Jesus' baptism and subsequent temptation in the wilderness serve as the ultimate example of overcoming trials and temptations. While Israel repeatedly failed in the desert, Jesus, the true Son of God, stands as the representative of a new community, demonstrating perfect obedience and reliance on the Holy Spirit. His experience highlights the importance of being filled with, led by, and empowered by the Spirit to resist the devil in the common battlegrounds of marriage, family, and social relationships.
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Please turn with me to Mark's Gospel chapter one. We begin our reading in verse one, Mark one and verse one. The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I'm reading from Mark chapter one, verse two. As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight.
John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin. And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with the girdle of his skin about his loins, and he did eat locusts and wild honey. And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me. the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway, coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens open, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan, and was with the wild beasts, and the angels, ministered unto him.
Again we thank God for his word and we await his blessing this evening as he speaks to us through the word that we have read. Now for a number of occasions we've dealt with trials and temptations. They are common to our mankind and both of us who are Christians more than the ordinary person know something of the tension of trials and and temptations. I do not wish to summarize again all that we've gone over, but remember the word temptation in our English language usually refers to an action behind which Satan tempts to destroy.
The word testing and trial refers usually to God. God is behind the testing and the trial. God does not test us to destroy us. He tests us to purify and refine us, that we might grow in stature, in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But Satan, he tempts in order to destroy. We have dealt considerably with the history of Israel. We have not done this lightly. In the New Testament, Paul specifically states that the stories from the Old Testament, First Corinthians chapter ten, they were written for our admonition, for our learning.
It is an example which should not be imitated. We are not to be like the Israelites. I do not say this harshly or with a lack of love, for we too are human beings. We know something of temptation and triumphs. We do not stand with a holier-than-thou attitude and condemn the Israelites. But when we go back to their story, we find they murmured, they complained, they sinned, and Paul says, Now these things are written for our admonition. The ends of the times are the times in which we live, and we are not to follow them.
We are to follow the Lord Jesus. Temptations come from the evil one. The New Testament states, resist the devil. We are to stand firm against all temptations. Trials come from God. Testings come from God. And we have in the Lord Jesus the example of one who can go through the trials and the temptations. And he comes out stronger. He comes out for the glory of God. And there is a sense of victory, as Mr. Willie mentioned this evening. Now, in Mark chapter one, where we have read this evening, we have, I believe, the way we can overcome the temptations and trials of life.
And the portion we have read, we will link with Luke's Gospel chapter four, where again reference is made to the temptations. But in Mark chapter one and verse one, we begin with that majestic word, the beginning. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. Two things are stated about the person who appeared in our world two thousand years ago. He was commonly known as Jesus. Mark says he's the Christ, the sent one of God. He also uses the title, the son of God. Now we talked about Israel, who was the son of God.
God says, Israel is my son, my firstborn. I will be a father to Israel. But we also noticed that Israel was the son of God with a small S. The Lord Jesus is the son of God with a capital S. And this title in Mark one and one must not be minimized. It must not be reduced all the way through Mark's Gospel. When he uses the title, the Son of God, there is something supernatural about this verse. The very title takes us back to eternity and the eternity of being that belongs to the Lord Jesus.
We're going to see tonight that the one who was always son came down into our world and went into the desert and stood as the son of God where Israel stood. But as you think of the Lord Jesus that way, you must never minimize that he is the eternal son of God. This gospel is about the man Jesus, but he is the sent one, the Christ. He is the eternal one, the Son of God. Now the beginning of that gospel is linked to the ministry of John the Baptist. And you have in verses two and three quotations from the Old Testament.
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepares thee the way of the Lord. make his path straight. We must notice right away that even in the prophecy the word wilderness or desert is used. Then we're going to notice that this man sent by God called John. His ministry was a ministry that was commissioned by God and it is the fulfillment of prophecy. The word was given long centuries before.
His ministry is directed to point out one who is mightier than he is, the coming one. I'm not exactly sure when these words were written, not when they were written, when John thought about them and his ministry, whether prior to that day of baptism, he really knew who the coming one was. But he had that sense of mission. sent by God, and he was preparing the way before the Lord, and he was speaking mightily of one who was coming after him, the Lord Jesus. Now, when you think about John, notice verse six, he was the man of the desert.
You could see this in the way he dressed, and John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loin. And he did eat locusts and wild honey. That's about all you would find to eat in the desert where John lives. This man, on purpose, fulfills his ministry in the desert. Then in the desert, you'll notice in verse four, John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. He did not fulfill his ministry in the cities, not even in the rural towns.
