In the Wilderness

 

[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Wednesday afternoon, the 5th of March, 2025 - Ash Wednesday.  A recording of our service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Today we enter into the Lenten Season, which commemorates the 40 days and 40 nights that Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting, praying, and being tempted by Satan.  We are challenged to use this time for self-examination and introspection, to see if we are living as God would have us live.  It’s a great time to dig deeper into our Bibles, studying the Gospels, listening to Jesus, witnessing what He did while He walked among us.  And we can read the letters His closest friends and followers wrote to help the early church.  For by watching Jesus and studying the letters, through the eyes and the words of those who walked alongside Him, we can see how we, too, should live and act.  And while we may think we can’t do miracles like He did, and perhaps some are above our pay grade, what to us may seem a simple act of kindness may, to the recipient, be a miracle indeed.

This afternoon, I’d like to step back to the end of Jesus’ 40-day wilderness experience, and listen in on the most enticing temptations Satan held out to our Lord.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Matthew recorded for us in the 4th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 11, and I’ll be reading from the New King James version of our Holy Bible this afternoon…

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’

and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’”

8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” 

11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

--Matthew 4:1-11 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, one of the most useful features of our Bible is that it provides us with a view into the life of Jesus.  You inspired four of His apostles to leave records of His life, some very detailed, allowing us to witness important events of His ministry.  Thank You for so wonderful a gift.  Father, please help us follow the examples Jesus set for us.  Help us remember all that He told us, including the warnings, so that we don’t perish in sin.  Please stop us when we begin to wander off into the wilderness, tempted by the devil to disobey You.  Forgive us when we deny Your Son by our actions and reactions that mimic the world rather than show us as separate from the world.  This we pray in the name of Jesus, Your Christ and our Lord.  Amen.

Each year, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and is always 46 days before Easter Sunday.  Lent is a 40-day season (not counting the six Sundays) marked by repentance, fasting, reflection, and ultimately celebration.  The 40-day period represents Christ’s time of temptation in the wilderness, where he fasted and where Satan tempted him.

Lent asks believers to set aside a time each year for similar fasting, marking an intentional season of focus on Christ’s life, His ministry, His sacrifice, and His resurrection.  And, of course, the best way to focus on Jesus’ life and ministry is to read and study our Bible.  So let’s look a little closer at our scripture reading.

We join this event immediately after Jesus is baptized in the River Jordan by John, whom we call the Baptist of the Baptizer.  You may recall that when Jesus came up from the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove.  And this was also the first time God declared Jesus to be His “beloved Son”, in whom He is well pleased.  So right there we know that God’s Holy Spirit was with Jesus and in Jesus.  This is important to note.

Now in the Apostle Luke's account of this event, he opens with, "Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry."  (Luke 4:1-2 (NKJV))  While this sounds a lot like what Matthew recorded, Luke added the reminder that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Why am I harping on this?  Because in both reports, we see that Jesus was led into the wilderness by none other than the indwelling Spirit of God, there to be tempted by the devil!  Jesus was led into temptation.  When we pray our Lord’s Prayer, we plead, “Lead us not into temptation”.  Why?  Because we know we cannot resist all of Satan’s charms and deceptions like Jesus did.  We can’t even find our own way out of the wilderness.

The next interesting point is that Matthew noted that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.  Now traditional fasting was between sunup and sundown – you could eat before sunrise and after sunset.  But Jesus fasted both day and night.  Even Luke reported that Jesus ate nothing during this time.

And that set up the first temptation:  “I know You’re hungry, so turn some of these rocks into bread and eat.”  And Jesus replied with the line we know so well – “Man does not live by bread alone.”  We need more than bread, more than just physical sustenance.  We need spiritual sustenance, too.

So then the devil counters with a challenge.  “Jump off this pinnacle and we’ll see if the angels swoop in to save You.”  And Jesus simply responded, “You must not test God.”  I wonder just how many times we do test God.  We test Him by our disobedience, by our rebellious nature, by doing whatever it is we want to do without giving any thought to whether it might not please Him.

