Ready, Set, Wait!

Mark 1:1-13

A church member stopped me during my pre-worship walk through the sanctuary yesterday. He was reading the scripture passages from which I would be preaching and had gotten to Mark 1:12: “And the Spirit immediately drove (Jesus) out into the wilderness.” The church member wanted to know if that verse would be the text for my sermon. No, I told him, the sermon was not going to deal with that particular issue. But then in today’s readings I find Mark 1:12 popping up again so I guess I can’t get away from it after all.

The word that is used to describe what happened to Jesus is used most often in Mark in reference to demons being “driven out” of those who are possessed (Mark 1:34 and 39 for example). In other cases it is used when a person is sent away (like the leper in 1:43), driven out (like those who were selling and buying in the temple in 11:15), or thrown out (like the heir to the vineyard in 12:8). Immediately after his baptism, then, Jesus was compelled by the Spirit to go to a lonely place and to separate himself from human contact. But why?

For one thing, places of desolation have often offered revelation and preparation for God’s people. What we sometimes call a wilderness journey may lead to a clearer understanding of what God wants or expects from us. But there is also the importance of timing. The promise given to Abraham and Sarah was that their descendants would take possession of the land in which they dwelled, not they themselves. At the time of the ascension Jesus told the disciples to return to Jerusalem and wait there for the Holy Spirit which would come when it was time. Likewise, when Jesus came up from the waters of his baptism the Holy Spirit took him right away to a lonely place. Could Jesus have needed time to prepare for what he was about to do? Of course. Even during his ministry Jesus could be found taking time away for prayer and reflection. The days following his baptism offered breathing room for getting things in order, something that the humanness of Jesus would have needed, especially considering where it would lead. Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. From there the good news of the gospel would erupt upon the world.

Prayer: Lord help us to live in patience according to your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.