He is out in the wilderness. And the word is given. And people listen. And they go out to the wilderness to listen to John and to be baptized in that baptism of repentance. Then as we've already mentioned, the content of his message points to one who is coming, who is greater than he is. John then is in the wilderness, and I suggest to you tonight his whole ministry is a call to the people of God to come back to the place of their first and wonderful relationship with God.
We haven't time tonight to go to Jeremiah chapter two, but there's a beautiful verse there where God says, I remember thee. God says, I remember Israel. In Israel's youth, when Israel went out after me into the desert, God remembered the first steps of obedience and of love for the Lord. It was spoiled in the following years, tragically spoiled. But God never forgot. He remembered those first days and weeks and months as the people followed Moses and moved out into the desert. It was all spoiled. Yet in the history of Israel and in the ministry of the prophets and in the rabbis who taught in the times even of the Lord Jesus, there was a persistent thought that the day would come when the people would return again to the wilderness to their first encounter with God and they would be renewed and refreshed and there would be new life.
Now John comes on the scene sent by God. to the wilderness, to fulfill his ministry in the wilderness, and to point to the true Messiah, the Son of God, who would come with blessing for the people of Israel. Now as he ministers, you find down in verse eight and nine a comparison that he makes between his own ministry and the ministry of the one who would come after him. About this one, perhaps you should notice first of all, verse seven, there cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
Most of us who are not familiar with Jewish history and tradition might not feel the impact of those words. But in the teachings of the religious leaders of Israel in ancient times, the Hebrew slave was excused from taking off the shoes of his master or putting them on or washing his feet. Now John takes a position lower than a slave. He says he is not worthy to untie the shoes of the Lord Jesus, the one who is coming, or to remove them.
It may be difficult for us to grasp the thought, but it is a very eloquent testimony on the part of John just how mighty and great this coming one is. This one who comes will also baptize. But he will baptize with the Holy Spirit. John baptized in the River Jordan a baptism of repentance and turning to God. Now these verses, eight and nine, side by side, they make a tremendous contrast. Verse eight, the last part. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
Again, and I speak to myself first and then to you. We're not familiar with the Old Testament history, perhaps the way we should be. Many of these things that we read like this, they don't form in our mind a link with something in ancient Jewish history. Let me take you back to the book of Deuteronomy. And we'll notice, pardon me, Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah. We've been in Deuteronomy many times for the last few years. Tonight we'll go to Isaiah and chapter sixty-three. Isaiah chapter sixty-three in this particular portion references made to ancient history of Israel to God's actions on behalf of Israel in the sixty-third chapter and verse eleven we read I'm reading in Isaiah sixty-three in verse eleven then he remembered the days of old Moses and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock?
Where is he that put his Holy Spirit within him? Thus the story of the Exodus is recognized as a work of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God was active. When Israel was brought out of Egypt, and through the Red Sea and into the desert. It was God who was present in His Spirit. He placed His Spirit in the heart of His people and in the heart of Moses so long ago. Not only that, but down in verse fourteen of this chapter. As a beast, a wild animal, going down into the valley, the thought is the wild animal in the hills, When is time to rest, go down into the valley to a place of quietness, under the shade of a tree, to rest.
All the Israelites who were people of the country would understand that. So the prophet says, As a beast going down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him, Israel, to rest. So did thou lead thy people to make thyself a glorious name. The history of Israel, the son of God, in ancient time, was a history under the ministry and the activity of the Spirit of God. He was present. He was active. I repeat, he brought them up out of Egypt. He led them through the desert.
He gave them rest. He was present. Now, as to the future, in Isaiah chapter thirty-two, and down in verse fifteen we read these words Isaiah thirty two and verse fifteen until the spirit be poured out upon us from on high and the wilderness which was the place of their failure be a fruitful field and the fruitful field be counted for a horse you all know the difference between a desert and the fruitful field in the forest. The people of God as the Son of God, when they came into the desert, it should have been a very short trip right through to the promised land, but they failed.
Their whole experience was lived out in a desert, but morally, spiritually they were a desert. But the promise is the Spirit will be poured out, and the wilderness will become. like a beautiful field, like a forest. Then in Isaiah chapter forty-four and verse three, Isaiah forty-four and verse three, for I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and flush upon the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring. Both of these latter two verses that we have read point to the future.
