Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil
Matt. 4:1 ¶ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Mark 1:12 Immediately the Spirit *impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. 13 And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.
As I noted yesterday, while the Luke passage tells us that Jesus was led around in the wilderness by the Holy Spirit while being tempted by the devil; the Mathew passage states that the Holy spirit deliberately lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Having been declared the “Beloved” of God, and having the gift of the Holy Spirit resting on him, God’s purposes for him was to travel into the wilderness. I want you to notice though the Mark Scriptures. Verse 12 uses a very strong term in describing the Holy Spirit’snleading Jesus into the wilderness. The word “impelled” comes from two words; “throw,” and “out.” Jesus wasn’t led into the wilderness; he was hurled into the wilderness. That doesn’t mean that Jesus was resistant; it just simply means that the wilderness wasn’t a gentle thing. The Holy Spirit meant business. It wasn’t something Jesus chose. It was chosen for him. The wilderness was important for Jesus, as he learned, as the Son of Man, to be led by the Spirit in new ways in intense battle; all in preparation for the next step in God’s purposes for him. Jesus was about to know breakthrough, and increase in the power of God being released through him; and the wilderness was the place of preparation, and impartation for the life of an Overcomer. Isn’t it interesting how the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to both hurl us into the wilderness, and to accompany us there. Jesus had just been declared the “Beloved,” and his being hurled into the wilderness was an act of love. Of course, as our example, all of this is true about each of us in our journey of growing into Christlikeness. What do wildernesses look like? For each of us they take on different forms. A wilderness place can be something we choose, like a chosen fast, where we purposely deprive ourselves of earthly comforts; but often wildernesses are places we are driven into by the Holy Spirit, and not places we would choose. It can be a place inside of you or a place inside of another that you love. It can be death, or abandonment, rejection, or betrayal. It can be loneliness, the loss of children conceived, the loss of children unconceived. Someone has said; it can be excruciating, obvious pain, or it can be dully, painfully ordinary—a struggle so “meaningless” you blush to even share it. As was true about Jesus, it is almost always alone. It is because he loves you. It is because you are “The Beloved.” It is because you long for the “more,” and “breakthrough” is on the way.