October 4, 2025 • 23 mins
JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 4: THE RALLYING CRY
1. Key Texts
• Matthew 4:1–11
• Mark 1:12–13
• Luke 4:1–13
• Deuteronomy 6–8 (background for Jesus’ responses)
2. Outline / Notes
Date & Place
• Early 27 AD.
• Judean wilderness—harsh, desolate, spiritually charged.
• Viewed as cursed, chaotic space, but also Israel’s ancient proving ground.
Main Account
• After his baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days.
• Alone, fasting, vulnerable—he faces Satan’s strategic temptations:
– Stones to bread: meet needs through provision and comfort.
– Leap from the Temple: win followers with spectacle and showmanship.
– Bow for kingdoms: gain power through compromise with worldly empires.
• Each temptation tests what kind of Messiah Jesus will be.
• Jesus resists, quoting Deuteronomy, aligning himself with Israel’s story but succeeding where Israel failed.
• He chooses trust, truth, and allegiance to God over shortcuts, ego, and domination.
Meanwhile
• Wilderness in Israel’s memory = testing, encounter, reshaping (Israel’s 40 years, Elijah, David).
• Jesus embraces this proving ground rather than bypassing it.
• Temptations parallel messianic strategies others might expect: provision, spectacle, political power.
• By refusing each, Jesus sets the foundation for a new kind of Empire: one built from the margins, through surrender and faithfulness.
Main Point
• The wilderness is not wasted—it’s where character and mission are forged.
• Jesus rejects bread alone, spectacle, and worldly power to build God’s kingdom differently.
• The Messiah will not rule by dominance, but by trust, truth, and love.
Exegetical Insight
• Matthew 4:4: ouk ep’ artō monō zēsetai ho anthrōpos — “Man shall not live on bread alone,” echoing Deut. 8:3, grounding Jesus’ trust in God’s word.
• Luke 4:6–7: Satan offers “all authority” (exousia) over the kingdoms—Jesus rejects false sovereignty to claim true divine authority through obedience.
3. Devotional / Reflection Questions
• Which of the three temptations—provision, spectacle, or power—most tempts you in your life or leadership?
• How have you experienced “wilderness” seasons, and how might God be shaping you through them?
• What does Jesus’ refusal to compromise teach you about faithfulness in small and hidden places?
• How does redefining power through trust and love challenge the way you see success today?
4. Action Step / Challenge
• Identify one “wilderness” area in your life—where you feel unseen, tested, or stretched. Instead of rushing out of it, pray: “God, shape me here.” Journal one way this wilderness could be preparation, not punishment.
5. Share & Join the Movement
• Share your reflection with #JesusX30Challenge, #JX30Challenge, or #JX30.
• Invite someone into the journey with you.
• Subscribe on YouTube / follow the podcast to stay on track.
✦ Lekh Ulmad—Go and learn. Come back for Scene 5 of the JesusX30 – 30-day Discipleship Challenge.
Important note:
This 30-day challenge is based on my book trilogy entitled Jesus: The Strategic Life and Mission of the Messiah and His Movement (3 Volumes, Hekhal Publishing Co., 2025).
• The Challenge follows the same “scene-by-scene” structure: historical, strategic, exegetical, devotional.
• Designed to bring together scholarship + discipleship in a way that’s both accessible and transformational.
You can buy or borrow the trilogy at:
• Hekhal Publishing Co. (look for free samples of each book as well)
• Amazon (print or ebook)
• Barnes & Noble (print or ebook)
• Hoopla (borrow)
• Many more bookselle
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:09):
What kind of person do you have to become in order to carry the
weight of a revolution? And how do you become the kind
of person ready and able to carry out a successful revolt?
One that changes your family, one that changes your life, your
workplace, your community, your nation, the entire world?
That's what we're asking today. And to get to that answer, we've
(00:30):
got to follow Jesus into the wilderness.
In the previous scene, we watched him enter the first tier
of his public campaign. And I say first tier because, as
we'll see, he's strategic in everything he did.
He takes his campaign from private preparation phases to
the public movement phase in stages.
So we saw him step into the Jordan, stand alongside everyday
(00:52):
people, and be baptized by John.That moment was a declaration
that his movement was beginning,right?
A public declaration of his movement.
Then he kind of disappears. Not into a boardroom to map out
his plans. Not to a synagogue to study the
scriptures or consult the experts.
Not into a public square or campaign rally.
(01:12):
Not to the mountainous regions to greet other revolutionaries
hiding out and waiting for theirtime to revolt, which was common
for them to do in his lifetime. He doesn't walk into the city to
celebrate the launch of his new campaign.
Instead he just disappears. He goes off the grid.
He walks straight into where theJudean wilderness for over a
(01:35):
month. No crowd, no speech, just
silence, hunger, solitude and temptation.
What's up everybody? I'm Tyson put off.
And this is scene 4 of the JesusX30 Challenge.
And today we're looking at Jesus's first real confrontation
with the enemy. We know his public campaign is
(01:56):
just full of confrontations withleaders and and opponents of all
kinds, demons. This is the first one in which
he has a real confrontation withthe enemy.
And it's not in front of a crowd.