God will act again as He acted in the past. The Spirit brought them out, gave them rest, led them through, even though they failed. But God points to the future. The Spirit will be bored up. The wilderness will be a beautiful place. The dry place will be flooded with water, for God will send His Spirit. Now John is in the wilderness. symbolically calling the people from the cities back out to the wilderness to the place of their first encounter with God. And he said, The one who is coming after me is mightier than I am, and he will baptize with the Spirit of God.
He will bring to fulfillment all the promises of God. There will be new life, a new beginning, a new people of God. Oh, beautiful to notice in Mark one that in chapter one in verse nine, after this reference to the baptism of the Messiah in the Holy Spirit, you have in verse nine, and it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in John in the Jordan. It's over. Well, John's baptism was the baptism for penitents, for sinners, for those who were under the judgment of God.
It was the baptism for Israel, the Son of God, that had miserably failed. It was the call to come back, to stand under the judgment of God. It was the call for a new beginning in holiness and devotion to God. The Lord Jesus, He comes. And he goes down, and as we know from comparing the Gospels, he compels John, who reacted against the possibility of baptizing the Lord Jesus. But he compelled John, and John baptized him in the River Jordan. Now, as you think about it this evening, remember that a sign of greatness, a sign of true greatness, is not to separate yourselves.
from your brothers and sisters who have failed, but to stand with them in a common confession of failing. Great men, Nehemiah. As far as I know, nothing is said about Nehemiah in the Scriptures in a negative sense. When the people came to that foreign capital city where he served, a foreign and a pagan king and told him, that the city of Jerusalem was in ruins, and the people in a very poor state, this great man of God breaks down, and he weeps before God. Then he begins to pray, and it's a beautiful, moving prayer, Nehemiah chapter one, for the sins which we have committed.
But there's no record of Nehemiah's personal sins. He does not point and say, those people who have sinned, all they have done. He includes himself the sins which we have committed. Daniel chapter nine, that great statesman of the Old Testament, another man as far as I know, about whom there is nothing negatively recorded. He also stands with the people of God, and he confesses the sins which we have sinned. before God. A sign of pettiness is when you stand on a higher level and you look down on a fallen brother or sister and you criticize.
The Lord Jesus, the holy spotless one, he moves out into the desert, responds to the call of John for returning to that first relationship and the Lord Jesus comes And he demands of John that he be baptized in that baptism of repentance. The Lord Jesus is the true Israelite. Sonship is reaffirmed. Israel was the son, but Israel failed. Now comes a new son. True, he is the eternal son. but he's come down into time, into history.
He's come down into the nation of Israel. He takes his place with them. He does not point at them. He stands with them in the recognition that Israel stands under the judgment of God. And as the Lord Jesus is baptized, he recognizes that judgment of God, it is true and right. He also implies that he himself in his own life and ministry will carry the burden of that judgment, and God will be vindicated. Now notice verse five, or there's a great contrast between verse five and verse nine.
Verse five, and there went out unto him all the land of Judea and they of Jerusalem. I don't take the word all in the absolute sense that every single human being in Judea and Jerusalem went out to John. But I take it in the general sense that there was a great movement amongst the people in Judea and in Jerusalem when they heard of the ministry of John to go out to the desert. There may have been that journey to go back again to those first times when God was with them and there was power and glory and victory. They went out and they were all baptized by John and his disciples.
Where did they come from? Judea and Jerusalem. Probably thousands of them, all of Judea and Jerusalem, and they were all baptized. But when you come down to verse nine, you read, and it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth, of Galilee. One verse doesn't come from Judea. Doesn't come from Jerusalem. Jerusalem's the holy city. Judea is the place, the homeland of the Jews. These are the men and women that by tradition and history uphold the Old Testament, the Word of God. Jesus came from Galilee.
Galilee was known as a place where there wasn't very much respect for the Word of God. The people were not known as great students of the Bible. as those who truly love God with all their hearts. Now you have the contrast. See all of you see in Jerusalem, and they're all baptized in the baptism of John. There's one who comes from Nazareth, way down in Galilee, and he too was baptized by John in the Jordan. Dear Christian friend, the many came, the many, the hundreds and the thousands, It is not my position or your past judgment on them, but I judge from this portion of the Word of God that Mark is implying that their repentance was not whole heart.
