There were no eyewitnesses to Jesus's temptation in the wilderness. It was just Jesus and Satan out there, two cosmic warriors duking it out in the barren landscape.
Yet we can read about it all in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
So how did the story get out?
Jesus must have told His followers about it; how else could they have known? Jesus thought it was important for them to know this story, so He told them. Then the Holy Spirit thought it was important for us to know about it, so He told Matthew and Luke to write it down.
And that brings up an interesting point: There are things about this Story (the one God has invited us to be a part of) that we could never figure out on our own. There are things about this God who created us and redeemed us that we could never figure out in a million years unless He clued us in.
So He did.
And that's important.
God does not want to keep us in the dark (though it may sometimes feel as if He does). He wants us to understand some things about Him. He wants to see us live well and thrive. He is not content to hide in the shadows, allowing only those who endure hardship and adversity to approach Him. Rather, He takes the initiative to reveal Himself to us so that we can enjoy the relationship with Him that He so badly desires.
The apostle John wrote, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (Jn 1.18) In other words, one of the most fundamental reasons Jesus came to earth was to explain – better yet, to demonstrate – what the Father is like.
The apostle Paul argued that there are some things about God that ought to be obvious to the least observant people – mostly His power and creativity (Rom 1-2) – but there are qualities that would never have been known if it weren’t for Jesus. (Rom 8) For example, we could never have known just how our God is without Jesus. We would never have really understood how approachable He is, how far His love extends or how deep His grace reaches. We could have known how great He is, but we could never have guessed how good He is. (Mt 11.25-30) Jesus told the story of His temptation in the wilderness to His disciples; they wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. He must have wanted them to know about it because He wanted them to know that He wasn’t putting on a show. He wanted them to know how high the stakes are. He wanted them to know that He had the ability to overthrow evil itself, through the power of His gentle, humble love.
Jesus matters for lots of reasons. Without His resurrection there would be no hope. Without His crucifixion there would be no forgiveness. Without His life there would be no example. Without His teaching there would be no instruction. Without His existence there would be no understanding the true nature of our Father, the One true God, who is both great and good.
Prayer
Father in heaven, You have graciously revealed rich and wonderful truths about Your nature and plan that we could never have known on our own. The heavens declare the glory of Your invisible attributes – Your eternal power and divine nature. But nothing in Your created order could prepare us for the revelation that the God of majesty and sovereign glory is also the God who humbles Himself to make it possible for us to enjoy a living relationship with Him through the merits of His glorious Son. What we could never learn in nature, You have revealed in Your Word, which centres on the Person and work of Christ Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega. May I grow in my love and obedience to the Lord Jesus, who has given Himself to rescue and draw me to You, and may I become more like Him in my spiritual journey.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.
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