It's not with fireworks and celebration, but it's in the
dry, desolate places for character.
(02:17):
Historically for the Israelite people has been shaped and their
callings have been tested. And we're in the year
historically, chronologically 27AD early in the year, it's
spring. And while the Jordan River was
the setting for Jesus baptism, what happens next unfolds
(02:38):
adjacent to that in the Judean wilderness.
If you've ever been there before, it's still a pretty
harsh environment. Andy and I were there a few
years ago. And it's especially harsh when
you're out there, and I mean away from the towns and cities.
It's it's dry, the hills are bleached, deep ravines, rocks,
heat exposure. It's not the kind of place you
(02:59):
want to wander accidentally. In fact, most people in Jesus's
day avoided it unless they had no other choice except for John
the Baptist. Not only that, but in the
ancient world, the wilderness was viewed as this sort of
nether space. It was uncivilized.
It was the opposite of civilizedspace.
It was like the Wild West, except there weren't just
(03:20):
bandits and potential robbers, but there were also believed to
be evil spirits. That's where they went and
resided. There were ghosts and monsters.
People believed. I mean, it was untamed
geographically. It was wild anthropologically,
and it was cursed spiritually. So it was to be avoided whenever
possible unless you had no otherchoice or unless God called you
(03:43):
out there for a very specific reason.
But Jesus doesn't avoid it. He just goes, and he goes alone.
Matthew tells us, actually, thathe's led by the Spirit into the
wilderness in Matthew 4. And that's an important detail I
think that we need to keep in mind.
He didn't get lost. He wasn't running away.
(04:05):
He was led there by the Spirit. The question is why?
Because the wilderness isn't just a backdrop, and it's not
just a sort of haunted space, but in the ancient Israelite
memory, it's a sort of battleground.
It's always been that way in thememory of Israel.
This is the place where ancient Israel wandered for 40 years,
(04:25):
learning, failing, repenting, being reshaped before entering
the promised land of Canaan. This is where Elijah went when
he was burned out and just readyto give up.
This is where David ran from Saul when Saul was trying to
kill him. This is where the prophet went
to hear the voice of God. And it's where Jesus goes for 40
(04:46):
days before he takes his public campaign to the next level.
He's not eating, he's alone, andhe's vulnerable.
And as we all know, those of us who know the story, that's when
the enemy shows up. And what's the enemy do, Satan?
What's he do? He tempts Jesus, He tests him.
(05:07):
I think, though, what a lot of us miss is the significance of
the temptations that Satan presents.
I don't think we really think about the meaning and the nature
of each of these and why these particular temptations were
important strategically for Jesus in trying to launch his
messianic campaign. I think a lot of us tend instead
(05:30):
to focus on the fact that Jesus was tempted.
But then we highlight the way herebuts Satan's offers of
Scripture and we say, see, that's why you should pray and
read your Bible. But the temptations Jesus faces
aren't just random challenges because Jesus is hungry or or
vulnerable. And they're not just examples of
(05:50):
why we need to memorize our Bible verses.
And don't get me wrong, that's critically important.
I'm a I'm a Bible scholar. I believe in the Bible.
OK, But that's not the main point here.
The the fact is that these temptations are strategic tests.
Each one targets a possible version of the Messiah that
Jesus might be tempted to becomein a possible version of the
(06:13):
Kingdom that Jesus would establish.
So I'll explain more, but let's break them down.
First temptation, turn these stones into bread.
This is not just about lunch. It's about method methodology.
Jesus is hungry. 40 days withoutfood is going to do that to you.
But the real question underneathall of this, when Satan asses is
(06:34):
what kind of Messiah are you going to be?
The temptation here is to win people by providing for their
material needs. Bread's a symbol of provision,
of security. And let's be honest, most
movements start by promising to fix what hurts, solve hunger,
patch the economy, meet the need.
And Jesus could do it. And he's going to do this
(06:56):
actually twice in his public campaign where he creates bread
and feeds the people. But but not here, not now,
'cause this isn't about proving power, this is about proving
allegiance. This is about showing where
trust is rooted. Jesus replies with scripture not
not as a sort of a religious comeback, but as a strategic
(07:19):
alignment. People don't live by bread
alone, but by every word from God.
In quoting Deuteronomy, he's placing himself in the story of
Israel in the wilderness. He's sort of embodying Israel's
journey in the wilderness. And just like Israel was tested
with hunger, Jesus is tested with the same.
Only unlike Israel in the wilderness, Jesus chooses trust.
(07:40):
And he's saying, I'm not going to build a movement on provision
alone. I won't bribe people with
comfort. I won't pull stunts and bully
people and show you I'm the guy you want to follow.
I'll leave them with truth, Jesus says, and it's up to them
to choose their allegiance in me.
The second temptation, throw yourself down from the temple.
This one's all about spectacle. The temple is the public stage.
(08:04):
It's huge in Jesus's day to jumpfrom it and be caught by angels,
man, that would be awesome to see.
But what's that really do? That's instant legitimacy.
It's a spiritual mic drop. It's a it's a show of force and
power and it sounds really awesome, but what's he really
do? Prove yourself to the Son of
(08:24):
God. Make the heavenly world back you
up. Give the people a miracle that
they can't ignore Jesus. Jesus doesn't take the bait.