It did not spring from great sorrow because of their sin. It might have been motivated by politics. There was great stirrings amongst the Jews to unite, to become strong, and to overthrow the Romans, and to be independent again. In John chapter two, the end of the chapter, you read, many believed on the Lord Jesus. But the Lord Jesus did not commit himself to them, for he knew what was in man. That is, their belief was superficial. Mark gives the impression that these many who come And our baptized are not really sensitive to the holiness of God.
Do not really understand all that is involved. But one comes from Mass, from Galilee. And he comes down, and he is baptized. The many were baptized. The heavens were never rent. No word came from God. No doubt descended. But when this one came, Then when I speak most respectfully, God stands and he breaks the heavens. And he says, thou art my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. For when the Lord Jesus comes up out of the river, there is the corresponding action of the Spirit of God who comes down from heaven in the likeness of a dove, the coming up and the descending.
It only takes place when the Lord Jesus is baptized of John, for this is the true Israelite. Even though he has never sinned, he represents in his attitude total repentance and a turning to God on behalf of the people. He is the representative of Israel in their sins, in their failures. He stands with them. He represents genuine repentance. He is the true Son of God, who's come back to the desert to renew that relationship with God. It's so beautiful. It's so overwhelming that God shatters the heavens.
And He stands, thou art, my beloved Son. Now I'm not a Greek scholar, but most of you are like myself. You read in your library and in your dictionaries. In that phrase, the verbs are very important and their significance does not pass over into English or into Spanish, which is my second language. Thou art, my beloved son. The Lord Jesus did not become the son of God when he was baptized at John. He did not become the Son of God when the dove came down and lighted on him. He did not become the Son of God when God spoke from heaven.
Thou art, my beloved Son. That verb, thou art, speaks of eternity. He was always the Son of God. But the second verb, thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. That verb, speaks of a specific point in history when he was given a commission to fulfill. And as he stands ready to fulfill that mission, God approves, and he says, With what you are and with what you are about to do, I am well pleased.
Thus you have the eternity of His Son but you also have the fact that the Lord Jesus came down to stand as a son like Israel stood many centuries before. And as God watches him, his heart responds, I am well pleased with this son of way down there in the world. And he gives that testimony in a universal way. Notice the following verse. Verse twelve. And immediately the Spirit drives him into the wilderness. Now this eternal Son, who takes his place in space and time and history, as the Son of God, as Israel was long ago, will not be excused from trials and testings.
So as soon as he comes up out of the river of Jordan, as soon as the Spirit of God rests on him, As soon as God gives his testimony, that spirit of God takes the Lord Jesus and drives him deeper into the desert, for he will be tested and tried. And we have spoken of those trials and temptations during this conference. Notice what is said in the following verse. Verse, he left, pardon me, verse thirteen, and he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan, and was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered unto him.
That is Mark's summary of the temptation story. Extremely brief. He was with the wild animals. The emphasis is, he was not tempted in a lovely beautiful place. He was put in a terrible place, surrounded by that type of animal that only can exist in those desert areas. And there he stood, and he faced the challenge, and he conquered, and then the angels ministered unto him. Now as we leave this course, one last month, you'll find that the Spirit of God, who came down upon the Lord Jesus, came down in the form of a dump.
I'm not sure what that brings to your mind. There are two prominent thoughts in the history of the Jewish religious teachers about the dumps. Not particularly about this portion. They sometimes thought of the Spirit of God, Genesis one and two. When he broods over the waters as a duck, it speaks of the creative energy of God. God is going to create them. There is the spirit of God as he broods over the waters. But the symbol was also used more commonly by the Jewish religious teachers as a symbol of community.
And to me that is beautiful. For the Spirit of God that comes down in the form of a dump speaks of the creation of a new community, the new Israel of God. The Lord Jesus goes out, He's the representative of that Israel which failed. He is also the representative of that new community of God, which in the grace of God we form a part this evening. And as he is our representative, we have every reason to triumph in temptation to overcome the trials of life and to come out refined and purified for the glory of God.
Now, very briefly to Luke's Gospel Chapter Four. Luke's Gospel Chapter Four, as we conclude this evening, There are three phrases I leave with you in this portion of the Word of God. Luke chapter four, verse one, and Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from the Jordan. After that great baptismal experience, it is clearly stated here that he was full of Holy Spirit. Nothing is said particularly about what this meant in the life of the Lord Jesus.
