wild – Compassion of Christ Ministries

Scripture Used to Create the Splice “40 Days in the Desert”

Matthew 4:1-11 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 4:1)

Mark 1:12-13 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 1:12)

Luke 4:1-13 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 4:1)

Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

THE SPLICE

Jesus, ¹ abounding in the Holy Spirit, ² returned from the Jordan and immediately the Spirit ³ impelled Him to go out into the ⁴ wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And He was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days and nights, being tempted by ⁵ Satan. And in those forty days and nights, He was with ⁶ wild beasts. Also, while in the wilderness, He had eaten nothing and after Jesus had ⁷ fasted for the forty days and nights, He became hungry.

And the tempter, the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread; tell this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘⁸ MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’” And the devil ⁹ took Him to the holy city Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; for it is written, ‘¹⁰ HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU,’ and, ‘¹¹ ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’” And Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written and it is said, ‘¹² YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”

Again, the devil took Him up to a very high mountain and showed Him all the ¹³ kingdoms of the world and their glory in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “14 I will give You all this domain and its glory; all these things will I give You; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, if You fall down and worship me, it shall all be Yours.” Then Jesus answered him, “Go Satan! For it is written, ‘¹⁵ YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an ¹⁶ opportune time and ¹⁷ behold, angels went to Jesus and began to ¹⁸ minister to Him and were ministering to Him.

NOTES

1 abounding in the Holy Spirit: The Greek word used here for abounding or full is plérés and means to be “completely occupied with or completely full, to be completely covered”. (Back)

2 returned from the Jordan: Jesus had just finished His baptism with John the Baptist. To read about the Baptism of Jesus, see Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, and John 1:32-34 for John’s testimony concerning the event. To read the Splice about the baptism of Jesus, click here. (Back)

3 impelled: See Mark 1:12. The Greek word used for impelled in Mark 1:12 is ekballo which means “to drive out” or “throw out” or “cast out”. (Back)

4 wilderness: The Greek word used for wilderness is erémos and means “solitary” or “desolate”. (Back)

5 Satan: the name Satan means “adversary”. (Back)

6 wild beasts: I looked up what animals live in the Palestinian desert/Judean desert and although I’m sure there have been changes over the past 2000 years, it gives an idea of what could have been living there at the time, including the Syrian brown bear which is now, sadly, extinct in Israel. (Back)

7 fasted for the forty days and nights: We know that Jesus fasted from food, but it is unknown if He was drinking water, as the Bible doesn’t talk about that specifically. Moses fasted 40 days from both water and food while he was in the presence of God, writing the Ten Commandments. We should consider these fasts as supernatural miracles, and therefore no one should be attempting to fast from food and water for 40 days in today’s era. (Back)

8 MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE: Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. (Back)

9 took: The Greek word used for took in Matthew 4:5, 8 is paralambanó and it means “to take” but with a strong interpersonal and active connotation. Also see the Greek word lambanó. Luke uses a different word in Luke 4:5, 9. The word he uses is agó and it means “to lead”. (Back)

10 HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS: Satan is referencing Psalm 91:11. (Back)

11 ON their HANDS THEY WILL: A reference to Psalm 91:12. (Back)

12 YOU SHALL NOT PUT: Deuteronomy 6:16. (Back)

13 kingdoms of the world: The Greek word for world used here is oikoumené and means the “inhabited world”. (Back)

14 I will give You: Satan is a liar (John 8:44). He doesn’t have the authority to give the dominion or the glory of the kingdoms or of the world away. In totality, it isn’t his; it belonged to God then and it belongs to God now and that includes the governments, the land and all of the people. Jesus is God and therefore already had these things. Reference Psalm 24:1; Matthew 28:18; John 1:1, John 3:35; John 14:10-11; John 17:1-2; Romans 13:1, Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:2. What Satan has dominion over is the ability to wreak havoc on human beings, to lure them into sin, get them to serve him, and to rule over the demons. What has been given to him, by God, is the power over the evilness and vileness of the world (see Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:1-2; 2 Timothy 2:26; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12) . Also, Jesus doesn’t need the world’s faded, imperfect and temporal glory. He has His own exalted, perfect and eternal glory (Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 5; 7:9-12; 19:1). See Exodus 33:18-23 and 34:5-7; 29-35 to read more about God’s glory. (Back)

15 YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD: Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20 both make this command clear. (Back)

16 opportune time: There were lots of opportune times during Jesus’s ministry that the devil could have been around, but two times in particular come to mind. There was the time Peter told Jesus that He would never be killed in Jerusalem in Matthew 16:23. We can assume here that Satan has influenced Peter’s words by what Jesus says. Another time would be when Satan enters Judas to begin the crucifixion process (see John 13:2 and John 13:27). (Back)

17 behold: The Greek word for behold is horaó and it means “to see” or “look”. Behold is a bit of an old-fashioned word for modern English speakers, but it is equivalent to saying “look here/see here” or “understand”. (Back)

18 minister: The Greek word for minister is diakoneó and it means “to serve” in general. But it also means to “wait at table”. I think the angels did serve Jesus in general, but it is possible that they also brought Him food. (Back)

Scripture Used to Create the Splice “The Baptism of Jesus”

Matthew 3:13-17 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 3:13)

Mark 1:9-12 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 1:9)

Luke 3:21-22 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 3:21)

John 1:32-34 (Greek Text Analysis starting with John 1:32)

Mark 1:8

I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

THE SPLICE

All the ¹ people were coming to John to be baptized. Jesus arrived from ² Nazareth in Galilee at the ³ Jordan River. He was coming to ⁴ John to be baptized by him, too. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be ⁵ baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answering, said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to ⁶ fulfill all righteousness.” Then John permitted Him.