Don't put the Lord your God to the test.
He says. Why?
Because the moment you start needing stunts to validate your
mission, you've already lost. You've lost the heart of your
mission. Jesus isn't launching a circus.
(08:46):
He's forming disciples. He's not interested in winning
fans with fireworks. His movement is going to be
rooted in trust and truth, not this showmanship.
Third temptation. Bow to me and I'll give you all
the kingdoms of the world. Everything you can see, I'll
give you. Satan says, and this is a big
one, but I want you to look closely at what Satan is
(09:08):
actually offering Jesus here. So Satan's not offering
something evil in itself. He's actually offering something
that sounds like success. All the kingdoms of the world,
that is the leadership in Rome, the religious authorities in
Judea, the Persians and Parthians in the east, political
(09:28):
power, global reach the throne, but without the thorns.
So let's be honest, this is, this is not a dumb offer.
Jesus came to bring a Kingdom, right?
So why not just take them all now?
If Jesus's goal is to establish a Kingdom that's going to change
the world, why not start with what's already there?
(09:50):
Rome is powerful and wealthy. The the Jewish leadership is
powerful and wealthy and influential.
The temple standing there in Jerusalem?
Why not just take that what's already created and launch his
own Kingdom that way? Why start from scratch?
Why not pull the levers of powerand just start running the world
(10:13):
the easy way by using the political leaders in processes
and systems that are already in place to carry out his desires
and will for the world? Because that's what that's
ultimately what Jesus wanted. He wanted to change the world
for the for the better of all people.
And there's he's got the perfectKingdom to do that right now,
(10:33):
most powerful Kingdom in the history of the world.
But Jesus sees through this because the Kingdom he's
launching, the empire of God, doesn't come from the top down.
It doesn't need Caesar's throne or roam sword, and in fact, it
doesn't want those. It doesn't require wealth,
armies, or political platform. And it certainly never calls for
(10:54):
a political party because the second Jesus aligns his Kingdom
with a human empire or a human political party or with a human
body of leadership is the secondhis Kingdom becomes Co opted by
the image of that empire. And they are not the same, good
(11:17):
or bad. That empire could be the best
empire in the history of the world.
It is not the same as Jesus's Kingdom.
So Jesus doesn't want that. Jesus's movement is a movement
of revolution. It's a movement of revolt.
I've written a lot about that for those of you who have read
the books. I'm also writing an entirely
separate book just on Jesus as arevolutionary and his movement
(11:40):
as a revolt. Stay tuned.
But the revolution Jesus is starting grows from the margins,
not the center. It spreads through surrender,
not coercion. It's built on self sacrificing
love, not uncontrolling others. So Jesus answers very simply.
Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
(12:02):
Because the fact is that humans have a tendency to worship our
empires, don't we? To worship our political
leaders? To worship our own political
party. And the second that Jesus's
empire becomes Co opted by another empire is the second
that Jesus no longer has controlof that empire.
(12:24):
And it's the second that worshipof God becomes commingled with
worship of a leader. He knows human nature.
He's not just refusing Satan. He's refusing the entire idea
that to change the world you have to align with a particular
nation or empire or party or leader, and that through them
(12:46):
you have to dominate. He's saying I don't need your
empires, I'm building a better one.
And it starts from the ground up.
I don't need your politicians. I found better leaders, and they
don't come from the halls of power, but from the outskirts of
society. Those are going to be my
leaders. Each temptation pushes Jesus to
adopt A different kind of messianic strategy.
(13:06):
Win them with provision. Win them with spectacle.
Win them with power. No thanks.
But in rejecting each one of these, Jesus is making a choice
not just for himself, but for how he wants those who follow
him to operate. If Jesus himself is rejecting
that kind of messianic politic, he also calls those who follow
(13:29):
him to reject that kind of messianic politic.
So he knows, yeah, I could have done it this way and and just
use Rome to to advance my Kingdom right away.
But in doing that, he, the example he would have left is
for those who would follow him and he would have been saying
essentially this is how it's done.
But in rejecting that, he also says you to those who follow me
(13:54):
are also to reject that. He won't be the Messiah who
feeds the system. He won't be the Messiah who
manipulates the crowd. He won't be the Messiah who
takes the throne without the cross.
He'll be the Messiah who trusts the Father, walks the hard Rd.
builds a Kingdom that doesn't look like any Kingdom of this
world. He's just going to start from
scratch and build something new.This isn't just spiritual
(14:17):
discipline. This is strategic resistance.
OK, I want you to hear that. This is not just spiritual
discipline. This is strategic resistance.
I think a lot of us look at thisepisode in Jesus's life when we
say, well, look, Jesus went to the wilderness.
He was tempted when he was vulnerable.
So that means you need to be on guard whenever you're
(14:38):
vulnerable, whenever you're hungry or lonely, and watch out
for temptation because that's when Satan likes to strike.
All true, but that's not the main point here.