We are not told here specifically how he acted or what he said. We are simply told he was full of the Holy Spirit. Now this is a subject that we hear a great deal about today. Let me read to you from Galatians chapter two, those well-known verses. where reference is made, pardon me, chapter five, where reference is made to the fruit of the Spirit. Verse twenty-two of Galatians chapter five. Verse twenty-two, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law.
John Stott, that great preacher from England of the Anglican churches, pointed out that we are not to be Christmas trees with artificial trinkets. The fruit of the Spirit is that natural work of the Spirit of God over a time as He produces in us These virtues we have read this evening, loud, kindness, patience, temperance, all of these things. If we are going to resist the devil and come out of trials refined and purified, we must be filled with the Spirit of God.
That inner deep spiritual life, it is nothing more, it is nothing less than the beauty of the Lord Jesus produced in those that belong to him. Now the Lord Jesus, he came up full of the Holy Spirit, Luke four. Also in Luke four in verse one, the latter part of the verse you read, and was let by the Spirit into the wilderness. We never look for temptations. We are never to look for trials and testing. Let us remember the Lord's Prayer. Lead us not into temptation.
Our reaction is not to look for temptations. We would like to avoid them. But when they come, if we are led of the Spirit, we have every reason to overcome the temptation and come out of the trial refined and purified. Then come down in Luke four, right down to verse fourteen, and Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and there went out of fame of him through all the region round about. Now I think if I had been writing this, I probably would have bought power first to face the temptation, then the filling, and then the leading.
But in the case of the Lord Jesus, I suggest there is a pattern that merits our attention. First of all, he was filled with the Spirit, that inner godly life as a man in our world. He was led by the Spirit. And as he passed through those trials and temptations, he then returned in the power of the Spirit. For it is those who resist the devil. Those who come out of the temptations victorious. Those who come out of trials and testings with their head high in the grace of God. It is in the lives of such people that we perceive the power of God on a human level.
Now that power is needed today. And the last portion that I leave with you tonight is found in Ephesians chapter six, chapter five and chapter six. We see in our bookrooms and libraries around the country many books today about spirits, demonology, similar subjects. Here in Ephesians five and verse eighteen you read, and be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess but be filled with a spirit. Then Paul goes on to write. about the areas where the fullness of the Spirit should be seen, and they are three basically, marriage.
Then the family, the relationship between parents and children, and then social relationships, employers and employees. In all of those circles, the fullness of the Spirit of God should be seen. When he comes to the end, of the section that deals with marriage, the family, and then social relationships. You'll find in chapter six and verse ten, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wilds of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood. but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Paul then, to me, indicates that the battleground, where we experience the attacks of the evil one. Temptations and also trials and testings are those common areas of marriage, of the family, and of our social contacts.
That's where the devil moves. And after Paul writes about these things, he says, Now stand fast, take on the whole armor of God. that you will be able to withstand in the evil day, and having withstood, he goes on to say again, to stand. That is, the attack comes. We resist it, and we stand. We are not knocked down, like Israel. But there we stand, after the attack has passed, for in the grace of God, we have been filled with his spirit. We are led by his spirit. And the power of God's Spirit is manifested in our marriages, in our families, and in our social context.
And I'm sure there's not a friend here this evening who is not conscious of the effects of the evil one in your immediate family or in the family of friends you know, in marriage, in social context. He is there, the evil one, and he attacks. But the Lord Jesus, he experienced those attacks so long ago. We've gone over them in detail during this week. In Luke's Gospel, there is a phrase, when Satan had ended all temptations. I take that to mean that in principle, in that desert experience, he received in principle all kinds of temptations.
That was not all of the temptation. They went on for the ensuing months and years of his life, but all temptations that are common to us were received by the Lord Jesus at the hand of the evil one, and he tried, and he left us an example. The Lord Jesus is our representative to the creative activity of the Spirit of God. We're members of that new community. I trust that as we leave this conference, each one of us in our own particular world will know more of the fullness of the Spirit of God, of the leading of the Spirit of God, and of His power in the ordinary things of life, our marriages, our family, and our social contacts.
Now please take your hymn book and we'll sing a verse or two of hymn number. Four hundred and thirty-six. Lord Jesus, thou who only art the endless source of purest joy, O come and fill this longing heart, may not but thee my thoughts employ, teach me on thee to fix my eyes, for none but thee can satisfy. In number four hundred and thirty-six, We'll sing the first, the third, and the last verses. Verse one, The very God of peace sanctify you holy, and I pray, God, your whole spirit and soul and body, be preserved blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Thank you.