Mark 1:12-13

The Greater Adam

"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." - Mark 1:12-13

Introduction

People love a good comeback story. Whether it be the battles of Saratoga reversing the tide in the American War of Independence or the Battle of Midway halting the advance of the Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The most famous comeback story is probably that of David and Goliath. The Israelites cowered in fear of the Philistines and their mighty warrior Goliath who challenged them to face him. No champion came forward until a small shepherd boy named David arrived. David knew His God, and against all odds, he conquered the mighty Goliath when one rock from his sling. Contrary to what many preach, David and Goliath does not illustrate how we can defeat our fears or accomplish our dreams if we trust the Lord. David and Goliath illustrate Christ defeating Satan through the seeming weakness of His humiliation after all others failed. Christ is the only true hero of every Bible story and should be the central point of every message a Christian proclaims. 

In the two short verses before us, Mark tells us how one man squared off against the greatest enemy of our souls to turn the tide in his reign of terror. Romans 5:19 says, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Our first father, Adam, failed when he encountered the devil's temptation. The result of his fall was the curse of God on humanity; the rule of the earth was handed to Satan, sin would reign in all who were born, and the effects of sin manifested on earth as sickness, suffering, danger, death, deserts, and wild places. Christ Jesus is the second and greater Adam. He went into the effects of the fall and subjected Himself to the same temptation as the first Adam, but whereas the first was cursed, Christ conquered. 

Let's look at these short verses about this great victory. We'll examine the Spirit's role, the setting's significance, and the serpent's temptation. I pray that our faith would grow in Christ, our great victor, as we see what He endured for us; and that we may overcome our temptations as we look to Him. 

The Spirit

As will be the case in many of these messages in Mark, "immediately" is the word that opens the text. The baptism of Jesus could be described as a "spiritual high" of sorts; Jesus had essentially just experienced His coronation as king at the Jordan River. Yet, Christ's coronation was't followed by a feast or even a chance to rest and recover after such a momentous occasion. Instead, the Spirit of God drove Him into the wilderness. The word used here is the Greek ekballo, the same word used when Jesus would "cast out" demons; it also means "to expel" with a sense of aggression and force. The Spirit of God cast the Son of God into the loneliness of isolation in the desert. 

It should be noted that the "Spirit-filled" life is not always outwardly prosperous and enjoyable. Those who would be anointed by the Spirit must also agonize with the Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit's ministry is to shine the spotlight on Christ, His role is also to conform us to the image of Christ. He is the sanctifier. The Spirit of God makes it His business to lead us to places we would not always prefer to go. He'll take us out of our comfort zones so that He might mold us into a greater reflection of the image of God. The pain He inflicts always has a purpose: God's glory and our good. 

Matthew's Gospel gives the specific reason for the Spirit's ekballo of Christ: to be tempted of the devil. This raises some critical questions. For example, James 1:13 says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." Yet, in the text before us, we find that not only is the God-man Jesus Christ tempted, but He was led to the temptation by the Spirit of God. What's going on? The first question we must consider is, "Does God tempt us?" James goes on to say in verses 14-15, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." The word "tempt" is peirazo, which can also be translated as "test," depending on the context of a passage. What’s the difference between testing and temptation? When Satan engages in peirazo, he appeals to our inward sinful nature, enticing us to indulge our worst impulses to sin. When peirazo is used of God, He tests us so that He may teach us to deny our worst impulses unto greater maturity and obedience. For example, Hebrews 11:17 reads, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried (peirazo), offered up Isaac." What the devil means for evil, God means for good. 

The second question we need to tackle is, "Could Christ really be tempted?" This might not seem like such a big deal, except when you consider that Jesus is God, and God cannot be tempted (James 1:13). Not only this, but when Satan tempts us, he does so by enticing our sinful nature in the attempt to bring out an outward action of rebellion against God. Did Christ have a sinful nature like all humans? Could Christ have actually sinned? We need to proceed with extreme care because the implications of where we land have far-reaching consequences regarding our Savior's nature and ability to save us. 

