wyhr.orgWendy’s World

So this week I was struck by another thing in The Sacred Romance. I know, shocker.

I think most of us read the temptation story of Jesus in the wilderness and think, How unfair. Satan hits him at his weakest moment, when there is no one and nothing around for Jesus to lean on. But we are quite mistaken. Dallas Willard points out in The Spirit of the Disciplines,

“Today, withdrawl from society into solitude seems to indicate weakness, suffering, flight, or failure rather than great strength, joy and effectiveness. Believing that, we, for instance, thoroughly misunderstand the context of Jesus’ temptations after his baptism (Matthew 4). The Spirit, we are told, led him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Was this not to put Jesus in the weakest possible position before Satan, starving and alone in the wilds? Most to whom I have spoken about this matter are shocked at the suggestion that the ‘wilderness,’ the place of solitude and deprivation, was actually the place of strength and strengthening for our Lord and that the Spirit led him there–as he would lead us there–to ensure that Christ was in the best possible condition for the trial.”