...hang in there...

“12 And the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on Him.

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news’” Mark 1:12-14.

Notice that Mark includes a very brief reference to the temptations of Jesus by Satan in the wilderness, the desert. This is a testing, a preparation for ministry, but also a moment for intimacy with God. Remember, John was also in the wilderness. In verses 4-6 Mark reports that “4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” Notice that huge crowds came out to see John, and were baptized and confessed their sins. Remember that the desert is a place associated with barrenness, temptation, testing, hardship, danger, and evil (see Deuteronomy 8:2 and 1 Kings 19:4). Because God called Israel from Egypt into the wilderness/desert and there established a covenant with them, wilderness also came to be associated with election and call, intimacy with God, a place where God’s people were prepared for renewal and for God’s final deliverance and salvation (see Exodus 3:18; Isaiah 35;1-10; 43:19; and Hosea 2:14). The forty days in the desert help us recall, then, Israel’s forty years of temptation and wandering in the wilderness. They emerged to inherit the Promised Land, just as Jesus will emerge to announce the arrival of God’s final victory.

Verses 14 and 15, then, are a transition to what is about to appear. john is handed over, delivered up, just as Jesus will also be handed over and delivered up. And the disciples will also be handed over later. Every time this happens, there is a transition into a new stage in the proclamation of the good news. John is not defeated here, no, he is transitioned into a new phase of the proclamation of the kingdom. In many respects, being handed over is a doorway into something bigger and better. There is no defeat here, rather, a moving onto and forward!

Oh if only you and I could see that when things in our own lives befall us, God can use this as a doorway into something bigger and better. We need to hang in there, not give up, and know that our faithful response will make all the difference in the world. When Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news,”the Lord Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, and the calling of people to respond to its offer and its demands have arrived. How does Jesus demonstrate the arrival of God’s kingdom? His first act will be calling disciples in the next verses (1:16-20). He will ask them to leave their past behind and follow Jesus. Calling disciples, however, is not preparation for ministry; it is the very heart of Jesus’ ministry.

So take time today and tell God how much you wish to continue to follow Christ. That is the point of life. For the kingdom of God has arrived in the person of Jesus Christ!

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.