Listen here.
Welcome to
Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for
the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
in Hudson, OH.
Thank you for
being with me today.
We are beginning
a new season of the church year. Ash Wednesday ushers us into the season of Lent,
a penitential season during which we remember Jesus’ suffering and death as we
prepare to celebrate His resurrection at Easter. This season is often observed
with a spiritual discipline called fasting. Fasting is a form of self-denial,
which is an important discipline for all Christians to practice, especially in
the light of Jesus’ words that if we are to follow Him we must deny ourselves, take
up our crosses and follow Him.
I’ve been
thinking and praying about what kind of fast to participate in. I have decided
to do a social media fast so that, outside of posting devotions and sermons on
Facebook and Twitter, I will not be on those services. I’m also going to delete
all my social media apps from my phone. So, feel free to call me out if you see
me there!
The 1st
Sunday of Lent always has Jesus’ fasting and temptation in the wilderness as
the Gospel lesson. In fact, it is at least partly from this account that Lent
was set up to be forty days (not counting the Sundays, which are always a
mini-Easter). Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days as he fasted, prayed,
and was tempted. Let’s take a closer look at the reading.
The Reading:
Mark 1:9-15 (ESV)
9 In those
days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the
Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw
the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11
And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well
pleased."
12 The Spirit immediately drove him
out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days,
being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were
ministering to him.
14 Now after John was arrested,
Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and
saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent
and believe in the gospel." (Mk. 1:9-15 ESV)
Comments
We read the first
part of this reading at the beginning of Epiphany when we celebrated the Baptism
of our Lord. It is one of those wonderful parts of Scripture where we see
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all active in the same moment. It sets the stage
for Jesus’ ministry as He is anointed with the Holy Spirit and affirmed by the
Father as His own beloved Son.
It is interesting
that immediately after the baptism, the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness.
The original text says that the Spirit cast Jesus or threw Jesus into the
wilderness. This is purposeful language. Jesus didn’t just stumble into a
situation in which He was tempted. He was sent there. But why? Why would God
send His Son into the wilderness to fast and face temptation?
Jesus went into
the wilderness to fast and face temptation so that He might overcome our hunger
for earthly comfort and our willingness to succumb to temptation. Mark doesn’t
go into all the details as Matthew and Luke do in their Gospels. It is enough
for him to note that Jesus was in the
wilderness for forty days and that He was being tempted. The sign of His
success is seen in the fact that Jesus began his ministry after this,
proclaiming, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent
and believe the gospel.”
No longer is the
kingdom of coming. It is here because Jesus has come to overcome sin, death,
and the devil for us. This is what causes us to turn away from sin – Jesus has
won the victory for us. Therefore we repent, as Jesus calls His followers to
do. We repent and believe the gospel – the good news – that Jesus has won the
victory.
Meditate on this
today: Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and to be tempted for you. He
overcame them there, but He won an even greater victory when He overcame sin
and death on the cross for us. What needs to change in your life – of what do
you need to repent – because of Jesus’ victory?
Prayers
O Lord God, You
led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the Promised
Land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk
through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through
Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Memory Verse:
Joel 2:13 - Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious
and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents
over disaster. (Joel 2:13 ESV)
Thank you so much
for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you
and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle
around in your brain – for the rest of the day.
Would you do me a
favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or
share it on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever you do social media? That would help
me get the word out, and hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to
others.
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God bless you!
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