By Fr Pat Sayles, SSC

After Jesus was baptized by John at the River Jordan he was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. The arid area that stretches westward from the River Jordan towards Jerusalem, and southward by the Dead Sea, is known as the Wilderness of Judea. We can surmise that it was here, in the harsh desert of Judea, that Jesus contended with the power of Satan that sought to divert him from his mission.

How intense this experience of inner struggle was, as Jesus sought to understand his Father’s will, we can only guess. It was clearly of great significance, and both Matthew and Luke seek to explain in detail the particular temptations which beset Jesus.

Danger lurking at night

The period of forty days recalls the forty days and nights which Moses spent alone face to face with Yahweh on the mountain in the wilderness. The wilderness is arid, but not completely desolate. Plants and animals have found ways to survive in this harsh environment. The desert is home to snakes, rodents, vultures, wolves and jackals. These would be some of the “wild beasts” mentioned by Mark. In the oppressive heat of day few are seen. But at night they are on the move.

Where He once passed along

Jesus, like the animals, would have come to drink at a wadi such as the Wadi Qelt. In this narrow ravine in the desert west of Jericho caves abound, and possibly Jesus stayed there a while. According to one local tradition this is where Elijah the prophet stayed for many days in the wilderness, fed only by a raven which brought him bread.

The monastery of St. George, clinging to the sheer face of the gorge above this wadi, was built here in the fifth century, and still thrives as monastery today.

Mount of Temptation

Stones abound in this desert, and the temptation of turning these lifeless objects into food for a hungry world, of giving priority to the material needs of humanity, I easy to understand in this wilderness. It was met with the response: The world shall not live by bread alone, but by every word from God.

The sheer-faced mountain which towers high above Jericho is called the Mount of Temptation or Jebel Quruntul, Mountain of the Forty Days. From its height and location it is easy to think of it as the place where all the kingdoms of the world and their glory were offered to Jesus if he worshipped Satan.

The third temptation takes Jesus to the Pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem. The southwestern corner of the Temple area, where the El-Aqsa Mosque stands today, is often considered the place referred to in the Gospels.

Who knows what agony of mind, what torture of soul, the Lord underwent in the wilderness? Yet on him, there in the desert, hung the destiny of each of us. From the desert Jesus returned to Galilee to begin his ministry.

Salamat sa Far East