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‘Jesus was tempted by Satan’

First Sunday of Lent Year B

The description of Jesus’ time in the desert has a particular resonance as we begin the season of Lent, a time of self-examination and self-denial. His temptation shows his humanity but, ‘like us in all but sin’, he did not succumb. Fr Adrian Graffy reflects.

Mark 1:12-15

12 Immediately afterwards the Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness 13 and he remained there for forty days, and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and the angels looked after him.
14 After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. 15 ‘The time has come,’ he said, ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’

Other readings: Genesis 9:8-15 Psalm 24 (25) 1 Peter 3:18-22

Reflection

It is an ancient custom in the Church that the story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert should be read on the first Sunday of Lent. Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness. At the beginning of the forty days of Lent the Church always puts before us his time of solitude.

The temptation of Jesus is recounted in the three gospels known as ‘synoptics’, the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. While Matthew and Luke give an extended version of the tradition, telling us that Jesus fasted for forty days and reporting a dialogue between Jesus and the devil, Mark simply gives the outline of the story.

Jesus has just received baptism from John in the river Jordan and he is filled with the Spirit. This same Spirit drives him into the wilderness, the place of desolation and loneliness, thought to be the habitat of evil spirits. Jesus’ forty days in the desert remind us of the forty day journey of the prophet Elijah to the holy mountain where his call is renewed in the ‘still, small voice’. We may even compare Jesus’ stay in the wilderness with the forty years of wandering by Moses and the people.

The central statement is that Jesus was tempted. To be tempted is the fate of all human beings. That Jesus was tempted shows his humanity. He was ‘like us in all things but sin’. He did not give way to temptation. Mark balances his statement about temptation with the laconic declarations ‘he was with the wild beasts’ and ‘the angels looked after him’. The evangelist shows that this Son of Man is at peace with all creation and cared for by the providence of the Father.

Our gospel reading concludes with a reminder of Jesus’ mission, to preach the ‘good news’ from God, to announce that the time has come and that the kingdom is approaching. These statements of Jesus have a particular resonance as we begin the season of Lent, a time of self-examination and self-denial. We are invited to welcome God’s special time of blessing and the coming of the kingdom into our lives.

How does the story of the temptation enrich my understanding of the humanity of Jesus?

How does this story strike me as I begin Lent?

Let us pray for the Church as we begin this season of fasting and prayer.

Let us pray for the hungry, and let us work for a fairer distribution of the world’s goods.

INT-IMG_5349 Fr Adrian Graffy (3)Rev Dr Adrian Graffy is a member of the Vatican Commission that takes a lead in Bible scholarship, interpretation and promotion in the Catholic Church.

Rev Dr Graffy said of his five-year appointment by Pope Francis in 2014: “It is an honour to be nominated by Pope Francis as a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. I feel humbled and very much look forward to being of service to His Holiness and the Church.”

He added: “A great deal has been achieved in England and Wales in recent years by many co-workers to advance Biblical scholarship and the provision of easy-to-use resources. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them and the Bishops’ Conference Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis for their efforts to promote understanding and love of the Bible, particularly through the publication of the teaching documents, The Gift of Scripture and the study guide to Verbum Domini, The Word of the Lord.”

Rev Dr Graffy received his doctorate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome in 1983. He taught for over 20 years in St John’s Seminary in Wonersh, and is Chair of the National Scripture Working Group, which is an instrument of the Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. Fr Graffy is a past director of Brentwood’s Commission for Evangelisation and Formation and parish priest of Christ the Eternal High Priest in Gidea Park, Essex. Among his publications are the Gospel of Mark and the Letter to the Romans (Alive Publishing).

Listen to BBC Essex interview with Fr Adrian Graffy