdom"
means something more than a territory or an area of land. It
literally means "sovereignty" or "reign" and the power to "rule"
and exercise authority. The prophets announced that God would
establish a kingdom not just for one nation or people but for the
whole world. God sent us his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, not to
establish an earthly kingdom but to bring us into his heavenly
kingdom - a kingdom ruled by justice, truth, peace, and holiness.
The kingdom of God is the central theme of Jesus' mission. It's
the core of his Gospel message.
Two conditions for the kingdom - repent and believe
How do we enter the kingdom of God? In announcing the good news of
the Gospel Jesus gave two explicit things each of us must do in
order to receive the kingdom of God: repent and believe.
Repent means to turn away from sin and wrong-doing in order to
follow God's way of love, truth, and moral goodness. When we
submit to God's rule in our lives and believe in the Gospel
message the Lord Jesus gives us the grace and power to live a new
way of life as citizens of his kingdom. He gives us grace to
renounce the kingdom of darkness ruled by pride, sin, and Satan,
the father of lies (John 8:44) and the ruler of this present world
(John 12:31). Repentance is the first step to surrendering my will
and my life to God.
Repentance means to change - to change my way of thinking, my
attitude, my disposition, and the way I choose to live my life -
so that the Lord Jesus can be the Master and Ruler of my heart,
mind, and will. Whatever stands in the way of God's will and plan
for my life must be surrendered to him - my sinful pride, my
rebellious attitude, and stubborn will to do as I please rather
than as God pleases. If I am only sorry for the consequences of my
own sinful ways, I will very likely keep repeating the same sins
that control my thoughts and actions. True repentance requires a
contrite heart and true sorrow for sin (Psalm 51:17) and a firm
resolution to avoid the near occasion of sin. The Lord Jesus gives
us the grace to see sin for what it really is - a rejection of his
love, truth, and wisdom for our lives and a refusal to do what he
says is right and good for us. His grace brings pardon and freedom
from guilt, and breaks the power of bondage to sin in our lives
through the strength and help of the Holy Spirit who dwells within
us. If we yield to the Holy Spirit and not to our sinful
inclinations, we will find the strength and help we need to turn
away from all wrong-doing and whatever else might keep us from
living in his truth and love.
To believe is to take Jesus at his word and to recognize
that God loved us so much that he sent his only begotten Son to
free us from bondage to sin and harmful desires. God made the
supreme sacrifice of his Son on the cross to bring us back to a
relationship of peace, friendship, and unity with our Father in
heaven. He is our Father and he wants us to live in joy
and freedom as his beloved sons and daughters. God loved
us first and he invites us in love to surrender our lives to him.
Do you believe in the Gospel - the good news of Jesus Christ - and
in the power of the Holy Spirit who transforms each one of us into
the likeness of Christ?
Lord Jesus, your word is life, joy, wisdom, and strength for me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may have the strength and courage to embrace your will in all things and to renounce whatever is contrary to your will for me.
Psalm 25:4-9
4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
6 Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth, or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O LORD!
8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The call to repentance, by Chromatius (died 406 AD)
"The voice of the Lord urging the people to repentance - the Holy
Spirit made it known to the people that they might take heed,
saying, 'Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts
as in the rebellion, as in the day of testing in the wilderness'
(Psalm 95:8). In the same psalm above, he made clear that he was
urging the sinful people to repentance and showed the state of a
repentant soul, saying, 'Come, let us fall down before him and
lament before the Lord who made us, for he is our God' (Psalm
95:6-7). The Lord urges the people to repentance, and he promises
to pardon their sins, according to Isaiah's words: 'I, even I, am
the one who wipes out your iniquities, and I will not be mindful
of your sins. But you be mindful, declare first your iniquities
that you may be justified' (Isaiah 43:25-26). Rightly then does
the Lord urge the people to repentance when he says, 'Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand,' so that through this confession
of sins they may be made worthy to approach the kingdom of
heaven." (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW
15.3)
[Note: Chromatius was an early Christian scholar
and bishop of Aquileia, Italy. He was a close friend of John
Chrysostom and Jerome. He died in 406 AD. Jerome described him
as a "most learned and most holy man."]