Hebrews 4:15 reads, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." This phrase "at all points" doesn't teach that Christ was tempted with the same nature as us or that Christ felt the enticement to commit every sin a human could commit. It means that Christ was subjected to the full range of temptations common to humans at every stage of life, from childhood to adulthood. The words "yet without sin" tell us that no temptation found a place in Him to overcome. Christ was never drawn away by an indwelling sinful nature the way James described. In the incarnation, the Son of God took on a true human nature, but He didn't take on a sinful human nature. Christ had a human need for food and rest and even felt the desire for self-preservation, the way humans do. But, He never gave up His moral perfection as God. So, when the devil came to tempt Him, he tried to entice Christ the way he does all men, but Christ had won the victory before the battle even began! This is called the impeccability of Christ. Though Christ was tested by God and tempted by the devil, it was not possible for Him to actually fall to sin. 

Lastly, you may ask, "Doesn't this ruin His ability to identify with me? He doesn't really know what indwelling sin is like. He didn't really experience what I experience in my temptations." No. Don't think impeccability robs you of Christ's ability to relate to you. He bore your sin, its weight, guilt, and punishment on the cross. He knows what it's like to carry your sin in His human body. Not only that, but He has been walking with saved sinners for 6000 years, leading them to victory and assurance of salvation. He is also omniscient. If He knows all things, then He knows what you are going through better than you do; and He is still standing with arms open, calling out, "Run to me and I will save you to the uttermost." Hebrews 2:18 is still a promise you can stand on, "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour [help] them that are tempted."

The Setting

Now that we've considered the Spirit's work in the temptation let's consider the setting and its significance. "He was there in the wilderness" is a phrase that ought to baffle us if we think about it long enough. "He," the God of creation who spoke the universe into existence, planted the Garden in Eden, and expelled Adam from glories and into the wilderness, has now entered the wilderness Himself. The fall resulted in thorns, thistles, and land that necessitated laborious work to produce fruit. The earth was rendered a dangerous waste as a result of the fall. Now, Christ enters the wreckage of Adam's failure to subject Himself to the same trial and take back what was lost. It was this very thought that brought Isaac Watts to pen the famous lyrics:

No more let sins and sorrows grow

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found.

There's also a significant comparison being made with this number of 40. Hebrews 3:8-9 tells us, "Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years." When the Israelites had received the law, they wandered in this same desert for forty years tempting God. The Hebrews were the best of humanity at that time, and with the law of God they still could not redeem themselves, and they perished for their unbelief. Yet, now God subjects Himself to temptation again for forty days. However, this temptation in the wilderness will result in life for all who believe. 

Lastly, I want to note one observation specific to Mark's Gospel: the wild animals. Besides being a simple descriptor of the danger of the wilderness, this would have had significance for Mark's audience. Remember, this Gospel would have been read by persecuted Christians meeting in the catacombs under Rome. Nero had blamed the Christians for the great fire of Rome and was notorious for making martyrs of them in gruesome ways. The worst way Nero would kill Christians was by placing them in the colosseum, covering them in animal skins, and sending lions to feed on them. You can imagine a Roman Christian of the early Church reading this and thinking, "Christ was with the wild animals too. If my day to be thrown to the beasts comes tomorrow, I know He will be with me." May such knowledge rest in your mind too, that no matter what you suffer for the gospel, Christ has suffered too and He will not forsake you. 

The Serpent

Now that we've covered the role of the Spirit and the significance of the setting, let's look at the serpent; the schemes of Satan and what actually happened when he tempted our Lord. Satan is our great adversary (1 Peter 5:8). He is the "prince of the power of the air" controlling the unregenerate of this world (Ephesians 2:20). He is the father of lies and a murder from the beginning (John 8:44). He is that serpent of the Garden who set himself against God and all that is good. We must settle in our minds that the devil is real, he hates us, and he has made it his business to wage war against Christians like us from the day he fell from heaven. Luther wrote these lyrics:

For still our ancient foe

Does seek to work us woe;

His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not his equal

The consideration of these things is enough to bring any sane person to tremble, but we must also know that he is a defeated enemy. Matthew and Luke's Gospels give more detailed accounts of the actual ways he tempted Christ and was cast down. I'll spend the remainder of this chapter examining the three temptations from Matthew's Gospel.