And then we have the final temptation: “I will give You anything and everything this world has to offer if You will just bow down and worship me.”  Jesus snubbed this offer by saying that we are to worship and serve God, and only God.  How many folks do you know could resist that last temptation?  For that matter, how often have we heard something similar spoken by our fellow man?  “If you’ll just vote for me, I’ll make sure you get everything you ask for.”  Or how about, “This new car is everything you need; just buy it now before they’re all gone.”  Some temptations are very difficult to resist, and they’re not all related to material things.

So in our eyes, these temptations that Jesus faced would be tough to turn our back on.  And we know from reading the Gospel accounts that Jesus had it pretty tough overall during His short ministry, His last three years or so on earth.

Well, the Jewish people's experience was not very pleasant either.  But theirs was of their own doing.  Their wilderness was of their own making.  Listen to how Moses described the beginning of their little hike, in verse 13 of the 32nd chapter of his Book of Numbers…

13 So the Lord’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone.

--Numbers 32:13 (NKJV)

The people did evil in the sight of God.  They rebelled, they disobeyed Him and His servant Moses.  They did what Jesus told us not to do – they tested God.  And God punished them until the last had perished in the wilderness.

But even with that, Moses still reminded them - and us - that God never abandoned them.  He took care of them even during their rebellious times, despite their complaining, even though they tested Him.  Hear what Moses added in the 7th verse of the 2nd chapter of his Book of Deuteronomy…

7 “The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.”

--Deuteronomy 2:7 (NKJV)

This is how much God loves us, that He still provides for our needs even when we are acting against His will.  He still loves us even when we certainly don’t deserve His love.  He looked down on us as we wandered in a wilderness of sin, had mercy on us, and sent His own Son to lead us out of the darkness and into the light.

We must be careful not to stray off the path of righteousness and back into that wilderness.  We must repent, turn from our sinful ways and turn fully to God.  Jesus, while fully man was also fully God and could resist the devil’s temptations.  We are not God, but we do have God's Holy Spirit living within us, and with His help, we too can resist the devil's temptations.  Trust in God, obey Jesus, let the Holy Spirit guide us, and we can avoid ever stepping back into a wilderness of our own making, the wilderness of our sin.

We begin this holy season of Lent by acknowledging our need for repentance and our need for the love and forgiveness shown to us in Jesus Christ.  I invite you, therefore, in the name of Christ, to observe a Holy Lent, by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by practicing works of love, and by reading and reflecting on God's Holy Word.

In the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, You sent Your Son Jesus to redeem us of our sin, to save us from ourselves.  He gave everything for us, asking only that we follow Him and love one another.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much.  Please help us avoid wandering off into the wilderness, through this Lenten season and all the days ahead.  May we never forget or take for granted the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.  Please help us share the Good News, the Gospel message, everywhere we go so that non-believers might also be saved.  In the beautiful name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Transfigured

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 2nd of March, 2025.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, this coming Wednesday we enter into the Lenten season with our observance of Ash Wednesday.  This commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting, praying, and being tempted by Satan.  Lent is our time for introspection, to look deep within ourselves to uncover the ways we disobey and displease our Father God, and to repent of those sinful ways.  It’s the perfect opportunity for us to revive and renew our faith and strengthen our relationship with Jesus.  It begins this Wednesday and ends on Maundy Thursday, when we join our Lord at the last meal He enjoyed with His twelve disciples before He was arrested and hauled off.

But there is one more event in the mortal life and ministry of Jesus that we celebrate every year on the last Sunday before Lent begins, the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday.  And that just happens to be today.

This is Transfiguration Sunday, when we observe the time Jesus radiated His glory.  Please listen and follow along as the Apostle Mark reports on this remarkable event, as recorded in verses 2 through 10 of the 9th chapter of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading mostly from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

2 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— 6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” 8 Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.