Try not to over privatize and internalize these strategic
moments in Jesus's life. The bigger point here has to do
with how Jesus is the Messiah and how he expects his followers
(15:03):
to operate with the methods of this world or the methods that
Jesus is going to show us throughout the duration of his
life and his Kingdom. He makes clear it's a Kingdom
rooted not in domination, but infaithfulness, but in sacrifice.
Jesus starts his movement in theharsh wilderness in the desert,
(15:25):
and he doesn't begin it with a crowd, but with a test.
And I think that that should tell us something about our own
walk with Jesus and about our own life and mission on this
earth. The wilderness wasn't a detour
for Jesus. It was a proving ground.
And maybe that's why so many of us find ourselves in our own
wilderness moments, not because something's gone wrong or
(15:45):
because we made God mad. That's shame theology and that's
not in the Bible. If somebody's telling you that,
tell him to be quiet. We find ourselves in the
wilderness because whether we'rethere because life put us there,
because life is like that sometimes, or because God has
put us in that spot in our life.The way the Spirit LED Jesus
(16:08):
into the wilderness, I don't know.
It's all. It's different for each of us.
Either way, God uses the wilderness to prepare us for
something amazing. Jesus probably had fears walking
out into the wilderness. Can you imagine it?
Especially that first night, Second night, the silence, the
wild animals, the eerie sounds, the scorpions, the insects, and
(16:31):
then you throw in hunger and thirst.
Imagine the tricks your mind andyour body are going to start to
play on you in the Judean wilderness after a couple days,
after a week, after two weeks, amonth without food.
I guarantee Jesus was afraid andstruggled every moment of his
time in the wilderness, but he still embraced it because he
(16:51):
knew this is where clarity and power and confidence comes from.
This is where he proves to the enemy and to himself that the
movement that he's launching is about to change heaven and earth
forever. It's like I think the invitation
for us in all of this is not to rush out of our own wilderness.
Sit in it and embrace it and letit.
(17:13):
Let it do its work. The most important decisions in
our lives probably won't be madeon stage or in in the spotlight.
Most confidence that you and I can gain in ourselves and in our
abilities won't be discovered inthe easy moments in life.
You don't win the championship without putting in the practice
(17:34):
and the hard work behind the scenes, right?
And the character and determination that is going to
carry us to greatness won't comefrom the easy wins either.
All of this is going to happen in the wilderness when no one's
watching but God. One of my favorite musicians of
all time is Mississippi John Hurt.
He was born in 1892 in Avalon, Mississippi, deep in the rural S
(18:01):
at a time when obviously life was incredibly hard for black
Americans. Racial segregation was law,
which meant that opportunities for non whites were basically
non existent and violence and poverty for blacks were constant
real world threats. Hurt grew up in that world,
working the cotton fields, raising a family, worshipping
(18:22):
Jesus and just kind of to the side riding and playing some of
the most brilliant finger picking Blues you're ever going
to hear. Go and listen to his albums.
One of my top five favorite songs of all time is his live
version of I Shall Not Be Moved.He's one of a handful of people
(18:43):
whose hands I want to shake someday in heaven.
For now, one of my goals is to stop at the Mississippi John
Hurt Museum. We drove within a short trip of
it on our last road trip to the beach, but it it was just far
enough out of the way where we didn't get to stop by.
Next time we're hoping to. Back in the late 1920s,
(19:04):
Mississippi John Hurt made a fewrecordings and the music was
brilliant, but it was it was kind of ahead of its time.
And if you know anything about Blues and and different styles
of Blues, Mississippi John Hurt didn't quite fit what was
happening in the Blues scene in his region at the time.
(19:25):
So he's a little bit ahead of its time.
So the label dropped him. He didn't go on any tours, No
fame, no big break. He went back to Avalon,
Mississippi, where he lived withhis wife and kids, took care of
them, worked as a sharecropper. If you don't know anything about
sharecropping, little history lesson I know.
(19:45):
A lot of myths exist about how great it was.
In reality, sharecropping was the system Mississippi John Hurt
and others worked under, which was a new way to trap black
families in cycles of debt and poverty.
It essentially replaced the formal slavery with a new form
of Labor control. And during this time, he just
kept working. And from time to time, he'd play
(20:08):
it like local events and dances and church.
So he was known around Avalon, but in terms of being a star.
He sort of just faded into the background and he he faded into
the background for almost 40 years.
And you got to understand this 40 years, which I think is
significant. It wasn't an easy time for
someone like John Hurt. It was working a toilsome job
(20:30):
every day to take care of his family.
He was facing ridicule every daybecause of the color of his
skin. He was wondering and worrying if
someone might decide to harm himor his family.
So this 40 years for MississippiJohn Hurt wasn't a picnic.
It was a wilderness. Along comes the folk revival of
the 1960s. This is when white people
(20:51):
started realizing how brilliant the music of artists like John
Hurt was. So some men come across his old
records and go looking for him. And once they finally track him
down, they're not sure if this is really the guy still down in
Mississippi. And since he didn't even own a
guitar at that point, they wanted him to prove that he
really was the Mississippi John Hurt of the 20s from 40 years
(21:15):
before. So he has to borrow a guitar to
audition. And the rest is history.
He's still got it. He blows her mind.
Within a year, he's performing in Washington, DC in front of
huge crowds. It had places like the Newport
Folk Festival. And.
