Jesus' temptation by Satan was another event that prepared the divine Servant for His ministry. Mark's account is brief, and it stresses the great spiritual conflict that this temptation posed for Jesus. The writer omitted any reference to Jesus' feelings about the temptation. A servant's response to his trials is more important than his feelings about them.
1:12 "Immediately"connects the temptation closely with the baptism. The same Spirit that came on Jesus at His baptism now "impelled"or drove (Gr. ekballo) Him into the wilderness for testing. Jesus had submitted humbly to identification with humankind. Now he experienced the consequences of that identification, temptation. Temptation is not an indication that one is out of God's will. It sometimes results from following the Spirit's leading.
"Mark's expression does not mean that Jesus was forced out into the wilderness against His will but that He went with a strong sense of the Spirit's compulsion upon Him. Since the object of His Messianic mission was to destroy the works of the devil' (1 Jn 3:8), Jesus recognized that His acceptance of the Servant vocation made the encounter essential. It was the initiation of His mission to overthrow the devil. His miracle-working ministry of authority over demons was based on the victory won in this encounter."33
"Mark makes evident that the wilderness in his story carries a dual significance: At times it is a hostile and threatening atmosphere, at other times it is a place of preparation."34
1:13 The traditional site of this temptation dating back to the twelfth century A.D. is the Mons Quarantania, the Hill of the 40 Days. It stands just west of Jericho. However the exact location is unknown.
The Greek word peirazomeans to put someone or something through a trial to demonstrate its character. God allowed Satan to tempt Jesus for two reasons: to show that He would not draw away from the Father's will, and to demonstrate His qualification for His mission. The name "Satan"is a transliteration of the Hebrew word satan, meaning adversary.
By omitting reference to the three tempting offers that Satan posed, Mark focused the reader's attention on the fact that Jesus endured continuous testing for 40 days. He pointed out this continuing conflict throughout this Gospel (8:11, 32-33; 10:2; 12:15). Mark's unique reference to the wild beasts heightens the fierceness of the temptation. The Jews associated the wilderness with wild beasts and Satanic hostility (cf. Isa. 13:20-22; 34:8-15; Ps. 22:11-21; 91:11-13).
". . . in His exposure to the assaults of Satan, Jesus was Adam' as well as Israel.' Israel's sonship was modeled on Adam's, since God is the Creator-Father in both instances. The wilderness forges a link between the two, for it represents reverse imagery, especially with Mark's mention of the the wild beasts' (1:13). Opinion on the proper location of the animals is divided between the paradise and wilderness settings. However, it may be that the Gospels glance at the beasts both in Adam's mandate to rule the earth (Gen. 1:26-28) and in their association with satanic powers (Ps. 22:11-21; Ezek. 34:5, 8, 25; Luke 10:19), thus suggesting the chaos that threatens to (re)impose itself on the ordered world (e.g., Job 5:22; Ezek. 5:17; 14:21; . . .)."35
God's angelic servants ministered to Jesus during His time of testing (cf. Heb. 1:14). God did not leave His Son alone but provided grace to help in this time of need.
"The presence of angels to sustain Jesus underlines the cosmic dimension of the temptation: Jesus' struggle with Satan is a clash between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of evil. In the temptation, then, Jesus Son of God shows what his ministry will be about: the binding of Satan and the inauguration of the end-time age of salvation (3:27)."36
"The first Adam succumbed in an environment that was beautiful and friendly; the last Adam maintained His purity in an environment that was desolate and hostile."37
In the introduction to his Gospel, Mark stressed the humility and faithful service that Jesus rendered to God at the commencement of His public ministry. Jesus was fully human but approved by the Father and aided by the Spirit as well as by God's angelic helpers. He was also fully deity.
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