9 Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.

--Mark 9:2-10 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for showing Peter, James, and John the true glory of Jesus, and for this event being recorded and saved for us so that we too can revel in the light of our Lord.  And thank You so much for once again proclaiming Jesus to be Your Son, just as You did at His baptism.  Sometimes, Father, this world and our popular society beat on us and wear us down to the point when our spirits weaken and our faith waivers.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  These are the moments we need the assurances You give like this, with the transfiguration of Jesus in the sight of men.  Please keep reassuring us when we falter.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying time.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   

And now may the words of my mouth and the meditations of each of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord our strength and our redeemer.  Amen.

Teacher, coach, and author David Roher once noted that, "The motor home has allowed us to put all the conveniences of home on wheels.  A camper no longer needs to contend with sleeping in a sleeping bag, cooking over a fire, or hauling water from a stream.  Now he can park a fully equipped home on a cement slab in the midst of a few pine trees and hook up to a water line, a sewer line and electricity.  One motor home I saw recently had a satellite dish attached on top.  No more bother with dirt, no more smoke from the fire, no more drudgery of walking to the stream.  Now it is possible to go camping and never have to go outside.  We buy a motor home with the hope of seeing new places, of getting out into the world.  Yet we deck it out with the same furnishings as in our living room.  Thus nothing really changes.  We may drive to a new place, set ourselves in new surrounding, but the newness goes unnoticed, for we've only carried along our old setting.  The adventure of new life in Christ begins when the comfortable patterns of the old life are left behind."

There’s something to be said in favor of having to endure a few hardships in life.  For instance, those rainy days make us more joyful in seeing the sunshine.  And sleeping in a sleeping bag on the hard ground gives us a far greater appreciation for our nice comfy beds.  But sometimes we need to make a change, to put our comforts aside.

We have to let the Holy Spirit transform us into that new creation, leaving the old way of life behind.  The old life, the old sins, may be more comfortable, but we need to embrace the change and be the person God intended us to be.  Only then can we truly enjoy our new life in Christ.

So in His transfiguration, Jesus’ clothes shone brightly, exceedingly white, like fresh fallen snow.  And Elijah and Moses appeared with Him, and the three held a little conversation together.  The three disciples were probably dumbfounded and speechless at all this, but Peter managed to blurt out a nervous little exclamation.  “Hey, Lord, it’s great You allowed us to witness this!  How about if we make a little tabernacle for each of You three?”

Before he could say anything more, a cloud rolled in overhead, darkening the land around them.  And a voice boomed from the cloud proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of God and commanding us to “Hear Him!”.

Hear Him.  Many versions of our Bible have God saying, “Listen to Him”, and some even add, “and obey Him”.  It isn’t enough that we just hear what Jesus has said and taught, but that we must actually listen to His lessons, paying attention and taking it all in.  And then we should obey what He has told us to do.

Jesus was transfigured in the sight of men so that we can see His true identity.  We need to be transformed into more obedient disciples in order to better serve the Son of God.

Following God's instructions, Moses oversaw the construction of the Tabernacle which used beautiful veils to separate sections.  The first veil was at the entrance to the outer court, separating the masses, and the outside world, from the outer court of the Tabernacle.  The people could only enter when they brought their sacrifice to God.  The second veil covered the door to the Holy Place, separating the people in the outer court from the Holy Place, where only priests were allowed to enter.  And the third veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.  The very presence of God was considered to reside here.  So effectively, the veil was intended to separate the people from God.

All that changed when Jesus gave up His life on the cross for us.  Listen as the Apostle Matthew describes our Lord’s final moments of mortal life, in verses 50 through 53 of the 27th chapter of his Gospel account…

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

--Matthew 27:50-53 (NKJV)

That veil separating God from mankind was ripped in two, torn from top to bottom.  And now, thanks to Jesus and His selfless sacrifice, God is accessible by anyone at any time.  All we have to do is pray.