And he's recording albums. And he dies just a few years
later. But that season, those last few
(21:37):
years were powerful, not becauseJohn Hurt chased fame, but
because after decades in his ownwilderness, living life, loving
his family, loving others, remaining faithful to Jesus in a
time when he and other non whites were viewed as less than
human, actually less than human,he was finally seen.
(21:58):
And somehow all that time in thebackground, in the wilderness
shaped his music into something deep and human and beautiful and
for me personally, truly life changing.
We asked at the beginning what kind of person you'd have to
become to carry the weight of a revolution and how you'd become
(22:19):
the kind of person ready and able to carry out a successful
revolution that changes your life, your family, your
workplace, your community, your nation, the world, or in Jesus
case, heaven and earth. I personally don't know the
answer for you, but if we do things the way Jesus did, Jesus
embraced the wilderness before he launched his first campaign,
speeches or actions. That's where he chose what kind
(22:41):
of Messiah he would be. No shortcuts, no ego trips, no
compromise. I think it's time for us to stop
seeing our own wilderness as wasted time, to stop believing
the lie that that that we've been told that we have to be
seen to be significant or allowed to be faithful or
(23:02):
powerful to be relevant. Jesus didn't skip the
wilderness, and neither did John.
Hurt. The wilderness might not look
like progress, but it is where things get forged.
It's where depth happens, and it's where God is shaping you
for the revolution that He's called you to carry out.
(23:24):
I don't know when he's going to call you to the public scene
with your revolution, with your revolt.
But if you're in a wilderness right now and you're waiting for
that call, stay there. It's going to happen soon.
Lake Umad. Go and learn.
Come back next time for Scene 5 of the Jesus X 3030 Day
(23:45):
Discipleship Challenge.
What kind of person do you have to become in order to carry the
weight of a revolution? And how do you become the kind
of person ready and able to carry out a successful revolt?
One that changes your family, one that changes your life, your
workplace, your community, your nation, the entire world?
That's what we're asking today. And to get to that answer, we've
(00:30):
got to follow Jesus into the wilderness.
In the previous scene, we watched him enter the first tier
of his public campaign. And I say first tier because, as
we'll see, he's strategic in everything he did.
He takes his campaign from private preparation phases to
the public movement phase in stages.
So we saw him step into the Jordan, stand alongside everyday
(00:52):
people, and be baptized by John.That moment was a declaration
that his movement was beginning,right?
A public declaration of his movement.
Then he kind of disappears. Not into a boardroom to map out
his plans. Not to a synagogue to study the
scriptures or consult the experts.
Not into a public square or campaign rally.
(01:12):
Not to the mountainous regions to greet other revolutionaries
hiding out and waiting for theirtime to revolt, which was common
for them to do in his lifetime. He doesn't walk into the city to
celebrate the launch of his new campaign.
Instead he just disappears. He goes off the grid.
He walks straight into where theJudean wilderness for over a
(01:35):
month. No crowd, no speech, just
silence, hunger, solitude and temptation.
What's up everybody? I'm Tyson put off.
And this is scene 4 of the JesusX30 Challenge.
And today we're looking at Jesus's first real confrontation
with the enemy. We know his public campaign is
(01:56):
just full of confrontations withleaders and and opponents of all
kinds, demons. This is the first one in which
he has a real confrontation withthe enemy.
And it's not in front of a crowd.
It's not with fireworks and celebration, but it's in the
dry, desolate places for character.
(02:17):
Historically for the Israelite people has been shaped and their
callings have been tested. And we're in the year
historically, chronologically 27AD early in the year, it's
spring. And while the Jordan River was
the setting for Jesus baptism, what happens next unfolds
(02:38):
adjacent to that in the Judean wilderness.
If you've ever been there before, it's still a pretty
harsh environment. Andy and I were there a few
years ago. And it's especially harsh when
you're out there, and I mean away from the towns and cities.
It's it's dry, the hills are bleached, deep ravines, rocks,
heat exposure. It's not the kind of place you
(02:59):
want to wander accidentally. In fact, most people in Jesus's
day avoided it unless they had no other choice except for John
the Baptist. Not only that, but in the
ancient world, the wilderness was viewed as this sort of
nether space. It was uncivilized.
It was the opposite of civilizedspace.
It was like the Wild West, except there weren't just
(03:20):
bandits and potential robbers, but there were also believed to
be evil spirits. That's where they went and
resided. There were ghosts and monsters.
People believed. I mean, it was untamed
geographically. It was wild anthropologically,
and it was cursed spiritually. So it was to be avoided whenever
possible unless you had no otherchoice or unless God called you
(03:43):
out there for a very specific reason.
But Jesus doesn't avoid it. He just goes, and he goes alone.
Matthew tells us, actually, thathe's led by the Spirit into the
wilderness in Matthew 4. And that's an important detail I
think that we need to keep in mind.
He didn't get lost. He wasn't running away.
(04:05):
He was led there by the Spirit. The question is why?
Because the wilderness isn't just a backdrop, and it's not
just a sort of haunted space, but in the ancient Israelite
memory, it's a sort of battleground.
