Sermon Talkback 3 1 2009
Wild Beasts and Wilderness—Mark 1:9-15
Jesus’ Inauguration
In our short passage, we see three major events that inaugurate Jesus’ ministry: Jesus’ baptism, temptation in the desert and his first preaching in Galilee. The sequence of events is significant because it reflects a new exodus—Jesus’ events recapitulate the journey of Israel’s baptism (Red Sea), struggles in the desert (40 years) and good news (entry into the Promised Land).
God’s Presence
We can also see three theophanies, all linked to the Old Testament. When Jesus comes out of the water, the boundary between heaven and earth becomes permeable (The heavens open, like in Isaiah 64:1). The Spirit, visibly, like a dove, then descends on Jesus, much as the Spirit hovers over the face of the water in Genesis 2:1. Then a voice from heaven proclaims, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased,” a verse similar to Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1.
Jesus’ Temptation
Unlike in Matthew and Luke when Jesus was “led” into the wilderness, in Mark, Jesus was “thrown out” into the wilderness. Mark notes that Jesus “was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him” (v. 13), an echo from Psalm 91:11-13. In the wilderness, Jesus is not presented as facing the kinds of specific temptations and tests described in Matthew 4:1-13 and Luke 4:1-11.
Wild Beasts and Wilderness
What may be the “wild beasts” in our lives? Might they be the temptation for material possessions, power and control, to be a god yourself? Is our wild beast to have it our way rather than God’s way?
When we are tempted and tested, that basically means that we are put in situations where we need to decide which direction we’re going to aim our lives, which agenda we’re going to pursue—God’s agenda or our agenda. In the case of Jesus, of course, he made the right choices. But what about us? Do we make the right choices?
For the most part, we know that God wants us to make the right choices, and many times we know what those right choices are. But the problem comes is when it comes time to actually make those choices. A lot of time we know what the right thing to do is, but we don’t do it. Instead of making the right choice, we point ourselves in some other direction and we make the wrong choice—we sin.
“Total depravity” means that by ourselves we are totally deprived of the ability to do what God wants us to do. By ourselves, we can’t make the right choices and we end up sinning. The good news is that Jesus came into the world to save us from this problem. Because Jesus was able to stand up against temptation and made the right choices, he has given us the power to also achieve victory over sin, a victory that by ourselves we could never win.
What are the “wild beasts” that are beyond our personal lives and are in the larger society and in the world? Is this evil?