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water and while ⁷ He was praying, the heavens were opened and Jesus saw the heavens opening, and both Jesus and John saw the Holy Spirit of God in the bodily form of a dove and it was descending down, alighting upon Jesus. And a voice out of the heavens addressed Jesus and said, “⁸ You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” And the voice also testified to John and said, “ This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” Immediately the ⁹ Spirit impelled Jesus to go out into the wilderness. Some time later, John testified publicly about Jesus’s baptism and His Sonship, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a ¹⁰ dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon who you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

NOTES

1 people were coming to John to be baptized: The people participating in the baptism included Pharisees, Sadducees, soldiers, tax collectors and others. To read about John’s baptism ministry, see Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-20; John 1:6-8; 15, 19-37; 3:22-36. (Back)

2 Nazareth in Galilee: The town of Nazareth isn’t even mentioned in the Old Testament. It seems it might have had a less-than-elegant reputation due to Nathanael’s reaction to it when Philip tells him about Jesus (John 1:45-46). Jesus wasn’t born in Nazareth (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4), but it is where His mother Mary and adoptive father Joseph were from (Luke 1:26; 2:4) and where they raised Him at (Matthew 2:19-23; Luke 2:39; 51). It seems Jesus even practiced carpentry there (Mark 6:3). Jesus left Nazareth and moved His base of operations to Capernaum at the very beginning of His ministry (Matthew 4:12-16). He returned to Nazareth to teach in the synagogue, but His hometown people were offended by Him and tried to kill Him for telling them the truth (Matthew 13:53-58, Mark 6:1-6; Luke 4:14-30). Because of Nazareth’s disbelief in His Messiahship, Jesus performed no miracles there, except for healing a few of the sick people (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:5). (Back)

3 Jordan River: The Jordan River is a tiny river (approximately 220 miles long) in comparison to other historic and well-known rivers, such as the Mississippi (2,300 miles), the Nile (4,130 miles) or the Ganges (1,560 miles). Every year, thousands of people make the pilgrimage to be baptized in the Jordan, the most popular spot being the “Bethany Beyond The Jordan” site, but reviews of the tours are mixed at best. However, just about any tour group in the Holy Land will take you there for the whole baptism experience, prices varying. You must wear a baptismal gown for your baptism in the Jordan River, and if you don’t bring your own, you have to rent one that is provided by the site. Bring your own baptizer (a new meaning to BYOB) because they don’t have someone at the site to perform the baptism for you. Keep in mind that no matter what any tourist group or attraction says, we do not know the precise spots where Jesus was born, baptized, where the upper room was where He spent His last Passover, the exact path He walked to Golgotha, or where He was buried at. We also don’t know when Jesus was born: day, month, or year. Click here to read more about the Jordan River, at Britannica.com. (Back)

4 John to be baptized by him: John the Baptist, Jesus’s relative, born to Mary’s relative (probably of the cousin variety), Elizabeth and her husband, Zacharias. You canr ead about John’s baptismal ministry in Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-20; John 1:6-8; 15, 19-37; 3:22-36, John’s questions and Jesus’s discussion about him in Matthew 11:2-19; Luke 7:18-34; John 5:32-36 and his martyrdom in Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29. You can read about Elizabeth’s and Zacharias’s story (and John’s birth) in Luke 1:5-25; 57-80. (Back)

5 baptized by You: John does not mean by using water, just as he is using water, but by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). (Back)

6 fulfill all righteousness: Jesus bore the punishment for our sins in our place; He became sin on our behalf, although He had no sin at all (2 Corinthians 5:21). John’s baptismal ministry was ordained by God (John 1:6) to be a witness about Jesus (John 1:7-8, 32-34) and also to urge people to repent for their sins (Matthew 3:6; Mark 1:4). Water baptism is a symbol of and public demonstration of repentance and death to the old self (Romans 6:2-11) and the washing away one’s sins, but it is only the washing and renewing of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus (Titus 3:5-7), by His blood, that can actually remove the sins (1 John 1:7-9). To have sin means to have eternal death and to have sinlessness in Christ means eternal life (Romans 6:23). In summary, Jesus’s symbolic water baptism was in keeping with the will of God the Father (because God declared He was pleased with Jesus’s baptism, see Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22), just as His crucifixion was God’s will for the payment of sin (Isaiah 53:4-12). (Back)

7 He was praying: We see many of examples of when Jesus prayed (Mark 14:32-39 and John 17, for example) and He instructs us on how to pray as well (Matthew 6:5-13). There is even the promise that the Holy Spirit will intercede on our behalf because we don’t know how we should pray (Romans 8:26-27). Our prayers should be filled with thanksgiving to God (Philippians 4:6), constant (1 Thessalonians 5:17 , Romans 12:12), in complete faith (Mark 11:24), righteous by God’s standards and according to His will (James 5:16 , John 15:7), bringing all things to Him (Philippians 4:6, Ephesians 6:18 ), as well as petitioning for others (1 Thessalonians 5:25). This is not exhaustive direction on how to pray. (Back)

8 You are My beloved Son: God gives a very similar statement when Jesus is transfigured on the mountain (see Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). To read about this event in the Bible, see Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36. To read the Splice about the transfiguration, click here (Back)

9 Spirit impelled Jesus to go out into the wilderness: Jesus spends 40 days and nights out in the wilderness, fasting. The primary reason for this was to be tempted by the devil. To read about the temptation of Jesus, see Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:1-13 and to read the Splice about the temptation of Jesus, click here. (Back)

10 dove out of heaven: As a sign for John the Baptist (see John 1:33). But we can also consider the Holy Spirit descending as a dove upon Jesus as a declaration of Jesus’s innocence of any sin. Jesus Himself uses the imagery of doves and innocence in Matthew 10:16. (Back)