It's always been that way in thememory of Israel.
This is the place where ancient Israel wandered for 40 years,
(04:25):
learning, failing, repenting, being reshaped before entering
the promised land of Canaan. This is where Elijah went when
he was burned out and just readyto give up.
This is where David ran from Saul when Saul was trying to
kill him. This is where the prophet went
to hear the voice of God. And it's where Jesus goes for 40
(04:46):
days before he takes his public campaign to the next level.
He's not eating, he's alone, andhe's vulnerable.
And as we all know, those of us who know the story, that's when
the enemy shows up. And what's the enemy do, Satan?
What's he do? He tempts Jesus, He tests him.
(05:07):
I think, though, what a lot of us miss is the significance of
the temptations that Satan presents.
I don't think we really think about the meaning and the nature
of each of these and why these particular temptations were
important strategically for Jesus in trying to launch his
messianic campaign. I think a lot of us tend instead
(05:30):
to focus on the fact that Jesus was tempted.
But then we highlight the way herebuts Satan's offers of
Scripture and we say, see, that's why you should pray and
read your Bible. But the temptations Jesus faces
aren't just random challenges because Jesus is hungry or or
vulnerable. And they're not just examples of
(05:50):
why we need to memorize our Bible verses.
And don't get me wrong, that's critically important.
I'm a I'm a Bible scholar. I believe in the Bible.
OK, But that's not the main point here.
The the fact is that these temptations are strategic tests.
Each one targets a possible version of the Messiah that
Jesus might be tempted to becomein a possible version of the
(06:13):
Kingdom that Jesus would establish.
So I'll explain more, but let's break them down.
First temptation, turn these stones into bread.
This is not just about lunch. It's about method methodology.
Jesus is hungry. 40 days withoutfood is going to do that to you.
But the real question underneathall of this, when Satan asses is
(06:34):
what kind of Messiah are you going to be?
The temptation here is to win people by providing for their
material needs. Bread's a symbol of provision,
of security. And let's be honest, most
movements start by promising to fix what hurts, solve hunger,
patch the economy, meet the need.
And Jesus could do it. And he's going to do this
(06:56):
actually twice in his public campaign where he creates bread
and feeds the people. But but not here, not now,
'cause this isn't about proving power, this is about proving
allegiance. This is about showing where
trust is rooted. Jesus replies with scripture not
not as a sort of a religious comeback, but as a strategic
(07:19):
alignment. People don't live by bread
alone, but by every word from God.
In quoting Deuteronomy, he's placing himself in the story of
Israel in the wilderness. He's sort of embodying Israel's
journey in the wilderness. And just like Israel was tested
with hunger, Jesus is tested with the same.
Only unlike Israel in the wilderness, Jesus chooses trust.
(07:40):
And he's saying, I'm not going to build a movement on provision
alone. I won't bribe people with
comfort. I won't pull stunts and bully
people and show you I'm the guy you want to follow.
I'll leave them with truth, Jesus says, and it's up to them
to choose their allegiance in me.
The second temptation, throw yourself down from the temple.
This one's all about spectacle. The temple is the public stage.
(08:04):
It's huge in Jesus's day to jumpfrom it and be caught by angels,
man, that would be awesome to see.
But what's that really do? That's instant legitimacy.
It's a spiritual mic drop. It's a it's a show of force and
power and it sounds really awesome, but what's he really
do? Prove yourself to the Son of
(08:24):
God. Make the heavenly world back you
up. Give the people a miracle that
they can't ignore Jesus. Jesus doesn't take the bait.
Don't put the Lord your God to the test.
He says. Why?
Because the moment you start needing stunts to validate your
mission, you've already lost. You've lost the heart of your
mission. Jesus isn't launching a circus.
(08:46):
He's forming disciples. He's not interested in winning
fans with fireworks. His movement is going to be
rooted in trust and truth, not this showmanship.
Third temptation. Bow to me and I'll give you all
the kingdoms of the world. Everything you can see, I'll
give you. Satan says, and this is a big
one, but I want you to look closely at what Satan is
(09:08):
actually offering Jesus here. So Satan's not offering
something evil in itself. He's actually offering something
that sounds like success. All the kingdoms of the world,
that is the leadership in Rome, the religious authorities in
Judea, the Persians and Parthians in the east, political
(09:28):
power, global reach the throne, but without the thorns.
So let's be honest, this is, this is not a dumb offer.
Jesus came to bring a Kingdom, right?
So why not just take them all now?
If Jesus's goal is to establish a Kingdom that's going to change
the world, why not start with what's already there?
(09:50):
Rome is powerful and wealthy. The the Jewish leadership is
powerful and wealthy and influential.
The temple standing there in Jerusalem?
Why not just take that what's already created and launch his
own Kingdom that way? Why start from scratch?
Why not pull the levers of powerand just start running the world
(10:13):
the easy way by using the political leaders in processes
and systems that are already in place to carry out his desires
and will for the world? Because that's what that's
ultimately what Jesus wanted. He wanted to change the world
for the for the better of all people.
And there's he's got the perfectKingdom to do that right now,
(10:33):
most powerful Kingdom in the history of the world.