The veil was torn.  It has been lifted from our eyes and we can see the truth.  In a way, we, like Jesus, have been transfigured, and some people may say that they can see a difference in us, just as Peter, James, and John saw a difference in how Jesus appeared.  But our real difference is inside, where we have changed in spirit.  We have been changed and are being transformed by our belief into a closer image of Christ Jesus.

Switching to the Living Bible, listen to what the Apostle Paul tells us about our new vision leading to our transformation, as he writes in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, from chapter 3 verse 12 through chapter 4 verse 2…

3:12 Since we know that this new glory will never go away, we can preach with great boldness, 13 and not as Moses did, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelis could not see the glory fade away.

14 Not only Moses’ face was veiled, but his people’s minds and understanding were veiled and blinded too. Even now when the Scripture is read it seems as though Jewish hearts and minds are covered by a thick veil, because they cannot see and understand the real meaning of the Scriptures. For this veil of misunderstanding can be removed only by believing in Christ. 15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings their hearts are blind and they think that obeying the Ten Commandments is the way to be saved.

16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord from his sins, then the veil is taken away. 17 The Lord is the Spirit who gives them life, and where He is there is freedom from trying to be saved by keeping the laws of God. 18 But we Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him.

4:1 It is God himself, in His mercy, who has given us this wonderful work of telling His Good News to others, and so we never give up. 2 We do not try to trick people into believing — we are not interested in fooling anyone. We never try to get anyone to believe that the Bible teaches what it doesn’t. All such shameful methods we forego. We stand in the presence of God as we speak and so we tell the truth, as all who know us will agree.

--2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 (TLB)

Now when Paul says “we” and “us” in that passage, he is referring directly to himself and his young protégé Timothy.  But he is also referring to all of us, all we believers, for we have all been given the mission of spreading God’s word and the Good News of salvation through Jesus.

The veil has been torn from our eyes and we can see clearly the truth of this great message.  But too many people of this world are still veiled from the truth.  They’re still stumbling around in their blindness.  They cannot see nor understand the real meaning of God’s word because their veil can only be removed by believing in Jesus as Christ and following Him as Lord.

But God, in His tender mercy, has given us the work of reaching out to the non-believing world and sharing the Good News with them.  Paul calls this a wonderful work.  We should not consider this as a chore we must perform, but as an opportunity to serve our Lord.  So we should never give up in our efforts.

Transfiguration, transformation, and change.  Transfiguration is a change in the outward form.  We need to change in our inward form, from the old to the new.  Let’s listen to our transfigured Jesus, the Son of God, and be transformed by His word and His sacrifice.

In the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for proclaiming Jesus to be Your Son in the hearing of men who could record it for us to hear today.  You transfigured Him, and through Your Holy Spirit You transform us.  Thank You for making us new.  Father, we admit that we sometimes struggle with keeping our faith strong.  Too often we fail to serve our Lord or even obey His command.  The world hates us for our belief and tries to tear us down.  Please forgive us our lapses, loving Father.  Please help us be more like Jesus in how we react to the world, in living out our love and in giving our love to those who need love the most.

Strengthen us, Father, to reach out to others and show them Your love by giving of ourselves in their service, in Your service, just as Jesus did.  And please help us share our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  Help us pave the way for Your Spirit to do His work on them.

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what comes our way.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You were transfigured, but You call us to be transformed by the Spirit into a new person, a more loving, caring, helpful person.  You ordered us to love one another, and God told us to listen to You and obey Your commands.  But Jesus, sometimes we just struggle to love everyone we come into contact with.  We don’t always love like we know we should.  Please forgive us these failures, Lord.  Remind us that all people are God’s creations.  Help us to love even the unlovable, to love as You loved.

Holy Spirit, please help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing God’s love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to bring more followers to Jesus.

And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.