It came to pass in those days [that] Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. 11 Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 12 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

– Mark 1:9-13 (NKJV)

My truck has a knob that can turn it from 2 wheel drive into 4 wheel drive. I hadn’t used the 4 wheel drive feature that much until a few years ago I had mistakenly gone off road on a very tall mountain in Wyoming. I almost got the truck stuck miles from civilization. But then I realized that I could transition my truck to 4 wheel drive and once I did, we were able to drive off the mountain in relative ease. If you had asked me before that moment about how good the 4-wheel-drive feature was on trucks like mine, I probably would have just shrugged my shoulders. But if you ask me the same thing now, I will share my story of how it worked to get me out of a jam. I have a testimony of how I used the 4-wheel-drive feature.

The author of Mark wants us to know that we can trust Jesus to bring us to God. He wants us to know that Jesus is the one that John the Baptist was talking about. He gives us two very good reasons to trust in the authenticity and authority of Jesus in this passage. One, he highlights the testimony of God the Father who speaks of Jesus that, “You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” We also see the presence of the Holy Spirit who comes down in the form of a dove. (So we see the trinity here together testifying to the ability of Jesus).

The second is that Jesus is “immediately” whisked away to the desert to be tempted. He is tempted by the devil and comes out unscathed. (Don’t forget that Jesus has been fasting, and that there are wild animals in the area either.) Jesus withstands all the temptations the devil musters. In these short verses, we see Jesus is endorsed by heaven and tested and proven faithful in the face of fierce opposition.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Thank you that you sent the best when you sent Jesus. We are grateful that he was perfectly obedient to you even to the point of temptation as we see here and ultimately death on the Cross. We are grateful that we can trust Him to bring us to you. We ask you to guide us in your will. In Jesus Name, Amen.