But Jesus sees through this because the Kingdom he's
launching, the empire of God, doesn't come from the top down.
It doesn't need Caesar's throne or roam sword, and in fact, it
doesn't want those. It doesn't require wealth,
armies, or political platform. And it certainly never calls for
(10:54):
a political party because the second Jesus aligns his Kingdom
with a human empire or a human political party or with a human
body of leadership is the secondhis Kingdom becomes Co opted by
the image of that empire. And they are not the same, good
(11:17):
or bad. That empire could be the best
empire in the history of the world.
It is not the same as Jesus's Kingdom.
So Jesus doesn't want that. Jesus's movement is a movement
of revolution. It's a movement of revolt.
I've written a lot about that for those of you who have read
the books. I'm also writing an entirely
separate book just on Jesus as arevolutionary and his movement
(11:40):
as a revolt. Stay tuned.
But the revolution Jesus is starting grows from the margins,
not the center. It spreads through surrender,
not coercion. It's built on self sacrificing
love, not uncontrolling others. So Jesus answers very simply.
Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
(12:02):
Because the fact is that humans have a tendency to worship our
empires, don't we? To worship our political
leaders? To worship our own political
party. And the second that Jesus's
empire becomes Co opted by another empire is the second
that Jesus no longer has controlof that empire.
(12:24):
And it's the second that worshipof God becomes commingled with
worship of a leader. He knows human nature.
He's not just refusing Satan. He's refusing the entire idea
that to change the world you have to align with a particular
nation or empire or party or leader, and that through them
(12:46):
you have to dominate. He's saying I don't need your
empires, I'm building a better one.
And it starts from the ground up.
I don't need your politicians. I found better leaders, and they
don't come from the halls of power, but from the outskirts of
society. Those are going to be my
leaders. Each temptation pushes Jesus to
adopt A different kind of messianic strategy.
(13:06):
Win them with provision. Win them with spectacle.
Win them with power. No thanks.
But in rejecting each one of these, Jesus is making a choice
not just for himself, but for how he wants those who follow
him to operate. If Jesus himself is rejecting
that kind of messianic politic, he also calls those who follow
(13:29):
him to reject that kind of messianic politic.
So he knows, yeah, I could have done it this way and and just
use Rome to to advance my Kingdom right away.
But in doing that, he, the example he would have left is
for those who would follow him and he would have been saying
essentially this is how it's done.
But in rejecting that, he also says you to those who follow me
(13:54):
are also to reject that. He won't be the Messiah who
feeds the system. He won't be the Messiah who
manipulates the crowd. He won't be the Messiah who
takes the throne without the cross.
He'll be the Messiah who trusts the Father, walks the hard Rd.
builds a Kingdom that doesn't look like any Kingdom of this
world. He's just going to start from
scratch and build something new.This isn't just spiritual
(14:17):
discipline. This is strategic resistance.
OK, I want you to hear that. This is not just spiritual
discipline. This is strategic resistance.
I think a lot of us look at thisepisode in Jesus's life when we
say, well, look, Jesus went to the wilderness.
He was tempted when he was vulnerable.
So that means you need to be on guard whenever you're
(14:38):
vulnerable, whenever you're hungry or lonely, and watch out
for temptation because that's when Satan likes to strike.
All true, but that's not the main point here.
Try not to over privatize and internalize these strategic
moments in Jesus's life. The bigger point here has to do
with how Jesus is the Messiah and how he expects his followers
(15:03):
to operate with the methods of this world or the methods that
Jesus is going to show us throughout the duration of his
life and his Kingdom. He makes clear it's a Kingdom
rooted not in domination, but infaithfulness, but in sacrifice.
Jesus starts his movement in theharsh wilderness in the desert,
(15:25):
and he doesn't begin it with a crowd, but with a test.
And I think that that should tell us something about our own
walk with Jesus and about our own life and mission on this
earth. The wilderness wasn't a detour
for Jesus. It was a proving ground.
And maybe that's why so many of us find ourselves in our own
wilderness moments, not because something's gone wrong or
(15:45):
because we made God mad. That's shame theology and that's
not in the Bible. If somebody's telling you that,
tell him to be quiet. We find ourselves in the
wilderness because whether we'rethere because life put us there,
because life is like that sometimes, or because God has
put us in that spot in our life.The way the Spirit LED Jesus
(16:08):
into the wilderness, I don't know.
It's all. It's different for each of us.
Either way, God uses the wilderness to prepare us for
something amazing. Jesus probably had fears walking
out into the wilderness. Can you imagine it?
Especially that first night, Second night, the silence, the
wild animals, the eerie sounds, the scorpions, the insects, and
(16:31):
then you throw in hunger and thirst.
Imagine the tricks your mind andyour body are going to start to
play on you in the Judean wilderness after a couple days,
after a week, after two weeks, amonth without food.
I guarantee Jesus was afraid andstruggled every moment of his
time in the wilderness, but he still embraced it because he
(16:51):
knew this is where clarity and power and confidence comes from.
This is where he proves to the enemy and to himself that the
movement that he's launching is about to change heaven and earth
forever. It's like I think the invitation
for us in all of this is not to rush out of our own wilderness.
Sit in it and embrace it and letit.