We can examine this passage from multiple angles: the preparation of ministers, the power of God's Word, or even the process by which Satan attacks. However, I want to focus on the text's main point: Christ the greater Adam overcoming Satan and reversing the curse of the fall. If you look closely, you'll see that Satan's temptations to Christ directly reiterate his temptations in the Garden. Christ's mission was to lower himself to become a man and die in our place; Satan's plan was to attack Christ's humiliation with the same attacks he took to Adam and Eve.

Satan's first temptation of the Garden was "hath God said?" (Genesis 3:1). It was an assault on God's Word; his goal was to weaken Adam and Eve's trust that what God had said was right and sufficient. When Satan came to Christ, his first temptation may not seem like an attack on God's Word, but it was. He told Jesus to turn stones into bread, and Christ's response was, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4) [emphasis added]. There's nothing sinful about eating bread. This was an attack on Christ's mission to redeem sinners by being human for them. It's as though the devil said, "Jesus, didn't the Father just say you were His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased? Yet, you're miserable, hungry, alone, and tired. That plan of the Father for you to fast in the wilderness and suffer the pain of humanity is beneath your dignity. Give it up and eat something, you deserve it!" He tried to get Jesus to doubt what the Father said concerning His mission, and Christ said, "No. God's Word is enough to sustain and satisfy me no matter what I'm told, how I feel, or what's going on around me."

Satan's second temptation in the Garden was, "Ye shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4). It was an assault on God's judgment; that they could test the limits of His grace and not face consequences. So it was that when Satan tempted Christ a second time, he said, "cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." And Jesus responded, "It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God" (Matthew 4:6-7). Let it be known that the devil knows the Bible, and he will use it in an attempt to get you to justify sin. However, Jesus knew His Bible better. He knew He didn't need to test the extent of God's mercy to know God's judgments are true and that God has our best interest in mind at all times. 

The last temptation of the devil in the Garden was "Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5). This was an assault on God's created order. He wanted Adam and Eve to cast off the rules of God's created world and become their own gods and arbiters of truth. That really is the heart of satanism: Be your own god. Do as thou wilt. So it was that when Satan tempted Jesus, he said, "All these [nations and peoples] will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me" (Matthew 4:9). The Father had promised to give the nations to Christ if He would die and rise for their redemption. Satan knew this and offered Jesus a shortcut, as though to say, "You want the nations, Jesus? I'll give you the nations! I'll hand them over right now, and you won't have to suffer at the cross! You just have to abandon the Father, make your own standards, worship me instead." Thank the Lord, Jesus knew God's created order could not be broken. He responded the way Adam and Eve should've responded, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (Matthew 4:10). And, with that, Satan withdrew. 

Although there are many tribes, tongues, nations, and ethnic people groups in this world, but there are only two lineages of humanity. There are those who are born in the line of Adam, dead in sin, bound by Satan, and heading for destruction. Then, there are those who are born again into the line of Christ, filled with the Spirit, bound for eternal life. Are you dead in the physical lineage of Adam? Or, are you alive in the spiritual lineage of Christ, the greater Adam? 

Conclusion

As we go from this place, know that Christ is your great victor. He overcame for you. Not only that, but no matter how great your sufferings are in this world for His sake, He knows what it feels like, and He will be with you till the end. Your victory is not in the outcome of your battles with temptation, but in this victory Christ won for you. Trust in Him. Matt Papa's hymn captures this so beautifully:

Come behold the wondrous mystery

He the perfect Son of Man

In His living, in His suffering

Never trace nor stain of sin

See the true and better Adam

Come to save the hell-bound man

Christ the great and sure fulfillment

Of the law; in Him we stand

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