(17:13):
Let it do its work. The most important decisions in
our lives probably won't be madeon stage or in in the spotlight.
Most confidence that you and I can gain in ourselves and in our
abilities won't be discovered inthe easy moments in life.
You don't win the championship without putting in the practice
(17:34):
and the hard work behind the scenes, right?
And the character and determination that is going to
carry us to greatness won't comefrom the easy wins either.
All of this is going to happen in the wilderness when no one's
watching but God. One of my favorite musicians of
all time is Mississippi John Hurt.
He was born in 1892 in Avalon, Mississippi, deep in the rural S
(18:01):
at a time when obviously life was incredibly hard for black
Americans. Racial segregation was law,
which meant that opportunities for non whites were basically
non existent and violence and poverty for blacks were constant
real world threats. Hurt grew up in that world,
working the cotton fields, raising a family, worshipping
(18:22):
Jesus and just kind of to the side riding and playing some of
the most brilliant finger picking Blues you're ever going
to hear. Go and listen to his albums.
One of my top five favorite songs of all time is his live
version of I Shall Not Be Moved.He's one of a handful of people
(18:43):
whose hands I want to shake someday in heaven.
For now, one of my goals is to stop at the Mississippi John
Hurt Museum. We drove within a short trip of
it on our last road trip to the beach, but it it was just far
enough out of the way where we didn't get to stop by.
Next time we're hoping to. Back in the late 1920s,
(19:04):
Mississippi John Hurt made a fewrecordings and the music was
brilliant, but it was it was kind of ahead of its time.
And if you know anything about Blues and and different styles
of Blues, Mississippi John Hurt didn't quite fit what was
happening in the Blues scene in his region at the time.
(19:25):
So he's a little bit ahead of its time.
So the label dropped him. He didn't go on any tours, No
fame, no big break. He went back to Avalon,
Mississippi, where he lived withhis wife and kids, took care of
them, worked as a sharecropper. If you don't know anything about
sharecropping, little history lesson I know.
(19:45):
A lot of myths exist about how great it was.
In reality, sharecropping was the system Mississippi John Hurt
and others worked under, which was a new way to trap black
families in cycles of debt and poverty.
It essentially replaced the formal slavery with a new form
of Labor control. And during this time, he just
kept working. And from time to time, he'd play
(20:08):
it like local events and dances and church.
So he was known around Avalon, but in terms of being a star.
He sort of just faded into the background and he he faded into
the background for almost 40 years.
And you got to understand this 40 years, which I think is
significant. It wasn't an easy time for
someone like John Hurt. It was working a toilsome job
(20:30):
every day to take care of his family.
He was facing ridicule every daybecause of the color of his
skin. He was wondering and worrying if
someone might decide to harm himor his family.
So this 40 years for MississippiJohn Hurt wasn't a picnic.
It was a wilderness. Along comes the folk revival of
the 1960s. This is when white people
(20:51):
started realizing how brilliant the music of artists like John
Hurt was. So some men come across his old
records and go looking for him. And once they finally track him
down, they're not sure if this is really the guy still down in
Mississippi. And since he didn't even own a
guitar at that point, they wanted him to prove that he
really was the Mississippi John Hurt of the 20s from 40 years
(21:15):
before. So he has to borrow a guitar to
audition. And the rest is history.
He's still got it. He blows her mind.
Within a year, he's performing in Washington, DC in front of
huge crowds. It had places like the Newport
Folk Festival. And.
And he's recording albums. And he dies just a few years
later. But that season, those last few
(21:37):
years were powerful, not becauseJohn Hurt chased fame, but
because after decades in his ownwilderness, living life, loving
his family, loving others, remaining faithful to Jesus in a
time when he and other non whites were viewed as less than
human, actually less than human,he was finally seen.
(21:58):
And somehow all that time in thebackground, in the wilderness
shaped his music into something deep and human and beautiful and
for me personally, truly life changing.
We asked at the beginning what kind of person you'd have to
become to carry the weight of a revolution and how you'd become
(22:19):
the kind of person ready and able to carry out a successful
revolution that changes your life, your family, your
workplace, your community, your nation, the world, or in Jesus
case, heaven and earth. I personally don't know the
answer for you, but if we do things the way Jesus did, Jesus
embraced the wilderness before he launched his first campaign,
speeches or actions. That's where he chose what kind
(22:41):
of Messiah he would be. No shortcuts, no ego trips, no
compromise. I think it's time for us to stop
seeing our own wilderness as wasted time, to stop believing
the lie that that that we've been told that we have to be
seen to be significant or allowed to be faithful or
(23:02):
powerful to be relevant. Jesus didn't skip the
wilderness, and neither did John.
Hurt. The wilderness might not look
like progress, but it is where things get forged.
It's where depth happens, and it's where God is shaping you
for the revolution that He's called you to carry out.
(23:24):
I don't know when he's going to call you to the public scene
with your revolution, with your revolt.
But if you're in a wilderness right now and you're waiting for
that call, stay there. It's going to happen soon.
Lake Umad. Go and learn.
Come back next time for Scene 5 of the Jesus X 3030 Day
(23:45):
Discipleship Challenge.
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